Thanks for pointing this out, I'm from the Daily Sabah team and asked the editor of the article to make sure the numbers aren't off. The legit price of it is $4m/g, but apparently the guys were going to sell it for $70m on the black market. The article will be clarified.

You might also want to ask them to change the way red mercury is referred to near the end, as its existence is generally believed to be a hoax[1]. Charles Stross actually wrote a fun short story that uses references it[2].

1 - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_mercury 2 - https://www.tor.com/2012/07/20/a-tall-tail/

It's rather more likely that they seized 1.4 grams.

(even that's questionable as it is much more than the licit, annual global production)

Some other issues...

Red mercury doesn’t exist.

Californium isn’t used in nuclear warheads, it’s a neutron source with a short half-life. As such it can be used to startup a reactor, or more typically in neutron diffraction spectroscopy.

1.4 kilos of Califorium? No.

Microgram quantities of californium-252 are available for commercial use through the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.[50] Only two sites produce californium-252: the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the United States, and the Research Institute of Atomic Reactors in Dimitrovgrad, Russia. As of 2003, the two sites produce 0.25 grams and 0.025 grams of californium-252 per year, respectively.[54]

High purity aluminum is not controlled, is used in aerospace and electronics, and while it would have applications in enriching Uranium, so do concrete and steel.

The entire article is a farce.

To add to that, https://www.metalary.com/californium-price/ says "Since the discovery of californium in 1950, scientists have only succeeded in producing just 8 grams of californium-252."

Wikipedia has a picture of the 50 ton container used to transport up to 1 gram of californium-252 safely, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Californium#/media/File:CfShie... .

> High purity aluminum is not controlled

That’s a separate article, but agree completely. I know multiple people who routinely have it (all build parts for aerospace contracts).

I suppose there will be a major markdown from this coming from the black market. It's not like a new TV in that it can be easily explained away. I can't imagine trying to bluff where I got >$1Bn worth of radioactive material.

I would also think the lack of accounting and paper trail would limit it's uses.

Also holding onto this material would be expensive and potentially dangerous (especially if it was being looked for), which I imagine would lead them to take a lower than market price.

Right, but the wording of the article said “worth $70M” then went on to describe the worth as something different. I’m not disputing the amounts (even though all of it seems suspect), just pointing out that they aren’t in agreement with each other.

Perhaps pricing varies by the quantity; like everything else.