Shown here is coloured opal still embedded into the rock wall in one of our underground mines. This page will give you some insight into the difficult task of mining these beautiful gems.

There are two basic ways of extracting the opal rock from underground, either using a 'blower' or 'electric/pneumatic equipment'. In either case, mining for opal starts out the same way. Shafts have to be sunk down to the opal level and then joined together. The shafts then have to be belled out to allow for the installation of the mining machinery.

The opal rock is then mined in one of the two ways mentioned above, and the mined dirt then has to be bought to the surface and loaded onto waiting trucks for transportation to the washing area, and ultimately back to our complex on the Gold Coast.

The drilling rig is used to drill the initial holes down to the opal level, or levels if the field has more than one. These opal levels vary in depth from ground level to 30 metres (100 ft). The hole diameters are approx. one metre (3.25 ft). The bottom of the hole is belled out by hand so the hydraulic digger can be assembled, ready for work.

There are a minimum of two holes in a claim. These holes are joined together with a drive to allow the air to circulate through the mine.

These three photographs show David operating the mining package commonly called the 'blower'. The complete package is made up of the digger, pipes of up to 300mm (1 ft) in diameter, and a power unit that is constructed on the back of a truck.

The power unit consists of a six cylinder diesel engine that turns a large fan, which in turn sucks the mined dirt up through the pipes into a cyclone. The hydraulic digger is used to dig the dirt out of the walls and ceiling and move it towards the suction pipe. The cyclone stores dirt until it is full, then the engine slows down and the dirt drops out into a truck.

These photos show a typical drive that has been mined by hand. The opal is typically dug out with a pneumatic or electric jack hammer. The mined dirt is then transported to the shaft in a rickshaw (a type of wheel barrow), and tipped into a skip (bucket). The skip is then pulled up the shaft to the surface by a winch rope, where it is eventually emptied into a waiting truck for transportation to the washing area.