Finding an opal pocket: Andamooka mining.

G’day everyone, I hope you’re all well! In this video I’ve had the good fortune of being invited to mine with a new mining partner, you may have heard of her 🤣, and I think we’re off to a great start. I wasn’t too sure what to expect at first, but I was in good hands and in no time it was all go. Quite an exciting trip, the first of many, and yes I will still be working on my claim. I hope you enjoy, thanks for your time. 🤪👍
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[@bobm5500]

Yes . This is one of the best examples of extracting Opel i have seen , It took me back 50 plus years .

[@redeyestones3738]

I wish every opal miner was as gentle as you are, when extracting from the host rock. I'd probably end up with a lot less cracked material. 😆

[@theopalmills]

🤣 I hear ya! That’s actually one of the reasons/curiosities that got me interested in trying to mine, “Surely not all opal has cracks, they must be mining it wrong, let me try.” One thing I learned was that there’s more than one reason the opal is damaged, from explosives to heavy machinery, Jack hammers and hand tools, even when poorly clipped/snipped when checking for colour (I picture a “Rupert’s drop” kzbin.info/www/bejne/rpaQl2edpNCFeNU ). 🤪👍

[@TheKegtwo]

What a fabulous revelation, a miners dream. Love the colours in your purchased items.

[@scarlettardis2018]

That was perfect footage Phil. Enough to sate all of our opal urges but not enough to show thieves where to go for a quick score. I think it was perfect and I loved watching it.

[@theopalmills]

🤪👍

[@EpicsodeOne]

This is definitely the best parcel I've ever seen ever in my whole entire life.

[@opalusmaximus7713]

I need to borrow that jar. I’ll give it right back I swear

[@theopalmills]

🤣👍

[@lisamiller2227]

Wow that was some amazing colour! I've only just started on my opal journey and I am cutting with a Dremel. It would be a dream come true to put my hands on something like that! Thanks for sharing your adventures with us

[@alan1340]

Great news Phil, Angel should work out to be an excellent partner. I suggested that Angel could do with a better partner on one of her chats and that was quite recently. Good pickup Angel. You deserve Phil, hope it al works out for you both.

[@kennethnew3075]

That was fantastic. Thanks for the info on jelly/crystal opal. Love the science. Its 4 am here and the only thing I've been mining is a kidney stone. Thanks for the mental pain relief. Safe travels to you and your family. . .

[@theopalmills]

I only have hand tools but willing to give it a go, I haven’t cut and polished a kidney stone in a long,…… er,… i mean ever! 🤪👍

[@redeyestones3738]

Fantastic video! Looking forward to what comes out of the haul. Nice jar!

[@subvertedworld]

Very nice parcel. Keep the opal natural. No doublets! Beautiful stuff.

[@anthonymcclain6475]

Killing me friend...if you could die from envy the buzzards would be circling me! Congrats on the find 🤠 friend.

[@theopalmills]

🤣👍

[@firstlast-mp1dc]

Cool video, enjoyed the underground mining. Looks like you found some good ones. Nice looking stones in the jar as well. Love the colors. Thanks.

[@TyOtis]

Oh wow Phil, that haul must have been so amazing/intense/exciting to dig out, what fun! And that bright parcel is stunning, can’t wait to see what you do with them!! 😊

[@scarlettardis2018]

That'd be awesome to have a parcel with no waste. Awesome score Phil! Can't wait to see you cut that and the stuff you and Angel pulled out!

[@Kerrsartisticgifts]

This is a terrific video. I enjoyed the mining excitement and the jar full of amazing colours.

[@grantivers9091]

I see a little trace hehe. great find Phil. The Opal Mills Rocks

[@tllt4983]

Had a thought. I have a pair of coral viewing glasses that highlight uv reactive stuff like the coral in an aquarium but maybe also opal in the ground.

[@theopalmills]

We have yellow coloured glasses that protect the eyes from UV when blacklighting, they don’t do much for making the opal stand out more. 🤪👍

[@vinnieg.6746]

Super nice color. The piece at 36:03 of the video looks kind of like an arrow head. If it were to be cut that way, I think it would look spectacular. Wow what a gem.

