Dig Your Own Precious Black Opal At Remote Virgin Valley, Nevada
Posted: Wednesday, May 30, 2007
by Chris Ralph
Nevada Outback Gems
Would you like to find a million dollar gemstone while on vacation in the Western deserts? Well, then you may be interested in a colorful opal from Nevada . Not many people know that northern Nevada is famous for its beautiful, colorful black Opal. The state contains some very rich precious opal beds and has produced some spectacular and extremely valuable specimens. The Virgin Valley opal beds in northwest Humboldt County are perhaps the most famous gemstone locality in Nevada , and Nevada has produced a large amount of gem material. High quality precious opal emitting a multihued rainbow of color is found replacing wood or other plant material in this remote location.
There are no a free areas which are open to precious opal prospecting and collecting by rock hounds that do not wish to pay for access. Hundreds of active mining claims blanket the entire area and the claim owners do not take kindly to trespassers. The pay to dig fees at Virgin Valley are generally much higher than would be experienced and many other pay-dig sites open to rockhounds. Productive mining in Virgin Valley requires the removal of overlying barren sedimentary beds, which can be quite deep, requiring the use of a bulldozer or other heavy equipment, and the operating costs for this type of equipment is not cheap. On the other hand, there is also the chance that you will strike a fantastic find and come up with a $50,000 precious opal log.
As I have noted, there are areas at Virgin Valley which are open to rockhounds who would like to pay to dig for the fiery precious black opal. You have a couple of different options, tailings diggings or bank diggings. At one mine you may dig directly in the bank, while another they will dig up a section of bank, and haul the freshly dug material in for you to search through. You end up working through the opal bearing material in a safe location, and this eliminates exposing the bigger to any dangers of caving at the bank face.
At the time of this writing, the three areas open for rock hounds are:
1. Rainbow Ridge Mine
2. Royal Peacock Opal Mine
3. Bonanza Opal Mine
Each of these mines has their own website (the websites are listed on my Nevada opal web page shown in the link below).
The road into the opal area is not paved, and a high clearance vehicle is needed to drive right into the opal mine areas themselves (however 4 wheel drive is not needed). There are few gas stations or other sources for supplies in the general area – it is important to be self-sufficient in this remote region of Nevada .
While there is no free digging in the opal beds, there is a fair amount of free camping in the area. A nice free campground with shower and pool is located at McGee hot springs . There are also plenty of other things to do, and a number of recreational activities in the Virgin Valley area. There are several stocked ponds in the Valley available for fishing. There is sport hunting for Mule Deer and Antelope in their season. There is a naturally heated swimming pool at McGee Hot Springs. There are also caves to explore, fossil fields, and rock hunting for agates, petrified wood and other gems (besides precious opal). A special wild life refuge is not far away. There is no question that the Virgin Valley area is a very interesting one to visit and explore.
To see color photos of Nevada ’s spectacular precious opal and learn more, Check out the author’s web site at:
http://nevada-outback-gems.com/Rockhound/Nevada_opal_virgin.htm
Other pages of Nevada Rock Hound information, locations and photos can be seen at the authors’ web page at:
http://nevada-outback-gems.com/Rockhound/Rockhound_Corner.htm
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