"Outback Opal Hunters" Episode #9.1

1 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:06,040 This ground down here is about as hard as you'll ever get. 2 00:00:06,120 --> 00:00:08,120 I've never dug anything harder. 3 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:10,800 Yeah, right. It's unbelievably hard. 4 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:15,200 But it's producing money around me. Just 20 foot through that wall there 5 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:18,080 behind us, 1.2 million came out her. 6 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:22,520 Now I suspect that behind, on the other side of this, we've got opal. 7 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:25,080 Now I know it's a big risk blowing it 8 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:29,480 because you might smash all the opal, but I'm not gonna dig it anyway cos I can't, it's too hard. 9 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:32,480 Absolutely everything's riding on this. 10 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:34,480 We're dead broke. 11 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:36,000 There ain't nothing left. 12 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:38,080 Righto. 13 00:00:38,160 --> 00:00:40,760 Let's shock this rock. 14 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:43,440 So we'll give the plastic a little bit of a cut. 15 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:46,520 Just so we can ease the detonator in. 16 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:49,400 You've always got to be careful with explosives. 17 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:52,200 You don't get a second chance. 18 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:54,520 Oh, this is the electric det. 19 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:56,480 It's like a key in a car. 20 00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:58,080 This is the key. 21 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:02,520 And once we turn that lock, hopefully it opens right up. 22 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:08,040 Righto, fire in the hole. We're ready to go, boys. 23 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:10,480 We ain't got nothing left. We're broke as. 24 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:13,960 If we don't find a little bit here, I don't know how we're gonna keep going. 25 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:16,320 Righto. Are we clear? 26 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:19,320 That sandstone roof has already go crack underneath it 27 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,840 and we're gonna blow it up. Makes me a bit nervous. 28 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:25,880 We can't afford to, er, have the roof drop in 29 00:01:25,960 --> 00:01:27,960 cos of the gear and that down there. 30 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:31,160 This is it, you know. This is where we find out 31 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:33,720 whether we keep going or whether this is the end of us. 32 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:36,040 Here we go. 33 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:44,074 Watch Online Movies and Series for FREE www.osdb.link/lm 34 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:53,520 NARRATOR: The brutal Australian Outback. 35 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:57,440 An unforgiving country 36 00:01:57,520 --> 00:02:01,000 where increasingly frequent cataclysmic wildfires 37 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:03,080 and record-breaking floods 38 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:06,720 wreak havoc on the opal miners that call it home. 39 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:09,840 The Outback's getting to a point where everybody's struggling. 40 00:02:09,920 --> 00:02:12,960 If you're not paying attention out here, you're gonna get hurt. 41 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:20,200 And the opal industry is on its knees. 42 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:25,080 An entire generation of miners are hanging up their tools, 43 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:27,000 broken and exhausted. 44 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:30,280 It takes a special bloke to be an opal miner and live out here. 45 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:33,720 If you get two or three paydays a year, you're pretty happy with it. 46 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:37,480 For any hope to keep this world alive 47 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,800 a new generation must join the hunt... 48 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:43,360 Look how dry that is! 49 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:45,600 ..bringing new skills... 50 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:49,080 This is a dangerous part of the treatment process - Sulphuric acid. 51 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:51,160 ..and cutting-edge technology... 52 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:55,360 This here's my secret weapon. This allows us to do business internationally. 53 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,000 ..seeking the rainbow gem. 54 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:00,960 Gram for gram, opal can be worth 55 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:03,920 500 times more than gold. 56 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:06,000 I just love it! 57 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:10,600 Livelihoods and the future of opal 58 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:14,280 rests on the shoulders of those tough enough to face... 59 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:21,600 ..Australia's...last...frontier. 60 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:24,360 Whoo-hoo! 61 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:33,040 # Money 62 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:39,080 # And fancy clothes 63 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:44,760 # Telling you what to do 64 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:46,120 # To get back where to live 65 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:49,600 # Where's too cold # 66 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:09,000 How good was that! 67 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:10,760 I think they all went off. 68 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:13,880 Thanks, Brad. Don't thank me yet, we need to see what we've done. 69 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:17,360 In an attempt to break through impenetrable rock, 70 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:22,280 The Bushmen have called in the help of explosives expert Brad O'Brien. 71 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:25,800 I've been working with explosives for 20 years. 72 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:28,480 Whoa! Look at that! 73 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:30,000 Gee whiz! That's a hole. 74 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:31,560 She certainly moved it. 75 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:35,720 Years ago, I go diagnosed with cancer in the cheek. 76 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:39,240 The doctor said, "We might have to take your eyeball," 77 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:42,040 but they saved my life, that's the main thing. 78 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:45,440 Yeah, look at that. 79 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:49,360 The edge where the explosion hit it softened up a little bit, 80 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:52,640 but I've still got all this hard stuff behind here, Brad. 81 00:04:54,280 --> 00:04:56,000 Right, we can take care of that. 82 00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:58,480 I think I might nearly have enough left over, 83 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:01,240 we can put three holes and pop that clean off. 84 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:03,440 We're going to have to get a wriggle on. 85 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:05,520 Yeah, I know, mate, yeah, I know. 86 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:11,240 Rod Manning, 87 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:15,200 Les Walsh and newest member Ty Gross 88 00:05:15,280 --> 00:05:20,000 live in Grawin, population 198. 