<P> Before the 1940s, mining was done by hand tools with high labor usage rates and included horse - drawn carts underground . The advent of diesel powered mining equipment in the late 1940s and the move toward mechanised underground mining has resulted in less labor used per tonne of ore recovered, and the mine workforce has declined . </P> <P> While the low metal prices of the 1990s led to the failure of miner Pasminco, the recent resurgence in metal prices has returned the sole existing operator, Perilya Limited, to profitability and prompted Consolidated Broken Hill Limited to advance development of the untouched Western Lodes and Centenary Lodes . This created over 70 jobs during development and will lead to a second, new, milling operation built within the town . </P> <P> Owing to its exposure to the vagaries of the mining industry, and because of a swiftly shrinking population, similar to other rural centres, and compounded by its isolation, Broken Hill has encouraged its widespread artistic credentials and is promoting itself as a tourism destination in order to become less reliant upon mining as a source of employment . </P> <P> Average incomes in Broken Hill are lower than the national average . According to the 2016 Australian Census the median household income in the city was $968; considerably lower than the national average of $1,438 . </P>

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