Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining
Operate underground loading or moving machine to load or move coal, ore, or rock using shuttle or mine car or conveyors. Equipment may include power shovels, hoisting engines equipped with cable-drawn scraper or scoop, or machines equipped with gathering arms and conveyor.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $52,030 | $25.02 |
| 25th | $61,410 | $29.52 |
| 50th · Median | $74,500 | $35.82 |
| 75th | $79,150 | $38.05 |
| 90th | $87,730 | $42.18 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (34)
Typical tasks
- Handle high voltage sources and hang electrical cables.
- Drive loaded shuttle cars to ramps and move controls to discharge loads into mine cars or onto conveyors.
- Pry off loose material from roofs and move it into the paths of machines, using crowbars.
- Move trailing electrical cables clear of obstructions, using rubber safety gloves.
- Control conveyors that run the entire length of shuttle cars to distribute loads as loading progresses.
- Observe hand signals, grade stakes, or other markings when operating machines.
Expand more tasks (19)
- Examine roadway and clear obstructions from the path of travel.
- Drive machines into piles of material blasted from working faces.
- Operate levers to move conveyor booms or shovels so that mine contents such as coal, rock, and ore can be placed into cars or onto conveyors.
- Clean, fuel, service, and perform safety checks on all equipment, and repair and replace parts as necessary.
- Clean hoppers, and clean spillage from tracks, walks, driveways, and conveyor decking.
- Oil, lubricate, and adjust conveyors, crushers, and other equipment, using hand tools and lubricating equipment.
- Monitor loading processes to ensure that materials are loaded according to specifications.
- Measure, weigh, or verify levels of rock, gravel, or other excavated material to prevent equipment overloads.
- Replace hydraulic hoses, headlight bulbs, and gathering-arm teeth.
- Stop gathering arms when cars are full.
- Move mine cars into position for loading and unloading, using pinchbars inserted under car wheels to position cars under loading spouts.
- Advance machines to gather material and convey it into cars.
- Signal workers to move loaded cars.
- Guide and stop cars by switching, applying brakes, or placing scotches, or wooden wedges, between wheels and rails.
- Observe and record car numbers, carriers, customers, tonnages, and grades and conditions of material.
- Read written instructions or confer with supervisors about schedules and materials to be moved.
- Maintain records of materials moved.
- Direct other workers to move stakes, place blocks, position anchors or cables, or move materials.
- Push or ride cars down slopes, or hook cars to cables and control cable drum brakes, to ease cars down inclines.
Skills used in this work
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Expand more skills (29)
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
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