89 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:24,200 Fifty degrees in the summer and freezing in the winter, 90 00:05:24,280 --> 00:05:26,480 it's famous for black opal, 91 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:30,200 worth up to $49,000 a gram. 92 00:05:30,280 --> 00:05:32,280 Pretty rough season last year. 93 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:33,920 We made a little bit of money, 94 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,240 but it all went to all the bills that we had. 95 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:40,040 Poor Rod's got a bit of pressure on him, you know, 96 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:42,120 Les is getting older, 97 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:46,520 and we all want to make sure that he's gonna retire comfortable. 98 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:51,400 If we don't find some decent opals, I'll be still broke when I'm dead. 99 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:55,440 Les has seriously started to slow down 100 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:59,040 and now we've got Ty on board now so he CAN slow down a little bit. 101 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:03,560 We've invested in a lot of gear this season. 102 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:06,120 We've got a new digger, new blower. 103 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:07,320 Bought a new truck. 104 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:11,560 You know, we spent $90,000. It's everything we own. 105 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:14,480 You know, I've got nothing. Absolutely nothing. 106 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:17,040 I reckon this year we're gonna need 107 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:19,800 at least a $360,000 season. 108 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:27,600 We didn't quite shift all of this, but if you see...up here, 109 00:06:27,680 --> 00:06:30,240 we've got seam just there where it should be. Yep. 110 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:32,320 That sort of stuff can make colour. 111 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:36,840 Brad will use his 55-kilogram pneumatic drill 112 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:39,160 with a 1.8-metre long bit 113 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:43,120 to punch holes in the wall for a second set of explosives. 114 00:06:44,280 --> 00:06:47,880 This drill uses... uses percussion 115 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:49,800 and rotation 116 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:51,440 but overall, you need the water. 117 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:54,600 You've got to have water to wash the rock out of the hole 118 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:57,520 or else it just builds up and then you're stuck 119 00:06:57,600 --> 00:06:59,040 and you can't turn it. 120 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:12,240 No water. 121 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:14,560 What the-? 122 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:16,640 Something's going on there. 123 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:21,120 The whole reason I got Brad here was that's like our last chance. 124 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:23,720 If we can't get the water sorted, we can't drill. 125 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:25,800 We may as well not bloody be here. 126 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:34,800 It's close to the mine! 127 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:40,800 Oh-ho-ho-ho! 128 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:55,400 And here we are! Whoo! 129 00:07:56,680 --> 00:07:58,400 In Yowah, Queensland, 130 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:03,080 the Digi Diggers, 33-year-old local Josiah Kotzur 131 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:07,400 and 25-year-old Dutch entrepreneur Lisa van Heijningen 132 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:11,000 are beginning their first season together as opal miners 133 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:15,200 after moving from the coast 880 kilometres away. 134 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:18,320 This is my hoist. Like everything around here, 135 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:19,960 it only just works. 136 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:22,120 The bucket comes up on the ladder, 137 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:25,360 which acts as tracks and guides the bucket. 138 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:28,840 We've got lots of water down there. 139 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:30,800 Um, we've just had a lot of rain. 140 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:34,800 Pulling this secondary cord. 141 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:37,880 It takes away the tension off the drum. 142 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:40,840 And, er, it goes into freefall. 143 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:49,280 Killer, man. 144 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:55,480 My grandfather was an opal miner, my father's an opal miner, 145 00:08:55,560 --> 00:08:57,440 and now it's my turn. 146 00:08:57,520 --> 00:08:59,000 I love the story behind opal, 147 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:02,560 being a stone that's been generated over millions of years. 148 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:05,640 A stone that no-one's ever seen before, 149 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:08,080 that's a life-changing moment. 150 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:13,960 Josiah and Lisa are working 1.2 kilometres outside of Yowah, 151 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:17,320 population 126. 152 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:20,520 The miners here hunt the rare Yowah nut, 153 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:25,120 an iron stone boulder filled with intricately patterned opal. 154 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:28,560 We decided that, um, I was gonna sell opal for him. 155 00:09:28,640 --> 00:09:31,440 But then I realised oh, wait, I'm selling an opal 156 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:34,840 but I have never been here, or I had never mined. 157 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:37,640 At some point, I was gonna come for three days 158 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:40,240 but then I ended up staying for a month. 159 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:44,600 We've got a pretty good set-up at the mine. 160 00:09:44,680 --> 00:09:46,240 And we've got the bus. 161 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:49,280 We live here basically during the winter 162 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:52,440 cos in the summer it does get very, very, very hot 163 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:53,760 so we try to escape. 164 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:57,800 It's an old school bus, yeah. Got it in Melbourne on an auction. 165 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:00,960 So we can scan some rocks. 166 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:03,280 I love technology. 167 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:07,040 Even now, it's just such a contrast to the opal mining industry. 168 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:11,240 Here we have an opal specimen that's been captured by a 3D scanner. 169 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:15,040 And it can be manipulated, so the beauty of this is 170 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:19,040 it allows buyers to access and play with opals 171 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:20,240 anywhere in the world. 172 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:22,840 This is a big competitive advantage for us. 173 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:24,680 The bus is totally off-grid. 174 00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:27,280 All the electricity comes from the solar panels. 175 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:31,080 The plan is to, er, mine off fully renewable energy. 176 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:34,040 Hopefully one day we won't need to use generators, 177 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:36,560 but it's a long path to get there. 178 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:39,440 And we need to find a load of opal 179 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:42,520 to be able to build the equipment that we need to run all this off 180 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:43,920 solar energy. 