Old Chum
Old Chum is an opal field that lies just east of the Lightning Ridge Cemetery. It was discovered in 1906, after floaters (surface opal stones brought up by erosion) were spotted in the gravel along the ridge.
The discovery is credited to Billy Clark, who came across a decent stone on the surface while out walking in the rain. He showed it to Mick Canfell, who immediately recognised the stone’s quality and followed Clark’s muddy tracks back to the site. Canfell and his brothers soon pegged nearby claims, and a small rush followed. Despite the shallowness of the field, the deepest workings reached just 10 to 12 feet, the broken ground and uneven levels made it hard going.
Stuart Lloyd notes that the best parcel ever purchased by local buyer E. F. Murphy came from this field, all of it gem-quality material. Notable claims were worked by Bill “the Saddler” Nicholls, the Kaiser, Fred Bodel, the Fry brothers, Jim O’Donnell, and Mick Canfell himself. According to Lloyd, total production had reached £32,000 by 1967.
Fred Bodel’s original claim was later open-cut by Arthur Blackwell in 1964 and became the popular Drive-in Mine tourist attraction during the 1980s.
Article: Research by Russell Gawthorpe and Leisa Carney, edited by Russell Gawthorpe. LRHS research compiled by Len Cram and Barbara Moritz. Sources: The Lightning Ridge Book, Stuart Lloyd, 1967, p. 64; Lightning Ridge - The Home of the Black Opal: Unique to the World, Gan Bruce, 1983, pp. 76-77; The Occurrence of Opal at Lightning Ridge and Grawin, with Geological Notes on County Finch, J. W Whiting & R. E. Relph, 1958, p. 9; Discover Opals: Before and Beyond 2000 with Surface Indications, Stephen Aracic, 1996, p. 139.