Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining

AI & job outlook

What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.

Exposure to current AI

Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.

OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.0), with simple added tooling (β 0.0), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.0). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.

Job outlook

Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.

“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.

Tasks

All 28 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.

• Handle high voltage sources and hang electrical cables. Core · importance 4.6
• Drive loaded shuttle cars to ramps and move controls to discharge loads into mine cars or onto conveyors. Core · importance 4.5
• Pry off loose material from roofs and move it into the paths of machines, using crowbars. Core · importance 4.4
• Move trailing electrical cables clear of obstructions, using rubber safety gloves. Core · importance 4.4
• Stop gathering arms when cars are full. Supplemental · importance 4.4
• Control conveyors that run the entire length of shuttle cars to distribute loads as loading progresses. Core · importance 4.3
• Examine roadway and clear obstructions from the path of travel. Core · importance 4.3
• Observe hand signals, grade stakes, or other markings when operating machines. Core · importance 4.3
• Drive machines into piles of material blasted from working faces. Core · importance 4.3
• Operate 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. Core · importance 4.2
• Move mine cars into position for loading and unloading, using pinchbars inserted under car wheels to position cars under loading spouts. Supplemental · importance 4.2
• Advance machines to gather material and convey it into cars. Supplemental · importance 4.2
• Clean, fuel, service, and perform safety checks on all equipment, and repair and replace parts as necessary. Core · importance 4.2
• Clean hoppers, and clean spillage from tracks, walks, driveways, and conveyor decking. Core · importance 4.1
• Signal workers to move loaded cars. Supplemental · importance 4.0
• Oil, lubricate, and adjust conveyors, crushers, and other equipment, using hand tools and lubricating equipment. Core · importance 4.0
• Guide and stop cars by switching, applying brakes, or placing scotches, or wooden wedges, between wheels and rails. Supplemental · importance 3.9
• Observe and record car numbers, carriers, customers, tonnages, and grades and conditions of material. Supplemental · importance 3.9
• Read written instructions or confer with supervisors about schedules and materials to be moved. Supplemental · importance 3.9
• Monitor loading processes to ensure that materials are loaded according to specifications. Core · importance 3.9
• Maintain records of materials moved. Supplemental · importance 3.6
• Direct other workers to move stakes, place blocks, position anchors or cables, or move materials. Supplemental · importance 3.6
• Measure, weigh, or verify levels of rock, gravel, or other excavated material to prevent equipment overloads. Core · importance 3.5
• Replace hydraulic hoses, headlight bulbs, and gathering-arm teeth. Core · importance 3.5
• Push or ride cars down slopes, or hook cars to cables and control cable drum brakes, to ease cars down inclines. Supplemental · importance 3.1
• Inspect boarding and locking of open-top box cars and wedging of side-drop and hopper cars to prevent loss of material in transit. Supplemental
• Notify switching departments to deliver specific types of cars. Supplemental
• Open and close bottom doors of cars to dump contents. Supplemental

Work activities

• Remove debris or damaged materials.
• Move materials, equipment, or supplies.
• Position material handling equipment.
• Operate excavation equipment.
• Operate conveyors or other industrial material moving equipment.
• Clean machinery or equipment.
• Maintain material moving equipment in good working condition.
• Signal others to coordinate vehicle movement.
• Record operational or production data.
• Inspect equipment or facilities to determine condition or maintenance needs.
• Clean equipment or supplies.
• Perform manual service or maintenance tasks.
• Direct material handling or moving activities.
• Operate vehicles or material-moving equipment.
• Remove debris from work sites.
• Operate locomotives or other rail vehicles.
• Install electrical components, equipment, or systems.
• Connect cables or electrical lines.
• Measure product or material dimensions.
• Weigh materials to ensure compliance with specifications.
• Verify information or specifications.
• Monitor loading processes to ensure they are performed properly.
• Review work orders or schedules to determine operations or procedures.
• Communicate with others to coordinate material handling or movement.

Knowledge, skills & abilities

O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).

Abilities

Transferable skills

Knowledge

Essential skills

Skills in demand

Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.

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

Tools & technology

Work context

How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.

How to get in

Job zone

Zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed

Education

Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Typical entry-level education

No formal educational credential · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement

Related 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.

Preparation level

SVP (Below 6.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.

Education of current workers

Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.

Interests & work styles

The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.

Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)

Interest areas

Work styles

Wages & employment

U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)

Industries that employ this occupation

Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.

Where this work is most concentrated

Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).

Related occupations

Part of the Energy & Natural Resources career cluster.

• Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators · 53-7051.00 Compare →
• Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining · 47-5022.00 Compare →
• Continuous Mining Machine Operators · 47-5041.00 Compare →
• Hoist and Winch Operators · 53-7041.00 Compare →
• Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders · 53-7121.00 Compare →
• Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators · 47-2073.00 Compare →
• Crane and Tower Operators · 53-7021.00 Compare →
• Pile Driver Operators · 47-2072.00 Compare →
• Maintenance Workers, Machinery · 49-9043.00 Compare →
• Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand · 53-7062.00 Compare →
• Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists · 49-3031.00 Compare →
• Conveyor Operators and Tenders · 53-7011.00 Compare →

Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.

What you can do with this

Options the data surfaces for Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-role-47-5044-00,
  title  = {Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-47-5044-00}
}