How to become a miner or quarrier

Official title: Miners and quarriers

Also called: Bogger operator, Continuous miner operator, Dragline operator (mining), Driller (mining), Jumbo operator, Miner, Mining plant operator, Quarrier, Roof bolter (mining)

Miners and quarriers operate plant, machinery and hand tools to extract rocks, mineral ores and other deposits from underground and surface mines and quarries.

Main tasks

• Positioning, operating and monitoring the performance of a variety of underground and surface mining equipment including continuous mining, cutting and channelling plant
• Setting up and operating drilling equipment in underground and surface mines and quarries
• Operating machinery and using hand or power tools to remove loosened rock, ore, coal and other deposits
• Preparing, fitting and installing supports in underground workings including rock bolts
• Operating machinery to open new shafts, drives, air vents and rises
• Operating auxiliary plant such as pumps to expel air, water and mud
• Performing minor maintenance and repairs and lubricating and cleaning plant, machines and tools
• Completing records detailing operations completed during shifts
• Collecting mineral samples for laboratory analysis

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: HK$20,000 a month
• About 387,500 people in 2025, and about 403,200 projected by 2028. (+4.1%)
• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Related jobs

• Mineral and stone processing plant operators
• Well drillers and borers and related workers
• Cement, stone and other mineral products machine operators

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Questions people ask

Do you need a degree to become a miner or quarrier?

Usually not. Only 10% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of a miner or quarrier?

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

Sources

• Census and Statistics Department (2021 Population Census): 2021 Population Census, Interactive Data Dissemination Service: working population by occupation (38 groups) and sex, age, education, income; median income and field of education (9 groups) (2021 Population Census), retrieved 4 October 2026
• Census and Statistics Department (General Household Survey): Median monthly employment earnings by occupation (9 groups), excluding foreign domestic helpers (Table 210-06317A); employed persons by occupation, age and sex (210-06307A) and by industry (210-06308A) (2025 annual (series to 2026-07)), retrieved 4 October 2026
• Labour and Welfare Bureau; tables published by C&SD: Mid-term Update of Manpower Projection to 2028: supplementary statistical tables (5 occupation groups, 17 selected industries) (2025 to 2028 (published 2026-09)), 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

Updated 4 October 2026