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Continuous Mining Machine Operators
Operate self-propelled mining machines that rip coal, metal and nonmetal ores, rock, stone, or sand from the mine face and load it onto conveyors, shuttle cars, or trucks in a continuous operation.
Also Known As:
Bore Miner Operator
Continuous Miner
Continuous Miner Operator (CMO)
Continuous Mining Machine Operator
Continuous Mining Operator (CMO)
Heavy Equipment Operator
Loader Operator
Mine Technician
Mine Utility Operator
Miner Operator
Wages
Annual wages for Continuous Mining Machine Operators in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
15,800
-2% Change From 2023
Explore Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Hang ventilation tubing and ventilation curtains to ensure that the mining face area is kept properly ventilated.
- Check the stability of roof and rib support systems before mining face areas.
- Repair, oil, and adjust machines, and change cutting teeth, using wrenches.
- Install casings to prevent cave-ins.
- Move levers to raise and lower hydraulic safety bars supporting roofs above machines until other workers complete framing.
- Operate mining machines to gather coal and convey it to floors or shuttle cars.
- Guide and assist crews laying track and resetting supports and blocking.
- Determine locations, boundaries, and depths of holes or channels to be cut.
- Move controls to start and regulate movement of conveyors and to start and position drill cutters or torches.
- Observe and listen to equipment operation to detect binding or stoppage of tools or other equipment malfunctions.
- Drive machines into position at working faces.
- Apply new technologies developed to minimize the environmental impact of coal mining.
- Guide and assist crews laying track and resetting supports and blocking.
- Reposition machines to make additional holes or cuts.
- Scrape or wash conveyors, using belt scrapers or belt washers, to minimize dust production.
- Conduct methane gas checks to ensure breathing quality of air.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")