opal deposits outside australia mexico discovered in 1835 but probably have been known to the aztec....
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Opal Deposits outside Australia
Mexico• 1835Discovered in but probably h bbbb bbbbb bb bbb bbbbbb.• bbbbbb bb b bbb bbbb bbb bbbbbb b bbb bb bbbb bbbb bbbbb bbbbb.• bbbbb bbbb b bbbbb bbbb bbbbbbb bbbb bb yoliticvol cani c r ock.• 3http://www.geo.utexas.edu/courses/4 7 / / _ / /k redesign gem notes Opal• ://..//
Jewellery pendant with Mexican opal
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Access by dirt-road; the area is a semi-aridclimate zone with numerous cactus plants.
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quarries in Queretaro. T b bbbb bbb bb bb bb b7
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Miners inspecting some opal veins
Miner working on rock containing opal. The broken boulders are stacked in a pile to be broken down by hand into pieces 5 cm or less to improve recovery of gem-quality material.
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bb bbb bbbb bbbb b.Here the miner is hammering on a rock which was dynamited from the quarry wall. The opal is trapped in the before mentioned cavities completely but occasionally it is found as loose nodules in the open spaces. These loose nodules, which may be "as large as a hen's egg", are generally the highest quality material.
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ne in the Queretaro region.
Several miners were still strolling around showing off their wares in typical glass vials. But most of the opal - as they said - was material for the "gringos": cheap fire opal.
Numerous pieces of rough fire opalSelection of carved Mexican opal
Carved fine Mexican opal Mexican opal in rhyolite
Interesting carved Mexican opal
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Mexican opal is typicall bb bbbbbb bbbbbbbb bb bb .
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Superb pieces of Mexican opal
Black Fire Jelly
Very nice top quality Mexican opal cabochons. The rough for these pieces has been stored initially for five years before cutting. An opal dealer recently reported that they had problems with material coming from a shaft just 20 m from the original mine where the material used to be durable. The opals broke into pieces when polished.
Mexican opal in rhyolite
Precious Opals in Canada
• The Klinker Opal Deposit, located near Vernon, B.C.was discovered on October 14, 1991.
• 1994In , Okanagan Opal Inc. has exploredbbb bbbbbbbbb bbb bbbbbbb bbbbbbbb bb bbb bbbbb whereadequat e r eser ves of opal have been i dent i f bb bbbbbbb bbbbb bbbbb bbbb bbbbbbbbbbb.• Opal from the Klinker Deposit is classified as "b
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clear amber to translucent /opaque white to dark brown and exhibiting a variable intensity "play of colour" in a flash to broad flash pattern.
http://www.canadianrockhound.com/winter99 993103/cr _opals.html
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What better way to spend a day than to try your luck at finding your own opals?
The Klinker Opal Property is located in the mountains approximately 40 kilometres by road from Vernon, BC and is situated at an elevation of about 1500 metres above sea level.
DIG YOUR OWN OPALS!
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--. 1988During , West Co ast Gemstones, Inc., began
mining and marketing a varie - ty of very fine quality opals fr
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Exquisite stones as large as 315 carats have been cut
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United States
Most important area is in northern Nevada (Virgin Valley); opal here replaces petrified wood in volcanic ash. Has extremely high water content, get beautiful black opal with red flashes. Is notorious for dehydrating with time, however, causing cracking, crazing and making it less marketable.
Louisiana.--The reported precious opal from Louisiana is a sandstone/quartzite with precious opal cement and matrix. It has blue or purple play of color. The material could be cut into cabochons for jewelry and other items of interest. To date, most of the material has been cut into large (over 2-inches in diameter) gemstone spheres.
Nevada.--Nevada is known for precious opal from Virgin Valley. The first discovery of precious opal in the Virgin Valley area was in 1905 or 1906. Since then a significant quantity of the highly prized opal has been recovered. Virgin Valley opal is comparable to any in the world for its vivid play of color and in terms of the size of material available.
Hondourus VAR: opalitic sandstoneHondourus
Location : Lempira-Gracios a DiosHost rock : Basalts and trachytesProduction : Commercial-minor