"Northern Lights" open for 2012!
This year, we will once again open our famous "Northern Lights" area. This is the part of the Royal Peacock Opal Mine that was featured in The Travel Channel's "Cash and Treasures" program, with Kirsten Gum. It has yielded some truly impressive opals!
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Famous Northern Lights Opals
Famous opals found here include the Northern Lights Delight (also called "the shoe") and the massive Ginkgo Log. At 130 pounds, the Ginkgo Log (pictured below) is among the largest opals ever found, anywhere in the world! It was found by a customer in the late 1990s.
Walt Wilson, and the Ginkgo Log
Freda's Log
Another special opal found two years ago in the Northern Lights is Freda's Log. This treasure, which belongs to Julie Wilson, is not for sale. It was discovered by Julie, her father, and a friend. The photo gallery below shows off a few views of it. Alternatively, you can watch a video of Freda's Log.
The Northern Lights was closed to the public in 2004, and then reopened last year. To prepare the site for public digging, about 150 feet of clay overburden was removed. The gallery below shows Walt Wilson, Jake (Wilson) Anderson, and Leon Frey readying the site for opening day.
Preparing the Northern Lights
The Northern Lights area offers both "bank digging" and "tailings mining."
Learn more:
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