WA School of Mines Mineral Museum Overview

WA School of Mines Mineral Museum

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Be mesmerised by minerals.

More than just rocks of the region, this collection is a learning tool, with mineral specimens from all around the world, housed in a beautiful heritage building. The minerals include sulphides, like pyrite or fool’s gold; carbonates such as calcspar and dolomite; and native elements such as graphite. Unfortunately, there are no diamonds in the collection! The mineral samples were used as teaching aids at the WA School of Mines, which first opened in Coolgardie in 1902, and then relocated to Kalgoorlie a few years later.

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Address:

117 Egan Street
Kalgoorlie WA 6430
Australia

Tel:

(08) 9088 6170

Email:

WASM-MECEAdministration@curtin.edu.au

Opening Hours

Mon to Fri 9am - 4:30pm

Pyrite from Broad Arrow

Listen to the rocks talk

Minerals like galena and pyrite were used as conductors in early crystal radios. If you wrap chicken wire around a large pyrite sample and shape it into a dish, you can pick up radio waves. It is as...

Staurolite

Twinning

Staurolite, a silicate, is used in geology as an 'index mineral'. This means it is used to estimate depth, temperature and pressure changes to rock, like movement of the earth’s crust or magma...

Malachite from Murin Murin

Viridescent deposit

Malachite, a carbonate of copper, is one of the oldest known green pigments. Malachite was used as an indicator of the presence of copper. This sample is from the Anaconda copper mine near Murin Murin...

Wongan Hills and Districts Museum

A local history archive in an old hospital

Walk through this old converted hospital,which houses an extensive array of local history items. The maze of rooms include themes and include a 'telephone room' with items from the old telegraph...

Aunty Joan’s Dolly Mix

Step into a wonderland of dolls that look like they might come to life.

Like walking backstage into an opulent dressing room, ‘a cornucopia of swagged satin and velvet’. (Dolly Mix Facebook page) This museum is the passion of the late Aunty Joan (Duncan) Stewart, who...

Ballidu Heritage Centre

A treasure hunter's delight

The Ballidu Heritage Centre collection is a dive through the ages, with memorabilia for the young and the young at heart. The beautiful old hall has display rooms set up like small stage sets. For...

Bilya Koort Boodja

Centre for Nyoongar culture and environmental knowledge

Bilya Koort Boodja is a bold and beautifully displayed showcase of the region’s Ballardong Nyoongar culture. In a region still bearing the emotional scars of the Stolen Generations, Bilya Koort Boodja...