181 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:47,760 Josiah and Lisa have invested all their savings 182 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:51,200 in a huge 10,000 square metre claim, 183 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:54,320 working a small pocket in the centre. 184 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:58,400 All our assets have pretty much been sold to fund this venture. 185 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:00,400 If we don't find opal, 186 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:01,960 it'll all be for nothing. 187 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:04,720 We're not together, we're just good friends. 188 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:07,400 We've both invested the same amount of money, 189 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:09,600 and we're equal partners. 190 00:11:09,680 --> 00:11:12,440 We live day to day, so there is a lot of pressure 191 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:14,320 on putting food on the table. 192 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:17,720 Our season target this year 193 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:19,400 is 60,000 Australian dollars. 194 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:22,080 Nothing could go wrong. 195 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:32,400 Yeah, we have a bit of water down here. 196 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:35,080 Yeah, a lot more than what I expected. 197 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:38,080 It's gonna be a bit of a pain to get all this water out. 198 00:11:39,440 --> 00:11:42,800 So, we're just putting the clay down on the ground 199 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:45,760 so that the water soaks into the clay. 200 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:48,640 So we just dig a little bit, and then we clean out, 201 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:52,040 bog out, then er...dig a bit more. 202 00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:58,600 The bucket's stuck up in the air. 203 00:11:58,680 --> 00:12:02,400 We can't get out. This is our only entry and exit point. 204 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:07,360 Hang on, watch out, don't get under that. That's dangerous. 205 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:09,840 If that becomes dislodged or lets go, 206 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:12,080 it's gonna drop right down and flatten you. 207 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:14,250 00:12:21.440 -- 00:12:22.680 Yo, John. 208 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:27,320 I'm working on one dump that I don't think's been touched. 209 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:29,400 Do you want to let me know if it's any good? 210 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:34,880 In Australia's opal capital, Coober Pedy, 211 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:38,440 The Blacklighters - Mark I'Anson, 212 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:40,520 John Nassar and Paul Coon 213 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:45,520 are using their ten-ton Blacklight noodling machine, Opalzilla, 214 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:49,760 to search mine dumps for opal missed by old-timers. 215 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:55,000 When we're noodling, you're just hoping 216 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:57,040 you've got something at best. 217 00:12:57,120 --> 00:12:59,920 Yeah, you gotta make some money, buy some diesel, 218 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:01,880 pay some bills. 219 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:05,120 The demand for opal's there, 220 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:07,600 so we thought let's push a bit harder. 221 00:13:07,680 --> 00:13:10,480 To do that, we needed a couple more people. 222 00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:13,120 We got Davey here working full time. 223 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:17,160 Got his mate up on school holidays. He's giving us a hand as well, Cooper. 224 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:20,720 I'm about to go in the dark room with Xavier and John. 225 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:22,880 I've never been in there before 226 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:24,960 so, I don't know, a bit nervous 227 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:27,480 cos people say you can feel sick and stuff. 228 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:32,200 What you're looking for is 229 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:34,680 a nice little glow on the belt. 230 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:38,360 Whey, there we go, Coops. That's what she looks like. 231 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:42,000 Blacklight, what we call it, 232 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:44,480 it just fluorescents the opal on the belt. 233 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:46,360 You just watch your hands. 234 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:49,280 Sometimes you can get scorpions coming through 235 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:51,920 and they glow the same colour as the opal. 236 00:13:55,720 --> 00:14:00,400 Hey, Xav, I'm feeling a little bit like woozy, a little ill. 237 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:04,080 If you feel like you're gonna be sick...go. 238 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:06,320 Oh! 239 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:08,600 Oh, man! Sorry. 240 00:14:08,680 --> 00:14:10,760 Dude, out! Get out, get out, get out. 241 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:12,600 Get out, mate. Get out, dude. 242 00:14:12,680 --> 00:14:15,320 Oh, it's on my hands, man. 243 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:17,480 You're a grotty, grotty man, Cooper. 244 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:27,280 Last year, The Blacklighters and their families finished with a bang. 245 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:30,040 Last season went quite well. We made target. 246 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:34,400 They found over 300,000 dollars worth of opal... 247 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:40,440 ..using their profits to explore abandoned underground mines. 248 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:43,720 Oh, have a look at that! 249 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:47,680 We got colour! 250 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:50,920 We want to get to the main tunnels where the old-timers were. 251 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:53,400 We're digging a massive open cut. It's huge, 252 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:56,520 the biggest operation The Blacklighters have ever taken on. 253 00:14:56,600 --> 00:15:01,200 The Blacklighters must dig their 100-metre long open cut 254 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:04,840 to a depth of 12 metres to reach the tunnels. 255 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:09,280 We want to open them up, take the pillars, take the roofs, 256 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:10,880 take the floors, 257 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:13,040 and really empty it out properly. 258 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:16,360 Noodling with Opalzilla, it'll pay the bills, 259 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:18,080 it won't get you rich in the end. 260 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:22,040 The open cut's where it's at to find the big pocket. 261 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:24,080 To get rich, it's pretty much the only way. 262 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:28,800 They've sunk $20,000 into excavating the new mine. 263 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:32,640 When you're doing an open cut, there's a lot of downtime 264 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:35,520 all you're doing is digging dirt. It's worthless. 265 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:40,400 From ground level to about 40 feet, you're just getting nothing, just paying diesel. 266 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:46,600 Weeks away from hitting pay dirt, they still need cash to cover costs. 267 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:49,920 My family relies on us finding opal out here. 268 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:54,520 This year, we're gonna have to provide for everyone's family. Got three families to feed. 269 00:15:56,040 --> 00:16:01,200 The three families all share Mark's underground house in Coober Pedy 270 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:03,280 during the mining season. 