Opal Hunters S04 E09

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pmail112233
  • 3 months ago
Travel to Australia, and watch this real life documentary, of people mining the Opal gemstone.

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Transcript
00:00On Outback Opal Hunters, a man down.
00:05This is really throwing a spanner in the works.
00:07The Young Guns risk an abandoned mine for a new source of opal.
00:12Are we insane?
00:13Chris and Oscar Geale battle their toughest ground yet.
00:16That's not working.
00:18And find another miner.
00:19That's not a bit of working, eh?
00:21Look here, look.
00:22Has beaten them to it.
00:24And the Poms' opal hunting dream...
00:27Carl, the tippet is stuck.
00:29Could be about to shatter.
00:31Can't everything just work for a day?
00:52Alright, we're pushing. We're pushing for the target.
00:54Alright, let's do it.
00:55Let's go down.
00:57In remote New South Wales, temperatures are pushing 40 degrees.
01:01The Young Guns, JC, Jamin and Noah,
01:04have just a few weeks to hit their target
01:07before extreme temperatures end their season.
01:10It's like an oven in there during the day
01:12and our machinery is starting to struggle a bit
01:15and we don't know how much longer it can take it.
01:19But there's been no sign of opal for two weeks.
01:22We came out to show people that we could actually do this
01:25and there is actually money in it,
01:26so we don't want to come back with nothing.
01:29The key is literally the more dirt you move,
01:31the better your chances are going to be.
01:33Woo!
01:34Move some dirt, boy.
01:38They're hunting Whitecliffe's famous pineapple opals,
01:41worth up to half a million dollars apiece.
01:44I mean, if we find one, that would be...
01:46It would literally be amazing.
01:47You know, there's nothing that could compare to that.
01:50WHIRRING
01:53Bloody hell.
01:54Having a bit of a rough day today.
01:56Everyone's just digging their... pretty much their hardest.
01:59We're taking it in shifts at the moment,
02:01so we just rotate out.
02:03Oh, no!
02:04So I'll jump in and have a bit of a dig as well.
02:07WHIRRING
02:08Get out of the way there, bro.
02:10WHIRRING
02:11WHIRRING
02:12WHIRRING
02:13WHIRRING
02:14WHIRRING
02:15WHIRRING
02:16Nice!
02:18Oi, what happened? Is it roofed?
02:20HE SCREAMS
02:21What? What, what, what, what, what?
02:23Where are you?
02:24Up here.
02:25What's happened?
02:26HE SCREAMS
02:27What's wrong? What's wrong?
02:28I've got nails through the foot.
02:30Look at that.
02:31Maybe one of those went through his foot or something.
02:34Holy...
02:36HE GROWLS
02:37HE GROWLS
02:40Dude, I don't know what to do right now.
02:42Do you want to just chuck him in the back?
02:44I think, yeah, I think we've just got to put him in the back.
02:47All right, Niles, let's go.
02:50Two kilometres from their mine is Jamin's parents' Opal base camp.
02:55Niles, how are you, mate? We're here. We just got here.
02:58Yeah.
02:59I'll grab Mum.
03:01Take him over to this bench over here.
03:03Look at the foot. Look at the foot.
03:04What's going on?
03:05He's got a nail hanging out his foot.
03:07You have to leave it in there
03:08because you don't ever pull anything out like that.
03:10That's when the damage is done.
03:11I'm heading to town, so let's just go.
03:14Look, just...
03:16You're going to be all right. I'll take you in.
03:18You'll be all right.
03:19Sort your foot.
03:21Just watch your foot, watch your foot.
03:23Just watch your foot.
03:24OK, ready?
03:25Just keep your phone on you, all right? Just give us a call.
03:27The nearest hospital is 240 kilometres away in Broken Hill,
03:32and Noah will be out of action for an unknown period of time.
03:38This has really thrown a spanner in the works.
03:40It's kind of confusing now as to where we will go from here.
03:45To avoid conflict over any fines...
03:47Dude, look at those colours.
03:49..the Young Guns have an agreement
03:51not to set foot in their shared mine if one of them is ill or injured.
03:55Look at that.
03:56Look at that. That is, like, ridiculous.
03:58With Noah gone, their season has suddenly been thrown into doubt.
04:03We can't really do our mine without him.
04:05I don't want to be...
04:06Well, the thing is, like, we've all worked so hard
04:09to get that mine where it needs to be.
04:12You know, that's our team split up.
04:20I'm trying to really hope that this will be the end of our trouble.
04:23Yeah, as soon as we get out there,
04:25let's get out on the jackhammers
04:27and maybe drop the digger this afternoon, if not tomorrow morning.
04:30Yeah, hopefully drop the digger this afternoon.
04:32Anyway, just have to do the best we can.
04:35The Opal season is just weeks away from ending,
04:38but Chris Cheal and 18-year-old son Oscar
04:41have only just started their hunt.
04:43There's a lot riding on the next two weeks.
04:45It's stressful.
04:47There's debts there that I want to just tidy up, you know,
04:50and I'm probably going to need a miracle,
04:52but the miracle's not going to happen if I don't try.
