Hi,I just subscribed.Aparantly up in British Columbia theres opal and
agate just laying on the ground waiting to be picked up! Does anyone
have any info about Okanogan Opal or Firestorm Opal or Klinker
mines?There is also Eagle Creek Agate and Opal @ Burns Lake and
nearby a place called Babine Lake that looks like a beautiful place to
combine rock hunting and fishing. Any input on whether traveling from
Berkeley,Ca would be worth it is appreciated.Thanks.
I am not sure about the BC locales but just south of there is
Washington State. There are a multitude of locations which provide
several colors of agate, crystaline minerals (including quartz,
amethyst, calcite and others) , opalized wood (rarely containing
opalescent material), and many more. Some locations provide
combining camping and rock collecting opportunities. Others are open
pit mine type collecting and less condusive to camping. I have the
names from several BC rock clubs here. I will attempt to locate them
and post them.
Norman
Hi, I’m not a rock collector, but I am from British Columbia and I’m
sure I would have heard about opal if it were that easy to find it
here! But there are some nice places to fish here – just don’t forget
your mosquito/blackfly/horsefly repellent. Get DEET (spelling?), the
extra strong stuff.
Rita.
PS. Thanks for all the info on the video tapes. I will definitely be
investing in them!
There certainly is precious opal in BC. See the Western Canadian
Gemstone Newsletter web site article at
http://www.gemnews.net/okanopal.htm for excellent coverage of the
Klinker opal deposit near Vernon BC. There is summer fee digging and
the photos show black opal cabs which look like they are from
Lightning Ridge.
The web site for Okanagan Opal Inc., the mining company, is
The current fee for digging is $30 per day. Diggers can remove 2.5
kgs of opal per day.
I have no connection with the mine. When the temp hit 109 here this
week, hunting the wily opal in BC sounded better than ice cream.
John McLaughlin
Glendale, Arizona
@John_McLaughlin
Hi,I just subscribed.Aparantly up in British Columbia theres opal and agate just laying on the ground waiting to be picked up!
Hello rdc2,
Not just opal but BC has just about any gemstone you can think of
including a documented find of Alexandrite by a student and geology
professor from U of Manitoba. The latest precious opal find
attracted none other than Dr Paul Downing, I believe this was written
up in LJ. Back in 1978 I purchased a BLACK opal from a
rockhound/lapidary that was found yards from the Trans Canada highway
in Keremeous(sp)
The single biggest problem with visiting BC is that you’ll discover
God’s own country, a lush majestic unspoiled vista of unparalleled
beauty framed in snow capped mountains. You will forever regret going
home. haha. That’s why I didn’t.
We have an Orchid member, Jan MacLellan, jmaclellan@intergate.bc.ca
who not only has a rock shop here but also carries booklets and
guides to rockhounding around BC. I’m sure she would be pleased to
elucidate further.
Tony.
Anthony L. Lloyd-Rees
http://www.opalsinthebag.com
http://www.artjewellers.com
Oopps. I had no idea BC had opals. I know you can find lots of other
stuff here, but I never heard about opals.
I promise to stick to things I know about from now on! Computer
questions anybody 
(I stick to my mosquito story though! Especially
if you’re camping in the outback by any body of water.)
Rita.
Oopps. I had no idea BC had opals. I know you can find lots of other stuff here, but I never heard about opals.
Hi Rita, There are wonderful opals in BC! In fact, I have a story from
a miner in far northwestern BC about a new alpine opal discovery in
the Eclectic Lapidary, Jan. 2000 issue. It’s at
http://www.bovagems.com Just scroll down the page to The Eclectic
Lapidary, click it, then on the second page scroll down to Enter The
Eclectic Lapidary, and you’ll be taken right to the Opal story. It’s
a good one and has some wild pictures of opal and scenery!
Carol
Carol J. Bova
@Carol_J_Bova
Laguna agate and other lapidary rough
http://www.bovagems.com The Eclectic Lapidary