[@surajitsaikia4139]

Congrats mate on ur opal find, love to see the opal mining in real time, those parcels are great, thanks for sharing, waiting to see the next trip video. 😀

[@ReiMonCoH]

Cool. I’d like to have some 👍🏻

[@pkgoldopalhunting]

great trip mate love the jar of colour to fantastic

[@FernandoScarpelli]

Phil what a great video. First time i got up close and personal with opals in the mine! Id watch all of these!

[@theopalmills]

🤪👍

[@fishwithandy]

Wow what a Great video Phil , the mining trip looked awesome , fun on a different level , that Parcel looks unreal , so Bright , some of that wrapped in Gold , can't wait to see that ,

[@grantivers9091]

That’s got to be the biggest opal I’ve seen you mine. cheers to that The Opal Mills Rocks

[@bentationfunkiloglio]

Congrats on you finds, Phil! Great treasure hunt. Jar parcel looks really nice too. Thanks for sharing. I'm cutting my first Andamooka opal right now. Turned it into a nice looking 20ct rub, all color. No idea what it might be worth, but should cut a pretty stone, I think.

[@theopalmills]

Thanks mate. First Andamooka 20ct all colour, that’s a flying start, I hope it turns out well for you. 🤪👍

[@jeffholmes1362]

Phil, what an exciting experience digging that out of the wall, let’s hope there are some nice stones in that lot, can’t wait to see how they turn out. Thanks for sharing, let’s hope they let you go back 😜

[@connifilteau2678]

...awesome beautiful Opal, thanks for sharing....

[@paulkeating944]

I was down there with Angel last month, the dude who worked that claim before was way out there. built his own little Utopia out there, it wrecked now. Angel and I found a cooker down teh mine and of all things a everlast gym punch bag. Total classic that place.

[@theopalmills]

G’day Paul, yeah it’s gonna take some cleaning and a bit of repair work, but a fresh coat of paint will bring it up like new. 🤣👍

[@alan1340]

Looks like you could do with making a few different hand tools/blades/hooks and levers etc. Just sayin. Those stones/rocks should turn into lovely Gems when you get them that is :)

[@bonnieroffman5453]

What an amazing parcel Phil and what an awesome fun day mining. Wonderful video.

[@wilsonrawlin8547]

Absolutely amazing pocket of Opal! I wish you well with your mine.

[@PaddyMcMe]

What a find. I'm so jealous. I'm up in Sydney and whenever I watch your mining experiences, Outback Opal Hunters, and all the other KZbin channels that do Opal mining I honestly wish I could just go out and find an old unused mine and give it a go, or contact some of these guys and ask if they'd take me on for a month and just pay me in raw opal for my services. Anyhow here's hoping your luck continues!

[@theopalmills]

🤪👍

[@sweetpaprika975]

The opal mills and the opal angel have come together to form the opal mining dream team! Great video and goodluck on the fields!

[@theopalmills]

🤣👍

[@joekalmar1085]

so cool to watch this i miss being able to go underground and hunt opal

[@theopalmills]

There’s definitely a certain thrill associated with underground opal mining, thanks to you, Lindi and Angel, I have this memory. 🤪👍

[@susannesamuelsson2930]

👋😊 Hi Phil and that poor snake ending up as a roadkill, that's so sad! Oh my goodness it must have been so exciting to find opal! I'm even excited here to watch the video and of course I wish you both a lot of luck!

