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Where can opal be found in Australia?
Opal was first mined commercially at Listowel Downs in Queensland in 1875 and later at White Cliffs in NSW. Today, Coober Pedy (SA) is the main producer of white opal, though in recent years this field has expanded and all types of opals are found. Other centres in SA include Andamooka and Mintabe.
What opal is only found in Australia?
The small town Lightning Ridge in New South Wales famous for the quality of its highly prized and rarefied Black Opal produces a fair quantity of the White Opal. Recognised by its opaque canvas and magnificently layered colour saturation, The Black Opal is the rarest of all Australian opals.
What is the biggest opal found in Australia?
Olympic Australis
The “Olympic Australis” is reported to be the largest and most valuable gem opal ever found. It was found in 1956 at the famous “Eight Mile” opal field in Coober Pedy, South Australia. A miner working his claim found the opal at a depth of 30 feet.
Where are the best opals found in Australia?
Here are five of the best places in Australia to fossick for opals:
- Yowah, QLD. Fossickers here search for ‘Yowah nuts’ – ironstone nodules that occasionally contain kernels of opal.
- Lightning Ridge, NSW.
- White Cliffs, NSW.
- Coober Pedy, SA.
- Andamooka, SA.
Where can I find opals in Qld?
Queensland’s opal mining fields include the Yowah Field, Toompine Field, Quilpie Field, Kyabra-Eromanga Field, Bulgroo Field, Yaraka Field, Jundah Field, Opalton-Mayneside Field and the Kynuna Field. Boulder opal is abundant in rocks found in these locations.
Where can I fossick for opal in Queensland?
The Opalton Field, also called the Fermoy Field, was one of the largest and most extensively worked opal deposits in Queensland.
Can I go opal mining in Australia?
A person must be licensed to mine for opals in South Australia. South Australia has four proclaimed opal fields – Coober Pedy, Mintabie, Stuart Creek and Andamooka.
Where is opal found in Queensland?
Where can I dig for opals in Qld?
Queensland Opal Mining Fields
- Yowah field (the southernmost field centred on the small town of Yowah—includes Black Gate)
- Quilpie field (west and north north-west of Quilpie—includes some of the more productive mines in recent times—Pinkilla, Bull Creek, Harlequin, and probably the most famous of all, the Hayricks.
Is there opal in Qld?
Australia is renowned for the world’s finest opal Boulder opal is unique to Queensland and is found in the mining belt stretching from Quilpie in the south west to Winton in the north of the State. There are a number of opal fossicking sites throughout Outback Queensland, particularly Opalton, Quilpie and Yowah.
Is Australian opal valuable?
Australian Opals have a reputation for being the most expensive opals in the world. After all, the most rare uncut opal, the “Fire of Australia,” is valued at a cool $675,000. This opal specimen is about the size of a softball and worth over a half million dollars.