How Do I Opal Mine?
Opal how do I go mining in Australia
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Step 1 First of all you must come to Australia and travel to the out back town of lightning Ridge in the State of New South Wales ,step 2 Contact the government office situated on the main road on the left-hand side as you drive into town ,to lease a opal claim In lightning Ridge you need to take part in a short 1 1/2 day safety awareness course which is organised by the New South Wales primary industry ,This course has a small charge just over hundred Australian dollars and then you will be awarded a certificate. You can view a copy just under all this information .If you do not have a miners operates workshop certificate you will have to organise to work with a miner who has the certificate .You can complete this course in a similar way that you received your safety awareness course ,the only difference is it is a one-day course.
Australia's three basic kinds of opal are found along the edge of what, millions of years ago, was a vast inland sea known as the Great Artesian Basin. Opal fields stretch thousands of kilometres along this geological feature. The main opal fields are Lightning Ridge, NSW (Black opal), Coober Pedy, Andamooka and Mintabie, SA (Light opal) and Yowah, Koroit, Quilpie, Opalton and Winton, central QLD (Boulder opal). Australian opals are categorised according to their background or body colour.
BLACK OPAL The term "Black opal" derives from the natural black potch base, which provides a dark background to the rainbow of colours. Black opals are found 600 km north west of Sydney at Lightning Ridge. They were also mined at White Cliffs, NSW, but this field has fallen into disuse. Their rarity and very dark background makes them the most valuable of opals. BOULDER OPAL Boulder opal is found in ironstone boulders and when cut and polished a backing of ironstone is kept. This backing of ironstone is important because the boulder opal deposit can be quite thin as the opal is found in the cracks and crevices between the ironstone rock. Boulder opal is often cut in a free form or baroque shape. An interesting and rare form of boulder opal is boulder matrix, where rivulets of opal run throughout the ironstone. LIGHT OPAL Light opals are mined at Coober Pedy, Andamooka and Mintabie in South Australia. Around 80% of precious opal found is light opal. Their milky white background elicit more subtle hues. Many interesting opalised fossil specimens are found in the South Australian opal fields, especially shells.
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