EC Rocks and Minerals (Estian Kruger)
Another day and another collector highlight! The below was sent to us by EC Rocks and Minerals, a South – Africa based mineral dealer supplying into both the US and EU markets, as well as locally (And the person who ALWAYS seems to have good ajoite available!)
As written by Estian Kruger – Find him on social media here!
Some of you might know me as the guy who chases rhodochrosite specimens like they owe me money – here’s the story of how that obsession slowly turned into what it is today.
My early years were spent down in East London. Honestly, I still think the best thing that ever came out of there was a Friesland milkshake. Somewhere along the line, that’s also where the rock and mineral obsession quietly started taking root.
I was probably six or seven years old when I got my very first collection; A small bag of tumbled stones we bought during a trip to Cape Town. Nothing expensive, rare, or particularly impressive by collector standards – just the usual polished stones you’d find in a tourist shop. But to me, they were unbelievable. I can still remember sitting on the floor sorting them by color and shape, convinced I owned the greatest treasures on earth.
At that age, there’s something magical about rocks. They feel ancient, mysterious, and almost alien. I didn’t understand mineralogy, chemistry, or geology yet – I just knew that certain stones made me stop and stare.
At around ten years old, I found my first self – collected specimen while helping the gardener dig a pit in the yard. It was just a piece of clear quartz – nothing rare or spectacular – but I still have it in my collection today. Not because it’s valuable, but because it reminds me where all of this started. I think every collector has that one completely ordinary piece they’ll never get rid of because it represents the moment the obsession became personal.
Of course, when you’re a kid collecting rocks, not everything is actually a rock.
Somewhere along the line, I proudly added a piece of white dog poop to my collection because I was absolutely convinced it was pumice. In my defense, it looked geological enough to fool a child with zero experience. Unfortunately, I believed that for far longer than I’d like to admit. Looking back now, I think every collector probably has a story like that – a phase where enthusiasm heavily outweighed expertise.
When we moved to Potchefstroom around the age of 13 or 14, things started becoming more serious. The collection grew bigger, but more importantly, my eye for minerals started improving. I became more interested in where specimens came from, how they formed, and why certain crystals looked the way they did.
I regularly made trips to the outskirts of town to collect quartz crystals from an exposed vein running parallel to the road. The only problem? It happened to be on military property.
o imagine a skinny high school kid constantly wandering around near a military area with pockets full of rocks, trying to explain to security guards why he was digging around in the dirt. I became very good at awkward explanations. Eventually, I think they just accepted that I was slightly crazy and mostly harmless.
Those trips taught me something important though: collecting your own specimens hits differently. There’s a certain feeling that comes with pulling a crystal out of the ground yourself, even if it’s not valuable. You remember the weather, the location, the excitement of spotting something glimmering in the dirt. Every scratch on the specimen feels earned.
A lot of afternoons were also spent at Stoffel Mcloud. I rarely had enough money to actually buy much, but I loved walking around looking at the shelves, studying specimens, and talking to people who knew far more than I did. Somehow I almost always left with at least one rock in my pocket.
Looking back now, places like that played a massive role in shaping my interest. Being around passionate collectors and dealers made the mineral world feel real. It stopped being just a childhood hobby and slowly started feeling like a genuine lifelong passion.
After matric, life took me in a completely different direction. I pursued a career in wildlife sales before eventually moving into guiding and lodge management. And honestly, I loved the bush. Few things compare to waking up before sunrise in the African wilderness or spending evenings around a fire after a long day outdoors. Even then, geology always found a way to pull my attention back.
While most guides were focused on tracking animals, I often found myself fascinated by the rocks beneath my feet, the cliffs in the distance, or the mineral-rich landscapes around me. I’d stop to examine quartz veins while everyone else was looking for buffalo tracks. I don’t think the obsession ever really left – it just evolved quietly in the background.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d eventually become a mineral dealer.
Then COVID happened.
Like it did for so many people, the pandemic completely disrupted life and work. My hours were cut almost in half, and suddenly I needed to find a creative way to make extra money on the side. At the time, selling minerals seemed more like a temporary hustle than a serious business idea.
One night I jumped onto Facebook and got in contact with a very well-known collector who added me to his WhatsApp group. That single interaction ended up changing far more than I realised at the time.
At first, I only made the occasional sale whenever I needed to. The funny thing is I probably bought four times more than I ever sold. Every collector knows how dangerous it is to be surrounded by beautiful specimens all day. The intention might’ve been business, but the collector brain was still very much in charge.
Still, something started shifting.
The more I interacted with collectors, miners, dealers, and enthusiasts, the more I realised this wasn’t just a side hobby anymore. There was an entire community built around the same fascination I’d carried since childhood. People who understood why certain crystal formations could keep you awake at night or why finding a good rhodochrosite specimen feels like winning the lottery.
Slowly, the idea of building something real started forming.
So in 2024, I finally took the leap of faith and started my business.
It was terrifying, exciting, stressful, and rewarding all at the same time. Turning a passion into a business sounds romantic until you realise it also means long hours, financial risk, constant learning, and more self-doubt than most people ever see behind the scenes.
But despite all of that, I’ve never regretted it for a second.
As much as I’d love to take all the credit, none of this would have been possible without the mentors who guided me, the incredible friends I met along the way, and the unwavering support from my family. Every opportunity, every lesson, and every step forward came because people believed in me long before I fully believed in myself.
And the mineral community itself has been incredible. Some of the best people I’ve met in life came through this hobby — people who are just as passionate, obsessive, and slightly insane about shiny rocks as I am.
What started as a kid collecting tumble stones – and apparently fossilized dog poo somehow turned into this journey.
And honestly?
I still feel like I’m only scratching the surface.
There’s still so much to learn, so many places to explore, and so many incredible specimens still waiting to be discovered. The excitement I felt holding those first tumbled stones as a kid hasn’t really disappeared. If anything, it’s only grown stronger over the years.
I’m still chasing rhodos like they owe me money.
The only difference now is that somehow, along the way, I managed to build a life around it.
Looking for high end minerals to purchase and add to your collection? There is always something new, and EC Rocks & Minerals can source on request! Get in contact here!