White Cliffs is an opal mining town. The road from Tibooburra to White Cliffs is mainly dirt road. We were almost there when Brandt said, "I suppose we should have covered our vents". Sure enough, there was a layer of red dust over EVERYTHING!
Like Coober Pedy, there are mounds everywhere. This is the discard from the mining process.
At 3 pm we lined up with others, paid our money and enjoyed a tour of an underground working mine. Before departing headquarters we were told a little history of opal mining in White Cliffs plus were given tips on how to detect opal in a rock.
Then we were taken underground. We were encouraged to look for opal but anything found underground was the property of our guide. Anything found above ground we were entitled to keep. (We didn't find anything for him)
The next photos show how he is digging with a mini excavator.
Next day we went out to fossick around on the discards. We do have some raw opal, but if I want any opal jewellery I will have to buy it.
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