Western opal fields Guide
The opal fields extend in a north-westerly direction from the New South Wales border at Hungerford stretching west of Cunnamulla, Quilpie, Longreach and Winton to Kynuna, a distance of about 1000km.
The best time to visit is April–September. Summer should be avoided due to the high temperatures and possible heavy rains that can make road access impossible in some areas. Always check road conditions before travelling and carry emergency supplies.
Old workings in the area pose a safety hazard. Be careful around old shafts, avoid the loose edges to open shafts and supervise children at all times. Never enter shafts—unstable ground, bad air, and snakes and spiders are some of the hazards that may be present.
A fossicking licence is required in all areas. Fossicking is not permitted on any mining leases and claims in these areas without the permission of the holders.
Contact us if you have any questions about fossicking.
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Yowah fossicking area
The Yowah Fossicking Area sits within the historical Yowah Opal field; the southernmost opal mining centre of western Queensland with well-known opal mineralisation areas such as Black Gate. Yowah is about 160km west of Cunnamulla. The Yowah Fossicking Area is popular with tourists and fossickers as it has easy access from main roads and is close to the town of Yowah which provides access to shops, fuel, a telephone, a caravan park, and a permanent bore water supply. Yowah is a small town that sees its population increase significantly during winter, when the town hosts its annual Opal Festival which celebrates the prized Yowah Nut.
Access
From Cunnamulla, head west on Adventure Way for about 85km , then turn right onto the Yowah/Toompine road and travel 48km via Alroy homestead to the Yowah–Quilpie turn-off. Continue a further 23km to Yowah; via Jandel Road and Yowah Opal Fields Road.
From Quilpie, follow Quilpie-Thargomindah Road for 113km through Toompine Turn left onto Eulo-Toompine Road towards Yowah/Eulo. Follow this road for about 56km to the Yowah turn-off, turn right and then continue the further 23km to Yowah via Jandel road and Yowah Opal Fields Road.
Map
Facilities
Camping is prohibited. There is accommodation available in the town of Yowah.
Fossicking notes
A feature of the Yowah field is the occurrence of precious opal in siliceous ironstone nodules generally referred to as Yowah Nuts. These nuts range from about 5mm to 200mm across, have a spherical or ellipsoidal shape, and show alternate concentric rings or bands of light- and dark-brown siliceous ironstone. There is sometimes a kernel of precious opal, which is the main source of the gem.
The nuts are found in layers (150–600mm in thickness) at depths up to 20m in a ferruginous sandstone, and are commonly associated with mudstone fragments or clay pellets.
The main layer is located near the contact between the sandstone and underlying mudstone/claystone, but scattered nodules, and in some cases a second band, may occur above.
The lateral continuity of the nut bands is somewhat difficult to predict owing to the irregular bedding of the strata, as well as the lack of any detailed mapping. In some shafts, the nut band was not encountered, but the sandstone at its contact with the mudstone was found to be more ferruginous and cemented by partial opalisation into a hard band, which also contained opal in the form of seams and pipes.
The eastern part of the fossicking area has always been popular with tourists as a place to speck or noodle fragments of opal or ironstone matrix from the surface or shallow depth. In this area the main nut band appears to have been exposed at the surface, so that a layer of loose rubble of broken ironstone nut fragments covers the surface to a depth of about 600mm. Spotting chips of opal or fragments of matrix while digging through this material is relatively easy with a bit of practice.
Special conditions
There are some areas excluded from the fossicking area, including several mining claims and a former mining lease area (see Map 664.6 KB)) which must not be entered.
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Toompine designated fossicking lands
Duck Creek designated fossicking land and Sheep Station Creek designated fossicking land are located in the Toompine Opal Fields. Located between Quilpie and Yowah, the Toompine Opal Field have been extensively mined for opal since the 1890s using underground and open-cut methods. At both Designated Fossicking Lands some commercial mining activity is still present.
Access
Duck Creek
The Duck Creek designated fossicking land is located adjacent to Tirga Station and is situated on a low flat-lying drainage divide between Duck Creek draining to the north-east and tributaries of Yowah Creek draining to the south.
From Quilpie, travel south on Quilpie-Thargomindah Road for 72km. Turn left onto Wareo Road (unsealed road). Turn right onto Big Creek Road and follow for 2km. Then turn right onto Duck Creek Road and follow for 22km. Turn right before the Tirga Homestead Gate, to the entrance of the Duck Creek Designated Fossicking Land which is marked by an entrance sign.
Sheep Station Creek
Sheep Station Creek designated fossicking land is located just to the south at the head of Sheep Station Creek, a tributary of Yowah Creek.
From the Duck Creek Designated Fossicking Land, head south on Duck Creek Road for around 4km to arrive at the northern entrance of Sheep Station Creek Designated Fossicking Land.
Map
- Duck Creek designated fossicking lands map 637.5 KB)
- Sheep Station Creek Designated Fossicking Land map 604.9 KB)
Facilities
Camping is allowed for a maximum period of 3 months. Camping permits can be obtained online.
There are no facilities and due to the remoteness of the area visitors should carry adequate supplies of food, water and fuel. Top-up bore water may be available from a tap provided by the landholder at the large steel gate 3.5km north of the entrance sign.
Fossicking notes
While much of the opal-bearing ground occurs at depths beyond fossickers, the spoil dumps of the old workings offer the best chance of a find. Specking fragments of opal or ironstone matrix from the ground’s surface is always a possibility.
Special conditions
Commercial mining activities still occur in the area and a number of mining tenures are current. Do not enter these mining tenures or mining lease applications without the written permission of the holders.
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Opalton designated fossicking land
The Opalton designated fossicking land is found in the Opalton Opal Field; one of the largest and most extensively worked opal deposits in Queensland.
Some commercial mining activity is still present which s mostly limited to small-scale hand mining but some larger operations using heavy machinery are present in the surrounding area.
Access
The Opalton designated fossicking land is located about 124km south-west of Winton. From Winton, take the Jundah Road (mostly unsealed) and travel 15km, turn left and travel a further 109km (unsealed road) past Weona Homestead to Opalton.
Visitors are requested not to call at Weona.
Map
Facilities
The Opalton Bushy Park offers camping space with shade shelters, water, toilets and showers adjacent to the designated fossicking land. A small fee applies.
Camping is also allowed inside the Opalton designated fossicking land for a maximum period of 3 months. Fossickers must obtain a camping permit to camp inside the designated fossicking land. Camping permits can be purchased online or at the Waltzing Matilda Centre in Winton.
Fossicking notes
The Opalton area is popular with tourists as a place to speck or noodle fragments of opal or ironstone matrix from the surface or from the spoil dumps of old workings. However, known areas of shallow ground, such as the old Brilliant Claim area, may offer the more serious fossicker a chance to dig and find that outstanding gem.
Special conditions
Commercial mining activities still occur in the designated fossicking land and numerous mining claims and a mining lease (ML6032) are current (see map 684.6 KB)). Do not enter mining tenures or mining lease applications without the written permission of the holders. Pegs mark the corners of each tenure.
Western opal fields, 04 Mar 2026, [https://www.qld.gov.au/recreation/activities/areas-facilities/fossicking/fossicking-areas-in-queensland/western-opal]
This document is uncontrolled when printed. Before using the information in this document you should verify the current content on https://www.qld.gov.au/recreation/activities/areas-facilities/fossicking/fossicking-areas-in-queensland/western-opal.