Hey mate, I work in the mines in central Queensland and I would recommend starting off with a contractor such as theiss, leightons, Golding, NRW, etc.... As these guys are more likely to hire a clean skin and train you up, on the other hand things are very, very quiet at the moment in the coal mines and most places are laying off rather than employing...... The big area employing at the moment is the gas fields around Dalby, Roma and chinchilla, well worth sussing that out as they are paying megabucks during construction over the next few years..