SPENCER, Idaho — From Interstate 15, the tiny town passes in a moment, just a blip of brown buildings in the desert. But inside the local stores is a treasure trove. The fire of opals erupts from ...

Cloaked in white dust and surrounded by expansive plains, the town of Lightning Ridge produces the bulk of the world’s precious black opal. This rare gemstone, prized for its dazzling play of color, ...

A new season opal hunting begins! The Rookies face potential disaster from the get go; for Col's Crew, their mining quest is derailed by a serious illness, and the Opal Queen brings in new muscle and ...

Gem hunting, or rock hounding, is a fascinating hobby that allows people to find rare rocks and stones from amethyst and agate to sapphires and even diamonds.

Few realize that the world’s most famous black fire opal – the official Nevada State Gem – was discovered in Nevada’s remote Virgin Valley in 1918. Col. W.A. Roebling, a civil engineer who helped ...

It's brother vs. brother as Peter and Mick Cooke go head-to-head in an epic scrapheap challenge to build a monster opal-hunting machine. Meanwhile, the Rookies are forced to start hunting at night.