Though the Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch team seemed very excited about finding gallium, there are a few things about their theory that just do not add up.
If you have watched Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch, then you will already know that nothing (not even lost Mormon Gold or skin-walkers) is off the table.
Particularly when it comes to Duane Ollinger, his son Chad Ollinger, and the rest of their team’s efforts to try an explain the secrets of their ranch, or the location of the treasure which is rumored to be buried somewhere beneath its surface.
However, the Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch theory that the gallium cylinders (found in the middle of the strange rocks in the pond), is history-altering evidence that the Aztecs may have discovered this element years before scientists think that it was discovered, may be one leap too far for the show.
Why we should be taking this theory with a grain of salt
As Eric Drummond (the resident geologist) explained on the show, to our current understanding of history, gallium was discovered in 1875 by a French chemist named Paul-Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran.
But it is the fact that gallium does not exist in its natural form in nature and is generally produced as a by-product of mining and smelting (usually the smelting of zinc and aluminum), that led Eric and the Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch team to suspect that they may have discovered a previously unwritten chapter in this metal’s history book.
It is certainly exciting to think that a reality television show may be responsible for connecting the missing dots in history that no one had ever connected before.
But it is just as important to consider that this is a fairly baseless assumption, made as a result of the other still-unproven assumption that the Aztecs had anything to do with Blind Frog Ranch to begin with.
How much is gallium worth?
We still may have many questions surrounding these strange non-naturally-occurring rocks that the team found in the middle of their failed mission to pull that oh-so mysterious box from the depths of the pond. But we do at least know that Eric’s earlier theory about these rocks being the real treasure is simply untrue.
Gallium is very useful in the production of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), lasers, transistors and photovoltaic cells, but in itself, it is not valuable enough to be considered a lost treasure.
As of the beginning of November 2023, the value of gallium compared to other precious metals can be summarized as follows (via dailymetalprice.com):
| Metal | Price on November 14, 2023 | Price on November 24, 2023 |
| Gallium | $8.1085 per troy ounce | $8.5126 per troy ounce |
| Gold | $1995.20 per troy ounce | $1946.55 per troy ounce |
| Silver | $23.705 per troy ounce | $22.350 per troy ounce |
Did the Aztecs even know metallurgy?
Though it is a pretty big leap to assume that anything found on Blind Frog Ranch is tied to the Aztecs, we should at least consider the merit of this theory despite its rather spontaneous start.
While there is still a widely-held belief that the Aztecs were stuck in the stone age, some recent studies suggest that though the Aztecs did rely heavily on obsidian for their weaponry early on, they were introduced to metallurgy once they were conquered by the Spanish.
And the Aztecs eventually produced beautiful artwork, temples, weapons and jewelry made of copper, gold, tin and lead alloys. However, none of these studies made any mention of gallium (or even zinc or aluminum).
Some of the other things that do not add up
And, since we are poking holes in this already pretty thin theory, it is worth noting that some Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch fans have also aired their doubts online.
One Reddit fan questioned how long the box had really been buried, stating “Whoever put it there in those rocks, tied in with logs and rope from Ace hardware, leaves lots to be wondered about.”
Another questioned Eric’s credentials, asking “what kind of geologist worth their salt doesn’t immediately know it’s gallium?”
One question remains
The reality is that even if we ignore the question about whether or not the Aztecs are responsible for this particular Blind Frog Ranch mystery, there is no denying that finding drilled cores of gallium inside of the pond was an odd discovery, even for Blind Frog Ranch.
In the end, there is one question that remains, regardless of which side of this debate you fall on, and that is, why did whomever put this gallium in those rocks go to all of the trouble of drilling into each rock and then submerging them in the pond?
