Oct 27 2008
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A Coober Pedy “Blower”.
A blower is used to suck the mullock (rubble) out of an opal mine. The mullock goes into the bin at the back, when full the blower is driven to a mullock pile and dumped. Some people noodle (fossick) in the mullock heaps (after getting the miners permission) for small opal fragments.
Most opal mines are small operations being owned and operated by one person. Hence much of the machinery used, including the blower, tends to be created by the individuals from available scrap and older machinary.