04:55Australia's worst drought in a decade
04:58has destroyed Chris's grain trucking business,
05:01forcing him to return to hunting opal.
05:04With over 10 years of opal mining experience in the past,
05:07Chris knows the world's most valuable opal, black opal,
05:11worth up to $43,000 a gram,
05:14could offer a quick payday.
05:17You can get yourself 10 years in front financially.
05:20There's not many places in the world you can go and do that,
05:23and I couldn't think of anything better than digging with my son.
05:26Right-o.
05:27All right, Chealsy, this is my claim, this one here.
05:29Yeah, 50 by 50 metres that way. Yep.
05:32Old mining friend Scott McMillan
05:34has subcontracted his claim to the Cheals
05:37for a 30% share of anything they find.
05:40The task now is to widen or bell out the mine shaft by hand
05:45to give their digger room to start tunnelling for opal.
05:50Right-o, mate. Let's get into it, eh?
05:52Let's go.
05:53We just start at the compressor, we'll start at the blower
05:56and start digging.
05:57We've got to get down there and make enough room for the digger,
06:00so I'd say we'd be taking turns hanging off the jackhammer
06:03Right-o, here we go.
06:07For Oscar, it's the first chance to work underground with his dad.
06:12As a young kid, I'd love to, you know, come out hanging off him
06:15and jump on the digger and go to tail-outs,
06:18and it kind of just seemed like it was ticking a lot of boxes
06:21for us to come out and work together.
06:24We'll just take the floor out, we'll take that out there,
06:27and then we'll come down on the floor,
06:29open that up a bit more, and we'll get up on there.
06:33I'll be lying to you if I said I wasn't stressed about it,
06:36but I just want to make the most of this opportunity
06:39and I want to find some money.
06:41We've just got bugger all time to do that.
06:43With just two weeks of their season left,
06:46the Cheels need to find $10,000 to cover their debts.
06:52I reckon we should have enough room.
06:54I feel confident we can get it in today anyway.
06:58Their two-tonne digger can carve through 10,000 kilograms of earth an hour,
07:03many times faster than they could by hand.
07:06To lower it down the 13-metre shaft,
07:08they've called on a local crane operator, Jack Pocock.
07:12G'day, Jack. Good to see you.
07:14Jack's going to be up top here on the crane most of the time.
07:16You've got to make sure the lifting gear's in A1 condition.
07:19I don't want much weight on it, just take the slack.
07:22That's it.
07:24Come towards me a little bit more, Dad.
07:26Sometimes the hole's a little bit crooked, you've got to keep an eye on it
07:29to make sure it's not dragging up against the wall
07:31and sometimes you're told that it's a bigger hole than what it is.
07:34You look pretty good.
07:38You all right?
07:40No, mate.
07:42We haven't taken enough out of room.
07:44We should have taken that little lip off there
07:46and we jammed up in here for space.
07:57Ah!
08:05Mining is physically one of the toughest things I've ever done
08:08and mentally at the moment it's incredibly difficult.
08:10I've talked to a lot of people around town
08:12and the advice that I'm getting back is that we are at the right level
08:15but we're just not seeing it, we're just not seeing the opal yet.
08:22Former primary school teacher Carl Grice
08:25and jeweller Mary Macmillan have sold everything
08:28and travelled 3,000 kilometres to hunt opal in remote New South Wales.
08:33Established in the 1880s, Whitecliffs is Australia's oldest opal field.
08:39We just like to do something that's a little bit different
08:41so we decided to jack in the stability of normal life.
08:45They've sunk $50,000 into a camper van
08:49that doubles as both workshop and home.
08:52The last $3,000 has been spent on basic tools
08:55and the lease to an abandoned mine.
08:58We chose Whitecliffs because we've seen some of the opal
09:01that comes from here and it's absolutely beautiful.
09:04Worth up to $25,000 a gram,
09:07Whitecliffs' crystal opal is coveted around the world.
09:11I love the colours, the way they dance
09:13and disappear and reappear in different lights.
09:15They really transform and they're really unique and individual
09:18and because I make custom jewellery
09:20I feel that they represent the person that I'm creating for perfectly
09:23because they're so unique.
09:25Mary's ability to make jewellery
09:27can increase the value of any stones they find tenfold.
09:31This is a partnership for Mary and I
09:33and the idea is that I find the opal and cut it and Mary sets it.
09:38Mining is a complete machine itself
09:40and everything's an essential cog in that.
09:42The jackhammer, the tipper and then Mary and I as well
09:45are all integral parts of that machine.
09:47If one part of that goes, the whole system breaks down.
09:50But as the end of their first season closes in,
09:53the novice team have barely made a dent in their target
09:56and are getting desperate.
09:57I need to be cracking on.
09:59I need to be cracking on into the opal ground.
10:01Righty-ho.
10:02Opal, here we come.
10:13The jackhammer's not working.
10:15Really?
10:16Yeah.
10:20Oh.
10:21Jackhammer.
10:25What are we going to do?
