About This Career

Operates underground loading or moving machine to load or move coal, ore, or rock using shuttle or mine car or conveyors. Equipment may include power shovels, hoisting engines equipped with cable-drawn scraper or scoop, or machines equipped with gathering arms and conveyor.

This career is part of the Architecture and Construction cluster Construction pathway, Transportation Operations pathway.

A person in this career:

• Handles high voltage sources and hangs electrical cables.
• Drives loaded shuttle cars to ramps and moves controls to discharge loads into mine cars or onto conveyors.
• Pries off loose material from roofs and moves it into the paths of machines, using crowbars.
• Moves trailing electrical cables clear of obstructions, using rubber safety gloves.
• Controls conveyors that run the entire length of shuttle cars to distribute loads as loading progresses.
• Examines roadway and clears obstructions from the path of travel.
• Observes hand signals, grade stakes, or other markings when operating machines.
• Drives machines into piles of material blasted from working faces.
• Operates levers to move conveyor booms or shovels so that mine contents such as coal, rock, and ore can be placed into cars or onto conveyors.
• Cleans, fuels, services, and performs safety checks on all equipment, and repairs and replaces parts as necessary.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

• You would often handle loads up to 20 lbs., sometimes up to 50 lbs. You might do a lot of lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling.
• Work in this occupation involves bending or twisting your body more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation involves use of protective items such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, a hard hat, or personal flotation devices
• Exposure to pollutants, gases, dust, fumes, odors, poor ventilation, etc.
• Requires getting into awkward positions
• Lighting is either extremely bright or inadequate
• Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
• Exposed to conditions such as high voltage electricity, combustibles, explosives, and chemicals more than once a month
• Exposed to hazardous equipment such as saws, machinery, or vehicular traffic more than once a month
• Sound and noise levels are loud and distracting
• Work in this occupation involves making repetitive motions more than one-third of the time
• Whole body vibrations, such as when operating a jackhammer

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

• Picking out a particular sound in the presence of other sounds
• Judging how far away an object is, or which of several objects is closer or farther away
• Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching
• Seeing clearly at a distance
• Seeing clearly up close
• Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
• Identifying and understanding the speech of another person
• Using abdominal and lower back muscles repeatedly or over time without tiring

Work Hours and Travel

• Regular working hours and limited travel