A Brief History of the Royal Peacock Opal Mine
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- čas přidán 27. 08. 2024
- A brief history of the Royal Peacock Opal Mine.
www.royalpeacock.com
It took fourteen million years for Mother Nature to make a Virgin Valley opal.
It was well worth the wait.
More than a quarter of a million carats of precious fire opals have been extracted from the Royal Peacock mines in the past twenty five years.
The most spectacular black opals in the world come from the Royal Peacock mines in Virgin Valley, Nevada. Virgin Valley opals are found in layers of clay that were formed when volcanic ash filled an ancient lake millions of years ago. The surrounding forests were also choked with the ash. The lake had twigs and limbs and rotting wood collected in its coves. The buried wood decayed and left lifelike cavities as mementos of their presence.
Heat and pressure formed a silica gel that percolated through the ash and filled the cavities. It gradually hardened into opal. In a small percentage of the opals the cells aligned to create opals with a fiery soul -- precious black opals -- the most beautiful gemstones in the known universe.
Of course, not all Virgin Valley opals are "black." We also produce moss opal, lemon opal, crystal opal, and white opal. Additionally, we are the only known source for fluorescent opal, which fluoresces green when illuminated with black light.
Virgin Valley opals are usually found in pockets. When you find one there are usually others nearby. This reinforces the current theory that most of the limbs were floating in an ancient lake, and crowded together in small coves and back eddies.
On my bucket list now.
The people here are some of the most wonderful and helpful people. Even during a sandstorm of hell these people make it feel like heaven. Everytime we go the folks at the royal peacock mines never let us down.
I cant wait to get out and do some digging ,looks like fun . thanks you for opening it up to us rockhounds, it really means a lot , God bless you all
I'm going to give it a try in 2022, looks like a good facility and camper friendly. Thanks.
Looks like a great time. I will update here after our trip in June. 😊
See you in may!!!
Bucket list ☑️
Sounds great
Thanks for another great trip! I cant wait to come back next year.
It's May here we come
We’ve been there to mine opals. It’s very expensive. If you do find an opal, they are so fragIle that they are not good for jewelry. They have to be kept in water so they don’t crumble. Did you notice that the opal they show in the video is in a water filled dome?
I have also been there to mine opals. You are right, *some* of the opals you find in the bank look amazing but they are specimen grade and must be kept in water or mineral oil. However, others are stable and can be made into jewelry, as seen in the video at 1:31 and at 1:48. If you go again, I would say try the tailings. Opal that you find in the tailings is already stable, plus looking through the tailings is easier, less taxing on the body, and it is cheaper too. I have visited four times and have always found cool stuff in the tailings, can't wait to go back this year.
Claudia S. How much per people and is it a all day pass or do the have multi day pass
@@dezshuler4589 It is an all day pass per person, I think children cost less. But the main difference is bank digging vs tailings. I think bank digging costs twice as much, tailings digging is like $30 a day, I don't remember the cost to be honest. If you want to dig multiple days you can talk to Julie at the register, she might give you a discount. Not sure about that since I haven't tried.
@@claudias.8461 knowing the payout of one jewelry grade find its hard to imagine complaining about 30 dollars a day if you are really there to work... right?
that’s just the way american opal works.
opal is different all over the world, it all has its flaws and quirks but it’s all beautiful and special. american opal usually has to stay wet or else it’s really brittle, ethiopian opal loses color temporarily if it becomes wet, and of course if you want the highest quality and most stable opal (and also the most expensive) youll want australian opal.
I wish you had kits where you can mine your own Virgin Valley Opal from home; I live on the opposite side of the US, plus because of the Corona wouldn’t help either. If you do have any; I hope to find a nice black opal
We are opening for the season in a couple of months (May 15-thru-Oct 15). I encourage you to come check out out. It is beautiful high desert country.
Hello,I am Elizabeth Huang from Taiwan. I would like to visit your opal shop in the nearest future, when covic-19 period is over.
dont make excuses and go. in the last year ive been on more trips to happy places than my entire life combined. ive found some great things even just close to home. i want to make it to australia to look for opal there as they have some of the best. but i recently found out we have some here in the us and thats one of my next big trips. there is also fire agate in arizona and a diamond mine in arkansas. minnesota has some pretty valuable agates too but nothing like the value of these opals. canada too has some amazing finds but nobody wants to go there and get it. its rough up there.
Are these opals gemmy, or specimen?
Can you use the opal from your mine to make jewelry?
you can use any opal after you treat it.
I believe this would be considered hydrophane since those that were shown were kept in water. When exposed to air over time they crack all over.
@@DarkShooper treat it with what? And how? cause I know that light makes them crack and lose there color.
@@marcussmart3275 Has epoxy been shown to seal the air out?
@@andrew1717xx as far as ive seen it works for a while. Epoxy has a tendency to yellow or brown with time and sunlight seams to speed this process. It would also scratch easily. So yes and unfortunately no.
You guys open?
Do you know if they are still open?
Yes, we are open, every year May 15 to October 15. We have lots of open space and fresh air.
Looks like Indonesian opal
I am a opal miner that mines at places i have found and claims. I have gone here and it is a huge ripoff. It is very low grade deposit. Meaning there is very little opal in the dirt. If you had a tractor you could do good. The other thing is this is not gem grade material. It it specimen grade material only. Please done go here there is more opal along the road than at this mine.
glad I read this, so where else would be better (if you are willing to make a suggestion)? I am new at this, thanks!
Hit a dang deer 15min from the turnoff. Lol next year I guess