Mount Isa

Mount Isa is a city in northwest Queensland, Australia, in the dry ranges of the outback near the border with the Northern Territory. It grew around a rich deposit of copper, lead, zinc and silver, and the stacks of the mine rise over the city.

The Kalkadoon people are the traditional owners of the ranges around the city. John Campbell Miles, a prospector, found lead ore on the site in 1923 and named his claim Mount Isa. Mount Isa Mines was formed in the following year, and the mine grew through the 20th century with a smelter and a town for its workers. The railway from Townsville reached it in the late 1920s. The mine drew workers from many countries, and the town became a city in the 1960s.

Glencore runs the mines and smelters of Mount Isa, which produce copper anodes and lead and zinc concentrates. The concentrates travel by rail to the port of Townsville on the east coast. Cattle stations of the surrounding district raise beef for export.

Outback at Isa, the visitor center of the city, holds the Riversleigh Fossil Centre, which shows fossils from the Riversleigh World Heritage site, and the Hard Times Mine, an underground mine built for tours. The Mount Isa Rodeo, held each August, draws riders and crowds from across Australia for bull riding, barrel racing and a street parade. Lake Moondarra, a reservoir north of the city, is used for swimming, boating and fishing. The Royal Flying Doctor Service base in the city shows how doctors fly to patients on remote stations.