He's a character and a true gentleman who has been selling opals, gemstones, crystals and fossils for 45 years, the last 30 years in the Canberra Centre.

And he's the gemstone equivalent of the paddock-to-the-plate farmer, fossicking and cutting his own opals and then selling them.

"All the opal in the shop, I've dug out," he said.

Now, Peter, 73, is closing Mineshaft for good, on January 31, but not selling the business because "Mineshaft is who I am".

He says the reaction from customers to news the shop is closing has been "unbelievably touching".

"Oh, it's been really emotional," he said.

"People come into the shop to feel good, even kids to get a few rocks."

The father-of-seven is ready to close the doors on the business, but will still be fossicking.

"I can't get rid of the passion," he said.

Peter was born in Armidale in northern NSW, and his grandfather was a miner at nearby Metz. Peter and his parents, both teachers, moved to Canberra in the mid-1950s. His dad, Terry Blythe, was headmaster at Duntroon Primary, and his mum, Alma, worked at the Ainslie School.

"I've lived in Canberra before the first traffic light," he said, with a cheeky grin.

Young Peter wanted to learn how to cut gemstones so his resourceful mum rang the telephone exchange at Coober Pedy and asked to be put through to a miner. A Greek miner got on the line and ended up sending a box of tools and rocks to Peter in Canberra. He was hooked.

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After finishing school at Dickson College, he worked for the Bureau of Mineral Resources in Canberra, doing geological mapping. He first opened Mineshaft in Cooleman Court in 1978 after seeing an ad in the paper for a spare shop. His workmates from the bureau came up with the name. And it was not an easy business initially.

"I was earning the equivalent of the dole or a bit less," he said.

Peter thought opal would go well in Canberra, given all the diplomats who lived in the city. He ended up, with a customer, searching for opal at Mintabie, north of Coober Pedy.

They gave themselves six weeks to find something. The day before they were due to leave, they found a pocket of opal that took two weeks to dig up and would be worth a couple of million dollars in today's money. Peter's share let him back off debts and solidify his business. The shovel that helped dig up the opal is displayed in Mineshaft.

Also on display in the shop is a note to Peter from then United States president Ronald Reagan. Then United States ambassador to Australia Robert Nesen was a regular customer at Mineshaft and Peter helped to source a special gem for a gift for the president. Then came the personal note from Reagan to Peter, something unexpected in the midst of his busy presidency.

There have been celebrities to the shop over time but Peter says he usually has no idea who they are. His focus is on every customer, anyone who wants to find something special and unique.

And now with all his kids set up, studying or in good jobs, Peter is ready to close the doors on Mineshaft, taking with him lots of special memories.

"It's been a privilege," he said, with tears in his eyes.

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