Welcome to opalholicsanonymous.com where opal season lasts forever.

Hiya Everyone! Thanks for the effort to create a free standing forum and letting me in. I'm John Church, Swordfish Mining in the Virgin Valley Opal Mining District in Humboldt Co, NV USA: https://www.virginvalleyopal.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.
I admin'd (until THAT criminal lied I used content he stole from another) my Virgin Valley Opal Facebook group - he replaced it with a slanderous ad hominum attack, copycats my claim selling business for a revenge centered one. He just lost his 20 year long claimjumping claims by BLM decision.

Read this https://www.dominiongems.com/website-terms-of-use.

Tomorrow is the big Denio BBQ in our area at the Community Hall, first weekend in June. Rainy weather this digging season slowed the start of the season down, but some pretties were recovered! The rains brought out a few more of the rare surface finds in heavily worked areas too. As usual I've been quietly working to be where I need to be when somebody would like to buy.

Alright! Swordfish Mining is in da house!! Warmest welcome to our new home, John. One more post and you're in and can post freely. We're so glad to have you join us!

Hey there Swordfish Mining!
Glad you could join our new forum!

I've been watching your beautiful stones on the other site for some time now, so it it a real pleasure to have you over here on our forum.
Take care and God bless!
Chris

I want to thank you for the hopefully "forever home" for the information on opal. Facebook Groups are a NOW US thing and when you're gone, so is all your content out of posts and comments. I'll make more admins before I fade away for the Virgin Valley Opal Group where I just put up an album of the last batch of glued rough. I'm years behind cutting even if I do have some stuff on the stove. Just CA to make it hard enough to work worry free or so I hope. Not that green looks wet as it is.

*edited by Pink to embed the video. All you have to do here is place the number of the video from the URL, between the youtube brackets.

You gotta be kidding me!! That puppy is AWESOME!!!


What a find! Just out of curiosity, how much would something like that go for, John?
Man, that is SWEET!

BTW, we have a new member from your area, on the Oregon side.
viewtopic.php?p=641#p641

That sure is pretty John!!

Welcome Swordfish

greate find ! the pattern under the 'skin' looks awesome

Hiya Pink. I don't know. I've never had one just like it. It screams Chinese Writing to me, but we have Wolo type patterns here (as they had the volume to actually show off what all is possible in "volcanic" opal patterns) so it would probably called a honeycomb. That shimmering on the inside is typical of plume play of color formation. Virgin Valley Gemstones is not a set market so I apparently always ask too much even if it based on prices I see asked at shows and paid in auctions for blacks. When there is a large base, you can throw a stone out at auction and get at least keystone every time and it supports the prices. With a small group of believers you always get the opening, but it does not run up to wholesale. My reply to the price question as people want to know the range first is the good ones are in that riker "100 a ct and up". When they pick up the 4+ ct black and go this one: I say"thats a thousand a ct" 360 degree color and it gets handed back. I need more polished stones; Opal and wood is just totally unappreciated for the patterns and that should be my staple by volume mined and cut. Everybody seems to believe the old competitors sale spiel that the finished gemstones are going to magically craze 10 years down the road. Jim. I imagine you kept a good one or two from what you cut from here. Did they blow up on you? None of the stones you sent from the parcel back went south on me, or got priced haha. So...... I still have the brightest most expensive patterned or specimen blacks in water waiting for a real process to dry them to come along. Until then i watch my naturals languish and me not able to mine more.

Hi, John!!

Woah, that's a stunning VV opal in your video!!

Are you continuing your courses through ISG?

Hiya Pink; No I'm not doing the ISG course because the museum died and I undonated my showcase of fine opals. The ones that don't fire me up or are the more common ones are the ones being displayed and priced. I've sold wet specimens for that purpose. Folks only seem to want to pick tops from mine run price out of dry so the wet priced in tubs and they take the chance is what was affordable for them.