The BEST episodes of Outback Opal Hunters

#1 - Water You Waiting For?

Season 12 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/2/2024

With water running critically low at their only wash dam, the Cheals work double-time to restore a second agitator. Blacklighters, Mark I’Anson and Paul Coon get boxed-in during their monumental mission to clear 9 metres of overburden at their new Servo claim. Amidst a relentless drought threatening to shut down their mining operation, Slim Pickings battle a bung wall breach and opal-smashing ‘shincrackers’.

#2 - Red Tape

Season 12 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/2/2024

#3 - One Plus One Equals Three

Season 12 - Episode 12 - Aired 6/2/2024

As Grawin burns and camps are destroyed in cataclysmic fires, the Bushmen, Rod, Sam and Ben must use their last dig of the season to secure enough opal for Les’ long-awaited retirement. The Blacklighters limp into their final week still without team leader Mark... The Misfits defy Opal Joe’s orders and divide forces until Cody almost meets his demise down a 10-metre mine shaft...

#4 - The Good, the Bad and the Overcooked

Season 12 - Episode 11 - Aired 6/2/2024

Slim Pickings’ ground-breaking mining technique risks dissipating into dust due to a devastating drought, so Lee and Roger spend their last dig of the season attempting to find enough opal to purchase a water saving trommel. The Cheals go into overdrive as they hit a massive pocket of plate sized opal in their open cut mine... The Mooka Boys have one final chance to rescue their worst season ever but brutal Outback temperatures cripple Cozza with severe heat stroke...

#5 - Right on the Mark

Season 12 - Episode 10 - Aired 6/2/2024

Closing in on their one-million-dollar season target, the Cheals finally get two agitators up and running doubling opal production but face off against veteran opal dealer Sonja Trifunovic in an attempted one hundred-thousand-dollar sale. The Blacklighters’ team leader Mark I’Anson is severely injured and hospitalised in a mining accident... On their last load of fuel, the Mooka Boys’ season from hell continues as their only working digger overheats and dumps diesel...

#6 - School of Hard Rocks

Season 12 - Episode 9 - Aired 6/2/2024

With Rod away on urgent Mines Department business, leaving Les in charge, Sam and Ben battle a dangerously steep ramp underground. It’s the last dig of the season and Dan and Renee are fighting ultra hard rock in a hail Mary search for opal at Benito’s... After a season-long battle against an unyielding rock cap, The Mooka Boys are finally ready to start tunnelling toward black opal glory, until their last working machine suffers a catastrophic breakdown.

#7 - New Digs

Season 12 - Episode 8 - Aired 6/2/2024

Mining on his own and desperate for cash, Dan Measey takes a gamble on new but unproven opal-detecting AI technology which could revolutionise the opal industry... As rising temperatures herald the end of the season, The Misfits must repair a derelict auto bucket tipper to connect two underground drives... Locked in the grip of a relentless drought, Slim Pickings, Lee and Roger lose the race to tailout before their parched dam finally dries up...

#8 - Bench Marks

Season 12 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/2/2024

The Mooka Boys’ hopes of a season-saving pocket of black opal are decimated by a busted starter motor on their dozer ... Blacklighters Mark and Paul are forced to shift 20,000 tonnes of waste dirt to make their treacherous mine face safe ... Oscar sends The Cheals on an important mission to unearth a rare green-orange gemstone for a potential buyer ...

#9 - Trucking Fun

Season 12 - Episode 7 - Aired 6/2/2024

Forced to backfill a deadly section of their Robbie’s Mine, The Bushmen scramble to dig to a newly drilled emergency shaft before they can resume mining. Desperate to recover costs and hot on the trail of elusive colour, The Blacklighters enlist team finance manager, Rachel, to truck loads of dirt from Servo claim to process through Opalzilla in a struggle to maximise findings. As the mercury soars, The Mooka Boys embark on a dangerous mission to crane a vital DIY shelter across the Lunatic Opal Field before they can continue mining in the blistering sun.

#10 - Glitch in the Matrix

Season 12 - Episode 3 - Aired 6/2/2024

In the race to meet a colossal rainbow matrix order ahead of the Lightning Ridge Opal Festival, The Misfits are forced to work through the night. After depleting Diggers Gully of opal, Dan and Renee’s hopes of quick and easy cash at their new old timers’ claim are crushed when their massive excavator proves too large for the mine’s narrow entrance.

#11 - A Festival of Opal

Season 12 - Episode 5 - Aired 6/2/2024

The Bushmen risk their lives 12 metres underground... On the eve of the famous Lightning Ridge Opal Festival and outta time, The Misfits battle to treat 150kg of matrix opal... And Rory Cheal returns to the fold, joining Mark in the open cut on their million-dollar hunt...

#12 - Diesel Doozies

Season 12 - Episode 4 - Aired 6/2/2024

Drowning in a sea of overburden, The Blacklighters face off against each other... In their ongoing struggle against a near-impenetrable rock cap on their Lunatic claim, The Mooka Boys enlist a powder monkey to crack the cap but then are blindsided... Slim Pickings are forced to relocate their entire washplant in the rush to fulfill a high-stakes order for an international buyer...

#13 - Episode 6

Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/12/2020

The Bushmen's new claim turns dangerous, forcing Rod and Les to choose between riches and safety. Plus, the Young Guns demolish their old mine.

#14 - Episode 10

Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 4/9/2020

The Bushmen combat opal thieves on land and in the skies. Plus, Lightning Ridge's Gavan McFarlane puts his son to work and the Boulder Boys dig their way out of trouble.

#15 - Episode 12

Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 4/23/2020

The Young Guns risk it all to find rare pineapple opal. Meanwhile, the Boulder Boys take on deadly ground and the Bushmen face a race to the hospital.

#16 - Episode 13

Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 4/25/2019

It's the end of the mining season and the last chance for the teams. The Rookies gamble their hopes on one last haul of opal, and the Opal Queen makes a final desperate dig.

#17 - Episode 8

Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/26/2020

Hard ground at the Bushmen's claim causes damage to their digger. And, Pete and Sam hunt for better opal dirt as their "mega wash-plant" shows promise.

#18 - Episode 1

Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/8/2020

In outback NSW, the worst storm in 20 years devastates the Bushmen's and Chris Cheal's mine, while in Coober Pedy, a new team the Blacklighters need opal to re-establish.

#19 - Episode 5

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/5/2020

The Bushmen gamble on a dangerous mining method deep below ground. An injury causes The Bros a serious setback, and The Poms struggle to find their first piece of opal.

#20 - Episode 1

Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/4/2021

#21 - Episode 12

Season 6 - Episode 12 - Aired 4/22/2021

It’s the last week of the season and difficult conditions force The Bushmen to enlist a rookie miner. The Cheals suffer setbacks above and below ground.

#22 - Episode 9

Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 4/2/2020

After an injury to one of their members, the Young Guns face a tough decision on how to continue mining. Meanwhile, the Cheals break through to a long-lost underground mine.

#23 - Episode 11

Season 4 - Episode 11 - Aired 4/16/2020

The Bushmen stay up late to drive out poachers from their mine. Col Duff reunites with Greg Geran in one last push to find opal before the summer heat gets too much.

#24 - Episode 2

Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/11/2021

The Cheals plan to extract opal hits a wall. The blacklighters continue their search for surface opal to pay for their $15,000 Opalzilla.

#25 - Episode 7

Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 3/19/2020

A violent summer storm sees The Young Guns race to save their only claim from a flood. Former trucker Chris Cheal arrives in Lightning Ridge, desperate to make a fortune after drought ruined his trucking business.