Australian Opal Challenge ... Don't Be Fooled! Pulitzer Opal

[SwordfishMining]

Comments will get you in the give aways.

[mehoose]

Ooo ello! Guess who just got herself a cabber after a 15 years wait!!!
Hey, you're doing well with the treating(on the earlier ones, not the ouchy dud but still pretty opal)!.
About to watch some more.. ....

[mehoose]

Hey John, did you hear about the cockup at the Ridge?

[PinkDiamond]

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw you were here 'hoose, and I'm so happy to see you, and excited that you finally got your machine!! I hope it means we'll see some the rocks you cut so we'll see you more often.

So what happened at the Ridge?

[mehoose]

I hope to be, Pink!

Yes, a major cockup on the government side. All the miners had to cease their claims because the 'paperwork' was done incorrectly since about 2015!
They say they're going to speed the process up but the miners have to 'reapply' for their claims..
Oh lordy...let's hope they all play nice and there's no claim jumping going on.
What a nightmare!

i was seriously contemplating going to the Opal Fest in July, it would have been my first time, but I don't think the atmosphere is going to be one I want to experience for my first time. I fear there might be more than a tinge of desperation unless the government can pull a magic trick and have this all sorted before the show. If they can't mine, there's no opals.

[SwordfishMining]

Hiya! Yes I heard about it. What I did not hear anything about was the specific problem they tripped over. I doubt it will affect the retail end of the shows at all until the back supply is sold out. Whose permission was not gotten or who is not getting what percentage of what known production or what it was exactly. I fears some kind of "social" problem not "engineering" difficulty. Until then we fight things here like them changing the regulations to remove the rockhounds from the prospecting roles by banning tools or enforcing a 25 mile per hour speed limit on deserted desert roads,and I might add with only ONE ranger for 3 refuges in a hundred mile area. The newest pocket mine was sold so they say and may be a new fee dig.

[mehoose]

Yep, absolutely nothing is being divulged and Justin of BOD has just implied along the lines of, if things are happening ie. being fixed, they're not happening in a timely fashion...and the offsider commented thank goodness they had a good stock. So I took that to mean a good inventory of cut gems already and no doubt some rough but he's like most folk..relying on a trip out to the fields to see if anyone has something available and things will dry up if the gov doesn't speed up.