Operate machinery such as longwall shears, plows, and cutting machines to cut or channel along the face or seams of coal mines, stone quarries, or other mining surfaces to facilitate blasting, separating, or removing minerals or materials from mines or from the Earth's surface. Includes shale planers.
20 of 21 tasks have some AI capability
Exposure Trend
This score reflects estimated AI technical capability for tasks in this occupation. It does not predict employment changes, and it does not account for company-specific constraints, regulation, or adoption barriers.
Move planer levers to control and adjust the movement of equipment, the speed, height, and depth of cuts, and to rotate swivel cutting booms.
AI: Fully automatable - Adjusting planer levers for speed, height, depth, and boom rotation is within the capability of modern control automation and robotic actuation used in mining equipment.
Cut slots along working faces of coal, salt, or other non-metal deposits to facilitate blasting, by moving levers to start the machine, and to control the vertical reciprocating drills.
AI: Fully automatable - Starting and controlling vertical reciprocating cutting/drilling machines can be automated using existing machine control systems and robotic operation proven in mining applications.
Signal that machine plow blades are properly positioned, using electronic buzzers or two-way radios.
AI: Fully automatable - Signaling blade position via electronic buzzers or two‑way radio is a straightforward informational/communication task that AI and automated systems can handle completely.
Drive mobile, truck-mounted, or track-mounted drilling or cutting machine in mines and quarries or on construction sites.
AI: Fully automatable - Driving mobile or track‑mounted drilling and cutting machines is achievable with established teleoperation and autonomous vehicle technologies already deployed in mining and construction.
Observe indicator lights and gauges, and listen to machine operation to detect binding or stoppage of tools or other equipment problems.
AI: Fully automatable - AI systems with sensors, signal processing, and anomaly detection can reliably monitor gauges, lights, and acoustic/vibration signatures to detect binding or stoppages.
Move controls to start and position drill cutters or torches and advance tools into mines or quarry faces to complete horizontal or vertical cuts.
AI: Fully automatable - Starting, positioning and advancing drill cutters or torches can be fully automated using precision controls, CNC-like motion planning, and proven robotic tooling systems.
Advance plow blades through coal strata by remote control, according to electronic or radio signals from the tailer.
AI: Fully automatable - Advancing plow blades by remote control according to electronic/radio signals is a remote‑control coordination task that automation systems can execute reliably today.
Press buttons to activate conveyor belts, and push or pull chain handles to regulate conveyor movement so that material can be moved or loaded into dinkey cars or dump trucks.
AI: Fully automatable - Simple switch and lever actuation for conveyors can be fully automated or handled by remote/robotic actuators and existing industrial control systems available by 2025.
Signal crew members to adjust the speed of equipment to the rate of installation of roof supports, and to adjust the speed of conveyors to the volume of coal.
AI: Fully automatable - Monitoring installation rates and conveyor volumes and signaling or automatically adjusting speeds is well within current industrial automation and coordination systems.
Monitor movement of shale along conveyors from hoppers to trucks or railcars.
AI: Fully automatable - Monitoring material flow on conveyors is well within current capabilities using sensors, PLCs and computer vision and is widely implemented in industry.
Position jacks, timbers, or roof supports, and install casings, to prevent cave-ins.
AI: Partial - Mechanized roof support and bolting equipment can perform much of the physical work, but positioning and installation in variable ground conditions still require human supervision and intervention.
Reposition machines and move controls to make additional holes or cuts.
AI: Partial - Machine repositioning and control adjustments can be automated or remotely operated to a large extent, but variable terrain and safety considerations typically necessitate human oversight.
Cut entries between rooms and haulage ways.
AI: Partial - Continuous miners and tunneling machines can perform much of the cutting autonomously or via remote control, but full autonomy in varied underground conditions is not yet widely reliable.
Cut and move shale from open pits.
AI: Partial - Cutting and moving shale can be partly automated (autonomous loaders/excavators exist) but heterogeneous geology and variable cutting conditions still require human oversight in many situations as of 2025.
Replace worn or broken tools and machine bits and parts, using wrenches, pry bars, and other hand tools, and lubricate machines, using grease guns.
AI: Partial - Some tool-changing systems and assistive robotics exist, but hands-on replacement and nuanced maintenance in confined, dirty mine environments still require human dexterity and judgment.
Determine locations, boundaries, and depths of holes or channels to be cut.
AI: Partial - Determining precise locations, boundaries, and depths can be substantially assisted by sensors, geospatial AI, and modelling, but geological variability and safety/regulatory constraints mean human judgement remains essential in many cases.
Remove debris such as loose shale from channels and planer travel areas.
AI: Partial - Removing loose debris in confined, variable underground channels requires robust physical manipulation and situational judgment that current automation can assist with but not fully replace in 2025.
Signal truck drivers to position their vehicles for receiving shale from planer hoppers.
AI: Partial - AI can coordinate and signal vehicle positioning via sensors, beacons, or communications, but human drivers and ad‑hoc site conditions mean this is only partially automatable today.
Guide and assist crews in laying track for machines and resetting planer rails, supports, and blocking, using jacks, shovels, sledges, picks, and pinch bars.
AI: Partial - Guiding crews and performing ad‑hoc track laying and rail resets involves complex manual tasks, teamwork and unpredictable conditions that limit full automation in 2025.
Free jams in planer hoppers, using metal pinch bars.
AI: Partial - Clearing hopper jams often requires forceful, improvised manual work in confined spaces; some automated clearing exists but full autonomous jam‑removal with handheld tools is not generally available.
Charge and set off explosives in blasting holes.
AI: Not automatable - Charging and detonating explosives is highly regulated and safety-critical with unpredictable conditions, so it cannot be entrusted to autonomous AI systems as of 2025.