August 23-24 more of the same!

 

The sludge from the 'aggies'

The search for 'colour' as the water and rocks spill is fast and furious

These are the 'aggies' which wash the clay and dirt off mine tailing 

The opal fields are peppered with old trucks and parts

We were in the field most of the day on Friday with a visit to an old open cut mine which had been operating since 1911 - fascinating stuff. That was followed by a visit to a tail-out where they wash the opal dirt which they dig out of the mines looking for precious pieces (we get the remnants of these tailings to sort through for fossils). We had a little time before lunch so visited a tertiary gravel pit near Cumborah where we specked for quartz ‘jellybeans’, topaz, jasper - and basically anything we could find that took our eye. 

After lunch we headed out to join the group headed by palaeontologist Prof Michael Archer. Mike who was in the field with a group of graduate and undergraduate students. 

Opal mud

The day finished with an hilarious trivia quiz night. 
By Saturday morning I was pooped but we start again this morning with a walk into the building site of the new AOC home.

This 2 storey cathedral-like building will be magnificent. It will be mostly below ground, up to the top of the tunnel (centre pic) which is where people will enter.

And so the ‘dig’ ended, for us at least, with quite a collection from bones, mollusc and plant fossils to fossilised dung and worm tubes. They all add tiny pieces to the jigsaw picture of life 100 million years ago. We celebrated with opal cakes (and a farewell dinner). But we’ll be back early next year for the opening of Stage 1 of the Australian Opal Centre. It will be spectacular. 

This remarkable building emerging from the ground and insulated by the earth, will collect rainwater, generate power and be filled with light and fresh air. It will eventually house the world's greatest public collection of priceless opal and opalised fossils from the Age of Dinosaurs - it will be unique and special.