Opals in Western Australia

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shakergt

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Hi all I am chasing opals in Western Australia. I know of only two spot to look and was wanting to know if anybody knows of some areas that may be worth trying.
 
Shaker ive only read of the spot just north of coolgardie,cuppla yrs ago there was a bloke getting around in a landcruiser ute with opals number plates around Kal,wa plates also i thought,had me a bit intrigued.....
 
Goldchaser1 said:
Shaker ive only read of the spot just north of coolgardie,cuppla yrs ago there was a bloke getting around in a landcruiser ute with opals number plates around Kal,wa plates also i thought,had me a bit intrigued.....

Possibly in connection with this location:
https://www.mindat.org/loc-12148.html

Back in the late '90's, I remember hearing about a freshly-discovered opal source 100km or so to the east of Kal, out along the trans line somewhere. If I remember rightly, there were specimens on display in a Hannan St jewellery shop.
 
Looks like only 2 known spots for precious opal in WA?
https://www.mindat.org/loc-12148.html

Gemstones of WA (pages 109 to 124 may hold some info of interest)
http://dmpbookshop.eruditetechnolog...stones-of-western-australia-second-edition.do

Maybe get in contact with the WA Mines Dept. They may have info on other prospective areas.
I know in NSW the Minerals Resources Dept has info & a map of areas that have rock outcrops that may have precious opal (all in the Great Artesian Basin - huge area). There is also other areas in NSW that have Volcanic opal & opalised wood so maybe WA Mines Dept may hold some more info than what Google throws up?
 
grubstake said:
Goldchaser1 said:
Shaker ive only read of the spot just north of coolgardie,cuppla yrs ago there was a bloke getting around in a landcruiser ute with opals number plates around Kal,wa plates also i thought,had me a bit intrigued.....

Possibly in connection with this location:
https://www.mindat.org/loc-12148.html

Back in the late '90's, I remember hearing about a freshly-discovered opal source 100km or so to the east of Kal, out along the trans line somewhere. If I remember rightly, there were specimens on display in a Hannan St jewellery shop.

yes thats the one ive read about,transline find sounds interesting,now my memories been jolted someone i know someone who said they knew a bloke with a small show maybe down sth of coolgardie somewhere,vaguely remember the conversation sadly....
 
shakergt said:
this info now makes three spots that I know of.

That Gemstones of WA free pdf that mbasko linked above is a treasure trove of info and details many WA opal locations, but almost all are for "common opal" (basically coloured quartz), with only two being for "precious opal" that displays the desirable irridescent 'play-of-colour' effect.
 
If you are still curious, Have a look at Westonia. I found a small amount on the Edna May mines Lookout ramp.
Also a few years ago at Mount Holland, Forrestania. WA

Search Edna May on Mindat.
 
The Opal that is the most valuable is what they call 'Fire Opal' Very valuable... The last season of Aussie Opal Hunters featured a group digging out Thousands of $ worth...
I think the Group that found it has started this Website....

http://australisfireopal.com/ ....... Including a location called 'White Cliffs' .......

LW....
 
Shakergt, you say you are looking in Western Australia (many of the replies relate to other states). I have some knowledge of most of Australia's opal fields. Firstly, there are geological reasons why I cannot get excited about WA. There is always the possibility of finds of a different geological type to the major Australian fields (none of which are in WA), but people have been looking for a long time. Not a place that I would look.

I have a specimen of the Coolgardie precious opal that I collected in the 1960s - it is in very thin veinlets in quartz veins and probably formed in quite a different way to the important opal fields elsewhere. It has proved of no significance so far. Such minor oddities turn up at times (eg Beechworth in Victoria, coastal New England). But all important occurrences are in the Eromanga and Surat Basins and in older rocks on their immediate margins (e.g. Mintabie). That is - NSW, SA, Qld.

There is some confusion about "Fire Opal". True fire opal does not get the high price of Australian precious opal. It used to be important in Hungary and more recently in Mexico. Not all that fancy...lacks any play of colours as well as lacking the lustre of crystalline gems.

https://geology.com/gemstones/opal/fire-opal.shtml
 
The Fire Opal found in WA isn't all that attractive and I struggled to see the value in it... But they did, to the tune of $250,000 worth... :/ I much prefer the Mexican Fire Opal.. :D

LW...
 
LoneWolf said:
The Fire Opal found in WA isn't all that attractive and I struggled to see the value in it... But they did, to the tune of $250,000 worth... :/ I much prefer the Mexican Fire Opal.. :D

LW...
Yes I agree - but I don't really think much of any fire opal. If you want the flash - diamonds, flash and colour -things like sapphire, play of beautiful changing colours - precious opal. To me fire opal has a dead look.
 
tailormarc said:
I know a spot in Goomelling for common opal, might be nicer stuff around there
There will probably be lots of localities for common opal - it occurs in lots of places in many states. No value really, but I find that some of it polishes up nicely.
 
goldierocks said:
tailormarc said:
I know a spot in Goomelling for common opal, might be nicer stuff around there
There will probably be lots of localities for common opal - it occurs in lots of places in many states. No value really, but I find that some of it polishes up nicely.
Yeah i have been looking for a few spots even for common opal, do you know any within 400klm of perth i can check out? The goomelling location isnt the best, just a few random spots of broken pieces on the ground
 
Maybe search around these whtte out areas??
1630017300_ga12547.jpg
 
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