[@lav25og83]

It's Australia. That snake could, would, and wanted to kill a elephant

[@bcarnett5930]

That seam's unreal! Lol get it seams ,seems 😆 🤣 why thank you for the gold medal of nerd ! 🤓 Lol

[@theopalmills]

🤣👍

[@billiehydrick6417]

Very very interested and thanks for sharing your experience with us, I'm learning from yall, howdy from Grovetown, Georgia USA

[@theopalmills]

🤪👍

[@jonstorey6414]

This is just a suggestion. Would an ultrasonic bath help with cleaning the opal stone

[@theopalmills]

G’day Jon, there’s no substituting the grinding process, although fossils have to be carefully prepared to keep the detail. An ultrasonic cleaner only sends out a frequency that pulsates the water, creating pressure in waves/ripples stacked so closely together that the high, low, high, low pressures in turn create microscopic voids in the water/solution that implode with enough force to create heat, essentially lowering the boiling point of the water/solution for a gentle, low temp steam clean that not effective enough. I was asked recently about acid cleaning opal, this also wouldn’t work due to the content of silica in both the opal and the sand. 🤪👍

[@bcarnett5930]

I'd trade my first born son for a opal mine like the one y'all were mining, shit I'd be tempted to trade for just that parcel you dug out , definitely sold on the parcel, and the jar 😳 😬 I'm a opal addict fanatic! Lol

[@410connects]

would love to carve up some of that

[@flodareltih9407]

absolutely exciting to watch and super excited for you mate, nice very nice dig up

[@theopalmills]

🤪👍

[@Famo59]

Well done Phil. Cheers Famo59 👍🍻🤓⛏

[@mikenilson6744]

That’s some fine mining Phil!

[@jowens1126]

color all over that patch of the wall. Something another miner said in a video on here. When you see the layers dip in a spot, thats where you usually find something. This looks very much like where the pay layer dips.

[@theopalmills]

Yes, the dips can be a great indicator. 🤪👍

[@terrymurphy5671]

Congratulations on your Finds🤗🤗🤗

[@annblakeway7691]

Such a yummy collection 😍 😋

[@AI3Dorinte]

can't wait to see them cut, waiting for the videos man, thanks!

[@johnoakes6772]

It looked fabulous Phil. The dig with Angel extracting Opal as well as that beautiful crystal material to work with. PS I love the ERGO CM and can't wait to try it out....after I get some of my home jobs completed. Fabulous.👍👏

[@theopalmills]

🤪👍

[@edshiner9863]

Soooo good, that i had to watch it twice! 🤓

[@theopalmills]

🤣👍

[@seasonallyferal1439]

Ever considered using an air scribe for the fine work around opal?

[@theopalmills]

G’day mate, yes, it’s on my “wishlist” 🤣, for some of the fossils I have. 🤪👍

[@jmaros15]

Yeh I dodge roos every morning traversing to work out Dubbo way. Fixed my front end 3x and the misses 2x I feel that same pain ;(

[@theopalmills]

🤣👍

[@SirRocksAlot]

exciting for us. can't imagine how long it took to stop laughing to yourselves.

[@theopalmills]

Yeah, 🤣 I had to mute some of it but forgot to add music to fill the silence.

[@joekalmar1085]

good video phil well done,

[@Opaldigger]

Top job! Cant wait to see you dig the same or bigger in 20k per oz!! I reckon you would really like the Estwing Paleo Pick on that kopi, just dont hit the level stones with it haha..

[@theopalmills]

🤣👍 if I found 20k/oz material you’d hear me from up there!

[@Opaldigger]

@@theopalmillsI’ll keep an ear out! 😁

[@kaynef6637]

Looks great

[@paulvout4267]

Very nice crystal

[@jmack6980]

fantastic video s/o from canada

[@catalinacurio]

Is there a speed limit when you are out in the sticks? I’d be wanting to max it. 😊

[@theopalmills]

G’day mate, yes there is a state limit of 110km/hr here in a South Australia. 🤪👍

[@garyhughes4326]

That looks like a pretty strong UV light that your using there guys. Whats its brand name if you dont mind me asking?

