Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining

By contrast, the more fiddly tasks still need people. Jobs like moving trailing cables, changing hoses or light bulbs, and prying loose rock are done by hand because robots can’t easily do those small, irregular jobs. In practice, experts find that mining work will change rather than vanish – machines do the heavy, repetitive parts and humans handle the rest.

One industry analyst notes “it’s not necessarily fewer jobs… it will just be different jobs” in a more digital mine ^[3]. In short, driving and loading are starting to use automation, but maintenance and cleanup tasks remain human work.

However, automation is expensive and complex, so adoption is cautious. A full automation system can cost tens of millions of dollars; for instance, one underground mine spent about $27 million on remote loaders and trucks for a few years of operation ^[1]. Smaller mines or lower pay areas may delay buying such tech.

Underground environments are also tricky (dusty, confined, low wireless coverage), so robots must be very reliable. Finally, a U.S. job forecast shows material moving operators growing only ~1% over the next decade ^[5], suggesting few jobs overall – in other words, automation only replaces tasks that would otherwise have been stagnant.

In all, AI is gradually being added to mining machinery, but it isn’t taking over everything. Human skill in fixing problems, making judgments and doing hands-on work remains essential ^{[3] [4]}. The hope is that workers and machines will team up: machines handle the heavy or dangerous hauling, while people use their intelligence and care to watch over the process and handle what machines cannot.

This way, mining can become safer and more efficient without leaving people behind.