Frederick: It's simply the most stunning gemstone on the planet ... But over 90% of the world's opal comes from Australia. And a lot of the black opal is found here, at Lightning Ridge.

the exploiter of the Australian gem, which he clearly regards as primarily connected with living organisms. Opal: the Gem of the Never Never. By T. C. Wollaston. Pp. xi + 164 + 15 plates.

This only increased the stone’s unfortunate association ... in the late 19th and early 20th century when opal deposits were discovered in Australia, and have since waxed and waned in popularity.

The Australian Opal Centre has 4000 or more fossils in its collection, worth an estimated $3 million, but with Jenni and Elizabeth the only palaeontologists on site, much of it has yet to be studied.

South Australia, looking for opals around the mouth of an opal mine (noodling)I found an aboriginal stone cutting implement made from petrified wood. The implement,4 x 2cm, has clearly marked ...