271 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:05,720 Both Mark and I 272 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:08,360 and the others, we've all come from harder times. 273 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:10,920 Family is the essence of our business. 274 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:16,400 Mark's wife Rachel is in charge of The Blacklighters' finances 275 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:20,040 and runs online auctions with the opal found. 276 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:24,400 This year, our target, we need it a bit higher 277 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:25,840 so we're heading for 350. 278 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:29,840 Opal stocks are getting quite low at the moment. 279 00:16:29,920 --> 00:16:33,440 The boys are out there working really hard with the loader 280 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:35,440 trying to get down to the level, 281 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:39,120 but I don't know if it's gonna work quick enough. 282 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:41,320 If we don't find opal, 283 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:44,120 there's no auctions, there's no team. 284 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:51,200 Feeling alright? 285 00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:53,560 He's just thrown up all over the belt. 286 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:57,080 That's motion sickness, man. 287 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:01,880 You can almost feel a bit seasick almost in here. 288 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:05,200 I've been doing this enough that it doesn't really bother me anymore, 289 00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:07,720 but a few people, it's about five, ten minutes 290 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:10,440 and they just want out. 291 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:17,080 The job we've taken on this year, doing this open cut, it's a big one. 292 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:18,840 The team's only loader 293 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:22,200 needs to clear the waste dirt away from the open cut 294 00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:27,360 while also continuing to feed Opalzilla from old mine dumps. 295 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:30,640 The belt's pretty well almost empty. 296 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:32,920 Are you ready there, Mark? 297 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:36,240 Yeah, mate. What's going on? Yo, what's going on, mate? 298 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:40,000 Um, I'm just struggling to keep up, mate. 299 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:42,440 I can see that the belt's running dry, mate, 300 00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:43,840 but I can't keep up. 301 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:47,560 We've just got to work out how we can get this dirt out this hole faster. 302 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:49,880 Righto. Shutting her down. 303 00:17:57,360 --> 00:17:59,640 It's absolutely desperate at the moment. 304 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:02,040 90 grams worth of machinery sitting up there 305 00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:03,440 and we can't dig the ground. 306 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:07,680 The Bushmen have gambled all their savings on new equipment 307 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:10,880 and an almost impenetrable claim. 308 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:16,560 To find opal, they'll need to blast through undiggable rock 309 00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:18,640 on the north side of the mine. 310 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:23,240 Is it coming out that hose? Not really? No. 311 00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:26,080 It's got prostate problems, that hose. 312 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:29,520 But a lack of water pressure for their pneumatic drill 313 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:32,440 is stopping them from using explosives. 314 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:36,920 I need that bubble...up here. 315 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:40,200 Below there, not enough water. 316 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:42,280 Les has gone to get the pump. 317 00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:47,560 If he can put a pump in the line somewhere to give us greater pressure, we're up. 318 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:52,000 I've put a pump on to get the water down from the grill. 319 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:54,680 So hopefully now it all should work properly. 320 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:56,040 Hopefully. 321 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:03,680 Yeah, . 322 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:05,760 That looks better. 323 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:08,720 Righto. 324 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:21,680 It's hard work with that drill. 325 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:25,880 It's very heavy, dirty, oil flowing everywhere, water. 326 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:30,760 It feels pretty hard. 327 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:45,200 We're on our last set of holes now. 328 00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:47,280 We're ready to blow. 329 00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:55,040 Let's get cracking, just blow this bugger up. 330 00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:58,960 At 36 dollars per bomb, 331 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:04,600 this second blast will push the total to nearly 1,000 dollars. 332 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:07,520 Mate, this is the last of it. That's the last of it. 333 00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:09,720 So, even if I had time, 334 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:12,760 I've got no more material to work with. 335 00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:18,280 OK. Are we all ready? 336 00:20:18,360 --> 00:20:20,360 Yep. Righto, let's send her. 337 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:39,680 Poor old Rod, he's getting a bit stressed 338 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:42,440 because if we don't find any money, he's borrowed a lot. 339 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:45,440 When we get down there, we'll see whether we've made any money 340 00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:47,800 or just lost all that money altogether. 341 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:53,880 Strewth! Wow! That's just what we wanted, Brad. 342 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:57,080 Let's see if there's any opal in here, boys. 343 00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:02,000 I tell you what, I'm not seeing too much. 344 00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:05,440 Jesus, there's nothing here, Les! 345 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:07,400 I can't see anything. Can you? 346 00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:09,920 No, I can't see anything. 347 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:13,000 You're not kidding, there's no colour in that. 348 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:15,600 I'm thinking it's been blown out. 349 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:17,400 There's a bit there. 350 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:19,600 Look at that. 351 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:22,000 Oh, gee, look what I've got here! 352 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:23,720 Nice piece of rock. 353 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:28,440 Oh, hello. You've got another piece here. 354 00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:31,000 I've got a bit too, Les. Hang on, I've found a bit too. 355 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:34,800 Oh, beautiful red there! 