Ep 4. Outback Treasure Hunter

In Dirty Jobs season 8 episode 4, titled "Outback Treasure Hunter," host Mike Rowe heads Down Under to try his hand at finding opal, a precious gemstone that is commonly found in Australia's Outback region.

Rowe meets up with a local opal miner named Peter Wright, who has been searching for the elusive gemstones for several years. Wright takes Rowe on a tour of his opal mine and shows him the different types of opal that can be found in the area, explaining how they are formed and why they are so valuable.

Rowe quickly gets down to work, donning mining gear and heading underground to help Wright and his team extract opal from the earth. The work is hot, dusty, and dangerous, with Rowe having to contend with unstable rock formations, cramped workspaces, and the constant threat of cave-ins.

Despite the challenging conditions, Rowe and the miners persevere, and eventually strike a rich vein of opal. The excitement is palpable as they extract the valuable gemstones from the ground and examine them under a UV light to determine their quality.

But the work doesn't end there - Wright and his team have to carefully clean and cut the opals, a process that requires precision and skill. Rowe gets a crash course in the art of opal cutting, learning how to use specialized tools to shape the gemstones into various shapes and sizes.

Throughout the episode, Rowe also gains a greater appreciation for the Outback region and the unique challenges faced by those who live and work there. He meets a range of colorful characters, from opal miners to camel wranglers to a local artist who creates stunning sculptures out of salvaged metal.

By the end of the episode, Rowe has not only discovered the hidden treasures lurking beneath the Outback's desolate surface, but also gained a newfound respect for the resilient people who call this remote region home.