10:27I don't know, Mary.
10:29There aren't any jackhammer shops round here
10:31and I don't want to drive 1,300km to Dubwell to get a new one.
10:34It costs a fortune.
10:36I'm absolutely stuffed.
10:39MUSIC PLAYS
10:44This is proper old school.
10:46This is how the old boys did it.
10:48Hats off to them, they must have been fit blokes.
10:57Tom.
10:58What?
10:59The tipper is stuck.
11:01What? The tipper is stuck.
11:03It's stuck?
11:05Can everything just work for a day?
11:09I think it's stuck right at the top.
11:11It's just not coming back.
11:15I'm sick of everything breaking down every ten minutes.
11:18I just want to dig.
11:19I just want to dig for a day without something breaking down.
11:29We need to keep working.
11:30It's nearing the end of the season.
11:32We've got six weeks, one week closer
11:34and, you know, it's just one week we can't spare
11:36so we've really got to get to work as soon as possible
11:38and find another way to mine.
11:40Go and sort out some other odd jobs we can do, hey?
11:44Jamin and JC are in desperate need of a plan.
11:47With partner Noah out injured,
11:49they need a new location to hunt for opal.
11:52What options do we have?
11:53We don't really have much on the cards.
11:56Our best bet now is to go and see Pops.
11:58He's got some of the biggest knowledge in Whitecliffs
12:01about opal mining.
12:02You know, he lives and breathes it his whole life.
12:04You know, see what he reckons we should be checking out.
12:07Alright, here's Pops.
12:08Let's see what he's got for us, hey?
12:10How's it going, Pop?
12:11It's going alright.
12:12What are you guys up to?
12:14Oh, you know, just figuring out what our next step is.
12:17Jamin's grandfather, Pops, is a legendary local miner
12:21with nearly 50 years' experience.
12:23So we were just, yeah, coming over to see you
12:25and see if you've got any ideas
12:27about what we could get up to in the meantime.
12:29I suppose you could go down my old mine.
12:31I haven't been able to get down there for a while now
12:34till I get my leg fixed up,
12:35so you just want to go down there and have a look about.
12:38Have you pulled any opal out of the mine?
12:40Yeah, yeah.
12:41Yeah?
12:42Yeah.
12:43I'll tell you what.
12:44Somewhere around.
12:45Argh.
12:46Holy...
12:49Look at that.
12:50Jeez.
12:51That's, to me, that mine.
12:52That is an enormous bit of posh.
12:55I don't think I've seen posh even that size before.
12:58Posh is low-value, colourless opal.
13:01It's a sign valuable rainbow opal could be nearby.
13:05It's there. I know it's there.
13:07There's still opals showing.
13:09And so, yeah, they should find it.
13:12It's just a matter of whether they apply themselves to it.
13:15Two kilometres out of town lies Pops' mine, the Mouse Trap.
13:20Jeez, look at that hole there.
13:21Right on the side of the road too.
13:23Almost two decades old, it hasn't been worked in over 13 years
13:27and its current condition is unknown.
13:29I think this is it.
13:30He said there was a ladder in place, so...
13:33Whoa!
13:36Dude, how deep is that?
13:38Uh...
13:41That's deep.
13:42That's a big one.
13:43At least 40 foot.
13:44I still can't see the bottom.
13:46Yeah, neither.
13:47Alright, you want to go first?
13:49Yes, sure thing.
13:51I'll do the honours.
13:57How's it looking?
13:59Holy moly, it's massive.
14:02God, it's dusty.
14:03It hasn't been worked in a good while.
14:05Whoa.
14:07I just missed a run.
14:08Are you down at the bottom yet?
14:10There's a bit of a drop.
14:12Yeah, I just got down.
14:14Alright.
14:15You good?
14:16Yeah, I'm coming down.
14:21Jeez, it is a bit of a climb, man.
14:23I reckon.
14:25Whoo!
14:27Yeah, have a look at this.
14:28We've got some workings.
14:29Yeah, right.
14:31Jeez, look at all this.
14:33Holy...
14:35We've got an indoor swimming pool.
14:37What?
14:38That's going to be fun to play in.
14:39No way.
14:40The flooded mine has just made the young guns' hunt for Opal
14:44a whole lot tougher.
14:45Holy moly, man.
14:52SIGHS
14:55Jack?
14:56Yes?
14:57Grabbed a Milwaukee jackhammer out of the toolbox on my ute.
15:0013 metres underground,
15:02father and son team Chris and Oscar Cheal have a two-tonne problem.
15:07The digger they need to get them to their $10,000 goal
15:11is stuck at the bottom of the mineshaft.
15:15It's not... We haven't taken enough out of room.
15:17We should have taken that little lip off there
15:19and we jammed up in here for space.
15:21Without the digger,
15:22the Cheal's mining operation will grind to a halt.
15:25Righto, coming down.
15:28To make it kind of fit properly,
15:30I had to jackhammer it out a few different bits.
15:33Jackhammering here because I didn't drill out quite high enough.
15:37Needed to get this digger fully operational.