356 00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:38,680 What did YOU get? Look at the colour in the bloody- 357 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:42,120 See the way it's shattered from the blast? Ha-ha! Les! 358 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:45,120 We've done it! We might be going well! 359 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:46,640 There's gonna be more here. 360 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:50,080 We find that sitting on the salt, that's not all there's gonna be. 361 00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:52,240 There's gonna be a bit more than that, yeah. 362 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:54,720 Oh-ho-h-ho! 363 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:57,800 Have a look at that! 364 00:21:57,880 --> 00:21:59,880 That's gem. 365 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:03,250 00:22:10.200 -- 00:22:11.640 The bucket's stuck. 366 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:13,920 So we have this device. 367 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:17,440 It's actually a platform, 368 00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:19,520 but we use it as a safety device. 369 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:21,600 And we just put that on the ladder - 370 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:24,280 a manual emergency brake that'll stop the bucket 371 00:22:24,360 --> 00:22:28,160 if, um, it decides to come back down while I'm going up the ladder. 372 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:30,120 In Yowah, 373 00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:32,240 rookie miners The Digi Diggers' 374 00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:36,360 25-kilogram steel hoist bucket is hanging precariously, 375 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:39,720 blocking the only access hole for the mine. 376 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:43,720 Josiah's climbing out now and it's quite dangerous 377 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:45,600 because the bucket can just fall down. 378 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:48,520 It's metal, it can... It's very dangerous. 379 00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:50,800 My life's on the line here. 380 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:52,880 Shouldn't have to take these risks. 381 00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:07,280 Alright, it seems to be working again. Let's keep on working. 382 00:23:10,120 --> 00:23:13,160 This mine is actually quite dangerous at the moment because 383 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:15,160 we've only got one entry and exit point 384 00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:17,840 and we're currently tunnelling into a second shaft. 385 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:19,520 We'll have a backdoor, if you will. 386 00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:23,080 The claim's two shafts are six metres apart. 387 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:26,240 Josiah and Lisa have spent the last month 388 00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:28,600 trying to connect them with a tunnel. 389 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:34,760 We've got lots of colour happening up here. 390 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:36,760 Trace. 391 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:43,960 So we've, um, 392 00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:47,440 we've prioritised that over digging out the colour. 393 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:53,160 We measured it here and we are at almost six metres, 394 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:57,240 so we must be...must be almost there. 395 00:23:57,320 --> 00:23:59,560 The other hole should be straight, 396 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:02,360 like just in front of this ladder. 397 00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:05,600 So like, the thing is, what we did, we just stand here at the ladder 398 00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:08,520 and we just like... Oh, . We actually aren't quite... 399 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:10,600 We are quite a bit to the right. 400 00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:13,200 Yes, I was saying, go back a bit to the left. 401 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:15,040 To the left. We go first to the right. 402 00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:17,120 No, we need to go to the left. 403 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:19,960 If you're here straight, we're digging to the right 404 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:22,040 and we need to go to the left. 405 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:27,880 No, I think we need to dig further to the right. 406 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:29,760 To the left! 407 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:32,720 Cos if you stand here straight, what we're digging 408 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:35,920 is going to the right and we have to go straight. 409 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:38,040 So we need to dig more to the left. 410 00:24:38,120 --> 00:24:42,400 Cos the hole is directly in line with this ladder. 411 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:44,680 Yeah, which is there, not there. 412 00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:46,760 No, it's there. 413 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:52,040 Alright, well...let's see. 414 00:24:56,720 --> 00:24:59,000 We have to keep finding opal, we just do. 415 00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:00,840 The job we want to do is too big 416 00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:04,000 for the loader to take the dirt out of that cut. 417 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:05,480 In Coober Pedy, 418 00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:08,680 The Blacklighters are unable to dig their open cut 419 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:11,600 and run Opalzilla at the same time. 420 00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:13,400 Without opal to sell, 421 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:16,400 their upcoming opal auctions are at risk. 422 00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:17,920 We're running out of opal. 423 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:22,480 To move things along a lot faster, we're gonna need a truck. 424 00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:23,760 Oh, wrong gear. 425 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:27,920 They've gambled $10,000 on a second-hand dump truck. 426 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:31,440 This is the truck that we found in town that suits us the most. 427 00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:34,160 We can fill the truck up straight out the excavator, 428 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:37,320 off, back again, back again - before you know it, we'll be down. 429 00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:40,880 Truck! You beauty! Mate, she was a bit rough 430 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:44,840 but she's alright. You're new truck, mate. You're gonna be driving this. 431 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:49,000 We need a truck driver. Paul's on the excavator, 432 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:51,440 I'm on the loader, Johnny's in the darkroom, 433 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:53,720 someone else needs to drive the truck, 434 00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:55,920 so it's got to be Xavier at this stage. 435 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:00,120 I'm about to go for the first drive in a truck. 436 00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:02,200 I've never driven one before. 437 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:04,680 So I'm pretty sure when I was driving it 438 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:08,560 it was 12-speed - two reverse, ten forward. 439 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:11,680 There you go. 440 00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:14,400 Hopefully I'll get the hang of it pretty quick. 441 00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:16,840 I'm outta here, mate. Good luck. 442 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:20,800 I'm about to reverse the truck down the cut all by myself. 443 00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:23,880 I'm...pretty nervous. 