Finding Your Own Opal Treasures - an Opal Story by D.Stone

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Finding Your Own Opal Treasures
by Debbie Stone

Here is my delightful adventure to find my own opal treasure. Please enjoy.

A little while ago, I had the good luck to be able to escape from the city and adventure outback in my own country. Had never been to Broken Hill before and being an avid “stone collector” definately wanted to see those mines out at White Cliffs.

So, escorted by my own personal driver, we set out to discover the magnificent and majestic country around Broken Hill.

the famous Silverton Hotel
( the author saying hi on the left )

"little children lie here"

White Cliffs is a little surreal. . . the skies are dazzlingly blue contrasting with rich red soils. There are hotels built underground that are like lush oasis . . . the people are friendly to the point of being “instant rellies” . . . but there is also sadness in the history of White Cliffs. With so many people coming to the area in search of wealth, in early days children had been abandoned and left to their own fate and here they are buried.

A couple of mature age, semi retired guys were mining their patch of red dirt and discovered a beautiful seam of opal right at the moment we dropped by!

One miner we met up with told us he made more money culling kangaroos than from opal . . . but everyone in the area cries poor.

A seam of crystal opal discovered just as I walked in.
"Can I have some?"

The Miners are an interesting lot.
They won't tell you what they find

“I like carving my stones” I said to same miner, “Hold out your hands” says he and pours about twenty opal rough pieces into them. “How much for this” (I can see some nice colour) . . . “Oh, $10” . . . “OK, I’ll have a couple of those” . . . and he gives me a handful.

Some of those stones made it to the bottom of a friend’s fish tank . . . but the one piece with the colour . . . that’s my baby, it has won me a first prize at the Hawkesbury Lapidary Show, judged as 94% good work by the toughest gem judge in Oz. Now I have to design a piece of jewellery in 18 carat gold that will do it justice!!

Debbie Stone ( De Stone)

Here is my $10 dollar stone

I have the prize to prove it
1st in the Hawkesbury lapidary show

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Where you have been?
Any new finds?

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