Australian Mines ( by the mineral )

God, in his ( or her ) infinite wisdom, decided to bless Australia with an abundance of mineral resources. But did God actually look at a sketch, suss out the plans for the Continent ? Did he ( or her ) even consider a Lead mine beside Bondi Beach, or a bloody great Copper mine in the Whitsundays ? I mean, was it too much effort to put a Diamond deposit on Cable Beach, or Iron Ore at Coral Bay ?
Nope, all of Australia's mineral wealth is found beyond the Black Stump, west of Woop Woop....out in the most inhospitable terrain and climates imaginable !
Australia once 'rode upon the sheeps back', a reference to the wealth of the pastoral industry to the economy of the country. Post WW2, mining and resources industries are the economic drivers of the economy, we barely have any local manufacturing nowadays, all we do is supply the raw materials to the Asian superpower economies and buy their consumer products.
But, as usual, I digress..... 
Many Aussie workers find employment in the boom and bust construction, mining and resources sectors, so therefore reside in these mining towns and sites. And even in the modern day era of fast internet, connectivity etc, its still a tough gig out in the remoter parts of the country.
So, does the prospect of 6 figure salaries ( in $US for convenience ) overcome ones aversion to climatic hell holes ?

Diamonds ( Argyle Mine, Western Australia )


Gold ( Kalgoorlie, Western Australia )


Silver ( Broken Hill, New South Wales


Copper ( Mt Isa, Queensland )

 
Opal ( Coober Pedy, South Australia )


Black Coal ( Emerald, Queensland )


Uranium ( Jabiru, Northern Territory )


Iron Ore ( Mt Newman, Western Australia )


Blue Asbestos ( Wittenoom, Western Australia )


Nickle ( Ravensthorpe, Western Australia )