Aussie's 'magical' $3,000 discovery in deep hole after digging for months
And it appears their persistence is paying off, with Michael recently discovering a roughly $3,000 'beauty' glimmering deep inside in a 2.5 metre hole he had been chipping away at for months.
Video footage capturing the 'magical' moment shows the fossicker hone in on 'something that just popped out'. After removing rock chucks and dirt using his hands and a pick axe, Michael exclaims 'holy dooley' as he pulls the 183-carat sapphire from the ground.
Speaking to Yahoo News, Cherië explained that the couple have multiple off-grid mining claims about six kilometres from Rubyvale, a precious gemstone area that attracts both commercial interest and amateurs.
'We live on the mining claims, and we have done for a bit over 20 years with our five children,' she said, adding they leased the area where the gem was found about two years ago.
'About two months ago we started that hole, and we have found little pieces but that one he ended up catching on camera. You just never know… you see a glint and you think 'oh is it one?''
183-carat gemstone revealed to be a parti sapphire
While the large gem is 'nice stone', Cherië admitted it's 'not perfect' and does have some issues. In its current state its worth about $3,000.
'It looks like a bit of a parti sapphire,' the mum said, meaning it has a natural blend of multiple colours. 'I think it has a little bit of yellow, blue, maybe green.'
For now, the stone will be tucked away, but the couple hope to be able to retrieve a couple of five to 10-carat pieces which will then be sold at Cherië's shop Sapphire Gem Cuts.
'I'll get Michael to saw it up into little pieces, and then just take the parts off that aren't gem quality,' she told Yahoo, noting buyers often like knowing the origin of where and how the stone was found.
🏕️ Aussie families flock to campground in search of $10,000 treasure
Man's 'very rare' find at famous campground after digging for six hours
💎 Man's incredibly rare discovery in Aussie dirt after wild weather
Aussie couple still hoping to unearth 'retirement stone'
Since moving to central Queensland, the couple's dedication to the thrill of the chase hasn't waned, with the pair even delivering their two youngest children on one of the mining claims.
'You might hit a patch where you get stones, and then you might go for six months or nine months without getting much at all,' Cherië, who grew up camping in the gemfields with her family, told Yahoo.
Last year Michael unearthed a very clear 123-carat parti sapphire worth up to $12,300 while fossicking, she added, but they have also found 300 to 500-carat 'bombs', meaning they are 'not good quality whatsoever'.
'We're still waiting for the big one. We're still hoping to find that retirement stone,' she said. And they're not the only ones.
While travelling families and their young children were once a rare sight in the gemfields, the demographic has changed since Covid, Cherië explained. 'It's great to see the families come out. I think it's an experience that you can't get anywhere else. It's very special.'
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
21 Popular Songs You Probably Didn't Know Are Covers Of The Original
Many people prefer certain song covers to the original, which is perfectly fine. On the other hand, there are songs that people are clueless about, even if they are song covers in the first place! Which means I can now rock out to two versions of these classics! Here are 21 songs you didn't know were actually covers: 1."1985" by Bowling for Soup is a cover of the song by American pop-punk band SR-71, which was released just two months earlier in Japan before the manager believed it was a better fit for Bowling for Soup. probably more well-known, the emotional song "Hurt" by Johnny Cash is a cover of the song performed by the rock band Nine Inch Nails. 3."Respect" by Aretha Franklin is a cover of Otis Redding's 1965 song by the same name. Franklin really flipped the lyrics on their head to create an all-time classic. 4."Renegades of Funk" by Rage Against the Machine is a cover of the Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force song of the same name. song "It's My Life" by No Doubt is a cover of the English band Talk Talk's original release in 1984. iconic "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston is a cover of the 1974 song by Dolly Parton, which was featured on her famous album "Jolene." absolute shocker to my '90s brain, but the 1997 hit song "Torn" by Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia is actually a cover originally sung by American rock band Ednaswap, which was released in 1995. popular song "Don't Cha" by The Pussycat Dolls is a cover of the original song by Tori Alamaze. popular '80s hit "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell is a cover of Gloria Jones's "Tainted Love," released in 1964. song "Superman" by R.E.M. is a cover of "Superman" by The Clique. A B-Side track on the album "White Tornado," it's an R.E.M. gem. mega summer hit from 1999 "Mambo No. 5" by Lou Bega is a sample of the original version by Cuban musician Dámaso Pérez Prado from 1950. 