Fortune Hunters

Fortune Hunters is the second book in the series Lovers and Ratters on the Opal Fields.
Lightning Ridge, the world's opal capital, has miners from over seventy countries; they brought with them political and religious beliefs, traditions and memories. Gradually they blended into a unique society with a new culture, a new character, new morals and ideals.
Prospectors came to Lightning Ridge in search of the elusive rainbow gem that would make them instantly rich, loved, and respected. They found it hard to fit into the mainstream but the mainstream remains a yardstick by which they measure their worth and their imperfect lives.
Ratters are gem thieves who masquerade as prospectors, wait until a miner hits opal and then loot his mine. Ratting is the worst crime possible in the eyes of Lightning Ridge opal mining community.