The Mintabie opal field lies west of the main north-south road between Adelaide and Alice Springs, just south of the Northern Territory border. It is about 340 km by road from Coober Pedy. Barnes et al (R0239) state that:

Aerial photographs of the area depict country not unlike that around Lightning Ridge. Aboriginals are reported to have sold black opal from an unknown source in Coober Pedy as early as 1919 (Keeling, R1629). It took local miners over 10 years to discover floaters along the Mintabie escarpment, but mining was intermittent because of the isolation of the field and the harder rocks in which the opal occurred.

In 1976, heavy equipment was moved into the area. Despite the advent of the bulldozers and backhoes, blasting is at times necessary because of the hardness of the overlying rocks, before the heavy equipment can be used. However this has resulted in the production of much opal, often of excellent quality. In recent years the production has rivalled, and even exceeded that of Coober Pedy.

By 1980, a small settlement had grown at Mintabie, but miners still had to travel some 400 km to Coober Pedy or 500 km to Alice Springs for their main supplies. Now the situation has eased because of the completion of the standard gauge railway to Alice Springs from the south.

The railway passes within some 50 km of the field, and supplies brought in by train can be obtained from the small, newly developed town of Marla. The township of Mintabie has also grown to the extent that there is a restaurant and other facilities, as well as a number of permanent homes to supplement the temporary houses and caravans.

There is also a good airstrip so that there is rapid access to the field by light aircraft from the cities, as well as making available the services of the Royal Flying Doctor Service.