opal mining white cliffs nsw
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today I took a fluro work light down to try and get the ground colour to look right as the flash on the camera changes it. advancing our little drive east, I shouldn't be doing anything at all but you know how it is lol. managing 3 hrs a day 
best bit out of that wash layer again
best bit out of that wash layer again
Nice to see you guys are onto some colour :Y: I hope there is some much bigger bits just round the corner for you.
thanks mate, I have been sitting there when having a break and thinking that it can be inches away in any direction. the possibility of a big findshivan said:
is very real unlike the possibility of nice gold nuggets in a creek. I just wish there was gold here to so I could run a sluice off the end of the tipper lol
Syndyne
Shaun Galman
Nice one 20x!
Always good to see a bit of colour kicking around. You never know whats coming up ahead!
That sounds like opal fever setting in. Just be careful as the cure, like gold fever, gets harder and harder to find Haha!
It's no easy feat to get a good photographic representation of a mine. For lighting the photos back in the day, I used to use our general work lights -in the form of two 150w incandescent bulbs to get good lighting. One positioned either side of the camera and a third one in hand if required to show something at the face. This setup did a semi-decent job over all (depending on the scene you're conveying).
I definitely agree that the camera's flash is a terribly harsh light and tends to wash things out a bit too much. I'm sure you'll find a good solution there somewhere. It's all trial and error in those darker conditions at the best of times. The shots so far have been very good though.
All the best over there. Looking forward to seeing the pics if you find the cure for the fever! :Y:
Take it easy,
Shauno.
Always good to see a bit of colour kicking around. You never know whats coming up ahead!
20xwater said:
That sounds like opal fever setting in. Just be careful as the cure, like gold fever, gets harder and harder to find
Haha!It's no easy feat to get a good photographic representation of a mine. For lighting the photos back in the day, I used to use our general work lights -in the form of two 150w incandescent bulbs to get good lighting. One positioned either side of the camera and a third one in hand if required to show something at the face. This setup did a semi-decent job over all (depending on the scene you're conveying).
I definitely agree that the camera's flash is a terribly harsh light and tends to wash things out a bit too much. I'm sure you'll find a good solution there somewhere. It's all trial and error in those darker conditions at the best of times. The shots so far have been very good though.
All the best over there. Looking forward to seeing the pics if you find the cure for the fever! :Y:
Take it easy,
Shauno.
thanks shauno, had the day off today to go see flying docs for post op check, day 2 after op I coughed and it hurt big time, that's all it took to tear the repair. its all healed
the way it is wich is heaps better than it was so that's a positive I spose. now I'm pretty pi55ed about it so I will take it out on the ground lol.
dads been here nearly 2 years and knows all the local miners. depth and indicators are right according to them and the ground they are in. just keep driving
scott.
the way it is wich is heaps better than it was so that's a positive I spose. now I'm pretty pi55ed about it so I will take it out on the ground lol.
dads been here nearly 2 years and knows all the local miners. depth and indicators are right according to them and the ground they are in. just keep driving
scott.
Syndyne
Shaun Galman
That is some good news. Glad to hear you're on the mend. Taking out your negatives on the dirt is definitely a good proposition. I used to do that too. :Y:
Hernia's are no fun. Went through that with my old man a few years back. He had a 6cm tear in the upper groin area which I think came from helping to push a caravan a few feet. It's a fairly extensive operation too. My good friend has had two Hernia's fixed, both from benching insanely heavy weight while stupidly showing off to his mates in the gym in the early 90's. He seriously regrets it now that he's older and a little wiser.
Just reading over on the DIY thread (nicely done on the cutting and definition by the way!) that you also had back issues? I too had things go south badly with a lower back injury.
Really gotta look after the old body, particularly once you hit the thirties and things don't heal like they used to. I felt invincible in my teens and twenties (as I'm sure we all do), then I was shot down by the injury while mining (about 11 years ago at the age of 27). Ended up tearing all the lower interior muscles between my spin and right hip simply by pushing the rickshaw into the dirt to start shovelling -just doing the same motion I'd done countless times before. It felt like getting hit with an axe and I just dropped to the floor of the drive and couldn't get up. The crawl to the shaft to climb out and the forty minute ride home over the corrugated road was something I'll never forget. Took four days to be able to sit up, a few weeks to be able to even walk upright comfortably and several months to feel somewhat normal while mining. When it happened I honestly thought I would never stand again. Very scary.
Pretty much back to normal now, other than a bit of stiffness in the lower back some mornings. But, it's something I'm highly conscious of when lifting anything these days, both in the gym and in general. I feel for anyone that's had a serious injury take place. It's a bugger of a ride, particularly when your working future is uncertain.
Anyhow, enough of my thread hijacking. Bring on the opal!
Cheers and stay safe Scott!
Shauno.
Hernia's are no fun. Went through that with my old man a few years back. He had a 6cm tear in the upper groin area which I think came from helping to push a caravan a few feet. It's a fairly extensive operation too. My good friend has had two Hernia's fixed, both from benching insanely heavy weight while stupidly showing off to his mates in the gym in the early 90's. He seriously regrets it now that he's older and a little wiser.
Just reading over on the DIY thread (nicely done on the cutting and definition by the way!) that you also had back issues? I too had things go south badly with a lower back injury.
