|
World Famous Precious Fire Opal Mines & Claims
ROYAL PEACOCK, INC.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Virgin Valley Geology It took twenty million years for Mother Nature to make a Virgin Valley black opal. It was well worth the wait. The most spectacular black opals in the world come from the Royal Peacock mines in Virgin Valley, Nevada. Virgin Valley black opals are found in layers of clay that were formed when volcanic ash filled an ancient lake millions of years ago. The surrounding forests were also choked with the ash. The lake had twigs and limbs and rotting wood collected in its coves. The buried wood decayed and left lifelike cavities as mementos of their presence. Heat and pressure formed a silica gel that percolated through the ash and filled the cavities. It gradually hardened into opal. In a small percentage of the opals the cells aligned to create opals with a fiery soul - precious black opals - the most beautiful gemstones in the known universe. Virgin Valley opals are predominately limb casts embedded in clay beds. Most limbs come from an ancient tree species called Cryptomeria - a relative of the Sequoia. Modem day Cryptomeria are native only to Japan. A few opalized limbs have also been identified as coming from Fir, Pine, Oak, Chestnut, Maple, and Elm. Virgin Valley opals are usually found in pockets. When you fmd one there are usually others near by. This reinforces the theory that most of the limbs were floating in an ancient lake and crowded together in small coves and back eddies. Opalized bones of vertebrate animals have also been found, as well as opalized branches, bark, roots, pine cones, and seeds. VIRGIN VALLEY HISTORY Ancient man visited Virgin Valley more than I 0,000 years ago. The 'Last Supper' cave - an archeological marvel - is located near the southwestern tip of the valley. The bones and relics of the cave's inhabitants have been carbon dated at eight to ten thousand years before Christ. 4,,500 years ago a Chinese expedition was dispatched to Virgin Valley to mine black fire opals. This was the first recorded instance of opal mining in America. In the late 1800s and early 1900s cowboys and sheep-herders picked up a few surface opals as curiosities. The first underground workings were started in 1905. The Royal Peacock mines were discovered in 1912. The Wilson family purchased the Peacock mines in 1944. Virgin Valley is an isolated area thirty miles southwest of Denio,- Nevada. The Royal Peacock opal bearing properties are located in the southern end of Virgin Valley. Most of the properties lie at an elevation between 5,000 and 6,000 feet. Mining at the Peacock properties is a stripping operation. Ten to thirty feet of overburden is stripped off with heavy equipment to expose the opal bearing clay. In this high desert area the days are mild and the nights are cool. Rainfall is six inches annually. Mine Production More than a quarter of a million carats of precious fire opals have been extracted from the Royal Peacock mines in the past twenty five years. In 1970 the "ROYAL PEACOCK", a fifty-ounce black precious opal was found in the Royal Peacock #1 mine. It was subsequently broken up into several smaller stones: The "LITTLE BLACK PEACOCK, a 20 carat stone. sold for $15,000. . The "BLACK PEACOCK", a 169 carat stone, was sold for $45,000. It now resides majestically in the Smithsonian Museum. Many smaller stones were cut from the 'leavings'. In 1971 more than $500,000 in precious opals were taken from a fault in the Royal Peacock #2 from less than ten cubic yards of material. In 1976 the rare, unique "PEBBLE GHOST" was taken from the Little Pebble mine. Since that time several 'ghost' opals have been wrested from the Little Pebble mine The Royal Peacock #2 produced the "LITTLE PRINCESS" stone in 1978. This beautiful black opal weighed 205 carats and was valued at more than $50,000. In 1992 the Northern Lights mine produced the "DRAGON'S TOOTH", a unique specimen with red and green fire weighing 52 carats. Also in 1992 the Northern Lights relinquished the "GINKGO LOG", a 130 pound opal - one of the largest opals ever found anywhere in the world. It contained about 30% precious opal. Scientists from Brigham Young University determined that the opaled log came from a Ginkgo tree. Hence its name. Modem day Ginkgos are found only in Japan.
Walter Wilson 9535 Hwy.95 N. Winnemucca, NV 89445 (702) 272-3201 maestes@frontiernet.net
|