Taranto Opals

30/05/2026

My 3-year-old daughter has been asking for a ring, so Mummy made her one.
It’s so tiny that it looks like a jump ring. 😆

29/05/2026

A new worth sharing.

𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲: 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹-𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱

The Crisafulli Government has provided a significant boost to opal exploration and tourism in Central West Queensland with the expansion of the Opalton-Mayneside Restricted Area.

Located 75km south of Winton and 145km west of Longreach, the expansion has more than doubled the size of the area to more than 592000 hectares, increasing exploration opportunities for small-scale opal miners.

The expansion follows community consultation and a resource assessment by Geological Survey of Queensland.

Renowned for its opals and other precious gemstones, the area was first declared in 1991 to support the growth of Queensland’s opal fields and strengthen the role of small-scale miners in the state’s resources sector.

Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dale Last said the expansion marked an important step in supporting regional Queensland and ensuring the continued success of small-scale mining.

“We’ve opened up more land in Opalton-Mayneside for small-scale miners to grow their operations, increase tourism opportunities and contribute even more to the local economy,” Minister Last said.

Winton Shire Council Mayor Cathy White said the announcement was a vote of confidence for opal mining operators.

“I warmly welcome this announcement and thank the Crisafulli Government and the relevant agencies for their dedication in delivering this important outcome,” Mayor White said.

“It builds resilience into the opal industry which is vital to Winton and outback Queensland."

Click link below to view the full media statement 👇
https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/105183

𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 ‘𝘖𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘖𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺: 𝘚𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘖𝘶𝘵𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 & 𝘖𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴’ 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬’𝘴 𝘉𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.
𝘓-𝘙: 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘮 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦 (𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳-𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘋𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵), 𝘊𝘳 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘖'𝘕𝘦𝘪𝘭 (𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘳 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘰 𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘳 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 (𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘳 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭)

28/05/2026

26/05/2026

An opal miner never leaves their precious rocks behind.
Lavinia is even more intense than Mum (Vivi) when it comes to collecting rocks. She’s the real bell bird . 😂 😂

18/05/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1B7DgqkY98/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Introducing the 'Poison Crew’ (from L to R), Micky Taranto, Chris Kesteven, Nick Hoops and Kevin Dmytrenko.

With the expansion of our team and the focus now on mining a historic claim known as the 'Poison' mine we are no longer known as Red Centre Opal.

However, our aim remains the same as we continue to bring you some of the best QLD Boulder Opal there is to offer, along with plenty of mining content and videos as season 2026 fires up.

Bigger team, better ground and a new name - Poison Crew

12/05/2026

Over the past few days, I have devoted myself to building my jewellery studio.

I am converting a bedroom in my house into my dedicated workspace.

My old workbench remains in the Opalfields, as it was too large to move. Instead, I repurposed an old office desk into my new bench.

With Micky out west and both kids now in school, I finally have the time to focus fully on my passion.

Stay tuned, because soon I will be creating some stunning jewellery.

It’s incredible being able to mine, cut, set, and sell each stone directly, completely bypassing any middlemen.

03/05/2026

I have never worked with fairy opals before, but I'm obsessed with Opals, so I have to try everything. I've had these fairy opals for years, and today I decided to make a stew. Let’s see how it turns out.

30/04/2026

I've been quite busy these past few days. I much prefer working outdoors breaking rocks than sitting in front of a computer all day. But it needs to be done, so here I am.

The office setup in the first two photos was much more pleasant than in the second.

17/04/2026

This morning here at Taranto’s Valley.

14/04/2026

Double trouble! Love ❤️