15:44Hydraulically powered,
15:46it can carve through up to 10,000 kilograms of earth an hour.
15:51Now we're talking.
15:56How far do you want it?
15:57More or better.
16:01All right, nuts.
16:02I reckon that's perfect.
16:06There we are.
16:08Once in position, four hydraulic ramps...
16:11That's what we want.
16:12..lock it against the ceiling and floor.
16:14About time, eh? We got this thing going.
16:19I'm stoked.
16:20This is what we've been trying to get to, to this point,
16:22for the whole set-up.
16:24We've got the opportunity now to try and find a bit of hope.
16:27So, yeah, I'm open for it.
16:33Whoa!
16:34Stand out of the way.
16:36We're a bit old workings, mate.
16:38That's old workings.
16:39Sounds like a fair bit of work's done in there, though,
16:42so good signs.
16:43So we'll open it up in there
16:45and we'll go in there for a look to see how much work's done.
16:51Long-lost abandoned mines can be a blessing or a curse.
16:54They've done a bit of work in here.
16:56Someone's added a little gouge in there.
16:59It could be a sign the area has promise.
17:02Falling within the boundary of their 50-by-50-metre claim,
17:06the tunnel is now theirs.
17:07What we want to do, because we fit these old workings,
17:10try and get this digger in here and clean this floor up.
17:12That's the plan today.
17:13That's what we want to try and do, is start knocking this out.
17:22I want to knock that out in there.
17:28It's hard there, eh?
17:30Yeah.
17:35We really need something in the next couple of days
17:37for us to be able to keep working.
17:42Bit of shaves.
17:43Look at that crystal stuff.
17:45Looks like it's got a bit of colour in it.
17:48Bloody hell.
17:53Wally, we went through for a week.
17:56Finally.
17:57We actually did a hard one.
17:58Not bad.
18:10Oh, for...
18:12With the end of the mining season closing in,
18:14frustrations are growing for rookie team The Poms.
18:18Bloody bucket's stuck, Mary.
18:19As long as this bucket's not working, we can't get any dirt out.
18:22It's just a ball ache I don't need at the moment.
18:25Three metres high and extending 15 metres below ground,
18:29the tipper bucket can remove 60 kilograms of dirt at a time
18:33from the mine.
18:35Something's sticking somewhere, but I haven't got a clue what it is.
18:38Just be careful with your hands.
18:39Does it look like it's twisted to you?
18:41If you just stand at the end there, darling.
18:43No, it looks straight.
18:44No, it looks straight, so it's not that then.
18:47I might still have to give this a really hard pull
18:49just to release that bucket, though.
18:51OK.
18:55Jesus Christ, what the...
18:56Bloody hell.
18:57What was that?
18:58That was a spring.
19:00You're joking.
19:01It flew straight past your head, Karl.
19:03Did it?
19:04Yeah.
19:05Oh, brilliant.
19:06Great day.
19:07Could have been a lot worse.
19:08Actually worse.
19:09We've got a tipper that's not working
19:10and a jackhammer that's broken.
19:11It could have hit you.
19:12It could have hit you, Karl.
19:13Dang.
19:14I can see where it's come off.
19:15It's come off that left-hand side.
19:16Yeah, I can see, yeah.
19:18For fuck's sake.
19:21I need some help.
19:22Karl rings friend and neighbouring miner Adrian Porch.
19:25Hello.
19:26Adrian, how you doing, mate?
19:28Yeah, Karl, how you going?
19:29Oh, I think I've done something really bad in a past life, mate.
19:32I'm having the worst day.
19:34Bloody jackhammer packed up,
19:36and then the tipper's just literally thrown a spring
19:38and nearly taken my head off.
19:39Oh.
19:40I know.
19:41So I've no tipper and no jackhammer.
19:42Don't suppose you're about, are you?
19:44Can you just come and have a look at it for me?
19:45Because I've no idea what's going on, mate.
19:47Yeah, yeah, yeah.
19:48Just give me a whirl and I'll come over.
19:51Oh, you're a star.
19:52Thanks, mate.
19:53We're so grateful for the community here
19:55because Adrian has kindly offered to come
19:58and help look at the tipper as well.
20:00So, yeah, it's just another validation
20:03of how lovely people are around here
20:05and how helpful they are.
20:07I'm having one of them days, buddy.
20:10Oh.
20:12Look at this.
20:13Lovely jumper.
20:14I shouldn't have given you any trouble.
20:15Oh, thanks, mate.
20:16Thank you.
20:17No, that's all right.
20:18Oh, you're a star, mate.
20:19Thanks for saving the day.
20:20Definitely.
20:21Yeah, what do you reckon?
20:22Do you reckon it's fixable?
20:23Yeah, and I reckon we can get it back up there again
20:25so we can reattach it, yeah.
20:32It's hard watching Carl up there
20:35with this line of trucking around in the wind and stuff.
20:38I don't know, I reckon,
20:39but I'm pleased we've got someone here who knows what they're doing.
20:41Bring it back through the ladder.
