Also called: Concentrator Operator, Coal Preparation Plant Operator, Grinding Mill Operator
Runs the crushers, grinding mills and flotation tanks that turn raw rock into concentrated copper, gold or clean coal.
From a control room you watch screens showing crushers, giant spinning ball mills and bubbling flotation cells. You adjust water, chemicals and speed to squeeze more metal from each ton of rock. Then you walk the plant listening for bearings going bad.
Estimated; BLS crushing and grinding operators overall earn less (about $48k), but metal mines pay more.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. High school plus on-the-job training; some take a mineral processing certificate.
Ways in: On-the-job training, Certification. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Mineral Processing Technology, Chemical Technology.
Shrinking (about -2% over 10 years). Crushing, grinding and polishing machine operators overall.
Medium risk for 10 years. Mills are moving to automated control rooms and AI process tuning, so fewer operators per shift.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply at mines and processing mills for mill helper or operator trainee jobs First: MSHA new-miner training (24 hours for surface sites)
Classes: Chemistry, Physics, Algebra.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-9021.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.