OPAL LIFE
Come play in the dirt with our family!
2026 Season: May 1st through October 18th (Weather Permitting)
Hours: 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM, 7 days a week.
Reservations: No reservations are needed; however, you must sign in at the Gift Shop before starting to mine.
The Golden Rule: All you find are yours to keep!
Anyone is welcome, whether or not you intend to mine for opals!
Cost: $210 per person/day. (Includes access to tailings).
Discounts: Available for active military, veterans and 65+ (with valid ID).
Restrictions: Children under 12 are not allowed to dig in the bank.
The Experience: This is hard work, but it may offer the best chance to find a noteworthy opal. You will work ground that has never been moved or sifted before. In the off-season, we use heavy equipment to remove hundreds of feet of clay “over-burden,” exposing sloping, near-vertical “banks” of opal-bearing substrate.
Cost: $85 per person/day.
Kids: Children 12 and under are FREE with a paid adult.
Discounts: Available for active military, veterans and 65+ (with valid ID).
The Experience: A less expensive and less strenuous option! The “tailings” comprise mounds of looser material. Sometimes opals found here were missed by bank diggers, or moved by the backhoe during daily site work (clearing debris to keep the bank safe).
Why it’s great for families: Children are valuable helpers because they are low to the ground and often have excellent eyesight.
We HIGHLY recommend bringing your own tools. We now have only a very limited number of tools available for use at the mine site.
For the Bank: Long-handled, sharp-pointed pick (Estwing Hoe Pick) or rock pick.
For the Tailings: Garden rake (picks are useful for breaking clods).
Excavation: Shovel, Ice pick, or sharpened screwdriver (8-inch long blade ground to a point).
General Gear:
Gloves (Essential!)
Safety glasses or goggles
Paintbrush (for brushing away dirt)
Small bucket or plastic container
Ziploc bags
Kneeling pad
Water squirt bottle
Hat and sunscreen
Note: Hand picks are available for purchase in the gift shop ($45/small, $100/large). Important: No mechanical tools are allowed.
Hard Hats: Required. Try to bring your own, though we have a limited amount on hand for use.
Footwear: No open-toed shoes allowed. Hard-toed boots are recommended to protect your toes from rocks, but sturdy closed-toe shoes will work.
Eye Protection: Safety glasses or goggles are required for bank diggers. (Available for purchase in the rock shop if you don’t have them).
The work involves knocking fresh material from the bank, typically with a pick or rock hammer.
Safety First: Remove no more than a hand’s thickness at a time. Work evenly and do not “under-cut” the bank. Undercutting creates dangerous rock-fall conditions.
Listen: Often, the sound of your pick hitting glass is the first sign you have found something.
Extracting: Use small hand tools (ice picks, screwdrivers, awls, chisels) to carefully dig the specimen out.
Water vs. Dry: Depending on the type of opal, you may wish to place it in a bucket of water immediately to prevent cracking/crazing. If you’re wanting to attempt to dry your opal out, you will place directly into a ziplock bag and not open it again for 1 year bypassing the water completely.
Wood Opal: For opals that are 35% or more fossilized wood, soaking can actually cause damage (the wood expands and cracks the opal). Please place into a ziplock bag or wrap with plastic wrap.
Rake through the loose material while keeping an eye out for unusual colors and shapes. Listen for the sound of glass/rock hitting your tools!
Water vs. Dry: Most all specimens from the tailings are dry and should remain so even when going through the cleaning process. Unless it is extremely fresh material then it would go into a sealed ziplock bag for several months to complete its dry process.
Advice: If in doubt, ask a staff member before soaking your find!
See what others experience during their stay at the Royal Peacock Opal Mines in Denio, NV.
Find Your Own World-Class Opals and Keep Whatever You Find