20:43Oh, it's close.
20:44Hang on, hang on.
20:45Yeah, that's it, that's it.
20:47Yeah, that's it.
20:48Well done.
20:50Beauty.
20:51Right, it looks a bit cockeyed,
20:53but we'll give it a go, eh?
20:54Yeah, give it a go.
21:04Yes.
21:06No, nailed it.
21:07Thanks, mate.
21:08No, it's all right.
21:09Thanks, mate.
21:10Glad I could help.
21:11Start mining Saturday.
21:12Yeah.
21:13See you later on.
21:14Yeah, cheers, Adrian.
21:15See you.
21:16Let's get to it.
21:17Right, I'll get down there, then.
21:18While the POM's opal hunt is back on,
21:20struggling to make ends meet far from home
21:23is taking its toll on Mary.
21:26Hello.
21:27Hello, can you see me?
21:29I can see you.
21:31How are you?
21:32I'm OK, Mum.
21:33How are you?
21:34Good.
21:35I know Mary's been finding it quite difficult
21:37being so far away from home.
21:39Lots of things have been happening back in the UK,
21:41of, you know, babies being born and weddings
21:43and things like that.
21:44How's the babies?
21:47Is she?
21:51Oh.
21:52And Mary's been in touch with all those people,
21:54but I think feeling that distance of not being there,
21:56not being part of it.
21:57I want to come home soon, I think,
21:59because I'm just missing you.
22:01Yeah.
22:03OK, Mum.
22:05OK.
22:09So I knew she was feeling a little homesick,
22:11but I didn't quite realise how deeply
22:13until she got off the call with her mum.
22:22You miss her a lot, don't you?
22:25Yeah.
22:26Eh?
22:29You know, it's the longest time that I've been away for.
22:32At the end of the day, family is the most important thing,
22:35so it's important to honour that, I think.
22:47That is an Olympic swimming pool of water.
22:50Massive problem.
22:51We've gotten down into the mine
22:53and we found several parts of the mine filled with water.
22:57With partner Noah out of action,
22:59Noah and JC are hunting for opal in a disused flooded mine,
23:0350 metres long and 13 metres underground.
23:07So it's going to be a challenge to try and cross that,
23:10but it's something we're going to have to do
23:12if we want to get to the other side.
23:14All right. You good?
23:16Let's do it.
23:18Get in there, brother.
23:20Oh, my God, that is so cold.
23:22With its depth unknown,
23:24the water could contain abandoned tools,
23:26wire and metal that could seriously injure them.
23:29Dude, this is deep.
23:31This is insane, man.
23:36I've not seen anything yet.
23:39Not at all.
23:41I just want to check over at this corner.
23:43Yeah.
23:47I don't know why we thought this was a good idea.
23:50It's not paying off at all.
23:52And it's cold.
23:55Are we insane?
23:57Dude, up here.
23:59Up there?
24:00Up here.
24:01Oh, God, there's some actual ground.
24:05I honestly thought it was going to run out
24:07and just be nothing,
24:09but the mine continues.
24:11Here.
24:12I saw this, man.
24:14Get up there.
24:16Look at that.
24:17Man, there's got to be something
24:19after what we've just gone through to get to here.
24:21This is like good ground.
24:24Someone's had a bit of a gouge around here.
24:26Ooh, check this bra.
24:28Look at that.
24:30There's some opal running through the roof there.
24:32Oh, thank God we didn't go through all that cold for nothing.
24:35There's a bit of green and some purple.
24:38It's got a bit of colour or something.
24:40The ground's pretty bloody hard there, eh?
24:42We're going to have to go back through the water
24:44and we're going to have to bring tools back through that water.
24:46Oh, God.
24:48What do you reckon?
24:50Let's go get wet.
24:52You know what?
24:54We bring towels down next time.
24:56We found a bit of trace in the wall,
24:58so when you find trace, you've just got to chase it
25:00and, you know, hope it turns into something.
25:02It's always that day.
25:04You know, you can be poor in the morning
25:06and then by the afternoon you can be a millionaire.
25:08It's the type of day I want.
25:10I think our biggest challenge today is going to be, you know,
25:12running out of power.
25:14It's not worth, you know, risking your life
25:16and getting electrocuted.
25:18No, not at all.
25:20There's a hole right near the area.
25:22That's perfect.
25:24I think it's this one here.
25:26I guess we just take the chance,
25:28drop the cable down this one.
25:30If we're wrong, one of us is going to have to go back
25:32through the water and up the top again.
25:34Let's just hope this is the hole.
25:44I know you miss her.
25:46I can tell.
25:48I can feel it as well.
25:50I can see it's getting harder and harder as well.
25:52Yeah.
25:54Yeah.
25:56It feels a long way away sometimes, doesn't it?
25:58Yeah, it does, especially when you're in the middle of nowhere.
26:00Far from home,
26:02cracks are starting to appear
26:04in the Pom's Australian opal dream.
26:06It just broke my heart to see Mary that sad,
26:08so immediately I thought,
26:10well, we find Opal as quick as we can
26:12and get Mary on a plane home to see her family.
