But over 90% of the world's opal comes from Australia. And a lot of the black opal is found here, at Lightning Ridge. It's located on the edge of the Outback, with a population of just over 2,000 ...

"Lightning Ridge was heavily forested — dominated ... capturing the opals and fossils that miners brought to them. "Black opal is the most amazing gemstone on the planet," he says.

Everything about this land suggests life here is hot and hard. The summer sun blazes from an enormous sky, nudging the ...