Ancient Opalised Pearls Found in Australia

The world's first recorded opalised pearls, relics of creatures in an ancient inland sea dating back 65 million years, have been unearthed by two miners in the South Australian outback.

The "priceless" four-millimetre specimens were found in the Coober Pedy opal fields, an area famed for the colourful gems.

Dr Ben Grguric from the SA Museum, where the pearls have gone on display, said opal miners Dale Price and Tanja Burk were sorting through a spoil heap when they made the discovery.

"The miners pick out anything that glows with ultraviolet light, because even a small chip of opal might be worth something if it's high quality with a high range of colours," Dr Grguric.

To analyse and avoid damaging the gems, they were sent to be scanned by a neutron imaging instrument at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation at Lucas Heights in Sydney.

"We decided to use a technique called neutron tomography, which is like a CT scan using neutrons," Dr Grguric said.

"They established there was a concentric structure which is consistent with pearls as we know them today."

The pearls are still owned by Mr Price and Ms Burk, and only on display for a short time at the SA Museum.

"It's difficult to put a price on them, and from the point of view of a gem they're not particularly valuable," Dr Grguric said.

"But from a scientific view, you'd argue they were priceless."

Read entire article here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-06/opalised-pearls-found-coober-pedy-south-australia/7145890