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Opal and Mining

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Published on Saturday, 10 December 2011 06:08

Written by Peieta

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History     
Yowah opal fields were discovered in 1883.  It is the oldest producing opal field in Australia.  The original mining leases and claims are still being mined today.  In the early years, miners could only work the fields when there was rainfall.  When the water ran out they had to leave. Nowadays there is an artesian bore to supply water.  The town has grown to a population of approximately 120 during Summer and 450 residents during Winter.
Opal is the world's most beautiful and precious gemstones.  It is one of only six types of precious gemstones, sharing company with diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and pearls.  Over 95% of the world's precious opal comes from Australia, and opal is revered as Australia's national gemstone.
Opal is formed from a solution of silicon dioxide and water.  As water seeps through sandstone, it picks up tiny particles of silica.  Millions of years ago, the solution flowed into cracks and voids in sedimentary and volcanic areas of inland Australia and solidified when the climate changed after the ice age. 
There are many kinds of opals however at Yowah they have Ironstone Matrix and boulders called the "Yowah Nut" and Yowah is the only place in the world "Yowah Nuts" are found. 
Yowah Nuts are ironstone concreations resembling "nuts" which contain precious opal in their centre.  Upon cracking or slicing the Yowah Nut, the precious opal is revealed.  It is interesting that no two opals are alike and each has a unique set of qualities, colours and patterns.
Matrix Opal occurs as a network of veins or infilling of voids, between grains of the host rock and in the natural state, shows fine pinfire colour.  Boulder opal matrix opal found at Yowah, which in its natural state consists of brown ironstone with small deposits of opal interspersed.

   
Opal Mine Tour   
Visit the outback opal mining town of Yowah and take a journey of a lifetime with two local families who pride themselves on providing a fabulous up close and personal tour giving you a real insight into the town and the opal industry.  Fossick for your very own opal, learn how to do the Emu walk, visit Lovers Leap, the Bluff, Trafford and Vals Open cut mine Tour, Tour of the Yowah Gallery, Opal displays, Display of opal cutting and polishing.  Meet some of the friendly faces of the locals on an exclusive adventure in the day of an opal miner.

 

Industry Yowah Fossicking Area
The Yowah opal field, which includes the nearby area known as Black Gate is the southern-most opal mining centre of western Queensland; it is popular with tourists and fossickers as it has easy access from main roads and has shops, fuel, telephone, caravan park, and a permanent bore water supply. A small local population increases significantly during the winter season.
The Department established the Yowah Fossicking Area with the co-operation of the Paroo Shire Council and the landholder to provide for tourists and recreational fossicking.

 

Access
Yowah is about 160km west of Cunnamulla. Travelling towards Thargomindah, turn off the right about 18km west of Eulo onto the Yowah/Toompine road and travel 48km via Alroy homestead to the Yowah-Quilpie turnoff. Continue a further 23km to Yowah; this last 23km is unsealed.
From Quilpie, drive 110km through Toompine to the Eulo/Yowah turnoff. Turn left and follow this mainly unsealed road for about 56km to the Yowah turnoff, and then continue the further 23km as above.

 

Opal at Yowah
A feature of the Yowah field is the occurrence of precious opal in siliceous ironstone nodules generally referred to as “Yowah Nuts”. These nuts range from about 5mm to 200mm across, have a spherical or ellipsoidal shape, and show alternate concentric rings or bands of light and dark brown siliceous ironstone. There is sometimes a kernel of precious opal, which is the main source of the gem.
The nuts are found in layers (150 to 600mm in thickness) at depths up to 20m in a ferruginous sandstone, and are commonly associated with mudstone fragments or clay pellets. The main layer is located near the contact between the sandstone and underlying mudstone/claystone, but scattered nodules, and in some cases a second band, may occur above.
The lateral continuity of the nut bands is somewhat difficult to predict owing to the irregular bedding of the strata, as well as the lack of any detailed mapping. In some shafts, the nut band was not encountered, but  the sandstone at its contact with the mudstone was found to be more ferruginous and cemented by partial opalisation into a hard band, which also contained opal in the form of seams and pipes.

 

Fossicking for the opal
The eastern part of the Fossicking Area has always been popular with tourists as a place to “speck” or “noodle” fragments of opal or ironstone matrix from the surface or shallow depth. In this area the main nut band appears to have been exposed at the surface, so that a layer of loose rubble of broken ironstone nut fragments covers the surface to a depth of about 600mm. Spotting chips of opal or fragments of matrix while digging through this material is relatively easy with a bit of practice.

 

Requirements
To fossick you need to be the holder of a Fossicker’s License. Individual, family, club, educational institution and commercial tour operators’ licenses can be obtained for this area or the whole of the State for periods between one and twelve months, with fees varying accordingly.
Licenses can be obtained from Departmental offices (including that at Quilpie), the Paroo Shire Council, Cunnamulla or selected local businesses.
Hand tools only are permitted.
Several mining claims and mining leases are currently within the Fossicking Area (see map); these must not be entered without the permission of the holders. Pegs mark the corners of each tenure.

 

Camping
Camping is prohibited in the Yowah Fossicking Area.
A camping/caravan park is situated in the town of Yowah
Precautions
The best time to visit the opal fields is April-September. Summer is best avoided due to the high temperatures and possible heavy rains making road access impossible in some areas. Road conditions should be checked with the RACQ or local police. Emergency supplies including food, water, first aid kit and vehicle spares should be carried when travelling in remote areas.

 

Code of Conduct
To protect the area for the future and minimize conflict with other visitors, please:
● Make safe any excavation on leaving.
● Remove all rubbish and dispose of properly.
● Keep vehicles to the established tracks to avoid erosion.
● Do not interfere with the flora and fauna. Shooting is prohibited.
● Control pets so they do not annoy others or the wildlife.
● Minimize noise from radios, vehicles etc.

 

For further information:

The Mining Registrar
Department of Mines and Energy
Court House
Buln Buln Street
PO Box 29
Quilpie Qld 4480
Telephone: (07) 4656 1266
Fax: (07) 4656 1442

 

The Chief Executive Officer
Paroo Shire Council
PO Box 75
Cunnamulla Qld 4490
Telephone: (07) 4655 1777
Fax: (07) 4655 1647

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