NT Mining Industry - Good or Bad?

Whereever I turn, there seems to be someone affected by the Mining Industry in the NT, not to mention Palmerston. One of my friends lost her job recently, because there was no work for her at the plant where they sift the dirt.
NT News reports of a mine in Tenant Creek closing for three months.

What do the workers do? Just sit around and sip coffee for a few months waiting for the mines to reopen? There are guys in Palmerston affected, and I was speaking to guys from Humpty Doo who lost their jobs because of the mining industry.
I'm a little naive, but why is there so little job security in the mining industry at the moment? Will it improve? For the sake of people in the Top End with livelihoods depending on it, I hope it does!
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