Merry Xmas and all the best for 2010 and to all those opal miners out there, may 2010 be a "colourful" one.

The photos above show in order - Tammy looking great with Noah / the family - Trent, Tammy, Bailey and Noah / "Poppy" with Noah / The family at Xmas dinner /the machine above the hole showing the ironstone levels I am chasing / using the excavator in the hole / checking out some stone in the hole / Grahams new 23 tonne machine / a lovely split I cut / a nice set I cut from the one stone including a slice that came out in the shape of Aust.

The year is all but over and how quick it has gone - I say that every year lately and the old fellows just tell me that the years just go quicker as you get older. Overall I must say that this year has been the best one for a while as far as the mining and the enquiry for material goes. I hope it continues on for next year as well - I know the number of miners at Koroit is getting less each year as costs and interference from Gov. departments takes its toll.

This year has seen the appearance of the Environmental Protection Authority and Safety and Health with yearly levies on each lease of a minimum of $500 per year and I can see it getting worse. We are grouped in the same category as the big coal and other mineral mining companies which is absolutely ridiculous, and some of the safety issues that have come up are just laughable when you are a sole miner working a hole 50 metres square, but unfortunately, as a couple of defiant miners have found out, they have the power to just close us down on the spot. It means that we are all going to have to change our ways in the future and that is why I know of quite a few miners that are giving the game away. I feel for them because most of them are just retired fellows that do this as a hobby, enjoy the lifestyle and have never done the wrong thing by anyone and just stick to themselves as most opal miners do. It must be said that there has never been a reportable accident amongst the present miners at Koroit and some have been there for a long time but, the Gov. coffers need filling up so opal miners are now on the hit list. I actually feel that there will be more chance of an accident happening with the constant interference than if we were just left alone as we have been in the past. I must say that right from when I started mining this lease 4 years ago, I always had a feeling that we would eventually be under scrutiny from Gov. departments so I did plan my digging accordingly, backfilling as I went, time consuming as it is, but it has paid off as I got a clean bill of health from both departments and they are even talking about using it as an example to others with my permission - maybe!

On the mining front - I continued on Gernot's lease until late Nov - I managed to get some reasonable material but on the whole only lower grade stuff - very saleable but nothing really good which is what I was hoping for. I spent the rest of Dec just slicing up material I got from when I was working with Gernot earlier in the year and cutting a few of the better stones. I did a lot of photographing of stones and little parcels of rough which will be going on the website and also on Ebay next year when Lyn and I have a month or so at Diamond Beach. I certainly have more stock in cut stones than I have ever had so if I can get things moving on the website, I may be able to move some there as well as visiting the usual buyers while I am away from home. I must say that I am not too worried if I don't sell as I think that demand is going to outstrip supply over the next couple of years. Koroit material is very different to most other boulder opal as you can see if you look at the stones on the website - http://www.cooperopals.com/ - it is becoming more scarce as the miners disappear and, also it is getting harder to find as the years go on. Koroit is only a small area and a lot of exploration work has been done looking for new areas but they are just not there - the field is only small and that is the way it will stay. There are leases for sale but to buy a lease and have the gear to work it, a couple of hundred thousand dollars will disappear very quickly - definitely not the hobbyist game anymore!

I mentioned in my last post that Graeme next door was waiting for his new excavator to arrive and it did eventually come and it is a very nice machine. He spent the last month mining with me on Gernots lease and got a real taste of breaking lots of material with little results - definitely the miners plight - he didn't do any better than me, only getting lower grade material but it certainly gave him a idea of what is too come if he decides to keep at it. I am sure he will and I certainly hope he does as it was great to have some company close handy.

It was definitely the hottest it has been leading up to Xmas than any year previously and the constant dust storms didn't help much either. The heatwave that everybody had in Nov was pretty trying - I have a small weather station with inside and outside temperature readings - the outside one under the carport and always in the shade. It never got under 45C for over ten days outside and up to 49C one day - inside wasn't much better and the nights were pretty ordinary as well - most nights going to bed at 10pm it was still 35C inside. I seemed to get a pretty good nights sleep with a little fan and we just worked all day as the air conditioners just couldn't do the job at all. At least there was a breeze every day so the sweat cooling was enough to keep us both hanging in there. Even when the heatwave was over, 40C every day until we left was the usual thing - at least the nights were better and we could get a good nights sleep. We both agreed that bigger generators and more air conditioners are the order for next year. I am certainly not whining about it otherwise I could have packed up and left like everybody else but it certainly was the toughest couple of months I have spent out there. It is nice sitting here in Toowoomba at the moment - certainly a lot more comfortable but not as quiet of course.

Lyn and I have spent Xmas with the kids here in Toowoomba and it has been great to catch up with our new grandson before they head off to Canberra in the new year. Trent has a transfer with the Airforce and they will be down there for three years and they are both looking forward to it. Mitchell and Zara are going really well even though Mitchel has just been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, which has come as a fair shock to us all. It certainly means a big change in lifestyle for him but at least he will be healthier as long as he does the right thing. I think Zara is quite enjoying giving him the insulin shot every day. Lyn and I are heading up to Noosa Heads for New Year to spend it with my family, I will be doing my usual stint with Mick on his macadamia nut farms during January while Lyn is returning to Cunnamulla to work for the month. We are then heading for Diamond Beach for hopefully about six weeks giving us both a chance to unwind for a while together. We will visit Tammy and Trent in March in Canberra as they will have settled into there new home by then.

I have rambled on enough for this post - I am looking forward to a good year in 2010 and wish everybody who has taken the time to read this - all the best for the New Year.