Copper miners have various job duties, including extracting copper from mines, operating machinery, and handling explosives. Safety regulations are a top priority, and on-the-job training is provided. Confined space certification may be required for some roles.
The specific job duties of copper miners can vary, but in general these workers are responsible for extracting copper from open or closed mines. Each miner will work in a specific capacity: one miner might be an explosives expert, while another might be a heavy machinery operator, and another might be a driver of large haul trucks. Copper miners work in a number of different capacities at various mining sites, but foremost among all job responsibilities is adherence to safety regulations that keep miners and the surrounding area safe at all times.
There are hundreds of specific jobs for copper miners and each miner will be trained in one or more roles. An extract miner may work with hand tools or power tools to remove rock until the copper is exposed. Others may work with computerized machines that will do most of the hard work for human workers. Some copper miners are solely responsible for the maintenance and repair of heavy machinery used in the mining operation. These mechanics, sometimes known as machinists, may need to manufacture new parts, install them, and run diagnostics on the machines to determine what is causing a specific problem.
Mine cut and pipe operators use machines that cut rock or soil to create mine shafts or other openings used to blast or install machinery that will be used in the extraction process. These workers do not need any specific level of education, although copper miners undergo on-the-job training so that they can learn to operate all relevant machinery safely and effectively. These workers are likely to work in confined spaces, which means they may have to obtain confined space certification or receive training for that environment. They will need to learn to operate the ventilation systems as well; these systems are installed to ensure the presence of oxygen in the mines.
Explosives specialists work with various types of explosives to explode materials inside a mine. Blasting must be done strategically and carefully so that copper miners can safely extract the copper when blasting is complete. These specialists undergo extensive training to learn how to place explosives correctly so that demolition can be carried out in a controlled manner. A belt operator may be tasked with transporting and sorting raw materials to find copper and transport it to a sorting area.
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