Occupation baseline · Research consensus

Will AI replace Continuous Mining Machine Operators?

Lower risk

Baseline AI displacement risk for Continuous Mining Machine Operators, aggregated from 3 research sources.

What this score means

Continuous Mining Machine Operators is among the least exposed roles in Construction & Trades. Most of what the job involves still sits outside what current AI can do, even as the tools around it keep changing. At 11 out of 100 it scores 3 points below the Construction & Trades average of 14. Across the 3 sources behind this baseline, individual estimates run from 5 to 20, so the score is a weighted consensus rather than any single figure.

The number is a consensus estimate for the typical version of the role, built from published academic and industry research scored occupation by occupation. It is not a prediction about any individual. How scoring works

What this job actually involves

Exposure follows the work itself rather than the job title, so it is worth seeing what the role is made of. These are the tasks O*NET records for Continuous Mining Machine Operators, most central first, showing 12 of 15.

01Hang ventilation tubing and ventilation curtains to ensure that the mining face area is kept properly ventilated.
02Conduct methane gas checks to ensure breathing quality of air.
03Check the stability of roof and rib support systems before mining face areas.
04Operate mining machines to gather coal and convey it to floors or shuttle cars.
05Drive machines into position at working faces.
06Move controls to start and regulate movement of conveyors and to start and position drill cutters or torches.
07Reposition machines to make additional holes or cuts.
08Determine locations, boundaries, and depths of holes or channels to be cut.
09Observe and listen to equipment operation to detect binding or stoppage of tools or other equipment malfunctions.
10Repair, oil, and adjust machines, and change cutting teeth, using wrenches.
11Install casings to prevent cave-ins.
12Scrape or wash conveyors, using belt scrapers or belt washers, to minimize dust production.

Task statements from O*NET by the National Center for O*NET Development, used under CC BY 4.0. The tasks are descriptive; the exposure score above is ours.

The research behind this score

This baseline aggregates 3 research sources that scored Continuous Mining Machine Operators for AI and automation exposure. More recent, higher confidence studies carry more weight in the final number.

01Anthropic Economic Index 2026 - AI Task Exposure · 2026
02GPTs are GPTs: Labor Market Impact Potential of LLMs · 2024
03AI Occupational Exposure to Language Modeling · 2023

Also covers

Bore Miner Operator · Bulldozer Operator · Concrete Crusher Loader Operator · Continuous Miner · Continuous Miner Operator (CMO) · Continuous Mining Machine Coal Miner · Continuous Mining Machine Company Miner · Continuous Mining Machine Contract Miner and related titles

Estimated displacement window

The dated estimate for this role is included in the full personalised report.

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Informational guidance based on published research, not professional career or financial advice. Scores update as new research is ingested.