26:18But Carl and Mary
26:20haven't found a cent in Opal
26:22for over a month.
26:26That one's looking good.
26:28Is it? Yeah.
26:30This seam's thickening up.
26:32It is, isn't it? Yeah, it's getting a lot thicker.
26:34All of a sudden,
26:36you can see what's there.
26:44Come on, Mary, bring your eagle eyes down
26:46so you can see it.
26:50Oh, look.
26:52I just found that in the wall.
26:54That looks like potch. It does a bit.
26:56Because it's making it like...
26:58That looks almost like a shell, actually.
27:00When I'm scratching, it's making that...
27:02Yeah, that's silica.
27:04It's really, really silica, this stuff.
27:06The main ingredient in Opal,
27:08if the silica is deposited unevenly,
27:10it forms a colourless, worthless substance
27:12called potch.
27:14That looks like potch, Mary.
27:16It's a sign that valuable Opal
27:18might not be far away.
27:20Let's jackhammer it and see what happens.
27:30Oh, Mary. Yeah?
27:32Mary, have a look. Is it?
27:34Oh, wow. Have you found some?
27:36Yeah, look.
27:38It's a vein. It's all through here.
27:40Have you got the little point?
27:42Look.
27:44Oh, my God, look at that colour.
27:46Look at that. Bloody.
27:48That's thick as well. That's really thick.
27:50Oh, there's loads more, Mary.
27:52Is there? Yeah, the vein runs all through here.
27:54Wow. Look at the size of that.
27:56Wow. Yeah.
27:58Oh, my God, look at the size of that.
28:00It's all through there as well, Mary.
28:02It goes all the way around to here, Karl.
28:04There's loads of it. Look at that.
28:06That's beautiful. Oh, that's stunning.
28:08Yeah, that's really nice.
28:10And it's still going. It's still coming out.
28:12This is brilliant. Oh, we've got purple, blue.
28:14Wow, Karl.
28:16Green.
28:18Look at what we've got, Karl.
28:20Just look at this.
28:22That's the sound of money, that.
28:24That's the sound of a plane ticket, Mary.
28:26Let's go.
28:34You've got good eyes on you, mate.
28:36With just two weeks of the season left to find Opal,
28:38father and son team Chris and Oscar Cheal
28:40have broken into an old mine.
28:44Purple seam.
28:46Yeah, that's a good trace.
28:48With his trucking business on the rocks,
28:50Dad Chris desperately needs
28:52at least $10,000
28:54to help support his family.
28:56I'm back here to try and find
28:58some decent money because I want to get on top
29:00of the bills. I want to be able to provide
29:02for the kids. I'm just trying to give
29:04my kids the opportunities that I never had.
29:06Chris is gambling
29:08on finding highly prized
29:10black opal, so-called
29:12because of its black base.
29:14Best quality stones can be worth
29:16up to $43,000 a gram.
29:18This one stone
29:20is a clue there could be rich opal
29:22in the old mine.
29:24Makes me want to keep digging.
29:26Once we take this out, get the digger in here,
29:28that's when the real stuff happens.
29:30So I want to get to that point as soon as possible.
29:32To get their
29:342-tonne digger into the old tunnel,
29:36they must first lower the mine's
29:38floor.
29:48Oscar, look here, look.
29:58That's so good.
30:00We've just come across a bit
30:02of opal in the floor.
30:04Really happy to see that.
30:08Oh, that's beautiful.
30:10It's on black too, bro.
30:18Oh, bro!
30:20Holy!
30:22Oh!
30:24Oh, that's beautiful.
30:26Look at that red.
30:28That's a purple-orange.
30:30Or a black.
30:34Double barred.
30:36I feel like the weight of the world's
30:38lifting off.
30:40No real feeling.
30:46All this floor
30:48most probably has got opal in it.
30:50Where we're standing here,
30:52this will all have to be taken out.
30:54There's opal in it. We've just proved that.
30:56Right-o, Oscar. Let's speed this up.
30:58We'll go and get this loaded.
31:00I'll keep the target out.
31:02A 140 horsepower
31:04suction tube called a blower
31:06sucks the opal-rich dirt out of the
31:08mine into their truck
31:10so it can be processed in their wash plant
31:1240 kilometres away.
31:20We're pretty excited
31:22because we don't know what's in there.
31:24We can see colour all through these.
31:26We'll wash them up and see what comes out
31:28in the tail once the clay's washed away
31:30from all the knobbies.
31:32Hopefully there's enough in it
31:34and I can just keep digging. That's what I'm looking for.
31:44Oh, I forgot how tall it was.
31:48With partner Noah
31:50out through injury,
31:52Damon and JC are chasing a seam
31:54of opal 13 metres underground
31:56in a flooded mine
31:58owned by Damon's grandfather, Pops.
32:02That was good. Here's our cable.
32:04Is that it? That's it.
32:06You nailed it, mate.
32:08Absolutely nailed it.
32:10It's just up this way.
32:12There it is. There's our flash.
