# 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.
- **Entity Type:** role
- **Schema Version:** role.v1
- **Soc Code:** 47-5041.00
- **Summary:** 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.

## Aliases

- Continuous Miner Operator (CMO)
- Continuous Mining Machine Operator
- Continuous Mining Operator (CMO)
- Miner Operator
- Bore Miner Operator
- Continuous Miner
- Heavy Equipment Operator
- Loader Operator
- Mine Technician
- Mine Utility Operator
- Bulldozer Operator
- Concrete Crusher Loader Operator

## Tasks

| Text | Type | Iwa |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hang ventilation tubing and ventilation curtains to ensure that the mining face area is kept properly ventilated. | Core | 4.A.3.a.2.v |
| Conduct methane gas checks to ensure breathing quality of air. | Core | 4.A.1.b.2.k |
| Check the stability of roof and rib support systems before mining face areas. | Core | 4.A.1.b.2.f |
| Operate mining machines to gather coal and convey it to floors or shuttle cars. | Core | 4.A.3.a.3.c |
| Drive machines into position at working faces. | Core | 4.A.3.a.3.c |
| Move controls to start and regulate movement of conveyors and to start and position drill cutters or torches. | Core | 4.A.3.a.3.c |
| Reposition machines to make additional holes or cuts. | Core | 4.A.3.a.2.v |
| Determine locations, boundaries, and depths of holes or channels to be cut. | Core | 4.A.2.b.1.d |
| Install casings to prevent cave-ins. | Supplemental | 4.A.3.a.2.a |
| Observe and listen to equipment operation to detect binding or stoppage of tools or other equipment malfunctions. | Core | 4.A.1.a.2.b |
| Scrape or wash conveyors, using belt scrapers or belt washers, to minimize dust production. | Supplemental | 4.A.3.a.1.c |
| Move levers to raise and lower hydraulic safety bars supporting roofs above machines until other workers complete framing. | Supplemental | 4.A.3.a.3.h |

## Emerging Tasks


## Activities

| Name | Iwa |
| --- | --- |
| Operate mining equipment. | 4.A.3.a.3.c |
| Determine appropriate locations for operations or installations. | 4.A.2.b.1.d |
| Position construction or extraction equipment. | 4.A.3.a.2.v |
| Monitor extraction operations. | 4.A.1.a.2.b |
| Maintain extraction or excavation equipment. | 4.A.3.b.5.a |
| Operate cranes, hoists, or other moving or lifting equipment. | 4.A.3.a.3.h |
| Install safety or support equipment. | 4.A.3.a.2.a |
| Assist skilled construction or extraction personnel. | 4.A.3.a.1.g |
| Direct construction or extraction personnel. | 4.A.4.b.4.i |
| Apply new technologies to improve work processes. | 4.A.2.b.1.i |
| Clean equipment or facilities. | 4.A.3.a.1.c |
| Position safety or support equipment. | 4.A.3.a.2.v |
| Test air quality at work sites. | 4.A.1.b.2.k |
| Inspect completed work to ensure proper installation. | 4.A.1.b.2.f |

