In the pubs of Eulo and Cunnamulla the name Koroit has been whispered and murmured to those seeking to quench their thirst for a cold beer and wishing to slake their craving for sudden wealth in the opalfields for decades. Both Yowah and Koroit sit in the opal bearing Great Artesian Basin within an approximate area with a one hundred and fifty-mile diameter in Queensland, Australia. It is a five hour drive from Lightning Ridge, N. S. W. and a three hour drive from Yowah, Queensland. . Koroit was first mined in around 1897. Only a handful of men poked around the sandstone levels of an ancient sea that lay beneath the surface. Some prospecting, drilling, shafts, and drives were accomplished yielding little opal for the work expended. A hundred years ago, no one seemed interested in the matrix opal in the shallower levels as the market demanded seam opal and light and crystal opal not thin lines of opal running through an ironstone matrix. Today's ironstone matrix opal demand has exploded. The wondrous commas of color, in both many hued potch and of gem opal, proliferate throughout the ironstone or near the skin. The patterns they create have a very "tribal" or Aboriginal flair to them. Picture stones abound and the cross-hatching of fiery rivers of opal create a gem geometric matrix pattern to lust for. Len Cram's series of books on the opals of Australia has included Koroit opal from the very first editions up to his A Journey with Colour Special Collectors Edition but it still always seemed a more distant a place, murmured about in quiet camps, passed unseen by 4 wheel drive vehicles leaving Koroit hidden in rooster tails of dust as Outback travelers hurry to other "more important" destinations. When the dust stirred by the infrequent motorist settles, and one listens carefully on the track to Koroit, the sound of heavy equipment moving may be heard as the few furtive miners of Koroit jockey their big guns into place getting ready to go to war with dirt and lots of it. Mining camps and opal cutting operations are obscured from view on the back tracks of the homesteads. Quiet small groups of miners seem to be covertly at work building accommodations for miners and their equipment. Perhaps it is just the lonely look of the area that shrouds our neighbor Koroit in an air of secrecy. I get the feeling of a great preparation for a concert. Silent shufflings about and whispers, just before the music begins.
To see what I do and why I do it got to www.ParchedEarthOpals.com
Major Opal Addict
Me shoveling 70 feet below ground into my rickshaw.
About Me
- Parched Earth Opals
- Mayer, Arizona, United States
- I hunt for treasure and I find it in wild, rough as guts, crazy places. The booty I have unearthed includes gems, gold, and big oil pipeline paychecks. I have worked with the crackle of the Aurora Borealis overhead and the crunch of Arctic ice beneath my feet. For the last twenty-five years, I have mined opals below ground and camped beneath the Australian sky. This considerably skewed my city girl perspective of life. Because I lived without electricity 6 months out of the year for so many years, I had plenty of time to observe, write, and cartoon the saga of the thrilling side of my dual life. I am Barbara McCondra, mother, teacher, commercial real estate agent, Arctic oilfield worker, Aussie opal miner, gem dealer, and freelance writer/lecturer. I live with one foot each in two hemispheres. When I am asked, “How did you DO that?” I always respond,” If I dress it, speak it, and walk it, I become it,” Simple and exciting. My life is a perpetual adventure. I love it.