444 00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:27,680 It's definitely not the safest thing, 445 00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:30,160 but hopefully nothing goes wrong 446 00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:34,080 cos if it does, yeah, someone could seriously get hurt. 447 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:37,840 Anything could go wrong really. 448 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:40,440 He could roll the truck, he could hit the sides. 449 00:26:43,360 --> 00:26:45,480 That's it, mate. Straight back. Slowly. 450 00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:47,160 Slowly! 451 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:49,240 Whoa! That's it! 452 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:50,560 Yo! 453 00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:56,520 The could mean the auction's back on. Righto, go. 454 00:26:56,600 --> 00:26:59,280 Not only pulling dirt out of the hole... 455 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:02,560 ..we can go and get a few blower dumps 456 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:04,760 from on the edges of our plains 457 00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:06,840 and bring 'em to put 'em through Opalzilla, 458 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:08,840 so we could probably get some material. 459 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:13,600 Oh, that's a nice chunk. 460 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:16,640 You there, Mark? Yeah, mate. 461 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:18,600 It's getting pretty hectic in here, mate, 462 00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:21,120 so I think we do need an extra set of paws in here. 463 00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:22,840 Alright. 464 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:27,600 How you going, mate? Hey. 465 00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:31,720 How you feeling about getting back in the darkroom, get back on the horse? 466 00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:34,320 I don't want to throw up again. John's struggling, mate, 467 00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:36,200 we could really do with you. 468 00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:40,640 Yeah, alright, I guess I'll give it another go. 469 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:43,680 Good on you. We need you, no joke. Yeah. 470 00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:45,360 Thanks, Coops. 471 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:50,840 Welcome back, young man. Yo. 472 00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:53,520 You're gonna have to have the eye, mate, 473 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:56,600 because she's coming through this thick and fast. 474 00:27:57,600 --> 00:27:59,440 I'm feeling better this time 475 00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:03,680 and I'm just sort of concentrating more on just finding opal. 476 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:05,600 Good to have Cooper here at the moment. 477 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:08,720 You don't want to let $500 notes go flying out the back. 478 00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:28,280 I accidentally went in on an angle 479 00:28:28,360 --> 00:28:30,240 and bent the pin that goes into the door 480 00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:32,000 so it opens and closes. 481 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:33,520 We've got to fix the truck. 482 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:35,000 Mark's not too happy. 483 00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:50,560 We're either there, over here, 484 00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:53,280 or we're there, too far to the right 485 00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:58,280 and we're over here, too far to the...to the left 486 00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:00,480 and we're over here. 487 00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:03,720 The Digi Diggers, Josiah and Lisa, 488 00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:06,160 are desperately trying to finish a tunnel 489 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:10,120 to connect their mine entrance to their new emergency exit shaft 490 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:12,200 six metres away. 491 00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:15,080 We should have reached the hole, so... 492 00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:18,920 ..I'm gonna jump down this hole 493 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:21,000 and see if I can hear Lisa. 494 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:25,400 And then get a bit of an idea of which side of the hole she's on. 495 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:31,840 We've invested everything in this mine and it's costing money 496 00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:35,960 and we need to find some opal and sell some opal very, very quick 497 00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:38,040 to be able to keep going. 498 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:43,920 Yeah, we're super close. 499 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:47,120 I can hear the jackhammer, the vibrations of the jackhammer 500 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:48,400 through the clay. 501 00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:52,560 I think she's around there. 502 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:56,000 I think, er... 503 00:29:57,160 --> 00:30:00,240 ..she needs to bear to the left, which is what she said. 504 00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:08,840 So, Lisa, 505 00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:12,320 I could feel your...feel the vibrations through the wall 506 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:14,520 so...you're right. 507 00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:16,600 We've got to veer to the left. 508 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:20,320 Can you tell me that again, please? 509 00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:21,800 No. 510 00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:24,840 Just the one. Just say it again. 511 00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:27,400 You're right, we've got to veer to the left. 512 00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:30,560 Aah! Music in my ears! 513 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:33,440 I knew it. 514 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:35,960 You have to learn that females, we're always right. 515 00:30:56,960 --> 00:31:00,360 ..and just...crack through. 516 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:07,520 Oh, yeah! We're through! We're through! 517 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:12,320 Look at that! 518 00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:15,600 Yeah! 519 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:18,320 Whoo! 520 00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:20,400 That there's our second drill hole. 521 00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:23,920 And we've got fresh air pouring in through. 522 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:26,520 The most important part is now that we can just 523 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:28,240 climb over to the second shaft. 524 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:32,560 So it's way safer now. 525 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:38,960 Oh, my God. We did it, Lisa, we did it. 526 00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:42,880 Watch the hole, watch the hole. 527 00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:48,560 Whoo! Yeah! 528 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:49,250 00:31:51.520 -- 00:31:53.720 Alright, let's have a bit of a gander at this 529 00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:55,880 and see what we reckon it's worth, eh? 530 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:01,440 We've invested an awful lot of money this year. 531 00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:04,840 We need to have a lot of money coming back in. 532 00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:07,880 There's a new buyer coming out today, isn't there? Yeah. 533 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:10,000 You know young Benny. Yeah. 534 00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:13,280 I have arranged for a buyer to come out and have a look. 535 00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:15,360 Young bloke, Benny. 536 00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:18,120 He's only been around a little while, 537 00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:20,840 but he's very good at this internet selling. 