Opal in the rough  Spencer, Idaho Opal Bob and Susan Thompson are the owners of Opal Mountain Mines, Inc.  Their mine produces the famous "Spencer Triplet",  fabulous opal that rivals the Australian black opal.  They have been generous enough to partner with us and allow us to mine their opal as well as market it.  What makes Spencer unique?  The opal deposit at Spencer differs from other well known deposits in the United States, Australia, Mexico and Brazil.  Here the deposits were formed in cavities of the igneous rocks obsidian and rhyolite when geyser activity brought the silica rich water to the surface over 4 million years ago. As the silica rich water seeped into these rocks, the layers accumulated into plates creating a very stable form of opal.   Opal found in igneous host rock has only been documented in one other location in the world -Mojave Desert, CA,  but with too little a deposit to commercially mine.  All other opal in the world formed as ground water perculated through silica-rich sedimentary rocks filled with decomposed organic matter.  The silica rich water leached out the organic matter replacing it with opal. The brilliant colors and patterns found in Spencer come from the density and uniformity of the silica layers . Their opal comes in every color of the rainbow and every pattern imaginable, creating a one-of a-kind triplet that is well protected and will give you many years of enjoyment.  The quality and beauty of the opal we offer is so impressive that Specimens from this mine have been donated by request to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It has been  featured in the "Prospecting and Mining Journal" as well as having an article about the mine published in almost every major US paper and the Bankok Post.  Opal Mountain Mines, Inc. is also known to produce the very rare star opal.   TO CLEAN YOUR OPAL JEWELRY- just use a silver polishing cloth, taking care not to soak the stone in any strong cleaning agents - and NEVER USE SONIC CLEANERS.

 

Weather at the mine

Spencer, ID

10°F Partly Cloudy Hour-by-hour | 10-day