1. THE MINING OF OPAL Nicole bradley & jonathan jones

2. What is opal? Opal is one of the world's most beautiful and precious gemstones. It is one of only six types of precious gemstones found on planet earth!

3. What is opal made of? Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silica.The other crystalline forms of silica, which are classed as minerals.

4. HOW IS OPAL MINED Opal is one of the few minerals which can be taken by a miner working alone. The easiest way to mine is by shaft sinking with a pick and shovel. A shaft is sunk straight down until some opal dirt is discovered. The miner would then search in direction sideways, following the "level" of opal. Driving along the level is carried out with picks and explosives. A screwdriver is used to delicately extract any opal found, due to the frailty of the stone. Most mining was a two-man operation, one man in the hole and another up top to haul out the dirt.

5. What is silica A hard, unreactive, colorless compound that occurs as the mineral quartz and as a principal constituent of sandstone and other rocks.

6. What colours can opal come in All the colours of the rainbow and Almost ninety-five per cent of all fine opals come from the dry and remote deserts.

7. Where is opal found? Opal is mined in Australia, the U.S., and Mexico. Some of the most famous Opal deposits are in Australia, and below are the most known Australian locations: south Australia. Coober Pedy, South Australia.

8. Open-pit mining, or is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earthr than from underground workings.

9. What is closed pit Closed pit mining is under ground mining in a closed pit