SMEDG – PREVIOUS MEETING

DATE: Tuesday June 15 1995 – 5.30 pm

VENUE: 2nd Floor, Rugby Club, Crane Place, Sydney

SPEAKERS: Bob Besley

TOPIC: “Exploration for Opal Comes of Age”
All of the world’s large high quality opal deposits are located in Australia. Over 90% of the world’s supply of opal for the past 100 years has been derived from within or adjacent to the Great Artesian Basin of New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland. There is great potential to significantly expand the industry (currently $500 million per year in retail sales) through the discovery of new opal deposits.
The opal industry has been dominated by prospectors and small mining syndicates whose inventiveness and intuitive abilities have been truly remarkable, creating a very colourful industry. Redfire Resources NL was formed in 1990 and represents the first listed company dedicated to applying geological principles and exploration expertise to a systematic search for new opal fields within Australia and is currently conducting exploration programmes in NSW and Queensland. Discovery of significant zones of opal mineralization have been made north of Bourke in NSW and north of Lightning Ridge in Queensland.
Bob Besley is Managing Director of Redfire Resources NL. He has been involved in the exploration, discovery and commercial development of a number of mineral deposits, including uranium, phosphate, rare earths, chromite and mineral sands. He has spent much of the past 5 years investigating all aspects of the opal industry and conducting exploration and evaluation programmes for opal.

Link to CBH Opal Projects

Queensland DME – Opal Page