Whim Creek, Western Australia

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Whim Creek
Western Australia
Population: 140
Established: 1872
Postcode: 6718
Location: 1,645 km from Perth
LGA: Shire of Roebourne
State District: North West Coastal
Federal Division: Kalgoorlie

Whim Creek (20°49′60″S, 117°49′60″E is a small town of the north west of Western Australia, on the North West Coastal Highway midway between Karratha and Port Hedland. It is 1645 km north of Perth and a stoppover point for travellers to Broome.

Copper was discovered several kilometers west of the town in 1872 and gold 20 km north in 1887. Copper was shipped via a small port on the coast at nearby Barra Barra.

At its peak, the town supported two hotels, a blacksmith, a police staion and a horse track, but gradually declined to a near ghost town by the 1980s, supported by a few prospectors and the occasional passing tourist.

Straits Resources Limited reopened copper mining operations in 2005 and expect to yield 51,000 tonnes of Grade-A copper cathode from an ore reserve of 6.6 million tonnes grading 1% copper over the next 5 years.

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