Finding Opal
Opal how do you find this GemStone in the Australian outback
The main expiration theories are drilling Opal by mechanical means and washing the Opal Clay level to see if you can find Opal trace or nobbys.
And you can also follow the procedure above and when you reach the clay level have it chemically tested to see if the clay composition is the correct Opal type.
You can also prospect old Opal leases which have expired and naturally if you are finding good Opal trace you will reregistered them in your name
Here are many techniques to mine Opal Underground from a simple mining pick to dig Opal out of are existing claim, all so a compressor and jackhammer are one of the least expensive operations. The bigger operations are hydraulic or elected Opal diggers with large diesel blowers which will suck the soil up after you break it out from the face of the Opal claim, and deliver it in to your truck. On some Opal feels they do open cut and remove all of the soil and rock this is usually only undertaken if you have heavily worked out a Opal claim and you are finding it dangers to work underground, it must be a extremely rich Opal claim as this is a expensive means of opal mining.
Tips on how to look for signs of Opal above ground there are many theories on this subject a lot of people like to get to know as many mining teams as possible, as you can acquire a lot of knowledge on where there is good Opal country and other people take old-fashioned approaches like if there is a large Australian eucalyptus gum tree the common name is Boxtree situated on their Opal lease, other people like to divine like you would for water using wires trying to detect fault line's underground, most Opal miners will use a drilling rig to bring the clay from the deep level for inspection. And a few of the larger companies will have a good examination underground of old expired Opal leases to see if they can find a few top quality Opal gems and if there is plenty of unworked Opal level left in the claim, then they will arrange with the mining department to take out a open cut mining permit . This method of mining is extremely expensive and is often a high risk mining technique on the other side of the coin if there is a pocket left of Opal and you already have found some gem quality Opal in the claim then it is instant retirement jackpot lotto off to the Bahamas.
First photograph above exploration drilling rig. The next photograph is of a underground view of a opal claim that has been heavily worked by miners, and as most of the opal level has been removed the claim must be made safe and the theory used mostly in modern times as well as in previous times are still the same. The main species of timber used for propping is the Australian cypress pine as there is plentiful amount of this timber available to the miners.