Mineral variety Healing crystal

Black Opal

Orange Teal Blue Purple Black Multicolor & Iridescent

Variety of Opal.

Black Opal specimen — Opal-black1.jpg · Wikimedia Commons (see file page for author & license)

📜 Key facts

Age	About 100 million years old (Cretaceous host rocks); the opal itself formed later
Origin & sources	Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia, the classic source.
Composition	Precious opal with a dark body tone, so the play-of-colour stands out. Opal is hydrated amorphous silica (SiO₂·nH₂O), Mohs 5.5–6.5.

How it forms

Silica-rich water seeped into cracks, cavities and fossils, then slowly evaporated. Tiny silica spheres settled out. In precious opal they are stacked in a neat, regular grid that diffracts light into play-of-colour. In common opal they are jumbled.

Mineral data: see Opal.

🌍 Where it's found

Type locality
Notable source / deposit
Country of origin

Marker positions are approximate (region or locality level). Type localities from Wikidata; notable sources curated by Crystopedia.

✨ Metaphysical & Folklore

These are traditional and folk beliefs from crystal lore. They are not scientific or medical claims – crystals are not a substitute for professional care.

Australia's national gemstone is linked in lore to protection and to drawing out one's hidden potential.