We had a lovely laid back day at the Opal Mine with Richard giving us a good overview of how he he works the mine. He gave us a demonstration of how he digs holes to identify the quality of the rocks that might indicate that there is good opal stone present.
We followed him out to a select place on the opal lease and he dug a hole about 40 foot down. We watched with great anticipation to see if any good indicators were present for a big opal find but unfortunately it was not our lucky day. The drilling machine was very powerful and it was fascinating to watch the machine in action not only digging the hole but sorting the rocks.
I collected some Cubnamulla timber to take home with me to make a succulent garden at the Golf Club at home. (photo attached)
Richard then showed us how he can cut and polish a stone by selecting a rock for Selina which he turned into a lovely pendant opal stone. Richard said he can loose himself for hours in his cutting and polishing room as it is exciting seeing the opal colour come out as he cuts and polishes. We had a look at some of the beautiful stones that he has already cut and polished which have amazing patterns and colours.
By that time it was lunch time and siesta time before beer o'clock. We were going to one of Richard's neighbours for a camp fire dinner which we were looking forward to.
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