The opal has been mined for centuries, at least since Roman times when they extracted the opal from areas now within the Czech Republic. Archeologists have found 6,000-year-old opal ornaments in African caves. The Aztecs made use of local Mexican sources as did the Spaniards when they exported the material back to Europe. Although opals are found in Brazil, Indonesia, Canada, Ethiopia, Austria, Honduras, Mexico, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, and Mojave, 90% of the world's gem-quality opals come from southern Australia and ALL black opals come from Australia.

Boulder Opals Boulder opals are similar to the black opals in that it has the same dark in tone. They get their name from the the fact that they form in the crevices found in boulders and can can vary drastically in size, for example from the size of a coin to the size of a car. The beauty of a boulder opal is that its natural finish can be extremely shiny and rich in colour. Crystal Opals Crystal opals are unusual for the reason that they have a transparent or semi-transparent look to them a lot like glass. What also makes the crystal opal interesting is that it can appear as either in a ...

Mac has been outback to those elusive, ever calling opal fields. He left after a public reading of 1 Kings 9: 10-23 in the Bonville Kingdom Hall and headed for Inverell, with the intention of sleeping at the wheel. His destination was Koroit, which is 150 kms or so further on from Cunnamulla, which is deep in the south-west of Queensland. He was intent on shifting mining equipment from his ex-lease to Lightning Ridge. He had decided that it was time to sell the compressor and the hoist, and to leave the mining to others. His delicate, white long fingers were more inclined to creating artist...