"Opal is the stone of inspiration which enhances imagination and creativity due to its ability to help ideas flow freely."

Boulder Opal is an amazing and beautiful stone. From all the hundreds of gems created by nature nothing matches the unique beauty of Opal or Boulder Opals.

Boulder Opals are made from Silica, a common mineral that is also found in glass and Quartz. In some areas of Australia weather conditions transformed simple silica into a liquid. This liquid flowed down from the surface through the soil and settled in small crevasses beneath the earth surface. Science has yet to explain how, but when the Silica became settled in these crevasses, its molecules started to evolve and over thousands of years it changed from Silica into Opal.

In Queensland, the majority of boulder opal is found in crevasses in Boulders of Iron stone and Sand Stone, some of these boulders are the size of walnuts others can be the size of car. Some crevasses were created as a result of decaying floral and farina. The silica settled into these crevasses then slowly turned from a liquid into Gel form and then finally into a solid Opal. Solid Opal has a similar hardness to glass.

Only a small percentage of Opal which is mined, is considered of high enough quality to be set into jewelllery, Color Flash or Opal Fire are two terms that are used to describe the magical colour of Opal. The quality of color can mean the difference of tens of thousands of dollars.

Just as important to the price of Opal is the pattern on the stone, some patterns are so rare that they can easily double the price of the stone.

In Boulder Opal every polished stone will have its own unique identity due to its pattern.

A famous opal miner expression is "opal is where you find it". It seems no matter if you're a Geologist, an experienced opal miner, or relying on a trusty divining rod.

Finding thousands of boulders does not mean you will find opal in any. If you are lucky and open a boulder to discover fine opal gem, then appreciate and respect it. For it might be many, many years before you find some more.

So why is it that out of all gemstones the Opal was the stone that had its name derived from the word 'precious gem'? Not diamond, ruby, emerald of sapphire but the Opal. The ancients who decided such things would not be clouded by commercial propaganda but to put it simply... telling-it-like-it-is. Giving the Opal stone the one and only title of 'precious stone'.

"Opal is only unlucky if you do not have one"

Mining Boulder Opal

Firstly, when we mine in Queensland we are required to return the land back to the way it was after any mining (and we have to pay a bond).

Looking for Boulder Opals takes a lot of time, money and energy. The Miners need to smash open the boulders to see if there is Opal inside. Typically we use 20 Tonne excavators in most Boulder Opal mines as large quantities of earth need to be moved to find the opal.

We also use large drills to drill the earth to -

1. see if there is opal and then to

2. see how deep it is.