How to become a mine and quarry manager
Official title: Mine and quarry manager
Also called: Coal transport manager, Mine production manager, Site senior executive, Tunnel manager, Underviewer, Coal mine deputy, Mine superintendent
Mine and quarry managers supervise mine and quarry workers, do safety checks and plan activities in mines and quarries.
Main tasks
- Oversee quarrying or tunnelling operations
- Plan quarry or mine production
- Ensure laws and safety standards are followed
- Monitor environmental impacts of operations
- Check rock and mineral quality
- Hire and train staff
- Manage budgets, accounts and sales
- Communicate with suppliers and clients
How to become one
You need experience to become a mine and quarry manager and a qualification may be useful. You usually need NCEA Level 3 to do the study or training for this job. Required: experience in mining, quarrying or similar work; an extractives certificate of competence from WorkSafe New Zealand. Other requirements: a relevant tertiary qualification in process and resources engineering or similar area.
Ways in
- Apprenticeship: Apprenticeship in mining and resources engineering. TEC links this job to study in process and resources engineering. New Zealand apprenticeship (NZQA level 4). Qualifications: NZ Cert in Drilling. Usually 1.5 years.
- Certificates and diplomas: Advanced certificates and diplomas in other process and resources engineering. TEC links this job to study in process and resources engineering. Qualifications: NZ Dip in Engineering. Usually 2 years. Graduates of these qualifications earn a median $72,000 a year one year after study and $102,000 five years after; 86% are employed one year after (TEC, from Stats NZ IDI data).
- Registration or licence: An extractives certificate of competence from WorkSafe New Zealand.
Pay · Past change
- Most common pay: $94,000 to $137,000 a year (median $111,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
- Lower: $77,000 a year · Upper: $171,000 a year
- TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
- Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Steady (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
Who does this work
- About 290 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
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Questions people ask
How do I become a mine and quarry manager?
You need experience to become a mine and quarry manager and a qualification may be useful. You usually need NCEA Level 3 to do the study or training for this job. Required: experience in mining, quarrying or similar work; an extractives certificate of competence from WorkSafe New Zealand. Other requirements: a relevant tertiary qualification in process and resources engineering or similar area.
How much does a mine and quarry manager earn in New Zealand?
The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $111,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $94,000 to $137,000 a year.
Has the number of people working as a mine and quarry manager grown in New Zealand?
It has held steady: TEC records the number of people doing this job as steady between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.
Sources
- Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.
Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.
This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.
These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Updated 4 October 2026