Job description Miner in Alberta
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Find out what work is like for a miner in Canada. This work description is applicable to all Underground production and development miners (NOC 83100).

Underground production and development miners

Description

Underground production and development miners drill, blast, operate mining machinery, and perform related duties to extract coal and ore in underground mines and to construct tunnels, passageways and shafts to facilitate mining operations. They are employed by coal, metal and non-metallic mineral underground mines and by specialized contractors in mine construction, shaft sinking and tunnelling. Apprentices are also included in this unit group.

Work week duration

Underground production and development miners usually work more than 40 hours per week.
More than 40 hours

Job duties

Here are some of the main activities and tasks that Underground production and development miners have to perform, and some of the physical demands they involve:

  • Set up and operate drills and drilling machines to produce a designated pattern of blasting holes
  • Operate diamond drills or other specialized drills such as raise boring machinery to test geological formations or to produce underground passageways
  • Set up and operate mining machinery to shear coal, rock or ore from the working face
  • Load explosives, set fuses, and detonate explosives to produce desired blasting patterns and rock fragmentation in underground mines
  • Operate scooptram, load-haul-dump (LHD) machine or mucking machine to load and haul ore from stopes, drifts and drawpoints to ore passes
  • Perform duties required to ensure safety and to support the mining advance, such as scaling loose rock from walls and roof, drilling and installing rock bolts, extending and installing air and water pipes, operating ore loading machinery, inspecting mine shafts, operating hoists that transport people, equipment and materials through mine shafts, and constructing timber supports and cribbing if required
  • Perform routine maintenance of mining machinery.

Physical demands Help - Physical Demands

  • Handling material manually
  • Bending or twisting the body
  • Making repetitive motions
  • Standing
  • Sitting

Physical demands

Physical demands are the physical activities that the job requires the worker to do. Physical demands are selected according to the likeliness that workers will have to perform them for at least half of the time they spend at work.

Workplaces and employers

Here are the typical workplaces where Underground production and development miners are employed and some of their main characteristics:

  • Specialized contractors in mine construction, shaft sinking and tunnelling
  • Coal, metal and non-metallic mineral underground mines

Work environment Help - Physical Work Environment

  • Dangerous chemical substances
  • Extreme temperatures
  • Outside, under cover
  • Hazardous equipment, machinery, tools
  • Sound and noise
  • Skin injury
  • Standard safety equipment
  • Hazardous conditions
  • Vibration
  • Indoors, not environmentally controlled

Physical proximity from others Help - Physical proximity from others

  • Close (at arm’s length)

Work environment

The work environment refers to the physical setting in which people work. The characteristics and conditions of the work environment are selected according to the likeliness that workers will be exposed to them at least once a week.

Physical proximity from others

Physical proximity from others refers to the physical distance between individuals in the workplace. The likeliness that the job requires to perform tasks while being physically close to other people is rated on a scale with 3 levels: "Somewhat close", "Close" and "Very close".

Related job titles

Here are some other related job titles that are found in the same occupational category (NOC 83100), and a list of similar occupations:

  • blaster - underground mining
  • chute blaster - underground mining
  • diamond driller - underground mining
  • drift miner
  • driller - underground mining
  • hardrock miner apprentice
  • hoist operator - underground mining
  • miner
  • mining machine operator
  • powderman/woman - underground mining
  • raise miner
  • roadheader operator
  • scooptram operator
  • shaft inspector

Similar occupations Help - Similar occupations

Similar occupations

This section lists other occupations that are part of the same broad occupational category as Underground production and development miners in the National Occupational Classification (NOC). These occupations involve similar core qualifications but involve different responsibilities. To see more similar occupations, use the Job Transition Tool.

Sources Occupational and Skills Information System & National Occupational Classification

Labour Market Information Survey
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