PHOTO: Lightning Ridge is home to a mining and tourism industry based around opal. IMAGE: River McCrossen
The NSW government has extended the deadline into a review into opal mining, amid concerns that reforms will have a negative impact on the Lightning Ridge industry.
The Independent Review into the Statutory Framework for Small-Scale Titles in NSW released 81 recommendations in June 2024, including making mineral claim holders responsible for rehabilitating an area.
The review recommended only allowing open cut or trench digs over old mining areas that have been rehabilitated…