No matter how many books one may read about opal mining, there is nothing that can replace local knowledge. Miners who have worked in Mintabie for years are the best source of accurate information. As mentioned before, the local PIRSA field officer is a "mine of knowledge". That is not to say that experience is everything. Some of the best claims have been pegged by new miners, in areas experienced miners ignored because the "new chum" didn’t know better!

There have been several instances where the claim no-one thought would produce opal turned out to be the most productive claim in the area, and the claim in which millions had been found on all four adjoining claims turned out to be a dud, with virtually no opal at all!   Nevertheless, local knowledge has an important place in Mintabie. If you are lucky enough to peg a good claim, locals can offer advice on the best ways of successfully mining in that particular area. There are quite a few tales of miners who were working underground in Mintabie and literally blew up a valuable pocket of opal because they put their explosive charges too close to the opal!