The Ratters of Lightning Ridge


Book Description

This adventure centers around two leading characters: Rusty a 40-year-old opal miner, and Kate, a 60-year-old, tough-as-nails woman who raises sheep and cattle when she is not mining opal. This story captures a sense of intrigue and calamity that continues to happen between opal miners, "ratters" (people who steal opal), and animals of the Outback area of Lightning Ridge, Australia.







Lightning Ridge


Book Description







Lightning Ridge Gems


Book Description

Lightning Ridge gems are opal miners and the women who followed them into the Australian outback where they created a spectacular mosaic of old and new world cultures. Thirty people who came to Australia from twenty four countries tell their heroic and triumphant stories of how they came to be here and how they see life from their perspective.




Black's Opal


Book Description

West Virginia teens Emma and Brody, are on a mission to help their neighbor, Mr. M, find new samples of his famed rock and mineral collection that were destroyed in a vicious robbery. Little did they know that collecting the rare samples would sending them traveling through time in a magical crystal cave. Determined to find the perfect Black Opal, Emma and Brody with the help of Mr. M’s granddaughter Max, travel to Lightning Ridge, Australia in 1925. As they navigate a herd of stampeding kangaroo, goat cart races, and flying boomerangs, the kids meet Rose, a young girl whose mysterious secret will rock their world forever. When their attempts to collect the perfect opal anger the locals, the kids flee and accidentally land over 2000 years in the future in South Carolina. Can the kids figure out how to return to their own state and time? Will Rose’s secret stop them from helping Mr. M? Will Max finally figure out who destroyed her Grandfather’s prized rock and mineral collection and why? The answers are all inside but may leave you with a new mystery to solve. Black’s Opal is the third book in the middle-grade adventure/sci-fi series Crystal Cave Adventures. If you like a little excitement thrown in with your science, then you'll love Tracy Diane's fast-paced and exciting series.




Lightning Ridge


Book Description




Beautiful Lightning Ridge


Book Description




The World of Opals


Book Description

Readers will find fascinating details about the discovery, whereabouts, and value of famous opals, from such classic specimens as the Burning of Troy Opal to the Bonanza Opal and other more recent discoveries. Finally, the book surveys today's major opal-producing areas and provides current information on opal occurrence worldwide. Punctuating the text are useful tables, extensive glossaries of opal types and opal-related terms, and beautiful photographs that capture the essence and mystery of this most exquisite stone.