Miners

Individuals who operate equipment to excavate, load and transport coal, ore, minerals, sand and rock either underground or in open-cut mines; or drill to locate and remove oil and natural gas from the earth. Underground miners construct tunnels, passageways and shafts to facilitate mining operations and travel down vertical shafts or sloping declines to reach the work face. Open-cast and surface miners extract the mineral ore using mining machines, drilling and blasting methods, ripping (e.g. by bulldozer) or dredging. Specializations may be defined by the activities involved e.g., exploration, extraction, mine layout, oil well development, safety, research and supervision and management; or according to type of substance involved (metals, nonmetallic minerals, coal or petroleum and natural gas).