Welcome

We Sell Australian opal, from our own mines

MINESHAFT IS NOW ENTIRELY ONLINE. After running as a shopfront for 45 years the shop was closed on the 31st January 2023.

Peter has semi retired and Mineshaft will mainly sell opal from his mining days. Many at wholesale direct pricing.

The change will take a few months to complete.

Peter Blythe, the founder of Mineshaft, has had many years of professional mining experience at Mintabie Opal Fields where he discovered many pockets of opal. These pockets contained black opal, crystal opal and semi black opal. This was followed by several years of mining boulder opal in the area north west of Quilpie in Queensland. Most of the opal on display on this site has been mined, and cut, by Peter.

Mineshaft, the store, was opened in 1978 in the Cooleman Court shopping mall in Canberra. Since then it moved to the major Canberra Centre shopping mall in the heart of the central business district. It became a fixture of the mall for over  thirty years.

The website is a glimpse into the business and will continue to grow.

In addition to this website, you may wish to visit our Facebook page.

If you see something you like, please send us an e mail and we will let you know the availability or send you pictures and prices of current similar stock. The postage fee is the actual postage rate we have to pay and there are no handling charges. We accept Paypal and direct deposit in to our bank account

You will see constant additions to our website as stock is sorted and we get the time to put them on line.

Mineshaft was a unique store and it’s products special. This happened because the business is run with a passion. This website will be a glimpse of the passion behind the business.

INFORMATION For information contact us at     mineshaft@iinet.net.au

HOW TO PURCHASE  Send us an e mail with what you want to purchase.

PAYMENT We accept PAYPAL for worldwide purchases. Australian customers can pay by PAYPAL or DIRECT DEPOSIT.

Mineshaft Shop Interior 1
Mineshaft Shop Interior 2
Mineshaft Shop Interior 3
Mineshaft Shop Interior 4
Mineshaft Shop Interior 5
Mineshaft Shop Interior Cieling Lights
Mineshaft Shop Interior 6
Mineshaft Shop Interior 7
Mineshaft Shop Interior 8
Mineshaft Shop Interior 11
Mineshaft Shop Interior 10
Mineshaft Shop Interior 11
Peter's  Golden Shovel hanging in the Minshaft Canberra Shop
The Golden Shovel

Peter’s first shovel, and mining registration tag, was proudly displayed on the wall of the shop. This shovel was used (and worn out) in his first 12 months of opal mining. It shovelled dirt from the mine, producing several thousand ounces of opal, that is still being cut and sold on line, today. The shovel has “gone straight to the pool room!”