538 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:23,320 Hello, boys. Hey, Benny, how are you, mate? 539 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:25,640 Good, mate. Yourself? Yeah, not too bad. 540 00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:27,000 What have we got today? 541 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:30,760 Have a Bo Beep at that. 542 00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:34,200 I was selling and trading opal in Sydney for about a year. 543 00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:37,720 Decided to make the move up to Lightning Ridge with the family. 544 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:39,840 Opal was something that just grabbed me 545 00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:41,880 and decided to go from part-time doing it 546 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:43,400 to make it a full-time thing. 547 00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:46,000 There's definitely some nice stones here, mate. 548 00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:48,680 OK, hit me with it. Where are we at? 20 grand. 549 00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:50,480 And that's cheap as. 550 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:54,880 The Bushmen have Grawin Black Seam Opal. 551 00:32:56,160 --> 00:32:58,680 It displays the full array of colours. 552 00:32:58,760 --> 00:33:00,760 And it's in the rough. 553 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:03,000 There's definitely some nice stones here. 554 00:33:03,080 --> 00:33:04,800 Of course there are. But 20 555 00:33:04,880 --> 00:33:08,160 is probably a little bit more than I was willing to pay, 556 00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:10,520 but... There is a but. 557 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:14,000 I'm happy to do 20 on a couple of conditions. 558 00:33:14,080 --> 00:33:16,800 Oh, yeah? You know I'm very good at selling opal. 559 00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:19,080 Yeah. So how about 560 00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:21,200 I'll meet you on 20, 561 00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:25,720 you show me how to mine 'em and I get to sell your opal for you. 562 00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:27,880 And you know, mate, with me selling it for you 563 00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:30,080 you are gonna get a better price for it. 564 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:34,560 If you can give us a minute to have a yarn to each other, mate. No worries, mate. 565 00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:38,600 It'd be a great opportunity to buy in with the boys. 566 00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:41,160 If I can get out there and learn off the best, 567 00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:42,880 well, it's gonna benefit me as well. 568 00:33:42,960 --> 00:33:45,720 And I think selling opal for them is gonna benefit them. 569 00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:49,760 Righto, mate. Well, I'll tell you what we've come up with, Ben. 570 00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:50,960 Righto, hit me. 571 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:55,160 You can't just come into the crew now and go straight underground. 572 00:33:56,760 --> 00:33:59,040 But what we CAN say, we've got a drill 573 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:00,720 and we need a driller. 574 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:03,800 If you're prepared and run the drill, 575 00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:07,600 we'll certainly let you sell the opal. 576 00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:10,800 If we all get along and everything's going alright, 577 00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:14,640 we'll sit down and have a serious talk to you coming into the crew. 578 00:34:14,720 --> 00:34:17,680 OK. Um, I'm definitely happy with that. 579 00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:21,120 If you guys are on board with it, I'd love a shot at it. Thanks, Les. 580 00:34:21,200 --> 00:34:23,080 Thanks, Ty. 581 00:34:23,160 --> 00:34:25,360 There you go, Benny. Thanks, boys. 582 00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:28,000 I'll see you Monday morning. You bet you will. 583 00:34:29,840 --> 00:34:32,720 It can't just be me and Les anymore. We're both too old. 584 00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:37,320 So you've got to sort of expand things and get bigger 585 00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:39,680 and bring some young blokes in. 586 00:34:39,760 --> 00:34:43,200 It's been a great end to the week, to find a bit of colour 587 00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:46,200 so we can go shopping and buy some more supplies. 588 00:34:46,280 --> 00:34:50,520 Yeah, it's a big investment I reckon's gonna pay off for us. This is gonna be our year. 589 00:34:50,600 --> 00:34:54,360 Yeah, The Bushmen, um, expanding a little bit. 590 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:58,200 Got about 20 grand for it, so that's gonna help us out. 591 00:34:58,280 --> 00:35:01,240 Cheers, fellas. What a bloody start. 592 00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:14,240 It might take a little bit, but I reckon... 593 00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:17,600 I reckon that we're in for a chance behind here. Alright. 594 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:20,400 After connecting their two mine shafts 595 00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:23,040 for improved airflow and safety, 596 00:35:23,120 --> 00:35:25,280 the Digi Diggers, Josiah and Lisa, 597 00:35:25,360 --> 00:35:27,360 are desperate to make some cash. 598 00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:31,120 Lisa and I have got a lot of pressure on us at the moment to find opal. 599 00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:35,640 We've overextended our, um, ourselves 600 00:35:35,720 --> 00:35:37,200 from a financial standpoint 601 00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:39,760 and, um, if we don't get any colour soon 602 00:35:39,840 --> 00:35:41,640 we're in very difficult times. 603 00:35:46,600 --> 00:35:48,200 There we go. 604 00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:51,680 So we've got a section of wood here, opalised wood. 605 00:35:51,760 --> 00:35:54,280 Millions of years ago, there must have been some sort of 606 00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:57,160 tree roots or something. And then it slowly eroded away 607 00:35:57,240 --> 00:35:59,360 and the opal's come in and, um, 608 00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:01,160 occupied that space. 609 00:36:01,240 --> 00:36:04,520 Opal forms when silica-rich water 610 00:36:04,600 --> 00:36:06,160 fills cracks and voids 611 00:36:06,240 --> 00:36:09,200 caused by faults or decomposing matter. 612 00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:11,280 The water slowly hardens 613 00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:14,840 and over millions of years creates opal. 614 00:36:27,480 --> 00:36:30,360 Whoa! There it is. Oh, wow! 615 00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:35,640 This is an amazing piece. This is a piece of opalised wood in three pieces. 616 00:36:35,720 --> 00:36:39,400 We'll put it in the bucket, bring it with us upstairs 617 00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:45,000 and...we'll reassess the value of everything we found today. 618 00:36:47,080 --> 00:36:49,000 Lisa and I have put everything into this. 619 00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:52,120 Practically my bank account's zero. Lisa's bank account's zero. 620 00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:54,600 We're not earning any income. The income that we get 621 00:36:54,680 --> 00:36:57,440 is what we find and what we sell. 622 00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:03,640 So, we've got a buyer coming. She's a friend of Lisa's, 623 00:37:03,720 --> 00:37:05,400 she's from Spain. 624 00:37:05,480 --> 00:37:09,560 Apparently she wants to start selling opal over in Spain. 625 00:37:09,640 --> 00:37:11,640 Not bad. How are you? 626 00:37:11,720 --> 00:37:14,080 Seven grand would be nice. 627 00:37:14,160 --> 00:37:16,640 Hello, Josiah. Hey, how you doing? Welcome. 628 00:37:16,720 --> 00:37:17,800 How are you? Good. 629 00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:20,600 People are looking for opal in Europe. 630 00:37:20,680 --> 00:37:22,480 I'm keen to buy. 631 00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:24,360 But let's see. 632 00:37:24,440 --> 00:37:26,760 Let's see what they offer me. 633 00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:29,840 So we found this piece. Unfortunately, it broke. 