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I have been wanting to start my blog for some time so it is with a mix of excitement and trepidation that I start on my first posting.
My wife Lyn and I live at Koroit Opal Field, we are the the only resident miners on the field, only leaving during the hottest summer months ( January/February ) to visit family and friends.
Koroit is only a small field but has been mined at various times since the early 1900s - there are approx 25 to 30 miners here during the winter months every year, arriving this time of the year and most leaving as soon as the hot weather starts around Sept/October. There are only a few like myself who actually mine opal for sole income - most come for the buzz of finding opal and for the simple and uncluttered lifestyle of living in the outback.
The field is spread over quite a large area - our 2 leases are close to the main part of the field but in an area of their own called " The Shallow Patch ", thus our leases are called " The Shallows " and " The Shallows Extension " ( very original ) comprising an area of approx. 8 acres. The reason for the name is that good opal is found at a shallow depth , it can be found at 2 feet and down to 45 feet. I only mine by open-cut methods, ie - using an excavator , loader and truck to operate our mine.
I have built a simple but comfortable home or "camp" as we call it, ( see photos) using a large caravan incorporated in a steel shed with insulated iron all round. This helps with the excess temperatures in winter and particularly the summer months. I will show more of the camp in future postings as we have put a lot of time and effort into it and are very proud of the results.
I will endeavour to explain my mining programme as it unfolds and hopefully some nice opal from the time it comes out of the ground to the cutting of the stones and the final result for sale.
Koroit produces a unique type of boulder opal and I will explain and show the different types next posting.
My wife Lyn and I live at Koroit Opal Field, we are the the only resident miners on the field, only leaving during the hottest summer months ( January/February ) to visit family and friends.
Koroit is only a small field but has been mined at various times since the early 1900s - there are approx 25 to 30 miners here during the winter months every year, arriving this time of the year and most leaving as soon as the hot weather starts around Sept/October. There are only a few like myself who actually mine opal for sole income - most come for the buzz of finding opal and for the simple and uncluttered lifestyle of living in the outback.
The field is spread over quite a large area - our 2 leases are close to the main part of the field but in an area of their own called " The Shallow Patch ", thus our leases are called " The Shallows " and " The Shallows Extension " ( very original ) comprising an area of approx. 8 acres. The reason for the name is that good opal is found at a shallow depth , it can be found at 2 feet and down to 45 feet. I only mine by open-cut methods, ie - using an excavator , loader and truck to operate our mine.
I have built a simple but comfortable home or "camp" as we call it, ( see photos) using a large caravan incorporated in a steel shed with insulated iron all round. This helps with the excess temperatures in winter and particularly the summer months. I will show more of the camp in future postings as we have put a lot of time and effort into it and are very proud of the results.
I will endeavour to explain my mining programme as it unfolds and hopefully some nice opal from the time it comes out of the ground to the cutting of the stones and the final result for sale.
Koroit produces a unique type of boulder opal and I will explain and show the different types next posting.
Images show camp when first built and main working area on lease.
1 comment:
Congratulations on your blog Ric. It looks great & I love the photos of your beautiful opals. Well done!
Jan & Pete xx
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