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...

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...

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...

The Heritage Wheatbin Museum

A local farming collection in heritage listed Wheatbin

The collection provides a 'Who’s Who' of the region, and a 'what’s what of wheat'. It is housed in a 1939 bulk wheatbin designed and built by Cooperative Bulk Handling and a Machinery Shed and Railway...

Wuddi Aboriginal Cultural Centre

A prominent place to learn about the Noongar history of Dambarling (Lake Dumbleyung).

This is a great place to stop, enjoy Noongar artworks and other collection items, and find a keepsake at the shop. Anne and Grant Riley run cultural tours around the lake, where you can learn about...

Meekatharra Museum

Meeka Museum!

This intimate collection offers a stop-off to enjoy a slice of history in Meekatharra. The collection includes a local archive, well-resourced for family history research, and photographs and...

Ballidu Contemporary Arts Society and Ballidu Lodge Art Gallery

Bringing a community together

Ballidu Contemporary Arts Society was started with the intention of engaging audiences in contemporary art practices. The Society and the Ballidu Lodge Art Gallery have contributed to a vibrant art...