Select locations and plan underground or surface mining operations, specifying processes, labor usage, and equipment that will result in safe, economical, and environmentally sound extraction of minerals and ores.

“Select locations and plan underground or surface mining operations, specifying processes, labor usage, and equipment that will result in safe, economical, and environmentally sound extraction of minerals and ores.” is a core task performed by Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers. Among the occupation's 18 rated tasks, workers place it 14th by importance (#5 most important). About 78% of workers say it is relevant to their job.

This is a single occupation-specific task statement from O*NET. The figures below describe how central the task is to the job and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the task will be automated.

Work activities this task rolls up to

O*NET groups concrete tasks into broader work activities shared across many occupations.

• Determine operational methods or procedures. in Making Decisions and Solving Problems
• Select materials or equipment for operations or projects. in Making Decisions and Solving Problems
• Plan work activities. in Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E2. Exposure with tools — software built on top of a language model (not the model alone) could cut the time by at least half.

Exposure measures whether a model could meaningfully speed the task up — it is an estimate of overlap with model capabilities, not a measure of whether the work will be done by software. The study's intermediate score (β) for this task is 0.50. Automation potential label: T1.

Other tasks in this occupation

• Prepare technical reports for use by mining, engineering, and management personnel. · importance 4.4
• Inspect mining areas for unsafe structures, equipment, and working conditions. · importance 4.1
• Test air to detect toxic gases and recommend measures to remove them, such as installation of ventilation shafts. · importance 4.1
• Select or develop mineral location, extraction, and production methods, based on factors such as safety, cost, and deposit characteristics. · importance 4.0
• Implement and coordinate mine safety programs, including the design and maintenance of protective and rescue equipment and safety devices. · importance 3.9
• Devise solutions to problems of land reclamation and water and air pollution, such as methods of storing excavated soil and returning exhausted mine sites to natural states. · importance 3.8
• Prepare schedules, reports, and estimates of the costs involved in developing and operating mines. · importance 3.8
• Lay out, direct, and supervise mine construction operations, such as the construction of shafts and tunnels. · importance 3.8
• Monitor mine production rates to assess operational effectiveness. · importance 3.8
• Supervise, train, and evaluate technicians, technologists, survey personnel, engineers, scientists or other mine personnel. · importance 3.8
• Examine maps, deposits, drilling locations, or mines to determine the location, size, accessibility, contents, value, and potential profitability of mineral, oil, and gas deposits. · importance 3.7
• Design, develop, and implement computer applications for use in mining operations such as mine design, modeling, or mapping or for monitoring mine conditions. · importance 3.7
• Design, implement, and monitor the development of mines, facilities, systems, or equipment. · importance 3.7
• Select or devise materials-handling methods and equipment to transport ore, waste materials, and mineral products efficiently and economically. · importance 3.6

See all tasks on the Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers page.

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
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

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

@misc{singulariki-task-3562,
  title  = {Select locations and plan underground or surface mining operations, specifying processes, labor usage, and equipment that will result in safe, economical, and environmentally sound extraction of minerals and ores.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/tasks/task-3562}
}