By Neville Ryan – EarthGallery.com

Lightning Ridge is a small opal mining town in north-western New South Wales near the border of Queensland in Australia. It is home to the world famous black opal. This opal is the rarest and most expensive opal found in the world today. How rare? Some miners persevere for years and may never strike any high quality black opal. The dark base makes a magnificent contrast to the red, yellow, green, gold and purple broad flash colors found in the best opal.

The opal is mined by drilling a shaft then tunneling and may proceed to open pit mining depending on the amount and quality of the opal found. The material is extracted and transported to a washing plant which is typically an agitator made from a converted concrete mixer and is used to wash the opal bearing clay. Water is pumped in to revolving barrel and breaks down the clay without damaging the opal. Generally this washing process takes about a week then the sludge is emptied onto a sorting table where the opal is separated. Lack of water during periods of drought can severely affect opal production. 

The finest quality rough opal is usually cut into cabochons in town and then sold individually or in jewelry. Medium to lower grades of opal are sold as rubs. This is where the miner will polish or face one side of the stone to show the color and then sells it to a cutter to complete the finished product. Medium and lower grades of the opal are used in carving and although some carving is done in town most is shipped to Asia for processing. Beautiful opalized fossil specimens have also been found in Lightning Ridge. 

Melody, in her book Love is in the Earth states that “black opal can be used for gazing, providing insights into matters of the past, present, and future”. The fire colors are “a catalyst for the inner knowing, inner seeing, and inner reconciliation of the information”.

Between its beauty, its rarity and magical qualities, we love this type of opal. It is one of Mother Nature’s finest works of art!