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.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Equipment Maintenance
- Critical Thinking
- Troubleshooting
- Repairing
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Active Listening
Key knowledge
- Mechanical
- Production and Processing
- Law and Government
- Education and Training
- English Language
- Administration and Management
- Transportation
- Public Safety and Security
What the work involves
- Operate mining machines to gather coal and convey it to floors or shuttle cars.
- Determine locations, boundaries, and depths of holes or channels to be cut.
- Reposition machines to make additional holes or cuts.
- Drive machines into position at working faces.
- 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.
- Repair, oil, and adjust machines, and change cutting teeth, using wrenches.
- Hang ventilation tubing and ventilation curtains to ensure that the mining face area is kept properly ventilated.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (81.3% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (41%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (46.5%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Continuous Mining Machine Operators is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Moderate | Higher on contact with others than 55% of occupations compared | 58% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 99% of occupations compared | 87% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 82% of occupations compared | 70% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 61% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 82% of occupations compared | 30% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Higher on conflict situations than 57% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 67% of occupations compared | 29% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 94% of occupations compared | 62% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 6.84%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 35.4%
- Constant contact with others: 57.76%
n = 21, Incumbent 07/2016
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 86.51%
- Fairly important: 5.4%
- Important: 8.09%
- Very important: 0%
- Extremely important: 0%
n = 21, Incumbent 07/2016
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 8.42%
- Very important: 21.86%
- Extremely important: 69.72%
n = 21, Incumbent 07/2016
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 4.28%
- Limited freedom: 25.93%
- Some freedom: 33.57%
- A lot of freedom: 36.22%
n = 21, Incumbent 07/2016
Time pressure
- Never: 15.59%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 16.18%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 10.79%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 27.09%
- Every day: 30.34%
n = 21, Incumbent 07/2016
Conflict situations
- Never: 14.03%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 38.66%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 11.22%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 11.54%
- Every day: 24.54%
n = 20, Incumbent 07/2016
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 24.68%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 13.49%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 16.67%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 16.22%
- Every day: 28.93%
n = 21, Incumbent 07/2016
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 2.7%
- Fairly serious: 8.09%
- Serious: 10.9%
- Very serious: 16.22%
- Extremely serious: 62.09%
n = 21, Incumbent 07/2016
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O*NET-SOC 47-5041.00 · SOC 47-5041 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8