Mining Engineers and Technicians

How to become a Mineral Processing Engineer

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 选矿与矿物加工工程技术人员

Researches and designs processes for upgrading raw coal and other minerals, and runs processing plant production, technical training and management.

Main tasks

Researching and developing mineral processing technology and new processing methods
Upgrading minerals by gravity separation, flotation, magnetic separation and other processes
Researching ways to improve separation accuracy and the recovery of valuable minerals
Designing the processes and layout of coal washing and mineral processing plants
Setting technical targets such as clean coal specifications, product mix and recovery rates
Adjusting working methods, technical rules and processes as the raw ore changes
Deciding how processing reagents and other media are made up
Analysing and solving technical problems in processing and directing workers
Researching the full use of minerals

Ways in

University: Engineering degrees, Offered by 105 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Mining Engineering (0815); Electrical Engineering (0806); majors such as Mining Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Automation, Electrical Engineering and Intelligent Control, Petroleum Engineering, Mineral Processing Engineering, Oil and Gas Storage and Transportation Engineering. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Intelligent Coal Mining Technology (420501). Vocational major 420501 Intelligent Coal Mining Technology (煤矿智能开采技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Intelligent Coal Mining.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Intelligent Mining Technology (220501). Vocational major 220501 Intelligent Mining Technology (智能采矿技术), 4 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Intelligent Coal Mining.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥79,500 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥55,200 to CN¥123,700. One in ten earn less than CN¥42,000 and one in ten more than CN¥192,300.
This is the figure for the mid group Engineering and Technical Personnel, not for this job alone.
National figure: wage prices of enterprise employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) enterprise pay survey. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
Guangzhou only: median CN¥116,181 a year (2025), middle half CN¥77,050 to CN¥175,622.
This is the figure for the mid group Engineering and Technical Personnel, not for this job alone.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

The census group Engineering and Technical Personnel holds 2.35% of everyone employed in China; 17.1% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
48.9% are under 35, 45.1% are 35 to 54 and 6% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 35 to 39.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Mineral Processing Engineer?

Ways in include: Engineering degrees; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Intelligent Coal Mining Technology (420501); Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Intelligent Mining Technology (220501).

How much does a Mineral Processing Engineer earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥79,500 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. It is the figure for the mid group Engineering and Technical Personnel. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥116,181 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Mineral Processing Engineer?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS): 2025 enterprise pay survey information: wage prices of enterprise employees by occupation mid group, and digital occupations (P10 to P90 annual CNY) (2025 (published 2026-07-08)), retrieved 5 October 2026
Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau: Guangzhou 2025 labour market wage prices (P10 to P90 annual CNY by occupation) (2025 (enterprise pay survey)), retrieved 4 October 2026
National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.

Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.

Updated 5 October 2026