Queenstown (Australia)

From World travel guide

Queenstown is a former mining town in Tasmania's west. It's most notably for its almost lunar landscape - this is because the minerals being mined (mostly zinc and copper) were extremely toxic and the tailing heaps left behind were extremely inhospitable to plant life. Also, the trees in the area were all logged for use in the mining process.

There is not a lot to see in the town, but tourists used to visit to see the landscape, and because it is en route to Strahan. The landscape is being gradually recolonised by plants, and vegetation is returning to the hills.

NOTE - not what you were looking for? Try Queenstown in New Zealand.