Lightning Ridge Opalised Femur fragment ...

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G'day everybody :)
I'm new to this site, but intend to make this the first of several posts.
Back in 1985, I left teaching (Maths and English) to pursue my love-of-opal hobby and turn it into a business, to buy/sell opal. Along the way I've acquired many opalised fossils from Coober Pedy and Lightning Ridge and would like to share some of them, in here.

Most recently, I was in the Ridge for the 2018 Opal Festival, late July. On Sunday mornings there's a kind of Flea Market with various stalls selling rough/cut/specimen opal, cake stalls, second-hand stuff and usually a sausage sizzle that provides breakfast. It's on the SW corner of the Main Road into town and the 3-Mile Road.
Sometimes, I've been able to buy a decent rub or even a bag of rough. I remember getting a small opalised whelk in situ last April, but I can't find a photo.

However, on that Sunday I got lucky. I bought a bag of several (about 30 pieces) of rough --- I could see one would cut a nice doublet, 2 pieces for solids (maybe more). A mixed bag.
When I returned to my room, I tipped the 30-odd pieces out. Most were geological, ie amorphous lumps or nobbies but one made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
Black potch, covered in tan-brown host rock, broken on one end :( :eek: but the other end had the typical bulbous protrusions of a smallish dinosaur femur, ie the upper part of a knee joint. Here:
1534779406_20180723_080724_438x640.jpg


and the other side:
1534779450_20180723_080803_405x640.jpg


It's since been confirmed, (unknown) dinosaur femur fragment, as I suspected. A pity it's broken, and I wish it had even a lick of blue colour, but I still think it was great luck!
 
i`d love to find some gold and black opal in the same hole in the w.a goldfields, bonus
believe it or not there could be a chance :cool:
 
spoon said:
i`d love to find some gold and black opal in the same hole in the w.a goldfields, bonus
believe it or not there could be a chance :cool:

I don't know a lot about the WA opal. Did some Googling, interesting.
Finding gold AND black opal would be fantastic. Do you know anyone who has?
 

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