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Opal is Australia's national gemstone, and the country produces 95% of the world's precious opal. Opal deposits are found in the sedimentary rocks of late Oligocene and early Miocene age, and the major outcrops occur along the shoreline of what was once the Great Inland Sea. Opal mining has been a significant industry in Australia for over a century, with important mining areas including White Cliffs, The Queensland Fields, Lightning Ridge, Grawin & Glengarry, Coober Pedy, Andamooka, Mintabie, and Lambina. Today, opal seekers can try their luck in designated public noodling areas in these towns. This involves searching for opals in leftover earth, and a license is required in Queensland and NSW but not in South Australia.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Major opal mining areas | White Cliffs, Queensland Fields, Lightning Ridge, Grawin & Glengarry, Coober Pedy, Andamooka, Mintabie, Lambina |
| Towns synonymous with opal mining | Coober Pedy, Andamooka, White Cliffs, Lightning Ridge |
| States with opal fields | Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia |
| Towns with opal mining and wholesale centres | Quilpie, Yowah, Winton |
| Types of opal | Boulder opal, white opal, black opal, crystal opal |
| Locations of black opal | Lightning Ridge, Coober Pedy |
| Locations of white opal | Coober Pedy |
| Locations of crystal opal | Lightning Ridge, Andamooka |
| Locations of boulder opal | Queensland |
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What You'll Learn
Where to find opal in Australia
Opal is found in various locations across Australia, with the country producing 95% of the world's precious opal. The gemstone is found in the states of Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia. Here are some specific locations where opal can be found in Australia:
Lightning Ridge, New South Wales
Lightning Ridge is a small, remote town renowned for its black opal, which is considered the most valuable type of opal. The opal from this region is known for its light body tone and bright, clear colours. The opal is typically found as nodules or "nobbies". The town also offers guided tours of operational mines and designated public noodling areas where visitors can try their luck at finding opal.
Coober Pedy, South Australia
Coober Pedy is known as Australia's opal capital and is the main producer of white opal. The town is located in a remote area of the South Australian Outback. Visitors can explore the mines and noodling areas to search for opals in the leftover earth. Coober Pedy is also home to the world's only underground campground, providing a unique experience for visitors.
Andamooka, South Australia
Andamooka is located in the harsh desert near the edge of Lake Eyre. It is famous for producing brilliant crystal seam opal. The opal field in this region has been worked on with conveyor belts under ultraviolet light in darkened rooms, as opal fluoresces under this light.
White Cliffs, New South Wales
White Cliffs was once a significant producer of high-quality opal and is known for its "opal pineapples," which are opal pseudomorphs of the mineral ikaite. The opal deposits in this region are often found in old weathered profiles developed in sedimentary rocks. Visitors can try their luck at finding opal in this region, especially after heavy rain, as the rain washes away dust and can expose any remaining opal.
Queensland Fields
The Queensland Fields, including the towns of Quilpie, Yowah, and Winton, are important opal mining areas. Boulder opals, formed within brown ironstone, are commonly found in this region. Yowah, in particular, is known for its unique Yowah Nut, an ironstone concretion that contains opal.
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How to identify opal
Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silica (SiO2·nH2O) with a water content that usually falls between 6% and 10%. It is classified as a mineraloid due to its amorphous physical structure. Precious opal, the most sought-after variety, displays a unique effect called 'play of colour', a pattern of spectral colours that appears to roll across the stone when it moves. The opal varieties are distinguished based on their body tone, the background to their play of colour.
Black Opal
Black opal is the rarest and most valuable type of opal, with a dark to black body tone. It is found mostly in the Lightning Ridge opal fields of New South Wales and is distinguished by its vibrant rainbow of colours. The combination of red on black is the rarest.
Dark Opal
Dark opal is more common than black opal and has a body tone that ranges from dark grey to blue-black. It is produced primarily in the Lightning Ridge and Coober Pedy fields but is also found in other mining areas.
White Opal
White opal, the most common variety of Australian opal, has a light or white body tone, resembling frosted glass. The play of colours frequently shows the entire rainbow, with green and blue being the most common colours. Most white opal comes from the Coober Pedy fields in South Australia.
Crystal Opal
Crystal opal is the transparent variety of precious opal. It can be identified by holding it up to the light and observing if light passes through the stone. Crystal opal can have different tones of body colour, ranging from very dark to completely translucent and clear. It is found in all the main mining areas.
Boulder Opal
Boulder opal is found in different regions of Queensland and has a wide array of precious opal on an ironstone host. It is formed in an ironstone host rock, found in brown ironstone boulders. The opal is usually formed in thin veins through the ironstone and has to be split open to find the face of colour.
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The history of opal mining in Australia
Opals have been discovered and mined throughout history, dating back to around 4000 BC in Ethiopia and Kenya. In the early days, opal was mined in Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. However, the history of opal mining in Australia is particularly notable due to its significant contributions to the global opal market.
The beginnings of opal mining in Australia can be traced back to the early expeditions of German mineralogist Johannes Menge, who explored South Australia in the mid-19th century. Menge discovered precious opal at Angaston in the Barossa Valley in 1841, marking the first recorded instance of opal discovery in the country. Following this initial find, attention shifted to Queensland, where opal was discovered at Listowel Downs Station in 1869 or 1875, depending on the source.
