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...

Eyre Bird Observatory Museum

A cosy natural history museum and bird observatory on the Great Australian Bight.

Visit a museum and bird observatory in one of the most isolated places in the world. Unwind, relax and take in the natural beauty and the natural history collection. The one-room museum includes...

Kellerberrin Museum

A local museum with many a story to tell.

This intimate collection in the original Agricultural Hall, beautifully unpacks the local history of Kellerberrin. The hall opened in 1897, and up until 1972 it was used as a school, courthouse and...

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...

Minnivale Rail and Heritage Centre

A collection of rail carriages in a disused wheatbin

Have you ever wondered what was inside the large silver wheat bins which litter the Wheatbelt landscape? Wonder no more! Step inside a decommissioned wheatbin which houses a collection of rail...