The Mineralogical Society of WA Inc. (MinSocWA) is a not-for-profit organization that was incorporated on 13 October 2000 with a mission “to encourage mineralogical study by amateur and professional alike and, in so doing, discover, document and preserve the Earth’s and in particular Western Australia’s natural history”.
Specifically, the objectives of the Society include:
The Society aims to share and distribute knowledge about minerals and their environment of formation, and to advance mineralogy, both as a science and as an art. General meetings usually feature a talk by a speaker with a mineralogical/geological/gemmological background, as well as show-and-tell by members. Activities and workshops cover a range of topics (e.g. mineral identification techniques, cleaning and photographing minerals, micromounting), and provide access to the Society’s microscopes to assist in mineral identification. Outings to localities of mineralogical and geological interests focus on collecting and documenting the mineral heritage of Western Australia, and are organized on an ad hoc basis. Regular mineral markets to exchange or trade specimens are also organized by the Society.
MinSocWA is based in Perth and currently has over 70 members from Western Australia and beyond. New members are always welcome — they are encouraged to actively engage with the Society and its members by taking part in its activities and sharing their own knowledge to advance the aims of the Society.
MinSocWA periodically hosts the Joint Mineralogical Societies of Australasia Seminar, held annually on rotation by each Australian State and New Zealand. Each seminar has a different theme selected by the host society. Seminars were held in Perth in:
The next seminar to be held in Perth is scheduled for 2027.
The patron of the Society is Mark Creasy, renowned Western Australian prospector and mining entrepreneur, and a dedicated mineral collector.
The affairs of the Society are managed by a Committee elected every year at the Annual General Meeting.
The Society is active in promoting the collection and study of Western Australian minerals and mineralogical sites. It is currently engaged in expanding Simpson’s Minerals of Western Australia three volumes. The project aims to document new mineral species reported in the State since Simpson’s three volumes were published in 1948–52 (currently estimated at over 350).
Several MinSocWA members are actively involved in AJM Publications Inc., the organization responsible for publishing the Australian Journal of Mineralogy on behalf of the Mineralogical Societies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia.
The society has adopted simpsonite, Al4Ta3O13(OH), as its official emblem. The mineral was named in 1938 in honour of ES Simpson (1875–1939), government mineralogist and chemist at the Geological Survey of Western Australia. As the author of the seminal Minerals of Western Australia three volumes (1948–1952, published posthumously) and as a keen collector of minerals and meteorites, ES Simpson can be truly regarded as the ‘Father’ of Western Australia mineralogy. The logo was slightly modified in 2019 to better reflect the morphology of simpsonite crystals from the Tabba Tabba type locality in the Pilbara region.
The Mineralogical Society of Western Australia (MinSocWA) is a not-for-profit organization that caters to all mineral enthusiasts and people of all ages keen to learn more about minerals.
ABN 11983546312
Registered Society No. A1009304P, 13 October 2000