## Capabilities

| Name | Family | Value |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Control Precision | ability | 4 |
| Mechanical | knowledge | 3.94 |
| Operations Monitoring | transferable_skill | 3.88 |
| Operation and Control | transferable_skill | 3.88 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | ability | 3.88 |
| Problem Sensitivity | ability | 3.75 |
| Multilimb Coordination | ability | 3.75 |
| Reaction Time | ability | 3.75 |
| Production and Processing | knowledge | 3.71 |
| Rate Control | ability | 3.62 |
| Near Vision | ability | 3.62 |
| Selective Attention | ability | 3.5 |
| Depth Perception | ability | 3.5 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | ability | 3.5 |
| Equipment Maintenance | transferable_skill | 3.38 |
| Manual Dexterity | ability | 3.38 |
| Far Vision | ability | 3.38 |
| Law and Government | knowledge | 3.37 |
| Critical Thinking | essential_skill | 3.25 |
| Troubleshooting | transferable_skill | 3.25 |
| Education and Training | knowledge | 3.25 |
| Repairing | transferable_skill | 3.12 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | transferable_skill | 3.12 |
| Oral Expression | ability | 3.12 |
| Deductive Reasoning | ability | 3.12 |
| Inductive Reasoning | ability | 3.12 |
| Flexibility of Closure | ability | 3.12 |
| Perceptual Speed | ability | 3.12 |
| Response Orientation | ability | 3.12 |
| Trunk Strength | ability | 3.12 |
| Extent Flexibility | ability | 3.12 |
| Active Listening | essential_skill | 3 |
| Speaking | essential_skill | 3 |
| Monitoring | essential_skill | 3 |
| Complex Problem Solving | transferable_skill | 3 |
| Time Management | transferable_skill | 3 |
| Information Ordering | ability | 3 |
| Category Flexibility | ability | 3 |
| Visualization | ability | 3 |
| Time Sharing | ability | 3 |

## Skills

| Name | Type |
| --- | --- |
| Depth Perception | Common Skill |
| Equipment Maintenance | Specialized Skill |
| Critical Thinking | Common Skill |
| Inductive Reasoning | Common Skill |
| Deductive Reasoning | Common Skill |
| Visualization | Specialized Skill |
| Time Management | Common Skill |
| Microsoft Word | Common Skill |
| Microsoft PowerPoint | Common Skill |
| Microsoft Excel | Common Skill |
| Information Ordering | Specialized Skill |
| Finger Dexterity | Common Skill |
| Complex Problem Solving | Common Skill |
| Active Listening | Common Skill |
| Speech Recognition | Specialized Skill |
| English Language | Common Skill |
| Social Perceptiveness | Common Skill |
| Reading Comprehension | Common Skill |
| Active Learning | Common Skill |
| Mathematics | Common Skill |
| Telecommunications | Specialized Skill |
| Learning Strategies | Specialized Skill |
| Instructing | Specialized Skill |
| Equipment Selection | Specialized Skill |
| Writing | Common Skill |
| Systems Analysis | Specialized Skill |
| Physics | Specialized Skill |
| Negotiation | Common Skill |
| Minitab | Specialized Skill |
| Geography | Specialized Skill |
| Psychology | Specialized Skill |
| Installation | Specialized Skill |
| Chemistry | Specialized Skill |
| Biology | Specialized Skill |
| Foreign Language | Common Skill |
| Presentation Software | Specialized Skill |

## Tools

| Example | Category | Hot | In Demand |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Microsoft Excel | Spreadsheet software | yes | no |
| Microsoft Office software | Office suite software | yes | no |
| Microsoft PowerPoint | Presentation software | yes | no |
| Microsoft Word | Word processing software | yes | no |
| Fleet monitoring system software | Mobile location based services software | no | no |
| Hitachi ZXLink | Mobile location based services software | no | no |
| Leica Geosystems FMS | Mobile location based services software | no | no |
| Minitab | Analytical or scientific software | no | no |

