Royal Peacock Opan Mine - Denio, NV
Over the weekend I drove to Denio, NV to visit the Royal Peacock Opal Mine. My roommate this summer is a geology student and I heard her speak many times of wanting to go and mine for opals. It was a long drive into the middle of nowhere Nevada but very scenic and as the majority of the drive was on backroads I could drive as fast as I wanted to which I enoyed very much. The mine is located within a wildlife refuge that offers camping and lots of nature viewing. When I got there I was greeted by a very nice woman who was more than happy to take my money and explain how to mine the opals. I went for the more expesive option which was mining the bank for $180/day which also allows you to mine the tailings which is $75/day. When she said that mining the bank was hard work she wasn't kidding. She sent me with a guide who turned out to be a seismologist from Fiji who was there visiting for a week and her two kids that were around the age of 10. We drove out to the mine and I was shown ...