32:18Stop, stop, stop.
32:22Oh my God. JC, look.
32:24That's red. Look, there's a little bit of red.
32:26There's a bit of a red sparkle.
32:28Good spot. That is gnarly, bro.
32:30That's the cream of the crop
32:32when it comes to opal. That's what you want.
32:34You see red, you know you're on the money.
32:36And it's looking kind of thick as well.
32:38Let's get it.
32:48You ready? Yeah, I'm in.
32:50One, two, pop it.
32:56Let's have a look.
32:58Definitely got potential, this one here.
33:00That's a boy. That might be the best one
33:02so far, that stone. That's good.
33:10Where did that come from?
33:12Very nice. What?
33:14Jeez, these seams are running
33:16all over the place. You got it?
33:18Look at that little bit.
33:20There we go. Jeez.
33:22That's colour. That is the colour.
33:24Hell yeah.
33:28Is there a bigger bit up in there?
33:30That's pretty cool.
33:32Look at that bit right there.
33:34That's some crystal green opal.
33:36That's the colour we want.
33:42You got this?
33:44Dude, look at that.
33:46Look at that colour.
33:48Look at that stone.
33:50That is a rock right there.
33:52That's going straight on the queen's finger.
33:54That is worth doing
33:56just about anything for, I'd say.
33:58We're seeing some really brilliant colours
34:00come out of the ground, which is fantastic.
34:02It's why we're here. It's what we're looking for.
34:04Opal like this can change your life if you find enough of it.
34:06This has really turned it around, big time.
34:08This has turned into some really serious
34:10colour. Good size on it as well.
34:12I'm ecstatic.
34:14This is what we want.
34:16That's bloody beautiful.
34:26I'll put it on here, yeah?
34:28Let's have a look.
34:30After weeks of hard labour,
34:32British couple Carl and Mary have finally
34:34hit a rich seam of opal that could
34:36turn their fortunes around.
34:38Look at that colour.
34:40Look at that.
34:42Oh, gorgeous.
34:44Look at that.
34:46A bit of purple crystal there.
34:48That's beautiful.
34:50Oh, that's perfect.
34:52It's all the way through.
34:56I knew it was there.
34:58It was just looking more and more like her.
35:00I felt it in my bones.
35:02This has got to be worth thousands rather than hundreds.
35:04I think so, just because of how much is here.
35:06For homesick Mary,
35:08there's now hope she can see her family.
35:10Looking at the opal there,
35:12obviously I think I'd need a little help from someone
35:14who's got a bit more expert eye,
35:16but I reckon there is enough there for
35:18a plane ticket for me to go back to England.
35:20We're going to take the opal
35:22to Macca, who's a local legend.
35:24He knows what he's talking about when it comes to opal,
35:26and we're hoping he'll give us an evaluation
35:28and an appraisal of it.
35:30Good to see you, mate.
35:32Veteran opal miner John Macca-McCaskill
35:34is a local legend
35:36with 30 years experience.
35:38Good on you.
35:40We've given it a good scrub and a wash
35:42so we can try and see as much colour as we can.
35:44Oh, that's great because
35:46you've cleaned that up well.
35:48Yeah, and it's good.
35:50It's good
35:52white clus opal.
35:54It's got that nice sound to it.
35:56Good stuff.
35:58You've probably got
36:00eight or nine ounces maybe.
36:04Hey, it's just the better side of ten.
36:06Oh, that's good.
36:08It's pretty clean.
36:10There's no rubbish in it,
36:12so Mary can
36:14set.
36:16So you've got the chance to be able to
36:18do that and increase the value.
36:20Okay.
36:22Just say you were cutting it to size and not
36:24free-forming,
36:26you'd expect to probably get at
36:28least
36:30two, two, two, two, two, two, two, two,
36:32two, two, two, two.
36:34Yeah, it means you've entered the
36:36many thousands, like 28,000,
36:3830,000 minimum.
36:40Good on you kids.
36:42You've done well.
36:44Carl and Mary's opal is
36:46crystal opal with translucent
36:48blues and greens. The stones
36:50are in the rough, but Mary's jewellery
36:52making skills could transform them
36:54into pieces worth up to
36:56$30,000. In just
36:58a week's time, we find they've made a huge
37:00leap from $7,900
37:02to almost $38,000.
37:04Exciting, huh?
37:06That's amazing.
37:08That's a ticket home and then some.
37:10We realise that we've made, you know,
37:12potentially a good amount of money, but also
37:14that means that I can afford a plane ticket now
37:16to go back and see my family, so
37:18although I'm sad to be leaving Carl
37:20temporarily.
37:22Love you. Love you too, sweetheart.
37:24I think it's important that I go back and see my
37:26family and hopefully Carl can find some opal in the meantime
37:28to show me for when I get back.
37:32On the one hand, I was really excited
37:34that Mary was able to go back and spend
37:36some time with her family.
37:38But on the other hand,
37:40selfishly, there was a big gap where
37:42she was and I knew I was going to miss her.