## Work Context

| Name | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Exposed to Contaminants | 5 |
| Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets | 5 |
| Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls | 4.89 |
| Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams | 4.84 |
| Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable | 4.82 |
| Exposed to Hazardous Equipment | 4.76 |
| Frequency of Decision Making | 4.71 |
| Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team | 4.61 |
| Health and Safety of Other Workers | 4.5 |
| Contact With Others | 4.44 |
| Consequence of Error | 4.27 |
| Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions | 4.14 |
| Importance of Being Exact or Accurate | 4.11 |
| Freedom to Make Decisions | 4.02 |
| Exposed to Extremely Bright or Inadequate Lighting Conditions | 3.99 |
| Exposed to Cramped Work Space, Awkward Positions | 3.99 |
| Spend Time Standing | 3.94 |
| Pace Determined by Speed of Equipment | 3.86 |
| Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results | 3.84 |
| Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals | 3.83 |
| Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities | 3.71 |
| Level of Competition | 3.62 |
| Exposed to Whole Body Vibration | 3.59 |
| Spend Time Bending or Twisting Your Body | 3.59 |
| Exposed to Hazardous Conditions | 3.48 |
| Time Pressure | 3.4 |
| In an Open Vehicle or Operating Equipment | 3.38 |
| Work Outcomes and Results of Other Workers | 3.37 |
| Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled | 3.37 |
| Physical Proximity | 3.35 |
| Importance of Repeating Same Tasks | 3.2 |
| Wear Specialized Protective or Safety Equipment such as Breathing Apparatus, Safety Harness, Full Protection Suits, or Radiation Protection | 3.15 |
| Dealing With Unpleasant, Angry, or Discourteous People | 3.11 |
| Conflict Situations | 2.94 |
| In an Enclosed Vehicle or Operate Enclosed Equipment | 2.9 |
| Spend Time Walking or Running | 2.87 |
| Exposed to Minor Burns, Cuts, Bites, or Stings | 2.86 |
| Exposed to Very Hot or Cold Temperatures | 2.72 |
| Exposed to High Places | 2.45 |
| Spend Time Keeping or Regaining Balance | 2.44 |

## Preparation

- **Job Zone:** 2
- **Job Zone Name:** Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- **Education:** Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
- **Experience:** Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
- **Svp Range:** (Below 6.0)

### Education Distribution

| Label | Percentage |
| --- | --- |
| High School Diploma | 81.27 |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 9.64 |
| Some College Courses | 5.13 |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 3.96 |

## Person Fit

| Name | Family | Value |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Realistic | career_interest_type | 6.97 |
| Physical/Manual Labor | specific_interest_area | 6.22 |
| Transportation/Machine Operation | specific_interest_area | 5.82 |
| Mechanics/Electronics | specific_interest_area | 5.05 |
| Conventional | career_interest_type | 4.07 |
| Dependability | work_style | 4 |
| Attention to Detail | work_style | 3 |
| Engineering | specific_interest_area | 2.61 |
| Investigative | career_interest_type | 2.5 |
| Cautiousness | work_style | 2.5 |
| Stress Tolerance | work_style | 2.06 |
| Perseverance | work_style | 1.9 |
| Self-Control | work_style | 1.6 |
| Integrity | work_style | 1.54 |
| Enterprising | career_interest_type | 1.34 |
| Construction/Woodwork | specific_interest_area | 1.28 |

## Related Roles

| Soc Code | Slug | Title | Tier |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 47-2073.00 | role-47-2073-00 | Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators | Primary-Short |
| 47-5022.00 | role-47-5022-00 | Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining | Primary-Short |
| 47-5081.00 | role-47-5081-00 | Helpers--Extraction Workers | Primary-Short |
| 47-5023.00 | role-47-5023-00 | Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas | Primary-Short |
| 47-5044.00 | role-47-5044-00 | Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining | Primary-Short |
| 47-5012.00 | role-47-5012-00 | Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas | Primary-Long |
| 49-3042.00 | role-49-3042-00 | Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines | Primary-Long |
| 49-9043.00 | role-49-9043-00 | Maintenance Workers, Machinery | Primary-Long |
| 53-7021.00 | role-53-7021-00 | Crane and Tower Operators | Primary-Long |
| 49-9041.00 | role-49-9041-00 | Industrial Machinery Mechanics | Primary-Long |
| 47-2072.00 | role-47-2072-00 | Pile Driver Operators | Supplemental |
| 53-7041.00 | role-53-7041-00 | Hoist and Winch Operators | Supplemental |

## Career Clusters

| Cluster | Slug |
| --- | --- |
| Construction | construction |
| Energy & Natural Resources | energy-natural-resources |

## Education Level

- **Category:** No formal educational credential

## Study Programs

| Title | Slug |
| --- | --- |
| Transportation and Materials Moving | transportation-and-materials-moving |

## Market

- **Median Wage:** 63380
- **Mean Wage:** 63920
- **Pct10Wage:** 41450
- **Pct25Wage:** 50850
- **Pct75Wage:** 76850
- **Pct90Wage:** 84420
- **Employment:** 14340
- **Area Title:** U.S.

