New South Wales Opal Towns & Fields
| Article Index |
|---|
| New South Wales Opal Towns & Fields |
| White Cliffs |
| All Pages |
Lightning Ridge - 'Home of Black Opal'
Lightning Ridge – 'Home of Black Opal', the most highly prized variety in the trinity. 
The ‘Ridge’ is unrivalled, nearly all of the world’s Black Opal and the finest come from here. Over the last few decades it was the equal largest producer by value.
Originally known as the 'Wallangulla' Opal fields; Legend has it that the fitting title "Lightning Ridge" was derived after a shepherd, his dog, and six hundred sheep were killed during a fierce electrical storm, while sheltering on a low ridge in the area.
There are more than 70 Opal fields in the greater Lightning Ridge region. Opal mining occurs in three seperate areas totalling 2300 square kilometres, there are about 6000 active claims, but only 500 to 800 are mined regularly and 2000 only casually.
The main fields are the original Town fields within a 10 km radius of the PO and Coocoran 30 km to the West, the Opal here is typically found as ‘nobbies’ or nodules, their dark appearance is due to carbon (organic matter) and iron oxide trace elements. The Grawin and Glengarry fields 80 km to the SW of Lightning Ridge township produce ‘seam’ Opal similar to the dark or semi-black Opal found at Mintabie in South Australia.
The population of Lightning Ridge has proven nigh impossible to estimate at times. With production at its peak in the early 1990’s, there were more than 7,000 people in the town. Currently estimates run at 3000 permanent residents, not including numerous transient inhabitants and camp dwellers, however only 1,109 people voted in the local government elections in 2004.
Lightning Ridge receives over 80,000 visitors per year, with numerous good quality motels and several caravan parks to choose from most people usually stay a couple a days at least.