1992 song "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus is a cover of "Don't Tell My Heart," which was first recorded in 1991 by The Marcy Brothers. song "If I Were A Boy" by Beyoncé was performed initially by BC Jean in 2008. song "Black Magic Woman" by Santana is a cover of the song by Fleetwood Mac. Mind blown. In my defense, the Santana version has more views on YouTube than any other version by Fleetwood Mac. 15."Blinded by the Light" by Manfred Mann's Earth Band might be the more popular version, but it was originally written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen. popular Joan Jett & the Blackhearts song "I Love Rock 'n Roll" is a cover of the British glam band Arrow's song "I Love Rock 'n 'Roll." 17."Dancing in the Moonlight" by the English band Toploader is a cover of the song originally recorded by Sherman Kelly's band, Boffalongo, which first released it in 1970. Then, Kelly rereleased the song with his new band, King Harvest, in 1972. So, technically, Kelly covered his own song. 18."Black Betty" by Ram Jam is a cover of a song credited to songwriter Huddie Ledbetter. The oldest recorded version was performed by James "Iron Head" Baker and a group of Texas prisoners in the 1930s. 19."Take Me to the River" by American rock band Talking Heads is a cover of the 1974 soul song by Al Green. 1995 hit "Gangster's Paradise" by Coolio (ft. L.V.) is actually a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise" from 1976. and mainly for the youngins, Post Malone's cover of the alternative rock song "Only Wanna Be With You," originally released by Hootie & the Blowfish, is now a pop song featured in the Pokémon 25 soundtrack, which has 18M views on YouTube. Is there a song you were stunned to learn was a cover? Comment below (the song and artists)! Solve the daily Crossword

Los Angeles Times
6 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Malcolm-Jamal Warner carried a heavy load for Black America
There were three television characters who really mattered to me as a kid: Michael, Leroy and Theo. In elementary school, 'Good Times' was the television show that most closely resembled my family. And seeing reruns of Ralph David Carter's portrayal of a precocious young boy learning what it means to be poor, gifted and Black is what moved his Michael from fiction to family for me. By middle school, I was no longer wearing cornrows like Gene Anthony Ray, but I tried everything else to be like his character Leroy from the television show 'Fame.' For some of my classmates, the performing arts were a fun way to express themselves, and the show was inspirational. For me, it was my way out of the hood, and Leroy was the blueprint. Through the Detroit-Windsor Dance Academy, I was able to take professional dance lessons for free and ultimately earned a dance scholarship for college. But it wasn't a linear journey. Despite being gifted, I struggled academically and required summer classes to graduate from high school. That's why I connected with Theo, whose challenges in the classroom were one of the running jokes on 'The Cosby Show.' The family never gave up on him, and more importantly, he didn't stop trying. Through the jokes about his intelligence, the coming-of-age miscues (and the dyslexia diagnosis), the storylines of Theo — like those of Leroy and Michael — often reflected struggles I foolishly thought no one else was experiencing when I was growing up. It is only through distance and time are we able to see moments like those more clearly. In retrospect, the three of them were like knots I held onto on a rope I had no idea I was climbing. This is why the Black community's response to the death of Malcolm-Jamal Warner this week isn't solely rooted in nostalgia but also in gratitude. We recognize the burden he's been carrying, so that others could climb. When 'The Cosby Show' debuted in 1984, there were no other examples of a successful two-parent Black family on air. We were on television but often trauma and struggle — not love and support — were at the center of the narratives. So even though Black women had been earning law degrees since the 1800s — beginning with Charlotte E. Ray in 1872 — and Black men were becoming doctors before that, the initial response from critics was that the show's premise of a doctor-and-lawyer Black couple was not authentically Black. That narrow-minded worldview continued to hang over Hollywood despite the show's success. In 1992, after nearly 10 years of 'The Cosby Show' being No. 1 — and after the success of 'Beverly Hills Cop II' and 'Coming to America' — the Eddie Murphy-led project 'Boomerang' was panned as unrealistic because the main characters were all Black and successful. The great Murphy took on the Los Angeles Times directly in a letter for its critique on what Black excellence should look like. However, Black characters like Michael, Leroy and Theo had been taking on the media since the racist film 'The Birth of a Nation' painted all of us as threats in 1915. It could not have been easy for Warner, being the face of