In Alberta, the surface mining industry is primarily concerned with 2 kinds of operations. These include the mining of energy minerals (such as coal or heavy oil sands) and extraction of non-metallic minerals (such as sand, gravel, and lime).
The mining methods and equipment used vary with the type and location of mineral.
Surface mining equipment operators operate equipment such as:
- Backhoes
- Large tractor and rubber-tired dozers
- Rubber-tired scrapers
- Electrical or mechanical drive haul trucks
- Graders
- Front-end loaders
- Service, water, or other types of trucks
- Draglines
- Hydraulic or cable shovels
- Utility vehicles and tractors for handling high-voltage cables
- Packers
- Surface mine dewatering equipment
- Equipment transporters
- Stationary plant or conveyor systems
Surface coal mining and oil sands mining in Alberta use 2 basic mining methods (or a combination of both):
- Open pit mining involves removing the overburden (topsoil, regolith, and waste rock) by drilling holes with self-propelled drills in a blasting pattern.
- Strip mining uses draglines, cable, or hydraulic shovels to remove the overburden and expose the ore.
In most situations, surface mining equipment operators use large front-end loaders or power shovels with huge buckets (up to 44 cubic metres in capacity). These can load broken overburden and ore into large rear dump trucks (up to 360 metric tons). Truck drivers haul overburden materials to waste dumps and ore to ore-processing plants. In some situations, materials are moved by conveyor belt.
Surface mining equipment operators must identify hazards and controls, as safety is a priority. They must inspect their equipment, report any need for repairs, and maintain operating and service logs. They are in charge of cleaning, lubricating, and refueling their equipment. They may be assigned other duties associated with overall mining operations.
