Opal Tips 1
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Todays opal tip - To days method of mining is very economical specially with to days expensive diesel prices, firstly realise there are no government taxes on diesel for the mining industry. The technology is the underground bogor which was designed to move large amounts of opal clay from the face of the drive where you are working and transport the clay to the hoist, so it then can be transported by the hoist to your truck ready for processing. The bogor is basically a very small truck that is driven by a electric engine and is supply by electricity from a large generate which is situated above ground and electric cables are fitted securer to the shaft wall and of course to the bogor.
Todays opal tip - Different mining methods used underground the traditional method was moving soil from the face you are working by pick and shovel, and then came along a new piece of technology the jackhammer which is still the most economical way to go looking for Opal. It is certainly still quite slow but at the same time you are close to the face of the working area which if you have good lighting you can clearly see any colour that may appear which allows you to stop put the jackhammer down and use a small miners pick which in good hands then will work slowly and never brake the opal. Obviously if you are on opal and you are making money a lot of people will change over to technology like a blower and hydraulic digger which eliminates all the back breaking work of a jackhammer and manually removing the Opal Clay up and out to the surface of the claim above ground to allow the guy's to operate freely underground and not be restricted by over burden.
Todays opal tip - The environment it is becoming more and more difficult to operate a business in the outback of Australia these days as governments regulations and red tape seem to be everywhere, and of course the main population lives in the cities of Australia and are not getting the correct information about the worst drought in the history of the country and the consequences ,of this there are no subsidies for the agricultural industry and as the majority of the businesses have left the out back the towns are slowly closing down, which makes it more difficult for people to go prospecting for minals like Opal.
Todays opal tip - Getting involved in the black Opal industry at lightning Ridge New South Wales Australia, lightning Ridge is a one-day drive from Sydney or Brisbane it's easy just jump in your car and drive to the Ridge that all you need is yourself and be there , plenty of mining teams looking for people to work with them also there are many companies that a happy to get involved in partnerships particularly with investors or people who have already purchased trucks or other related mining equipment. It is that easy to start your new adventures and you will never look back specially if you love the out doors fresh air mateship, wide open spaces, wildlife then the black opal mining industry at lightning Ridge is definitely for you and you never know unless you have a go you might even become a multi millionaire.
Todays opal tip - Mechanical maintenance in the black opal industry it is particularly important to have high standards, and the reason why is that you are usually a hour a way from the nearest town if not further so your work day is gone by the time you drive back to town the day is over. Another reason to have regular maintenance checks is to avoid the problem in the first place becourse it can take weeks to have spare parts transported from a major capital city to a outback town, and obviously you do not want to have too much time off from work.
Todays opal tip - Safety above ground as there are many dangerous objects and particularly shafts and open cut mines, if you are walking around fostering for opal particularly after the rain as it helps to reflect the opal visually to the people which are fostering. Please walk slowly turns slowly because if a cover has been let off the top of a opal shaft then it is a extremely long way down if you fall, or so there are lots of old machinery that is laying around rusting which has very sharp and dangerous edges.
Todays opal tip - Signs for black opal visually underground, you are looking for fault lines vertical horizontal or mixed clay colours in the face of yourclaim which we call a blow, another good sign are dog stones which are sandstone chunks or small rocks possibly carrying black nobby, obviously you can still have seem in the floor or where ever it is carrying, the roof is usually your best chance to find Opal so please do not work fast if you are finding colour be patient and do not break your earnings. And last of all steel ban is considered a good sign and if colour forms on the steel ban then you have a very long gemstone indeed .
Todays opal tip - looking for signs of opal obove grounds there is a couple of different theories on this particular subject, in today's modern world technology plays a big part many opal mining companies perfer to use technology when it comes to exploration for black opal with a drilling rig or truck, bringing the Semple's from deep under the ground to the surface for quick analysis looking for signs of nobby or colour and even fossils. The other method is the old-fashioned way of designing and making a few divning rods and start divining looking for large fault lines that are not visible above ground with the naked eye, and this is certainly a very cheap way of prospecting compared to the price of diesel and the maintenance of a truck.
Todays opal tip - The technology of diesel blowers which can remove opal clay the fastest of all underground technology. The blower is set up above ground and consist of a six cylinder diesel engine this technology is very diesel hungry, with a underground hydraulic digger you can move large amounts of clay which is sucked up by pipes by the blower and delivered into your truck ready for washing and processing.
Todays opal mining tip - Opal cut mining at lightning Ridge, this method of mining is only used when a Opal lease has been mined out and is too dangerous to work underground safely. Before undertaking this method you must be very sure that the claim was producing high-quality opal and there still is sufficient amount of clay that could possibly be carrying more opal. As open cut mining is the most expenses method of extracting opal I can only insist that you do your homework well or otherwise you can spend a lot of money . You can do a lot of prospecting with that type of finances and work very economically working a conventional shaft Underground method.
