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Yay our first mine! The black hand. Taken into the mine by the owner/miner/artist of this incredible mine! 'Ron' bought a section of land that he started mining by hand around 18 years ago. As he mines for the illicit black opal, he has sculpted figures, animals, cartoons, every kind of religious and cultural icon.
An Entrepanour realised what he was doing and joined partnership to start public tours, and have an underground opal shop.
Ron himself was such a gorgeous natured man. He told us about his mine, and the basics of mining with such passion, but like he was telling it for the first time. So humble too.
Following that mine, we drove through the dusty white limestone landscape following the 'yellow car doors' up to an open mine. "Lunatic lookout". Then visited a small caravan set up in the heat and dust with an elderly man sitting there with his 2 dogs, just hoping for a small sale. He's not the only one here. Such a unique existence. Just the thought of "not what you have found, but what you will find"-Ron Drives these people.
Everywhere we drive are mounds of rock that are being shifted out of a small hole, with a man down there hoping to find opal. Like human moles.
A newspaper article quoted a miner saying "after being down there 20mins it's like breathing under water. People die of lung cancer all the time, and it's a snaky business with king brown snakes often falling into your hole."
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