FAQ’s

This company is Australian owned and its head office in Lighting Ridge, New South Wales, Australia. We have a distribution office in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

The location of your leased plot will be randomly selected on the chosen field selected. Your plot details will be printed on your personalised certificate.

The person whose name is printed on the Certificate of Lease Ownership Certificate is the Leaseholder.

You can write to us at contact@blackopalarcade.com and request a replacement certificate at a small fee and postage costs. The name and date of birth of the lease holder will be required for us to validate the request.

The length of the lease is for 25 years from the date the certificate is signed.

Yes. You can visit your claim, but you will not be able to do this without permission from the Mine Manager. Just contact us and we can arrange this for you.

How exciting! If you want to drill on your lease, our Black Opal Arcade miner will be required to do this on the lease-owners behalf. Contact us to arrange a mutually suitable time.

Yes. Once permissions are granted you can watch as the miner drills up your sample. This is subject to safety terms and conditions determined by the Mining Manager.

The Leaseholder can arrange for someone to witness the drill sample being extracted. Alternatively, you can request that the drilling and sample extraction is recorded and sent to you. If internet coverage is available in the area, ‘live’ footage can be arranged. You can also arrange for a third-party to witness the drilling on your behalf. Attendance on the site is subject to safety terms and conditions determined by the Mining Manager.

Our Black Opal Arcade Opal Miner will drill down to a minimum depth of 60 feet.  If you would like to arrange for the Opal Miner to drill to additional depths, this is available on request and at additional cost. Please contact us to discuss and arrange this. Please note that the maximum depth we can drill is 85 feet.

This is one of the most exciting parts of the opal mining experience. Once the dirt sample is processed at the washing plant the remaining material is taken from the agitator and laid out on a table for you to sort through. This is where you look carefully for that spectacular and brilliant colour and put your ‘tailings ’in a bucket ready for pricing.

The thrill of opal mining is that every day you may or may not find opal. Anyone who is a miner will tell you that there are no guarantees that you find opal but if you do, it’s time to celebrate!

Yes. All the material is yours to keep and take with you.

Prices quoted on our website are in USD.

Our VIP Opal Mining Experience is expected to take 1-2 days although unexpected breakdowns of mining equipment occur from time-to-time. Time is allowed for drilling, washing and processing of the sample and then the tailout. Lighting Ridge is a long drive from Brisbane or the Gold Coast so it’s recommended you stay for this long to experience all Lightning Ridge has to offer.