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Welcome to the Juniper Ridge Fire Opal Mine in Southern Oregon
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Juniper Ridge Featured:
During the mining season of 2006, Juniper Ridge Mine was the site of filming for the
Travel Channel's series Cash and Treasures!
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About Fire Opal:
Fire Opal is unlike any other opal. While most opals are renowned for
the play of color and reflections from within, Fire Opal is named
for its fiery colors, including yellows, oranges, and reds.
It may or may not show an opalescent "play of color", but is
valued mostly for its intense colors.
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The best qualities of fire opal are very transparent. Most fire
opal is cut in sparkling faceted stones, though you may also find
it cut en-cabochon, in spheres, and in carvings.
Here is a link to a variety of fire opal gems,
most of which came from the Juniper Ridge Mine.
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Fire opal is becoming much more popular in jewelry due to
its impressive range of bright intense colors. It is also
very light in weight compared to other gems, so it is ideal for
producing stunning larger earrings and pendants without
burdening the lucky wearer.
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Here is a link to a variety of finished fire opal
jewelry, most of which came from the Juniper Ridge Opal Mine.
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Opal typically contains from 3 to 30 percent water, making
it very sensitive to every kind of stress. Fire opal is
no exception to this rule, and should be protected against
impact as well as drastic changes of humidity and
temperature. You should never put any kind of opal
into harsh cleaning fluids or in ultrasonic cleaners.
Physical Properties of Opal:
Mohs’ Hardness: 5.5 – 6.5
Density: 1.98 – 2.50
Composition: Hydrous silicon dioxide (SiO2· nH2O)
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About the Juniper Ridge Mine:
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The mine on Juniper Ridge has been worked off and on for over
thirty years, but was never promoted very much. The claim
lay dormant for a time until Ken Newnham and his son
Chuck found it and placed it under claim again in 1998.
Old maps of the location had been inaccurate, and it
had taken them over two years, hiking many miles in
the surrounding hills before they found the abandoned
pit.
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The mine partners, who are all lapidaries, worked the mine
for a few years by hand with family and friends, and
produced a collection of cabochons and spheres from the
material.
During 2002, they opened the mine to other collectors
on a fee-dig basis. Since then, the popularity of the
material has skyrocketed due to the incredible color,
stability, and sizes of their material. It is not unusual
to collect nodules of opal the size of a baseball, and
this past summer, Ken retrieved a twelve-pound nodule.
(photo below)
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You know you're doing it right when posing for the photo
involves this much work!
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The Newnhams continue to work the mine and to make
appointments for fee-digging at their serene and
scenic retreat high in the mountains of South Eastern
Oregon. Click here to learn more about fee-digging at
the Juniper Ridge Opal Mine.
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