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 Post subject: Opal Found?
PostPosted: Sat Jun 04, 2022 11:24 am 
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I was at the Royal Peacock Opal mine this weekend and found something. It looks like a huge oyster filled to the brim with white opal. The colors are red, purple, green and maybe more as I stoped polishing when I just started to get color. The whole piece weighs 5.2 oz wet. Its sitting in petrified wood. The back shows blue glass through cracks in the wood. There is a small window in the wood on the upper side of the piece and shows a white-blue tint. I think the peace changes color from white to blue glass. The real kicker is when I turn on the short wave UV light. The oyster changes into a fluorescent green swirling smoke monster eye. Honestly that is exactly what it looks like. It scared me when I turned on the UV. Goosebumps. Does anyone have any thoughts? Radioactive?I hope the photos show well.


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 Post subject: Re: Opal Found?
PostPosted: Sat Jun 04, 2022 12:10 pm 
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Just as a heads up I am going to move this to the Collector's Corner section later, since this is certainly not a forum announcement.
Yup, that's some classic opal there, and a very nice specimen. Iirc some percentage out of there is stable but much will craze when it dries. The green fluorescence is from trace uranium content which is very common in fossils. It's probably not super radioactive but it can be a concern in enclosed rooms with large numbers of particularly hot fossils (ie university dino bone collections).

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 Post subject: Re: Opal Found?
PostPosted: Sat Jun 04, 2022 12:34 pm 
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Thank you


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 Post subject: Re: Opal Found?
PostPosted: Sat Jun 04, 2022 1:31 pm 
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Very nice! Mining, rock hounding or whatever one wants to call it. Mother nature is full of grand surprises! =D>

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 Post subject: Re: Opal Found?
PostPosted: Sun Jun 05, 2022 8:13 pm 
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Fluorescence is very common in Opal. In fact this property is often used in Opal mining to identify and separate out the opal when mining. Don't worry about it.

Opal replacement in fossils is also very common.


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 Post subject: Re: Opal Found?
PostPosted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 2:40 am 
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Yep, many of the opal fields in and around Coober Pedy, AU, night miners use fluorescent lights in the over burden piles.

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 Post subject: Re: Opal Found?
PostPosted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 8:25 am 
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To me it looks like the color flashes follow the intensity of the fluorescents. I may have to peek into the back under the wood. That whole back side may be clear blue glass. At least that’s what shows between the cracks in the wood.


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 Post subject: Re: Opal Found?
PostPosted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 9:06 am 
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Would it be worth opening the back of the piece to uncover what may be blue glass? It looks like half way through the piece the matter changes from milky white to clear blue. I added a zoomed picture of one of the blue glass cracks on the bottom.


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 Post subject: Re: Opal Found?
PostPosted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 11:39 pm 
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If mine I think I would leave it as is, finish polish the face and display.

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 Post subject: Re: Opal Found?
PostPosted: Wed Aug 03, 2022 10:27 pm 
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my 5 cents worth. Leave as is. The wood is probably acting a bit like a doublet backing and possibly holding it all together for now. While it's a white base, you have captured pretty colours already facing which is nicer than blue glass without play...IMO.

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 Post subject: Re: Opal Found?
PostPosted: Thu Aug 04, 2022 11:02 pm 
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I'll see your 5¢ and raise you 2¢ more.:smt116
Polish the good side and leave the rest alone.


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 Post subject: Re: Opal Found?
PostPosted: Fri Aug 05, 2022 6:24 am 
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:smt023

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 Post subject: Re: Opal Found?
PostPosted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 12:14 pm 
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You might want to keep it under water. I think that mine is mostly unstable opal.


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