Opal - Mineral Specimen

Locality:  Coober Pedy, South Australia, Australia

Description: This opal comes from Coober Pedy in the outback of South Australia, often called the opal capital of the world. On 1 February 1915, 14-year-old Willie Hutchison, out with his father's gold-prospecting party, found pieces of opal lying on the ground. The first opal claim was pegged eight days later. The field was first called the Stuart Range Opal Field, and in 1920 it was renamed Coober Pedy, from the Aboriginal words kupa piti, usually translated as 'white man in a hole'.

The name fits. To escape the desert heat, miners began living underground in dugouts cut into the soft sandstone, and many residents still do. Deep mining took off after an Italian partnership struck high-quality opal at Eight Mile in 1957, and by the 1960s and 1970s Coober Pedy opal was a multimillion-dollar industry. Its opal fields now cover close to 5,000 square kilometres.

This Australian opal is shown in rough form, still partially embedded in its host rock, with a mix of pale blue-grey translucent silica and earthy red-brown ironstone staining. The surface shows natural weathering and pitting, with areas of exposed opal displaying a waxy to slightly glassy luster. Subtle internal color shifts are visible in the cleaner sections, with faint hints of blue and milky tones rather than strong play-of-color, typical of common to semi-precious opal material from these fields.

Australian opal of this type forms in sedimentary environments, where silica-rich groundwater moves through porous sandstone and clay layers, gradually depositing hydrated silica in voids, fractures, or replacing organic material. Over long periods, this silica gels and hardens into opal. The surrounding matrix often carries iron oxides, giving the reddish staining seen here. Regions like Coober Pedy and Andamooka are world-renowned for this process, producing both high-grade precious opal and more common material like this, which is often used for carving or as a study specimen.

Opal is often associated with emotional balance, intuition, and personal expression. It’s commonly chosen by people looking to explore creativity or gain clarity in uncertain situations. This more grounded, earthy variety is often seen as stabilizing, helping to keep emotions steady while still encouraging openness and reflection.

Quantity: 1pc
With this product, you will get the actual stone in the photograph.