Managing Crown Land for the Community
See what we have been up to below
🦖 WORLD-CLASS FOSSIL DIGS AT LIGHTNING RIDGE — MILLIONS OF YEARS IN THE MAKING
What an incredible few weeks for the Australian Opal Centre’s Fossil Digs, with participants getting hands-on searching for dinosaur bones, ancient pine cones and other fossils dating back around 100 million years.
Lightning Ridge isn’t just famous for black opal — it is a world-class palaeontological site and the only place in the world where dinosaur bones are routinely preserved in opal.
The digs were led by Clytie Smith, with a fantastic presentation from Dr Phil Bell, internationally recognised dinosaur palaeontologist from the University of New England.
A big thanks also to presenters Maxine O’Brien, former LRMA Manager; Barb Maritz Historical Society; Jo Lindsay from Lost Sea Opals; and Vicki Bokros from Down to Earth Opals, who shared their knowledge and showcased some magnificent Lightning Ridge opal, and Butch McFadden who brought in some great fossils and bones.
It was also great to have Dr Liz Smith, a leading authority on Lightning Ridge’s extraordinary opalised fossils, taking part in the digs and sharing in the experience.
It’s fantastic to see an activity like this happening on Crown land — bringing together science, tourism, education, opal mining history and the incredible story of Lightning Ridge.
LRAOR is proud to support these activities and their continued growth into the future.
🦕 Science. 💎 Opal. ⛏️ Mining history. 🌏 World-class discoveries.
Only at Lightning Ridge 👍
For enquiries about future fossil digs, contact Clytie Smith at dig@australianopalcentre.com
The Western Herald ABC Western Plains Roy Butler MP New England University-Armidale Walgett Shire Council Australian Opal Centre
Mining Subsidence – Coocoran Public Safety Update
Miners at Coocoran have reported a number of areas of opal mining-related subsidence on the Lightning Ridge Area Opal Reserve.
LRAOR staff have been inspecting these sites, recording their locations and providing the NSW Legacy Mines Program with information on the extent of the subsidence, including its depth, area and associated public safety risks. Additional areas continue to be identified and documented.
As an interim public safety measure, LRAOR staff are installing hazard tape around identified subsidence areas to make them more visible and help reduce the risk to miners and visitors.
If you are aware of any subsidence or abandoned mine workings on the Reserve that may present a public safety risk, please contact the Lightning Ridge Area Opal Reserve so the location can be inspected and, where appropriate, reported to the NSW Legacy Mines Program.
Thanks to Darren McCarthy for showing us the sites and previously reporting some of them to the department.
Please keep clear of taped or fenced areas.
The Western Herald Roy Butler MP Walgett Shire Council Glengarry, Grawin, Sheepyard, Miners Association Inc. Mining Subsidence – Coocoran Publation Primary Industries and Regional Development
The battle against two of the biggest environmental headaches on the Lightning Ridge Opal Fields - Hudson pear and feral pests - will continue after almost $150,000 in state funding was secured for ongoing control programs.
The funding, announced through the NSW Government’s Crown Reserves Improvement Fund, includes $106,146 for Hudson pear and invasive cactus management and a further $42,614 for pest control across the opal fields.
Lightning Ridge Area Opal Reserve Land Management Coordinator Victoria Lugovoy said the funding would allow work already showing positive results to continue.
Read the digital edition online now for $3: bit.ly/4gZj5Rh
🚜 Road Grading Update
Following the recent rain, we’re once again grading roads across the reserve to keep access in good condition.
We currently have one grader operating in Grawin and another in Lightning Ridge, with our current focus on the Car Door roads in both areas. This is the second round of grading in the past month, with the wet weather taking its toll on road surfaces.
We’d like to thank Walgett Shire Council for their financial support towards these grading works, and a shout out to grader operators Con Turnbull and David Walford for the great job they’re doing on the roads.
For clarity, road maintenance responsibilities in Grawin are shared: from the bitumen to the Playground is maintained by Walgett Shire Council; from the Playground to the Hilton is maintained by GGSMA; and from the Hilton to Parramatta Road is maintained by the Lightning Ridge Area Opal Reserve.
