The Prominent Hill Mine is a major copper, silver, and gold mine in north west South Australia, 130 km south-east of Coober Pedy, which has been developed by Oxiana Limited, later to become OZ Minerals. The deposit is an iron oxide copper gold style mineralisation.
Prominent Hill open pit from September 2008 to September 2010
Chalcopyrite in hematised breccia from Prominent Hill, with 5-cent coin to scale
Coober Pedy is a town in northern South Australia, 846 km (526 mi) north of Adelaide on the Stuart Highway. The town is sometimes referred to as the "opal capital of the world" because of the quantity of precious opals that are mined there. A blower truck is raised above the town sign, representing the importance of opal mining to the town's history. Coober Pedy is also renowned for its below-ground dwellings, called "dugouts", which are built in this fashion due to the scorching daytime heat.
Town centre
Coober Pedy – sunset on the breakways.
Umoona Opal Mine.
An underground jewellery shop in Coober Pedy.