so much for so many at an age when a person is trying to figure out who he is. And because he was able to do so with such grace, Warner's Theo defined Blackness simply by being what the world said we were not. This sentiment is embodied in his last interview, when he answered the question of his legacy by saying: 'I will be able to leave this Earth knowing and people knowing that I was a good person.' In the end, that is ultimately what made his character, along with Leroy and Michael, so important to the Black community. It wasn't the economic circumstances or family structure of the sitcoms that they all had in common. It was their refusal to allow the ugliness of this world to tear them down. To change their hearts or turn their light into darkness. They maintained their humanity and in the process gave so many of us a foothold to keep climbing higher. YouTube: @LZGrandersonShow
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Leave Spotify
All products featured on Pitchfork are independently selected by Pitchfork editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, Condé Nast may earn an affiliate commission. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's Stu Mackenzie, May 2025 (Pedro Gomes/Redferns) King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard release a ton of music, but you won't be able to hear it if you're exclusively a Spotify listener. The prolific Australian rock band has pulled nearly its entire catalog off the streaming platform without much warning or fanfare. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard first signaled their departure by saying 'fuck Spotify' while promoting a new demo collection that's exclusive to Bandcamp. They later explained, in an Instagram story, that they oppose military investments made by Spotify co-founder and chief executive Daniel Ek's investment fund Prima Materia. See their full statement below. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's departure comes after Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu also signaled intent to leave Spotify, with both acts also citing their opposition to the Prima Materia investments. When announcing their Spotify departures, Deerhoof and Xiu Xiu cautioned that it would take time to get their music off the platform, mostly due to label deals and other contractual complications. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are not tasked with the same issues, however, as they've always shared music through their own labels, Flightless, KGLW, and (P)Doom. The only project King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard have ever released exclusively through an outside label is 2022's Satanic Slumber Party, a collaborative EP with fellow Australian rockers Tropical Fuck Storm that was issued via Joyful Noise Recordings. As of publication, it's the lone project left on King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's Spotify page. When reached by Pitchfork, Joyful Noise's label manager, Jake Saunders, explained that the Satanic Slumber Party EP was part of a deal with Tropical Fuck Storm, and the label will proceed however both bands would like. 'If they ask us to take it down, we will,' he wrote via email. 'We serve the artist, and it's their right to decide what platforms to sell their music on.' Saunders continued, 'We are grateful for artists like King Gizz, Thor Harris, Xiu Xiu, Adam Harding/Dumb Numbers, and Deerhoof for putting their foot down. We are living among giants.' He also wrote: 'Labels and artists that are still developing their live show and don't fit the algorithmic mold are essentially being held hostage by Spotify. No disrespect to King Gizz, but they are a successful touring band with the ability to take a stand. Their Spotify royalties are likely a drop in the bucket compared to what they can make on the road. Joyful Noise has a healthy webstore and a Bernie Sanders–esque subscription model that allows us to release not-so-Spotify-friendly bands. Yet, for developing artists and labels, Spotify is held as a priority across several sectors of the industry. Our only hope is that Spotify becomes so uncool that people start to discover music elsewhere, hopefully on a platform that isn't run by someone giving millions to the military industrial complex.' Spotify has faced increased scrutiny in recent months due to investments made by Ek's Prima Materia. The investment fund is heavily involved with Helsing, a defense company that sells software that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to inform military decisions. Prima Materia has been investing in Helsing since 2021, and the firm recently led a new round of funding that put another 600 million euros ($693.6 million) toward the defense company. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard: Hello friends A PSA to those unaware: Spotify CEO Daniel Ek invests millions in AI military drone technology We just removed our music from the platform Can we put pressure on these Dr. Evil tech bros to do better? Join us on another platform 🕊️ Originally Appeared on Pitchfork Solve the daily Crossword