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At Lightning Ridge, palaeontologists, opal miners and fossil collectors come together to dig up precious relics

Cretaceous treasures In north-west New South Wales, the opal mining town of Lighting Ridge sits atop a Cretaceous coastal flood plain. The dry, eucalypt and acacia-covered landscape around here is ...
Mining Weekly

NSW updates opal legislation

PERTH (mininweekly.com) – New South Wales Minister for Natural Resources Courtney Houssos has introduced an amendment to the Mining Bill to Parliament to address issues regarding the invalidity of ...
Miami Herald

Prehistoric predator’s last meal reveals an undiscovered ancient species, study says

Eric the plesiosaur was found in an opal mine in the south of Australia in 1987. Abram Powell The Australian National University Millions of years ago, Eric the plesiosaur swam through the waters of ...
Reuters

Australian outback pastor finds opals light his way

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - After Deane Clee ventured to Coober Pedy in the Australian desert to run a church, he struggled to eke out a living until he found himself drawn to the outback town's main ...

Can a U.S.-Australia Partnership Shake China’s Grip on Rare Earths?

Australia’s got reserves and mining expertise, and the United States is eager to invest in alternatives to China. But ...
Mining Weekly

US, Australia back gallium and rare earths projects in $2bn critical minerals pact

The US and Australia signed a landmark agreement on critical minerals and rare earths aimed at accelerating development of a ...
The White House

For Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths

October 20, 2025 Whereas, rare earths and critical minerals are essential for the production of advanced technologies; Whereas, the United States of ...