World Famous Precious Fire Opal Mine
Nearly 14 million years ago, Virgin Valley, in the northwest corner of Humboldt County, was covered by lakes and forests. Today, what we see is simply bare hills. The entire area was several thousand feet lower and more like the coastal mountain ranges of today. However, the earth was not quiet; volcanoes periodically erupted, blasting the forests apart and burying them under hundreds of feet of ash. This cycle was repeated several times over the next million years. Magma later pushed to the surface and repeatedly flowed over the region. The layers of ash and blasted trees were buried more than 1500 feet deep. Under millions of tons of rock and ash, one of the miracles of nature was taking place, transforming common silica into Fire Opal. The pieces of the buried forests were disintegrating and the ash surrounding them was being chemically altered by hot fluids into clay. From deep underground, super-heated water flowed upward through the cracks and faults in the silicon rich ash layer. Current thought on how opals are created is that as the super-heated water moved through the ash layers, it dissolved some of the silica from the ash. When the water encountered a cavity created by the disintegrating wood, the water slowed, allowing some of the dissolved silica to be deposited. Over the centuries, this process was repeated again and again, forming opals in the cavities left by the decayed wood. Above the ground, the climate and landforms slowly changed into what we see today - a high, arid desert, cut by rugged mountain ranges. But the opals have not changed. It wasn't until the 1800's as the westward expansion of the United States reached this remote section of Humboldt County, that the Virgin Valley opals became known to western civilization. Buckaroos working cattle and sheep in the area picked up a few opals to trade later for a Saturday night beer in town. Serious prospecting began around the turn of the century as the world demand for quality opals began to climb. The first workings in the Virgin Valley were started in 1905, beginning a period of increasing activity that has only been interrupted by two world wars. Today, several commercial mining operations and more than 200 private claims are working the Virgin Valley opal deposits, producing not only the prized Black Opal, but also Fire Opals of many hues, with the brilliand fire unique to the valley's gem. Millions of dollars in opals have been taken from the Virgin Valley since 1905. The most famous of these, the Robeling Opal, and 14 other spectacular examples are on display in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
Walter Wilson 9535 Hwy.95 N. Winnemucca, NV 89445 (702) 272-3201 maestes@frontiernet.net
|
« Opal Shop » « Northern Lights Delight »