Tully Cornwaith Wollaston, who travelled to the central Queensland fields in 1889, is considered the father of the Australian opal industry. Wollaston successfully marketed Australian boulder opals in London and played a pivotal role in the development of the industry. Commercial mining commenced in the late 1880s at the White Cliffs Field in New South Wales, and by the 1920s, the town had a population of over 3,000 people. White Cliffs produced high-quality seam opal in significant volumes, capturing the world's attention.
Another significant location in the history of opal mining in Australia is Coober Pedy in South Australia. In 1915, a teenage boy whose father was gold prospecting discovered opal in this region. The first opal claim was quickly staked, and after World War I, returning soldiers were drawn to the opal fields in search of fortune. Similarly, after World War II, a wave of Europeans migrated to Australia to take up opal mining, contributing to the diverse ancestry of today's Coober Pedy residents.
Over the years, other important opal mining areas in Australia have emerged, including Lightning Ridge in New South Wales, renowned for its black opal; Andamooka, discovered in 1935 and known for its brilliant crystal seam opal; and Mintabie, located on Pitjantjatjara Aboriginal lands. The Queensland boulder opal fields, encompassing a vast geographical area in Western Queensland, are also notable for their opal occurrences.
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Types of opal found in Australia
Australia produces 95% of the world's precious opal and is the only part of the world where opalised animal and plant fossils have been found. The first commercial opal mining in Australia took place in 1875 at Listowel Downs in Queensland. Today, the country's opal comes from a variety of sources, with different types of opal found in different regions.
Black Opal
Black opal is the rarest type of opal in the world and can command the highest price per carat. It is characterised by a dark to black body tone, which intensifies the brightness of its colours. Black opal is mainly found at Lightning Ridge in New South Wales, with some also produced in South Australia at Mintabie and Andamooka.
White Opal
White opal, also known as light opal, is a common type of opal that is found in every opal field in Australia and the world. It is a translucent milky opal with a body tone ranging from N7 to N9. White opal was one of the first types of opal to be discovered and marketed, and it is the variety that most people imagine when they think of opal. Coober Pedy in South Australia is a major producer of white opal, though in recent years, other types of opal have also been found there.
Crystal Opal
Crystal opal can come from every opal field in Australia. It is semi-transparent, and when held up to the light, distorted images and light can be seen through the gemstone. Crystal opal can sometimes be as dark as black opal, in which case it is called Black Crystal. The Mintabie Opal Field in South Australia has produced large quantities of crystal opal.
Boulder Opal
Boulder opal is a rare and valuable type of opal that is formed in an ironstone host rock. It is found in Queensland, particularly in the south-west of the state, in a zone extending from the Eulo and Cunnamulla district in the south to Kynuna in the north. The largest quantities are found around Jundah and Quilpie. Boulder opal is a diminishing resource and is expected to run out in the next 5-10 years due to the limited amount that can be mined and the high loss factor during cutting.
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The value of opals
Opals are unique among gemstones in terms of how their value is graded. The value of an opal depends on a multitude of factors, and it can be difficult to determine how much a particular opal is worth. There is no overall opal value calculator, and experts must consider various factors to determine the price of a specific opal.
The first step in grading opal value is determining what type of opal one is dealing with. Opals fall under one of two overarching groups: precious opal vs. common opal. Precious opals display play-of-colour and common opals do not. Precious opals are almost always more valuable than common opals. The colour flashes reflected can also affect value. Predominantly red and orange flashes are rarer and more valuable than violet and blue flashes. The colour bar thickness, or the thickness of the play-of-colour, is another factor in determining the value of an opal.
The type of opal, body tone, brilliance, pattern, colour bar thickness, play of colour, and faults all play important roles in determining the value. Other important variables to consider include the quality of the cut and polish, and the size of the stone. An opal doublet or triplet can be worth considerably less than a solid opal. In general, colour is the top factor for an opal's value. Darker body tones will allow the colour play to appear brighter than it does on lighter body tones, making darker-coloured precious opals more valuable than lighter-coloured ones. Black opal is the most prized type of opal and may earn prices over $10,000 USD per carat. Boulder opals also have a dark body tone but are not quite as valuable, while white opals have a light body tone and are generally the least valuable form of opal.
Opals are the official national gemstone of Australia, which produces 95% of the world's precious opal. The major outcrops of opal in Australia occur along the shoreline of what was once The Great Inland Sea. The important opal mining areas in Australian opal production over the last century have been White Cliffs, The Queensland Fields, Lightning Ridge, Grawin & Glengarry, Coober Pedy, Andamooka, Mintabie, and Lambina.
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Frequently asked questions
Opal can be found in Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia. Towns in these states such as White Cliffs, Lightning Ridge, Coober Pedy, and Andamooka are known for opal mining.
Opal is a glassy-looking stone that glistens in the sun. Look for it in designated public noodling areas or on the edges of mullock heaps, as opal holes are usually on the inside. The best time to search is after heavy rain, as the rain washes away dust and exposes opal.
Australia produces 95% of the world's precious opal. Opal mined in Australia comes in a variety of colours and styles, including white opal, black opal, seam opal, crystal opal, and boulder opal.
Yes, you need a license to fossick for opal in Queensland and New South Wales, but not in South Australia. You can purchase a license online.
