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...

Grain Discovery Centre

From planting to plate: discover how grain helped communities grow.

The Grain Discovery Centre is located inside the Narembeen Roadhouse and gives a history of farming and grain growing in the district. There is a fascinating shop display, which shows some of the...

Sandstone Heritage Museum and Visitor Centre

Tiny town with a huge history

A 1940s converted shop houses this locally cherished collection. The Museum was opened by dedicated volunteers who decided to save Sandstone’s relics, buildings and history. The items in the...

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...

Kulin Museum and Men’s Shed Inc.

Old Butler's Garage is a hub for the community.

The Kulin Museum and Men’s Shed is housed in the original Butler’s Garage which was opened in 1938. The collection includes cars, trucks, machinery, tractors, implements and a settler's cottage...