634 00:37:29,920 --> 00:37:31,920 Yeah, what about these pieces? 635 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:35,800 They belong as well to the same...? Yes, it's all from the same section. 636 00:37:37,240 --> 00:37:40,720 Josiah and Lisa have opalised wood fossil. 637 00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:44,000 It's predominantly blue green 638 00:37:44,080 --> 00:37:46,080 and in the rough. 639 00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:49,160 How much do you want for that? 640 00:37:49,240 --> 00:37:51,360 Seven thousand. 641 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:55,280 Yeah, it's beautiful, but it's three pieces. 642 00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:57,360 It's not just one, you know. 643 00:37:57,440 --> 00:37:59,560 I'm not gonna pay seven grand. 644 00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:01,680 No, sure. 645 00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:03,800 So five grand is my offer. 646 00:38:03,880 --> 00:38:05,880 So think about it. 647 00:38:07,360 --> 00:38:09,640 Yeah, five is a little bit too low for us. 648 00:38:09,720 --> 00:38:13,840 We're both starting in this and we do really need the money. 649 00:38:13,920 --> 00:38:16,800 So, I think we'll go with six and a half. 650 00:38:18,240 --> 00:38:19,360 No more than six, guys. 651 00:38:19,440 --> 00:38:22,800 It's my... No, it's my last offer. 652 00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:25,440 What do you think? Six? 653 00:38:29,120 --> 00:38:30,840 Six thousand. Done. 654 00:38:30,920 --> 00:38:34,440 OK, thank you, Josiah. 655 00:38:37,480 --> 00:38:40,280 First sale for the season. Yoo-hoo! 656 00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:43,360 We're gonna use this money to buy the basics, 657 00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:46,640 basic necessities to give us- cos we've got nothing in the bank. 658 00:38:46,720 --> 00:38:49,040 So, yeah, super happy. 659 00:38:49,120 --> 00:38:52,720 Starting to work with Josiah here in the desert, 660 00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:56,640 we're getting opal, it's just the beginning. 661 00:39:01,960 --> 00:39:03,240 Mark's not too happy. 662 00:39:03,320 --> 00:39:07,640 But it's not like I did it on purpose. Accidents happen. 663 00:39:07,720 --> 00:39:09,840 But Mark doesn't hear that. 664 00:39:09,920 --> 00:39:12,360 No truck, no opal. It's that important to us. 665 00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:15,680 So yeah, I am a little temperamental about it at the moment. 666 00:39:15,760 --> 00:39:19,240 The Blacklighters' frantic search for opal 667 00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:22,600 for their upcoming online auction has hit a roadblock. 668 00:39:22,680 --> 00:39:26,920 Their new truck's tipper tray has a damaged hinge. 669 00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:29,440 Yeah, there's a bit of hoo-hah. I dunno, 670 00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:33,400 I think Xavier's bent the back of the tipper so the door's not gonna close. 671 00:39:33,480 --> 00:39:36,400 We'll see what this bloody sledgehammer can do, eh? 672 00:39:52,520 --> 00:39:53,880 Done. 673 00:39:53,960 --> 00:39:56,600 When you tip, don't tip onto a pole. 674 00:39:56,680 --> 00:39:58,920 Like leave a gap and then tip it. 675 00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:01,120 And then that won't happen. Alright. 676 00:40:13,320 --> 00:40:15,440 I'm picking a lot of stuff up right now 677 00:40:15,520 --> 00:40:17,720 but we don't know if it's actually opal 678 00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:20,120 until we go outside and have a better look 679 00:40:20,200 --> 00:40:22,200 and see if there's any colour in it. 680 00:40:23,720 --> 00:40:27,800 So that's, um, a fair bit for a few hours' work. 681 00:40:27,880 --> 00:40:31,880 Grab your bucket, mate, and we'll have a bit of a look-see, eh? 682 00:40:34,720 --> 00:40:37,040 I can see colour already everywhere, man! 683 00:40:37,120 --> 00:40:39,120 Check this guy out. 684 00:40:41,360 --> 00:40:43,720 Ha-ha! That's wicked. 685 00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:46,320 That's what we're after! Ha-ha! 686 00:40:46,400 --> 00:40:49,160 There's plenty to auction in here. 687 00:40:49,240 --> 00:40:50,720 The auction's on in a big way. 688 00:40:50,800 --> 00:40:54,040 At The Blacklighters' home in Coober Pedy, 689 00:40:54,120 --> 00:40:56,200 the team wash the opal 690 00:40:56,280 --> 00:40:59,080 then grade it in preparation for the auction. 691 00:41:00,760 --> 00:41:04,440 We've got a pretty good customer base, over 35,000 people follow us 692 00:41:04,520 --> 00:41:06,080 from all around the world - 693 00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:10,000 Bulgaria to the United States, UK. 694 00:41:10,080 --> 00:41:12,080 Done my hair for the live. 695 00:41:12,160 --> 00:41:14,160 Get ready. 696 00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:19,000 Shake the dust out my beard. Been pretty dusty today. 697 00:41:20,040 --> 00:41:22,440 This is our only income for the family. 698 00:41:22,520 --> 00:41:25,600 And not just for the family, to be able to continue mining. 699 00:41:25,680 --> 00:41:29,840 The Blacklighters have a large parcel of crystal opal. 700 00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:34,000 The colour varies from small splashes of blue and green 701 00:41:34,080 --> 00:41:37,720 to a vibrant full spectrum featuring rare red. 702 00:41:37,800 --> 00:41:40,200 Mark and Rachel have split the find 703 00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:42,080 into hundreds of small parcels 704 00:41:42,160 --> 00:41:45,400 and three large king stones. 705 00:41:45,480 --> 00:41:46,560 We're live, guys. 706 00:41:46,640 --> 00:41:49,760 Alright, now, I'm gonna start with some parcels tonight. 707 00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:51,600 It's small stuff. 708 00:41:51,680 --> 00:41:55,400 I'm gonna reward someone that has a bid real quickly. 709 00:41:55,480 --> 00:41:57,480 Ben's at 30. Sold. 710 00:41:57,560 --> 00:42:00,560 There you go, Ben. You get rewarded for having a go, mate. 711 00:42:00,640 --> 00:42:02,840 I've got another nice parcel. 712 00:42:02,920 --> 00:42:05,520 I reckon there's 50, 60 carats in this parcel. 713 00:42:05,600 --> 00:42:07,920 Ben's at 30. Brendan's at 40. 714 00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:11,560 Katie's at 30. Zags is at 85. 715 00:42:11,640 --> 00:42:13,480 Well done, Zags. That's yours. 716 00:42:13,560 --> 00:42:15,560 The auctions are going really well. 717 00:42:15,640 --> 00:42:18,560 Everyone seems to be quite happy with the materials. 718 00:42:18,640 --> 00:42:20,280 Pedro's at 180. Sold. 719 00:42:20,360 --> 00:42:22,000 Dee Dee's at 450. Sold. 720 00:42:22,080 --> 00:42:24,400 Aaron's at 150. That's yours. 721 00:42:24,480 --> 00:42:27,160 Dee Dee's at 4,150. Sold. 722 00:42:27,240 --> 00:42:28,720 4,150. 723 00:42:28,800 --> 00:42:31,360 I reckon I'm gonna go to Stone of the Night, guys. 724 00:42:31,440 --> 00:42:35,840 Now, it is absolutely sensational. 725 00:42:35,920 --> 00:42:38,240 With Pedro at 6,600. 726 00:42:38,320 --> 00:42:41,000 Congratulations, Pedro. That one's yours. 727 00:42:42,240 --> 00:42:43,680 Thanks everyone for joining in. 728 00:42:43,760 --> 00:42:45,920 We've had an absolute blast as usual. 729 00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:47,720 See ya. Bye. 730 00:42:47,800 --> 00:42:50,120 Quick, Rach, better do the maths. 731 00:42:50,200 --> 00:42:52,080 After doing a few sums... 732 00:42:53,120 --> 00:42:55,080 ..we're up around 733 00:42:55,160 --> 00:42:58,000 the $46,000 mark. Oh, my God. 734 00:42:58,080 --> 00:43:00,080 Which is just... 735 00:43:00,160 --> 00:43:02,000 High five to that. Oh, yeah. 736 00:43:02,080 --> 00:43:04,520 That's one of our best lives ever. 737 00:43:04,600 --> 00:43:07,040 Well done. 738 00:43:07,120 --> 00:43:09,960 That's a win for us, that's gonna get us a fair bit of diesel, 739 00:43:10,040 --> 00:43:11,520 so, perfect start to the season. 740 00:43:11,600 --> 00:43:14,760 The boys have done a fantastic job this week 741 00:43:14,840 --> 00:43:19,120 and we've just got to keep pushing and hopefully get bigger and better. 742 00:43:19,200 --> 00:43:22,520 That's not going straight into our pocket either, all that money. 743 00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:25,080 It's going straight out with fuel, with costs. 744 00:43:25,160 --> 00:43:27,160 So it's not all celebration money, 745 00:43:27,240 --> 00:43:30,000 but it's definitely put us in high spirits. 746 00:43:30,080 --> 00:43:34,160 We are stoked. The whole team, we've all succeeded together. 747 00:43:34,240 --> 00:43:38,440 The beauty! Whoo-hoo! Yes! 748 00:43:38,520 --> 00:43:40,520 subtitles by Deluxe 748 00:43:41,305 --> 00:44:41,659 Watch Online Movies and Series for FREE www.osdb.link/lm