*sourced from the article, ‘Opalised pearls dating back 65 million years unearthed by miners sifting Coober Pedy spoil heap’, on www.abc.net.au, on April 16, 2016.
The recent discovery of opalised pearls by two miners in the Coober Pedy fields has us excited!
The pearls would have been formed 65 million years ago (during the time of the Eromanga Inland Sea), and though the discovered opals may not have a signifcant value as gemstones, scientifically-speaking these specimen could very well be priceless.
The 4mm opalised pearls could also spark the search for more in the Coober Pedy fields.
Why are we excited? We’ve never seen opalised pearls before. We also find it interesting that a neuotron imaging scan was taken (at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation at Lucas Heights), which has proven the concentric structure of the opalised pearls, consistent with the typical structure of pearls.
We’re definitely keen to see some more of these pieces unearthed!
For the full article –
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-06/opalised-pearls-found-coober-pedy-south-australia/7145890
