Isaac & Sofia Andreou, Chris Daff and David Darby make a life-changing discovery of rare Yowah nut opal in Queensland
Most opal miners will say it’s the prospect of one day striking it rich and becoming an overnight millionaire that helps them endure the gruelling work and risks that come with hunting opal.
Well, for one team of miners, that life-changing day arrives in the massive Season 6 finale of Discovery Channel’s Outback Opal Hunters airing Thursday 22 April at 8:30pm.
In an unmissable television event, $1.2 million of rare Yowah nut opal is unearthed by Isaac and Sofia Andreou, Chris Daff and David Darby – the biggest discovery in the history of the series.
![Sofia & Isaac Andreou [image - Discovery]](https://tvblackbox.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/01-Sofia-Isaac-Andreou-1024x683.jpg)
The record-breaking discovery is made on the Yowah Opal Fields in Queensland by rookie crew, the Opal Whisperers. A new addition to Outback Opal Hunters this season, the team is made up of brother and sister, Isaac and Sofia Andreou and Chris Daff, Sofia’s partner.
In the final weeks of the season, the trio join forces with veteran indigenous miner and friend David Darby. The group is mining for Yowah nuts – ironstone concretions which hold opal deposits in their centres – but they’re in a race against time before unworkable summer heat and storms end the mining season.
On their final dig their luck changes when they unearth a staggering, 150kg of Yowah nuts which, after they’ve sawn open and sorted, totals an eye-watering $1.2 million in high-grade Yowah opal.
Among the stunning pieces is one particularly impressive nut dubbed “The Yowah Moon”. The finest specimen David has ever found in his life, this piece alone is worth over $50,000.
Isaac and Sofia decided to return to their spiritual home on the opal fields, a place they’d made countless trips to as children with their parents.
Although they’re rookie miners, opal is in their blood and they set out at the start of the season with the goal to find enough opal to purchase a claim and some mining gear by season’s end, so they eventually can reestablish the family business their mum and dad began in the 1960s – mining and selling opal direct.
With this discovery, they’re well on their way to fulfilling their lifelong dreams.
Outback Opal Hunters is produced by Prospero Productions for Discovery with assistance of the State Government of Western Australia, Screenwest and Lotterywest. To date, the series has entertained audiences in more than 100 countries and territories, including the US and the UK.
