Looking inside the bag of precious opals, Mike Poben knew he'd found something special, he just wasn't quite sure what. As an opal dealer, he'd seen plenty of gems over the years — Mike found his ...

Rain in the outback South Australian town of Andamooka usually comes with the promise of rare opals washing up — prompting locals to walk the streets with buckets, in search of newly unveiled rock and ...

The Queensland government's purchase of Vergemont Station last year led to months of uncertainty for miners with tenures ...

SPENCER, Idaho — From Interstate 15, the tiny town passes in a moment, just a blip of brown buildings in the desert. But inside the local stores is a treasure trove. The fire of opals erupts from ...

Cloaked in white dust and surrounded by expansive plains, the town of Lightning Ridge produces the bulk of the world’s precious black opal. This rare gemstone, prized for its dazzling play of color, ...

A new season opal hunting begins! The Rookies face potential disaster from the get go; for Col's Crew, their mining quest is derailed by a serious illness, and the Opal Queen brings in new muscle and ...

Few realize that the world’s most famous black fire opal – the official Nevada State Gem – was discovered in Nevada’s remote Virgin Valley in 1918. Col. W.A. Roebling, a civil engineer who helped ...