[@joekalmar1085]

eagtac or eagletac purchased from the led light shop in melbourne, its 365nm, they have dropped considerably since they first hit the shelves only about 300 now

[@geraldgalbo9144]

Awesome 😁

[@tinarankin9290]

Ive missed your videos due to our flooding up here and this came up now Last time I saw you you had an open mine Great finds Congratulations By golly its dark down there You guys don't have fresh air running down there or is it near the opening ? Have you thought of solar lights fir extra lighting ? Love watching your adventurous finds

[@theopalmills]

G’day Tina, I still have the open cut, just need to get a skid steer to move the dirt. I was offered to dig with Angel and thought why not, I think I can find the time to do both. There are a few openings for ventilation, it’s good to feel a slight breeze. I run power down the hole for lighting and Jack hammer, also there’s rechargeable torches and my head lamp. Cheers, 🤪👍

[@tinarankin9290]

@@theopalmills oh that's good to catch ip with what your up to You found some great stuff with Angel

[@robertporter6507]

Should you be dropping the opal or placing the opal in the box. So it won't Crack another piece. Thx

[@theopalmills]

G’day Robert, I wouldn’t go throwing the stuff around, but dropping it in a bucket won’t hurt it at all, consider the tumbling opal undergoes in a wash plant or a dry trommel. 🤪👍

[@shanefowkes7451]

If you have any 5mm chips (scraps) or even poch sitting around maybe I can get in touch as I'd require some when iv got established *memory charms*

[@wackyrice1]

. . at 21:08 a nice flash of red in that one.

[@duru2882]

Is that a juvenile Brown Snake??? I didn’t see if anybody asked and answered it???

[@theopalmills]

G’day mate, yes, I think it was a baby eastern brown snake. 🤪👍

[@joshuavidler7913]

Crystal Opal, the best

[@carolynsmith4934]

Nice 👍👁✌️👁

[@AussieAdventurer]

Nice 🤩 What black light did you guys have or recommend to buy that’s bright like yours?

[@theopalmills]

Scroll down to Gary Hughes comment, he asked the same and Joe has answered better than I can. 🤪👍

[@tashacherry1480]

Dropping it into the bucket... doesn't that worry you? It's fragile stuff.

[@theopalmills]

G’day Tasha, no, rough opal can take some seemingly hard treatment, as in consider a trommel/dry tumbler. Though it may scuff up the surface it won’t cause it to fracture or crack. 🤪👍

[@whatdudeokman6481]

When you gonna be on Opal Hunters

[@theopalmills]

🤣 I’d send them a resume with my screen shots, but I have a face for radio.

[@rmg03c]

I'm new heree to this channel, and I realize that I haven't sub'd. That will be remedied. But I post to this old video to ask, Is that jar material Mooka??? If so, I had no idea??? I'd feel a bit stupid if it is! But gimme a break, I'm a Yank.

[@theopalmills]

G’day mate, welcome to the channel, yes that’s Andamooka opal, don’t go feeling any kind of way, Andamooka isn’t the most talked about opal field. 🤪👍

[@rmg03c]

@@theopalmills I’m only familiar with matrix. Those look like proper bars of color! I wasn’t aware. It is embarrassing a bit.

[@rmg03c]

That wasn’t bars! That was amazing crystal! Took me a review. My humble apologies. I’d feel privileged to cut but one of that material!

[@2HighNoon]

Big opal and just drop it in the bucket so it can smack against everything else in the bucket. 🏆

[@theopalmills]

🤣 that’s what I did, I did, I Hulk smash.

[@2HighNoon]

@@theopalmills 🤣🤣🤷‍♂️

[@kurakurakii3792]

if you put your mana into it you can cast some spell

[@annakeye]

35:49 ♫ _I feel pretty_ _Oh so pretty_ ♫

[@theopalmills]

🎶I feel pretty and witty and gay, And I pity Any girl who isn’t me today.🎶 No,… wait,… what?

[@davidcoulshed8683]

Copperhead snake .and removing them off the road saves other animals

[@theopalmills]

True, especially the birds. 🤪👍

[@ShannonMcCraryH]

What do you do with stones that have some color but are not viable for jewelry?

