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Mining and Quarry Workers and Related Operatives

Quarry workers erect supports in underground workings, set and detonate explosives to loosen rocks and set up and operate drilling equipment to extract coal and other minerals from the ground, and operate machinery to wash, crush or separate stone and ores.

Wages

New workers
AVERAGE
Experienced
£19,810
£28,917
£43,988

New workers start around £19,810. Normal pay is £28,917 per year.
Highly experienced workers can earn up to £43,988.

Available jobs

In the past year there were 10,265 vacancies for this type of job

3.99%

Projected job growth over the next 8 years

Related courses

People work towards these careers by taking these courses at college and uni.

What they do most days?

  • Performs other mining and quarrying tasks not elsewhere classified including digging clay from open pits, operating high-pressure hoses to wash china clay from open pit faces and otherwise assisting miners.

  • Operates agitators/vibrators to separate minerals and ensures that screened, filtered, crushed and separated material is discharged to appropriate chutes or conveyors.

  • Conveys goods and materials to and from the workface, loads and unloads mine cars and transfers materials from underground and surface conveyors to bunkers, tubs and rail trucks.

  • Operates heading, ripping and cutting-loading machines to remove material from working face and monitors conveyor carrying away loose material.

  • Erects timber or metal supports to shore up tunnel and assists tunnel miner with the excavation of vertical shafts and underground tunnels.

  • Assembles drilling and cutting tools, operates controls to start machines and to regulate the speed and pressure of cutting and drilling.

  • Inspects blasting area, drills shot holes, inserts explosives and detonates charges to loosen large pieces of rock, coal or ore.

Hard Skills

Hard skills are specific, learnable, measurable, often industry or occupation-specific abilities related to a position.

Skills are ranked based on the number of job adverts that list them as required skills.

  • Plumbing

  • Machinery

  • Air Source Heat Pump

  • Wastewater

  • HVAC

  • Abrasive Blasting

  • Heating Systems

  • Environment Health And Safety

  • Diesel Engines

  • Drilling

Soft Skills

Soft skills can be self-taught and usually do not necessitate a certain completed level of education.

Skills are ranked based on the number of job adverts that list them as required skills.

  • Customer Service

  • Communication

  • Operations

  • Detail Oriented

  • Management

  • Troubleshooting (Problem Solving)

  • Problem Solving

  • Self-Motivation

  • Planning

  • Professionalism

How do I get a job like this?

People in these types of job started their career paths after studying courses like the ones below.