The current population is 400. The first mining lease in WA was pegged in Greenbushes. Tin was first mined. Now tantalum, spodumene and lithium are the major profit-making minerals. Nowadays the miners drill, blast and excavate in order to extract the minerals for processing.
Contractors work in huge, crater-like pits several hundred feet deep.
A formal assessment by the DEP was not considered necessary despite the fact that blasting, drilling and mining operations would be conducted in a pit whose edge was 450 metres from the centre of town and less than 50 metres from Greenbushes Primary School and residences. The Mines Act was not followed and owners were not notified. The Bridgetown-Greenbushes Shire was aware of this northern pit extension plan, but ratepayers and residents were not. Concerned Residents of Greenbushes was formed and several town meetings were held. Fifty to sixty people voted to investigate the possibility of applying for a court injunction on Gwalia to sort out issues before commencement of the northern pit extension.