Surrounding the town are remnants of old gold mining operations, and to the north-east are significant Aboriginal sites being preserved jointly by the local community and the Western Australian Museum. Its history is sustained through the Wirnda Barna Arts Centre, and the Mount Magnet Mining and Pastoral Museum. The area once had three separate town sites: Mount Magnet,
Boogardie, and
Lennonville. Hill 50 Gold Mines N.L., which was floated on the
Perth Stock Exchange in 1934 to acquire leases at Boogardie, started mining Hill 50 in 1936. Boogardie has since been swallowed up into the
open cut mining operations at Hill 50. Lennonville was abandoned at the start of
World War I, and the foundations of the bank and train station can still be seen. There continues to be active gold mining in the area, notably by Ramelius Resources which acquired Mt Magnet Gold Pty Ltd in 2010. The company operates the Saturn and Mars pits, collectively referred to as the Galaxy mining area. The company also commenced the Perseverance open pit cutbacks in 2015 at the top of the
Hill 50 underground mine, which is 4 km north west of Mount Magnet. Unusual for such a large mining community, Mount Magnet never had a public
battery (a type of mill machine that crushes material). The nearest battery was built 5 km west in Boogardie. The battery can now be seen at the Mount Magnet Mining and Pastoral Museum. However, evidence of Mount Magnet's gold-rush heyday can be seen in its very wide main street with three hotels and historic buildings. During the wildflower season (August to November) the Gascoyne-Murchison area attracts tourists viewing the abundant natural display of
wildflowers. There are thousands of wildflowers and plant species that can be seen, including the emblematic scarlet red
Sturt's desert pea, the royal purple
mulla mulla by the roadside, and fields of white, yellow and pink everlastings. During the lifetime of the
Northern Railway to
Meekatharra, Mount Magnet was an important railway junction when the
Sandstone branch railway was in operation. Mount Magnet is served by
Mount Magnet Airport, where
Skippers Aviation has services to and from Meekatharra and Perth. ==Climate==