Justin heads out to Lightning Ridge to talk about how to find opal. After drilling in excess of 3000 holes in the pursuit of opal, Sebastian, our expert miner, knows a thing or two.
Opal prospecting requires tenacity, deep pockets and a lot of luck. Sebastian has drilled thousands of holes and has had to maintain a steely resolve especially when nothing was found. It takes a special person to stick at prospecting and methodically going over ground, hoping to find that colorful patch.
Luckily for Sebastian some of those holes have paid off over the years and he has found some magnificent opal. Today he shares his knowledge with us.
We are very grateful to Sebastian for all that he does for the industry as the Chairman of the Lightning Ridge Miners Association (LRMA). He is passionate about working with governments and the local farmers on behalf of all opal miners to keep the industry alive and healthy for people who love opal – just like you!
So grab a drink, make yourself comfortable and watch the process as we go underground to see just how they find it – or in the case of “ratters” – how they steal it. You’ll also find out what not to do if you do find opal (hint: don’t go to the pub!).
Excellent video Justin. Very enjoyable. It is remarkable what one has to do to find opal. Such hard work and makes you appreciate them even more. Thanks for sharing this.
HI Danny thank you It is crazy how much it takes to really find opal. You are welcome
My favorite part was when you were looking at the pillar where the raters were and how it makes it unstable and then you said “I see opals here”.
Haha yes that was funny 🙂
hi justin, i have a black opal but no color, how to treat black oval in order to pull out the color. thank you
HI Rimba If the opal is from Australia then you cant treat it to get color out if it has no color to begin with. Sorry :-/
Hi Justin,
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Thanks for your kind reply!
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Email: Jamesbond007champion@yahoo.com.hk
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Many Thanks!
Can u make a dunny with the old drill holes?No point in wasting good work.
Hi Station yes that is a common thing to do as long as the mine is not working anymore or they drill a separate hole