| Leinster Western Australia | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Site of the Agnew Nickel mine before open-pit mining began. | |||||||||
  Leinster | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 27°54′43″S 120°41′49″E / 27.91194°S 120.69694°E | ||||||||
| Population | 395 (UCL 2021)[1] | ||||||||
| Established | 1976 | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 6437 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 497 m (1,631 ft) | ||||||||
| Area | 8,151 km2 (3,147 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Location |
| ||||||||
| LGA(s) | Shire of Leonora | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Kalgoorlie | ||||||||
| Federal division(s) | O'Connor | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Leinster is a town in the northern Goldfields area of Western Australia. It is 4 km (2.5 mi) east of the Goldfields Highway in the Shire of Leonora, and 968 km (601 mi) northeast of the state capital, Perth.[2]
The town was established in 1976 by Agnew Mining, initially as a dormitory town for miners working in the nearby Perseverance and Rockys Reward nickel mines, now the Leinster Nickel Mine, and Agnew gold mines, now the Agnew Gold Mine. It was named for the nearby Leinster Downs station. Facilities at Leinster include a supermarket, service station, community school, day care centre, medical centre and tavern. Sporting facilities include an indoor sports centre, a 50 m (160 ft) Olympic sized pool and a baby pool, squash courts, BMX track, football and cricket oval, and an 18-hole golf course. The school is an independent public school for students up to year 12.[3]
The Leinster Nickel Operation is part of the BHP's Nickel West business group. As at 2006, the operation employed 992 workers and produced 40,000–45,000 t (88×106–99×106 lb) of nickel in concentrate per year.[4][5] Leinster Airport was built adjacent to the mine.
Apart from the nickel operations, gold was mined 41 km (25 mi) south-east of Leinster, at the Thunderbox Gold Mine, from 2002 to 2007 and again since 2016.