To days opal topic as we have talked a lot about prospecting for opal and different methods of mining and the different types of machinery used, then we must talk about how to process the opal clay which could be possibly carrying opal. Ok the clay is either in your truck or it has been dumped ready for processing most miners use a large cement agitater they remove the agitater from a cement mixer truck either a 6 m or 9 m barrel. The barrel along with a six or four cylinder diesel motor must be mounted on a permanent site and you must lease the position on a dam site which is supplied by underground bore water. Attached to the inlet of the bowel you must have a hydraulic vayer belt to lowed the opal clay from the truck into the agitater ready for washing. Obviously you need a small pump at the water's edge to pump from the dam to the agitater which has been modified having on the opposite sides 2 feet square holes cut out and a fine high grade steel mesh fitted firmly.
To days opal topic as our last subject we talked about processing opal clay, when all the clay has been clearly washed out of the agitater barrel make sure you turn the engine down so it is running very slow as there will only be solids left in the agitater and you do not want to break any opal in the barrel. Put the agitater into reverse and naturally all the material will come up and out and run down the chute to your processing table, make sure you have a good sorting table with access to water and I cannot emphasise tailing out should be done extremely slowly" patient is a virtue" you do not want to miss a gem black multicolour nobby this is where a lot of businesses make a huge mistake , many people noodling often come some days after looking for what you have missed. And please this final job you must do in the middle of the day where there is plenty of light and sun available good luck hope you find gem quality multicolour black opal because you will be very rich, wisely invested you can live off your interest for the rest of your life.
Todays opal tip - Sorting through the opal tailling's this truly is the most important job. Mostly because it is so easy to miss seeing colour amongst the nobbys when you are sorting through this final stage of mining, it is important to have a half inch waterholes handy by to keep the tailings very clean and wet and you must roatate the nobbys looking for colour the whole time, on a sunny day and if you follow this procedure and have patience then if you are working country which is carrying nobbys then you will certainly see and not miss any opal if you follow my advice. After collecting all the colour and nobbys that you would like to crack open head back to the cutting office. Some people like to have a small tumbler which they will then rewash for a hour or so before pinching and cracking the sides of the nobbys which are not carrying opal colour just to make sure there is not any colour carrying inside the nobbys before discarding this material may be keeping a view very black nobbys for doublets material, and then you are ready to orientate and rub down the opal.
Todays opal tip - {How to study rough black opal } - first step is to Separate the colour from the non colour. All the black potch I would snip with title pinches around the edges of the material just to make sure there is no colour inside. Ok now down to the business orientation there is only one advice lots of practice on inexpensive low-grade opal parcels and of course it always helps if you can purchase a good book on the particular type of opal you wish to learn on. And of course there are also CDs and VCRs tapes available these days, and down the track you will become more comfortable cutting and polishing becomes fluid and of course you can never stop learning about orientating. It is certain that you will be a lot more professional and move into more expensive parcels.
Todays opal tip - {Dimensions of the opal drive} - obviously the thinner the drive is the safer it will be, it does not particularly matter about the height of the roof as long as you can get easy access to the roof as this is usually your best chance of finding Opal under the sandstone between that and that clay level. And of course you will find pockets of nobby opal and even seen in the floor of your opal claim, there are many methods of working safe underground if you need to have wide drives then you can use wood supports and props which are readily found around the opal leases. I would recommend the Australian cypress pine which has great strength and is quite tolerant to water , many people like to leave the bottom section of their drives and dig wider around the roof this method is no different to removing all the clay and having wide drives it will get more dangerous as the clay drys and starts cracking.
Todays opal tip - open cut mining it is always a great start if there is already a few opal leases that have been cut already adjoining your claim. As this allows you to remove all your benches and have them processed, what do I mean by benches the government department that controls the industry has strict guide lines you must follow ,every 6 metres you must leave a two meter squared bench. It also makes it a lot easier if you have somewhere to dump your over burden and a big hole in the ground close by is a great place to refill.
Open cut mining - about open cut mining there are many factors you have to consider in these modern times particularly requirements of government mineral resources department there is a contract you have to fulfil in the black Opal industry around the opal feels of lightning Ridge New South Wales. The good old days are well and truly gone, where you jest when for your life and only hat to consider yourself and your mates. These days you must leave the landscape in the same condition prior to open cutting, over burden must be replaced even if the farmer who owens the western plane grazing lease would appreciate you leaving it open as a dam, and being the driest continent in the world this is not acceptable by the department. Revegetation of the top of the claim is also very important the top soil must be replaced, and a number of native trees must be replanted to its original landscape.
Todays opal tip - Tailing out the Opal at the end of the week now this is not just a job this is a avenger, you never know what you might find besides some colour, fossils like seashells and maybe a dinosaur bone or two. Make sure there is plenty of Sun and clean water available as you do not want to miss any opal colour, as you need to know where in the claim is the best location to keep working and washing the soil clay, as it is very expensive to keep washing dead clay soil that is not carrying colour. Please keep your eyes open because if you find colour this often indicates to open this area up and have a good look before moving on to another area in the claim.
Processing the opal Clay after you have retrieved a large amount of opal Clay and have bought it to the surface, you either stockpile it on your claim and wash it at a later date. or if the clay is being directly dropped into the back of your truck , then off we go to the agitater which is usually a 7 yard or 9 yard cement mixer which has been taken off the truck and placed on a permanent site on a ball which is a deep underground water source which comes to the surface boiling hot and is gathered in a large dam to cool down. Most of these balls you lease a small site from the owener which is often the farmer who has the Western Plains agricultural lease. Some dam sites are also owen by the lightning Ridge mining Association .