Heavy Equipment Workers Needed In The Mining Industry

The mining sector is a large employer of heavy equipment operators particularly those with experience in equipment that used in the mines. Mines fall into two segments, open cut or above ground and underground.

Above ground heavy equipment operators use excavating, loading machines and draglines equipped with scoops, shovels, or buckets to dig and load sand, gravel, earth, or similar materials into trucks or onto conveyors. This is a job that is open to the extremes of weather. Most workers are employed on 8 hour shifts, sometimes around the clock, seven days per week.

Underground heavy equipment operators use underground loading machines to load coal, ore, or rock into shuttles and mine cars or onto conveyors. Loading equipment may include power shovels, hoisting engines equipped with cable-drawn scrapers or scoops, and machines equipped with gathering arms and conveyors. Whilst underground miners are protected from weather extremes, there is added danger being underground. As with above ground workers, most shifts are 8 hours although it is not uncommon to work rotating seven day shifts around the clock.

These are challenging jobs and whilst the remuneration is not terrific, the wages are reasonable. There is a constant need for heavy equipment operators in the mining industry, particularly underground due to the transient nature of many of the workers.

ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools can help you gain the skills required to operate heavy equipment in the mining sector.