|
The Opal Hunter Ed Lunney was very happy to meet Harry
Fishel in Quilpie and host him on a tour of his opal mining lease. Mr Fishel said, he was enthusiastic about
opening up his Virgin Valley opal mining lease in Nevada,
U.S.
After examining the open cut bolder mines west of
Quilpie and seeing the different levels and occurrence of opal in different
products, such as bolder opal, seam opal and matrix opal, he was confident that
his exploration would also lead to identifying other possible ways that opal may
have been formed in Nevada. Mr Fishel
described the main formation of the Virgin Valley opal as being a wood
replacement opal in volcanic ash. Harry
went on to say that he was absolutely amazed at the similarity of the landscape
and vegetations in Australia with that of Nevada.
“The information I have gained has given me a new insights
as I proceed to move from the traditional hand mining methods to open cut methods.
The ingenuity of Australian opal miners and the
machinery that has been adapted in the search of opal is of a type that I have
never seen anywhere else. Having worked
as a welder fitter for 30 years I am amazed at the engineering solutions that
have been solved with the use of recycled, reused and waste material.
I’m sure some of the ideas will come in handy when I
go back to Nevada and start mining.”
Mr Fishel commented that it was encouraging to hear
and see how much dirt and overburden was moved commercially to recover a small
amount of opal. “Seeing the tons and tons of dirt that is being moved has
reassured me of the value, rarity and preciousness of opal and given me a
better perspective of the prices of opal at a retail level.”
Mr Fishel said he really appreciated watching as
precious opal was won from the ironstone by the cutters in the Quilpie region.
“I have always liked opal, but never really
appreciated the individuality of each piece of rough and the solutions required
to gain an optimum cut. Gem stones
reflect the sweat and tears, the labour, the heat, the flies, mosquito’s, occasional
snake, breakdowns of machinery, extreme temperatures, isolation, the sacrifices
of family and the sacrifices of lifestyle that opal miners injure in search of
the precious Australian opal. The people I have met who are involved in opal
mining seemed to poses a genuine love for opal mining. Not merely a commercial proposition but a way
of life.”
68 year old Mr Fishel said he was enthusiastic about
involving his son, daughter and grandchildren in the love of mining. “My leases in America will require many years
of effort to reveal the rarity of the Nevada gem and I hope to leave this
legacy to the next generation, especially my grandson Hunter who will now be
called little Opal Hunter.”
Written by Ed Lunney, Sunday 23rd March
2008
The Opal Hunter (www.opalhunter.com.au)
PO BOX
89
Quilpie, QLD 4655
Phone: (07) 4656 2777
|
