Mining for opals is an interesting and rewarding experience even when the deposits can be illusive and difficult to find. This is especially true when prospecting under the desert heat of Nevada and just a little taste is plenty enough to turn an hour excursion into a day's event. Truthfully, it was difficult to walk away from mining at the end of the day even while hot, sweaty, and physically tired from moving overburden all day. The reward was worth it for our first time mining opal; loads of knowledge and beautiful specimens.
Strategy and care is necessary while chipping away at rock that easily crumbles. Going too quickly risks hitting through an opal and fragmenting it into smaller pieces. However, following lines of white silica formation does help to locate the gems and exactly how the specimens pictured here were found. While digging for opals, we also found a few nice specimens of
petrified wood well-preserved with ash an silica in tact. We hoped to find a nice example of opalized-wood though we were still thrilled for the discoveries.
Another goal of the day was to find the specimens as pictured, displaying the silica formation and opal deposit tube structure in the rock itself. Often enough opal is shown in an iridescent form, polished, cut, and presented as jewelry. It's really quite amazing how delicate the rock and gems are while surviving thousands and thousands of years. We placed these specimens directly in water when found and let them slowly dry naturally in attempt to preserve the structure.
Another goal of the day was to find the specimens as pictured, displaying the silica formation and opal deposit tube structure in the rock itself. Often enough opal is shown in an iridescent form, polished, cut, and presented as jewelry. It's really quite amazing how delicate the rock and gems are while surviving thousands and thousands of years. We placed these specimens directly in water when found and let them slowly dry naturally in attempt to preserve the structure.