We’re doing our best to stay on top of conditions and appreciate everyone’s patience while these works are carried out.
Walgett Shire Council Roy Butler MP The Western Herald
Recently Hands On Learning students from Lightning Ridge Central School visited the Wandella Education & Research Hub to collect firewood for this week’s NAIDOC Week celebrations at the school. 🪵🔥
The students loaded a trailer with firewood that will be used as part of the week’s activities, while also enjoying some time outdoors and working together as a team.
The Hands On Learning program visits Wandella each week, giving students the opportunity to learn in a different environment through practical, hands-on activities that build confidence, skills and teamwork.
Big thanks to everyone involved, and we hope everyone enjoys the NAIDOC Week celebrations! ❤️🖤💛
Today LRAOR representatives attended an opal fields stakeholder meeting convened by Roy Butler MP’s office, bringing together Crown Lands, NSW Resources, Transport for NSW, Walgett Shire Council, the recently formed Grawin Progress Association, local mining associations and other stakeholders to discuss roads, water security and infrastructure across the opal fields.
For LRAOR, the priorities remain clear: maintaining safe and accessible roads and improving water infrastructure to support residents, miners, businesses, visitors and emergency services.
Road funding and maintenance were discussed at length, including future funding opportunities and priorities across the opal fields. LRAOR welcomed clarification from NSW Resources that the Opal Fields Road Fund Levy is administered by NSW Resources and applications can be made by organisations and individuals.
A major focus of discussion was improving water security for the Grawin, Glengarry and Sheepyard communities. LRAOR has advocated for several years for the extension of the bore line to strengthen community water supply and improve access to water during bushfire emergencies.
Given the history of significant bushfire events across the opal fields, we continue to believe that improving access to water on both sides of the Grawin opal fields is an important community safety priority to help protect residents, homes and support firefighting operations when required.
In 2024, LRAOR secured funding to install the 130,000-litre community water tank at Club in the Scrub, providing an important additional water source for both community and firefighting purposes. While this was an important step forward, further improvements remain a priority.
We appreciate the opportunity to work collaboratively with government, Council and community stakeholders and look forward to continuing discussions that deliver practical outcomes for the people who live and work on the opal fields.
We also thank Walgett Shire Council for hosting the meeting at the newly renovated Kookaburra Court, which is shaping up as a valuable shared community facility for the district.
Roy Butler MP Walgett Shire Council The Western Herald
With favourable conditions forecast for this weekend, the NSW RFS will be undertaking a hazard reduction burn to reduce bush fire risk to the community of Lightning Ridge.
The hazard reduction burn, located on Borehead Rd, is set to commence at 1pm this Saturday, 16th May. For your safety and the safety of our crews, please limit travel to this area to essential purposes only while the burn is in progress.
It is expected that the burn will take 8 hours to complete. Residents are advised to keep doors and windows closed from 1pm and overnight, and avoid hanging out washing during this time.
RFS crews will continue to monitor and patrol the area over the following days to ensure both sites are fully extinguished. Only report unattended fires to '000'.
For up to date information, download the Hazards Near Me app, or visit the RFS website at rfs.nsw.gov.au
Walgett Shire Council
Photos from NSW Rural Fire Service - North West's post
📢 NSW Resources (Mines) – Payment Issue (Optus Outage)
The NSW Resources (Mines) office in Lightning Ridge is currently affected by Optus network outages due to maintenance.
⏳ Expected until Wednesday, 1 April 2026
💳 EFTPOS down
The department cannot process credit or debit card payments at this time.
👉 The department is encouraging people to:
• Bring cash when attending the office
• OR complete an LR29 payment form so payment can be processed later
📄 Applications & deadlines
• The department will allow extensions / grace periods where needed
• Applications can still be submitted — payment will be processed once systems are back online
⚠️ Note
LRAOR is not NSW Resources (Mines Department) — we are sharing this update to assist the community.