The Science of Opal Formation

The Australian Opal Centre is delighted to be hosting the first Science of Opal Formation Symposium on 22 October 2021, in collaboration with colleagues from around Australia.

This will be a half-day forum conducted online via Zoom, with expert speakers from a range of research areas. There will be sessions on the geological environments of opal formation, physical and chemical processes, the age of opal, formation of opalised fossils, and applications of research to opal exploration.

There’s a nominal fee of $15 to cover costs, with student registrations free of charge.

The aim of this event is to bring together researchers and others interested in the science of formation of precious opal, to discuss current knowledge and future research. We will be looking to identify and document common knowledge, identify knowledge gaps, then look to target future research on these areas.

This will be a short, sharp online symposium to lay the groundwork for future research and symposia.

Proceedings will be documented as a paper summarising current understandings, areas of dispute / uncertainty, and future research priorities.