37:48It's a case of me holding the fort here until Mary returns
37:50and hopefully that fort will be
37:52sparkling with opal by the time she does.
37:56Oh,
37:58nice.
38:00Very nice.
38:02Look at that colour.
38:04Young Guns,
38:06Jamin and JC, are cleaning the
38:08excess clay off their find
38:10before washing it to reveal its
38:12true value.
38:14Alright, let's chuck those in
38:16and let's see what we've got.
38:18Is that clean?
38:20Yeah.
38:22That's good.
38:24Is that clean?
38:26Yeah.
38:28Let's chuck some water in it.
38:32That's it.
38:34We'll come back and
38:36check that tomorrow.
38:38Yeah, we'll come back and check it tomorrow.
38:40There is a couple of nice bits in there.
38:44After losing partner
38:46Noah to injury and still
38:48$14,000 short of their target,
38:50they'll need this find to pay off
38:52to keep their season on track.
38:54Let's see what we've got.
38:56What have we got?
38:58Big old moment of truth.
39:00Alright.
39:06Oh, there's some colour there.
39:10That's beautiful.
39:12Oh, look at that one. That's got colour.
39:16Fantastic.
39:18Have you got some of that water still?
39:20Rainbow.
39:22This is the high-grade stuff. This is the low-grade stuff that's weaker.
39:24We've only got about an ounce of each.
39:26I reckon as a total, we're looking at
39:28about
39:30$4,000 for the lot.
39:32Mate! Look at that colour.
39:34Jamin and JC
39:36have found crystal opal
39:38with blues, greens, and
39:40flashes of valuable red.
39:42Whilst there's over 50 grams,
39:44it's still in the rough, making it worth
39:46an estimated $4,000,
39:48bringing their total
39:50to over $49,000.
39:52Oh, there he is.
39:54There he is!
39:56How's it going, mate?
39:58How's your foot?
40:00Yeah, it doesn't hurt so much anymore.
40:02Had an x-ray, and it wasn't as bad as
40:04it kind of felt.
40:06It didn't actually go through anything.
40:08Oh, that's good. Well, look what you bloody missed out on.
40:10Let me flip the camera up.
40:12Look at that.
40:14And look how big they are.
40:16I've seen that stuff.
40:18I'm jealous now.
40:20Yeah, I bet you are.
40:22Hurry up and get that foot bandaged and get on your way back.
40:24Hobble back to us.
40:26We need you.
40:28I'm stinging for it.
40:30Alright, brother. We'll see you soon.
40:32See ya, mate.
40:34That's it, man. Good job.
40:36Killed it.
40:46Yeah, it's cleaned up good.
40:48In desperate need of at least $10,000
40:50to pay mounting debts,
40:52Oscar Cheal and Dad Chris
40:54are about to find out if their first
40:56truckload from an abandoned mine has
40:58paid off.
41:00I'll spin him in reverse and send her down.
41:02I think he's only probably going to be one foot.
41:04Owner of the claim, Scott, is there to help
41:06and claim his 30% cut.
41:08Let's do it. She's ready, mate.
41:12It should come out fairly clean anyway.
41:14But if there's no opal
41:16in this load, the father and son
41:18team will just sink deeper into debt
41:20and could be forced to stop
41:22mining altogether.
41:26Push it down, mate.
41:28There's splashes everywhere, mate.
41:32Bloody hell.
41:34It's everywhere.
41:36Far out.
41:38Everywhere.
41:42Oh, just look at the colour in that.
41:44Everywhere you freaking look.
41:46Oh, mate. Everywhere you look, there's colour.
41:48Look at the knobbing everywhere.
41:56Everywhere you look, mate.
41:58Really, really bright greenstone
42:00there for me.
42:02Beautiful little clean crystal.
42:04One truckload and it was just
42:06everywhere you looked, there was colour.
42:08Unbelievable.
42:12A lot of it's hitting colour, isn't it?
42:18This is why we do it.
42:24We've got some opal.
42:26I've never ever seen a toilet like that before.
42:28With two weeks remaining
42:30before the summer heat
42:32ends the season, Chris and rookie son
42:34Oscar have hit the jackpot
42:36with a stunning haul of classic
42:38Lightning Ridge black opal.
42:42With purple, turquoise,
42:44green, yellow and orange.
42:48I reckon it's
42:50a long time coming.
42:52There's definitely
42:54worth more than ten grand there when you look
42:56at it like that.
42:58A hundred percent.
43:00Well, there's our season target
43:02out the window, eh?
43:04Worth $30,000,
43:06their $21,000
43:08share means they've smashed their
43:10season target.
43:12First game, mate. Let's go.
43:14He's seen something that a lot of miners never see
43:16and he's only been at it a week
43:18and I think he's been shot up the arse with a rainbow.
43:20You want to stay able,
43:22mate, or what?
43:24You might be my good luck charm, mate.
43:26You may be.
43:28This whole experience is
43:30going to be something I'll look back on
43:32throughout my whole life and smile.
43:34Especially with him,
43:36it's something we've been able to do together.
44:00...
44:04...
44:06...
44:08...