Quarrying and mining

How to become a mining machinery operator

Official title: Mining machinery operator

Also called: Coal miner, Gold miner, Miner, Quarry worker, Underground miner, Iron sand miner, Open pit miner

Mining machinery operators maintain and use equipment to dig and move coal, ore and other rocks onto carts, conveyors or shuttles.

Main tasks

Use mining machinery to dig ore
Drive and operate heavy machinery
Position machinery safely at work sites
Inspect mining equipment for problems
Test air quality for worker safety
Choose safe locations for mining work
Follow health and safety rules
Report equipment problems and hazards

How to become one

You usually need experience to become a mining machinery operator and a qualification may be useful. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job. Required: a driver licence; to pass a drug test. Other requirements: experience in similar work; a New Zealand Certificate in Mining and Quarrying (Level 2) or similar; a Heavy Vehicle Class driver licence; a driver licence with a special-type vehicle endorsement; to pass a medical assessment; to pass a police check; a First Aid Certificate.

See the full Tahatū profile

Ways in

Certificates and diplomas: Advanced certificates and diplomas in mining and resources engineering. TEC links this job to study in process and resources engineering. Qualifications: NZ Dip in Mining and Quarrying (Supervision). Usually 1.5 years.

Pay · Past change · AI and this job

Most common pay: $84,000 to $141,000 a year (median $112,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
Lower: $62,000 a year · Upper: $182,000 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.
People employed in the group Drillers, Miners and Shot Firers: 1,491 at the 2018 Census and 1,326 at the 2023 Census (-11.1%). Past change, not a forecast.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

About 650 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
In the group Drillers, Miners and Shot Firers, 16% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
Where people in the group Drillers, Miners and Shot Firers work (2023 Census): Waikato 20.4%, Auckland 18.1%, and Otago 13.3%.

Questions people ask

How do I become a mining machinery operator?

How much does a mining machinery operator earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $112,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $84,000 to $141,000 a year.

Has the number of people working as a mining machinery operator 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.

Will AI change the work of a mining machinery operator?

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

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
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), 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

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