Earth yields opulent opal
November 5, 2006 - by Tuck Thompson
A QUILPIE man has discovered a boulder opal expected to rival the $1.2 million Galaxy opal found in 1989.
Opal Miners Queensland president Greg McKay was with miner Allan Kisiel when he cut open the boulder five weeks ago to expose the 11cm x 9cm gemstone.
"There was elation. It's not every day that you get a piece of that quality and size," Mr McKay said.
Mr Kisiel, who has been mining for 25 years, excavated the stone in about 18m of sandstone on his leased claim on cattle land about 265km northwest of Quilpie. He has already sold it to a private cutter for an undisclosed price.
"The money side is important but not that important," he said. "I enjoy searching for treasures of the earth, which is opals."
He intends to continue mining – after celebrating his good fortune. "I might splash it around and go for a holiday," he said, when asked how he would spend his windfall.
The Galaxy opal, unearthed in Jundah, was about the same size as this one, Mr McKay said.
Source: The Courier Mail