[@theopalmills]

G’day Shannon, the opal that I wouldn’t consider setting have issues ranging from very little/dull colour, inclusions cracks, sand or potch, too thin/fragile, or too big to set. Most of them end up in the specimen side of my collection, some i giveaway as gifts. Trying to make the most from each piece of opal rough does salvage some decent cuts, but the rest is time and effort put in with no financial reward, but I can’t throw it away. 🤪👍

[@ShannonMcCraryH]

@@theopalmills that is great! I would 100% do the same thing! I love the stone and don't care for jewelry, I would love to just be able to make rubs with the unusable opals just to be able to appreciate the stone and what they do have.

[@richardzahumensky427]

Hi what type uv flash light is it ? Where is possible buy it ?

[@theopalmills]

www.ledtorchshop.com.au/product/eagletac-mx30l3-6x365nm-ultraviolet-led-torch/ 🤪👍

[@trptrungblogs]

❤️❤️❤️🇻🇳👍👍💎💎😌

[@andypandyAU.6669]

Hi there, I am a gold prospector from Victoria, I have a KZbin channel called Poverty prospecting Australia. I just happen to be in Andamooka at this moment, just for a few days. My wife and I have been watching discovery channel "outback opal hunters" for years now. It would be fantastic to do a bit of hunting while we are here. Any chance you can put me on to someone who would be willing to take me out to film a bit of content while here. Thank you regards Andy Poverty prospecting Australia 🇦🇺

[@theopalmills]

G’day Andy, sorry for the late reply, I hope you got some great footage. I’d have been able to help if I were up there, maybe next time. 🤪👍

[@andypandyAU.6669]

@@theopalmills thanks for the response, back in cold ,wet Victoria now. Had fun found some matrix on a discard pile at the free campground. Something to play with. Maybe on the next trip, I can give you way more notice!😆

[@johnbrowning741]

Does anyone ever carve opal?

[@theopalmills]

I do kzbin.info/www/bejne/oKK1fWqsdseVjdk 🤪👍

[@trudyclay3478]

I guess I've been watching ozy gold and opal it's old and opal too much because a lot of the stuff you are showing they wouldn't even bother with little tiny specs of opal that aren't even really big enough for earrings

[@theopalmills]

Take everything you learned on those shows and go mining and see how successful you are.

[@scarlettardis2018]

Rip skip

[@trudyclay3478]

You must have extraordinarily poor eyesight I see you have the magnification goggles have the magnification goggles on when you're doing something that most people would do with the naked eye I feel sorry for you having such bad eyesight

[@theopalmills]

Yeah, I’m a real Magoo.

[@seandeciantis7784]

Need to cut out the damned jar roll on small chips. Water makes them look biggger as well as when u put on the camera. Just show honest shots. Dump them out and show a nice piece. We can do without the 30 second roll/ fake size show

[@theopalmills]

Mate, relax, skip what you want, no pressure, and I clearly addressed the fact that they look magnified in the jar, and to view outside the jar before deciding to purchase, which I did, and they were shown outside the jar. Not only am I doing everything in these videos and more that doesn’t get included, but also all the behind the scene preparation, the filming, the editing, the funding, family life, and another business, I try to include video material of what I get up to with opal, I try to cater for everyone, I film what I do as I do it in one take, and make the most of it. The opal in the jar is meant to tease until later when we get a good look at it. I’m not trying to sell you anything, and all footage is real, take it or leave it. Thanks for your time, 🤪👍

[@RICDirector]

I'll happily drool over jars of opal, any size, and thank you for the opportunity! 🤗

[@maidenlord6663]

But that looks like a pygmy brown snake you don't want to mess with it dead or alive

[@theopalmills]

Agreed, I carefully put it in a bucket, took it back to the house and left it a few weeks on an ant nest, now the skeleton is a garden feature in a pot plant. 🤪👍

[@CockatoobirdmanBill]

Wish you would stop playing with all that gram stuff and start doing stuff by the Oz.(Lol) great find I'm with you hopping this is only the start..............Best of luck....Be well and be safe.......

[@theopalmills]

🤣👍 cheers!