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this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2023
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I'm a machine operator in mining. Usually seen as the drop kicks/ dumb dumbs on site by the "educated" geologists/management.
They pull extra hours unpaid, constantly in meetings, stressing over deadlines. I push dirt around.
They racked up large student debt, I got paid to learn on the job.
I love my job, I'm alone in an aircon cab playing in a "sandpit", I live my inner childs dream. But somehow I failed at life?
Real question, is your personal job dangerous? I know mining in general is dangerous, but curious which parts are and which parts are not.
There are 2 types of mines: open pit and underground (tunnels, etc). Open pit: they dynamite certain areas, then get big trucks to haul the rubble. They keep going until all of the minerals have been extracted. Example: nickel mines in Cuba. IMO, not very dangerous as long as safety precautions are followed. There is some risk that the walls of the open pit mine might collapse.
Underground: this is the type of mining with real danger. Anytime you hear of a mining incident, it's likely to be underground. They do take a LOT of precautions which is why modern mining is a lot safer compared to 80 years ago. The ever present danger is collapse of the tunnel or formation.
Sort of. Open Pit mining can be incredibly dangerous, the dangers are just different. I haven't ever seen any numbers from MSHA breaking down the incident rates (I haven't looked to see if they even publish them, in a broken down form like that), but you can really get your ass in trouble in an open pit mine, if you're not cognizant of the highwall, keep track of the very large equipment, Not paying attention to blast times or barricading, or not paying attention to the Shovel Cables, and where the approved crossings are.
I'd suspect that the numbers of overall incidents are probably higher underground, but I'm not sure about actual deaths. I spent about 20 years working in/around/as a vendor to both open pit and underground operations, and just completely anecdotally, I mostly remember most of the underground reportable incidents to be less serious than the ones I saw in the pits.