Really gotta look after the old body, particularly once you hit the thirties and things don't heal like they used to. I felt invincible in my teens and twenties (as I'm sure we all do), then I was shot down by the injury while mining (about 11 years ago at the age of 27). Ended up tearing all the lower interior muscles between my spin and right hip simply by pushing the rickshaw into the dirt to start shovelling -just doing the same motion I'd done countless times before. It felt like getting hit with an axe and I just dropped to the floor of the drive and couldn't get up. The crawl to the shaft to climb out and the forty minute ride home over the corrugated road was something I'll never forget. Took four days to be able to sit up, a few weeks to be able to even walk upright comfortably and several months to feel somewhat normal while mining. When it happened I honestly thought I would never stand again. Very scary.
Pretty much back to normal now, other than a bit of stiffness in the lower back some mornings. But, it's something I'm highly conscious of when lifting anything these days, both in the gym and in general. I feel for anyone that's had a serious injury take place. It's a bugger of a ride, particularly when your working future is uncertain.
Anyhow, enough of my thread hijacking. Bring on the opal!
Cheers and stay safe Scott!
Shauno.
VERY interesting 20xw never seen an actual mine in operation
ray
ray
yeah stretched lower back ligaments pretty badly, working out was physio gone out of control lol. hernia began bout 20yrs ago I think, I liked trying to lift the front wheels of mum's vw off the ground, could only de-compress the shocks but. with anything its 'how dare it beat me' lol, last attempt ended with a sharp pain and tear feeling. oops lol. the last year working out just excelerated it, only thing that stopped me.Syndyne said:That is some good news. Glad to hear you're on the mend. Taking out your negatives on the dirt is definitely a good proposition. I used to do that too. :Y:
Hernia's are no fun. Went through that with my old man a few years back. He had a 6cm tear in the upper groin area which I think came from helping to push a caravan a few feet. It's a fairly extensive operation too. My good friend has had two Hernia's fixed, both from benching insanely heavy weight while stupidly showing off to his mates in the gym in the early 90's. He seriously regrets it now that he's older and a little wiser.
Just reading over on the DIY thread (nicely done on the cutting and definition by the way!) that you also had back issues? I too had things go south badly with a lower back injury.
Really gotta look after the old body, particularly once you hit the thirties and things don't heal like they used to. I felt invincible in my teens and twenties (as I'm sure we all do), then I was shot down by the injury while mining (about 11 years ago at the age of 27). Ended up tearing all the lower interior muscles between my spin and right hip simply by pushing the rickshaw into the dirt to start shovelling -just doing the same motion I'd done countless times before. It felt like getting hit with an axe and I just dropped to the floor of the drive and couldn't get up. The crawl to the shaft to climb out and the forty minute ride home over the corrugated road was something I'll never forget. Took four days to be able to sit up, a few weeks to be able to even walk upright comfortably and several months to feel somewhat normal while mining. When it happened I honestly thought I would never stand again. Very scary.
Pretty much back to normal now, other than a bit of stiffness in the lower back some mornings. But, it's something I'm highly conscious of when lifting anything these days, both in the gym and in general. I feel for anyone that's had a serious injury take place. It's a bugger of a ride, particularly when your working future is uncertain.
Anyhow, enough of my thread hijacking. Bring on the opal!
Cheers and stay safe Scott!
Shauno.
no such thing as hijackingmy threads mate. discussion allways encouraged
ps..decided to remain calm and not take it out on ground lol. only done 2 more digs since. we are coming back up a level and back into the harder ground next dig.
nice pic mate, I don't anything about opal but I know if you go to the local pub here there are 2 big rocks on the shelf with the flat face covered in a thing layer of beautiful opal, I think they call it a painted lady. I'm guessing they are worthless and just good show specimens as Im guessing extracting the opal of hard rock will just destroy/shatter the opal. I'm guessing there would be a chemical process but probly only worth doing if the opal was thick enough and of high quality to cut workable pieces out of it.wormy898 said:
Today we decided to do an exploration dig on claim 2..
from surface..
from a third way down, added extra planks for a secure platform to drive off..
looking up from platform..
drove about a meter, totally different ground, veins of some type of crystal mineral going everywhere..
up closer in the wall..
id needed...anyone??????
from surface..
from a third way down, added extra planks for a secure platform to drive off..
looking up from platform..
drove about a meter, totally different ground, veins of some type of crystal mineral going everywhere..
up closer in the wall..
id needed...anyone??????
Gee there are some pretty big words to understand there 20X
ray
ray
a thickness of fine white kaolin like material of highly siliceous compostion..
illuminated it using ultra violet light..
containing large quartzite boulders( identified 3 variations, one is very dense and looks like marble when cut)..
began my own drive, dad is driving behind me and a bit lower..
this is a pic of material(top left of drive pic) I found interesting, quite hard and maybe a step or 2 before potch..
enthusiasm is on the rise, chipping away slowly with small hammer, no rush approach
illuminated it using ultra violet light..
containing large quartzite boulders( identified 3 variations, one is very dense and looks like marble when cut)..
began my own drive, dad is driving behind me and a bit lower..
this is a pic of material(top left of drive pic) I found interesting, quite hard and maybe a step or 2 before potch..
enthusiasm is on the rise, chipping away slowly with small hammer, no rush approach
Great photos mate. Really enjoying this thread.
Ditto to what Heatho said.
Cheers for taking the time to post the photos.
Cheers for taking the time to post the photos.
