My DH works at a Gold mine and does a 4 on, 4 off roster with both day and night shift. Fly in fly out (FIFO) does suck a bit if you are really far away but other families I know find it works well for them. Because of the roster he works he only works 6 months of the year - you dont get that in any other job.

It's best to work for the actual mining company themselves as the first ones to be let go during a slump are those working for contractors and employment agencies. If he has no trade that would get him a skilled job (by that I mean as a fitter/mechanic/crane driver etc) then he will have to start off in a dump truck or loader and work his way up. The pay is still very good for that though - coal mining pays the best where a truck driver can earn over $100k. If he's more keen on doing mine management then he should look into doing a Metalliferous course which will enable him to get a Leading Hand job - that means that he would oversee a workshop. DH is about to start this course so he can start to move up the food chain a little bit. A lot of the training is on the job though and they will put you though courses so he can be 'passed out' to drive a dump truck or other machines - you don't even need a HR licence to start with but if he can get a head start by getting some tickets before he applies it will hold him in good stead for a position if he is up against 50 other applicants.

But it isn't always the cruisy money that everyone assumes it is. It is long hours and hard work and there is no time off for Christmas or other holidays etc - if you're rostered on you're rostered on unless you can find someone to swap a shift with. This Christmas will be the first one in 2 years that DH hasn't been working. I do love it though as it works really well for us. We only live just under 1hr from the mine where he works and it is the only think putting food on the table for us the past 4 years as the farm certainly hasn't been paying it's way LOL.