## Industries


### Top

| Naics | Slug | Title | Level | Employment | Median Wage | Lq |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 21 | 21 | Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | Sector | 13530 | 64690 | 253.67 |
| 48-49 | 48-49 | Transportation and Warehousing | Sector | 400 | 37150 | 0.58 |
| 31-33 | 31-33 | Manufacturing | Sector |  | 53590 |  |
| 42 | 42 | Wholesale Trade | Sector |  | 62720 |  |

### Concentrated

| Naics | Slug | Title | Level | Employment | Lq |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 21 | 21 | Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | Sector | 13530 | 253.67 |
| 48-49 | 48-49 | Transportation and Warehousing | Sector | 400 | 0.58 |
- **Count:** 4

## Ai Signals

| Source | Label | Score | Scale | Release |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| frey_osborne | Computerization probability | 0.54 | 0-1 probability | 2013-baseline-2016-employment-snapshot |
| felten_aioe | AI occupational exposure | -1.165492 | relative exposure score | 2021-plus-generative-ai-workbooks |
| felten_image_generation_aioe | Image generation occupational exposure | -0.600429 | relative exposure score | 2021-plus-generative-ai-workbooks |
| felten_language_modeling_aioe | Language modeling occupational exposure | -1.355229 | relative exposure score | 2021-plus-generative-ai-workbooks |

## Ai Outlook


### Index

- **Value:** 8
- **Percentile:** 4
- **Band:** Low
- **Version:** ai-exposure-index-v1

#### Components

| Percentile | Source |
| --- | --- |
| 12 | felten_aioe |
| 3 | openai_gpts_are_gpts |
| 8 | microsoft_working_with_ai |
- **Component Count:** 3

### Exposure

| Source | Label | Value | Percentile | Band | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| felten_aioe | Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) | -1.165492 | 12 | Low | How much this job's abilities overlap with what AI systems can do, across many AI capabilities. A relative research score, not a forecast of job loss. |
| eloundou_gamma | LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) | 0 | 3 | Low | Share of this job's tasks where a large language model plus simple tools could cut the time to do them by at least half. γ is capped at 1.0 and many jobs reach that ceiling, so treat a top score as 'in the top group', not a precise rank. |
| microsoft_applicability | AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) | 0.04397853787716935 | 8 | Low | How applicable today's AI assistants are to this job's activities, measured from real Microsoft Copilot conversations. Applicability is not the same as replacement. |

### Frey Historical

- **Source:** frey
- **Label:** Computerization probability (Frey & Osborne, 2013)
- **Value:** 0.54
- **Percentile:** 48
- **Band:** Moderate
- **Note:** A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.
- **Teleworkable:** no

### Eloundou

- **Alpha:** 0
- **Beta:** 0
- **Gamma:** 0

### Usage Tasks


### Bls

- **Growth Percent:** 0.6
- **Growth Percentile:** 29
- **Direction:** About average
- **Annual Openings Thousands:** 1.6
- **Annual Openings Percentile:** 23
- **Employment2024Thousands:** 14.9
- **Employment2034Thousands:** 15

### Sources

| Source | Version |
| --- | --- |
| bls_employment_projections | 2024-2034 |
| dingel_neiman | dingel-neiman-workathome |
| felten_aioe | felten-raj-seamans-aioe |
| frey_osborne | frey-osborne-automation |
| microsoft_working_with_ai | working-with-ai |
| openai_gpts_are_gpts | gpts-are-gpts |

## Counts

- **Tasks:** 15
- **Skills:** 36
- **Capabilities:** 120
- **Tools:** 8
- **Related Roles:** 20

## Source

- **Dataset:** gold.onet_role_starter_surface
- **Version:** 30.3
- **Generated At:** 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00
- **Content Hash:** d2d9d5c8f349e8a1