Theme Mining Written by Lenore Layman, Murdoch University Mining in Australia is a non-traditional industry for women. This has been so in all sectors of the industry, whether the minerals being mined occur as 'solids such as coal and ores, liquids such as crude petroleum, or gases such as natural gas' (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006); whether mining occurred in hard rock for metals (such as gold, iron, nickel, silver, lead, zinc, copper, tin or uranium) or gems (such as diamonds or opals)