Will “Shale Miner, Blasting” be Replaced By Robots? 🤔

48% Chance of Automation

“Shale Miner, Blasting” will probably not be replaced by robots.

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Job Description

Place and detonate explosives to demolish structures or to loosen, remove, or displace earth, rock, or other materials. May perform specialized handling, storage, and accounting procedures. Includes seismograph shooters.

Job Details

The SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code is 47-5031.00
The Mean Annual Wage in the U.S. is $ 54,580.00
The Mean Hourly Wage is $ 26.00
Currently, there are 6,310 people on this job

☝️ Information based on the reference occupation “Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters”.

Also Known As…

Tasks for “Shale Miner, Blasting”

Move and store inventories of explosives, loaded perforating guns, and other materials, according to established safety procedures.
Set up and operate equipment such as hoists, jackhammers, or drills, in order to bore charge holes.
Connect electrical wire to primers, and cover charges or fill blast holes with clay, drill chips, sand, or other material.
Mark patterns, locations, and depths of charge holes for drilling, and issue drilling instructions.
Tie specified lengths of delaying fuses into patterns in order to time sequences of explosions.
Measure depths of drilled blast holes, using weighted tape measures.
Repair electrical instruments, using electricians' hand tools.
Examine blast areas to determine amounts and kinds of explosive charges needed and to ensure that safety laws are observed.
Insert, pack, and pour explosives, such as dynamite, ammonium nitrate, black powder, or slurries into blast holes; then shovel drill cuttings, admit water into boreholes, and tamp material to compact charges.
Cut specified lengths of primacord and attach primers to cord ends.
Set up and operate short-wave radio or field telephone equipment to transmit and receive blast information.
Light fuses, drop detonating devices into wells or boreholes, or activate firing devices with plungers, dials, or buttons, in order to set off single or multiple blasts.
Lower perforating guns into wells, using hoists; then use measuring devices and instrument panels to position guns in correct positions for taking samples.
Assemble and position equipment, explosives, and blasting caps in holes at specified depths, or load perforating guns or torpedoes with explosives.
Repair and service blasting, shooting, and automotive equipment, and electrical wiring and instruments, using hand tools.
Verify detonation of charges by observing control panels, or by listening for the sounds of blasts.
Insert powder charges into chambers of sidewall sample-taking cylinders, and assemble cylinders, using special wrenches.
Clean, gauge, and lubricate gun ports.
Place explosive charges in holes or other spots; then detonate explosives to demolish structures or to loosen, remove, or displace earth, rock, or other materials.
Compile and keep gun and explosives records in compliance with local and federal laws.
Drive trucks to transport explosives and blasting equipment to blasting sites.
Signal hoist operators to lower torpedoes or sample-taking guns into wells and to raise equipment for sampling from blast holes after detonation.
Place safety cones around blast areas to alert other workers of danger zones, and signal workers as necessary to ensure that they clear blast sites prior to explosions.
Obtain samples of earth from sidewalls of well boreholes, using electrically exploding devices.
Connect gun chambers to electric detonating devices, and operate controls at panelboards, in order to detonate charges in guns or to ignite chemical charges.
Insert waterproof sealers, bullets, and/or powder charges into guns, and screw gun ports back into place.
Observe odometers, weight indicators, and instrument panels in trucks in order to position guns at predetermined points in wells.
Maintain inventory levels, ordering new supplies as necessary.
Lay primacord between rows of charged blast holes, and tie cord into main lines to form blast patterns.

Related Technology & Tools

Temperature data loggers
Portable air compressors
Warning sirens
Mobile radios
Digital ammeters
Grappling hooks
Plumb bobs
Detonating cords
Stakebed trucks
Wire cleaning brushes
Discharge hoses
Wire strippers
Rubber mallets
Lowering hooks
Hard hats
Tractor-trailer trucks
Laptop computers
Perforating casing guns
Phillips head screwdrivers
Hydraulic pressure gauges
Harpoon retrievers
Explosives funnels
Short-wave radios
Conduit bending tools
Bore hole thermometers
Fuse cutters
Surface connector blocks
Hand shears
Plastic plugs
Right angle prisms
Pneumatic drilling equipment
Blast hole tubing
Non-contact voltage testers
Pallet jacks
Portable cranes
Personal computers
Meggers
Flashing warning lights
Extension ladders
Wheeled wire dispensers
Digital micrometers
Seismic activity recorders
Ring gauges
Crescent wrenches
Surveyors leveling rods
Spring scales
Digital calculators
Protective respirators
Balance scales
Torpedo levels
Test lamps
Safety cones
Longnose pliers
Blasting cap crimpers
Ammonium nitrate fuel oil ANFO loaders
Transport trucks
Digital multimeters
Blasting machines
Blasthole drills
Portable signal generators
Electronic shock tube initiators
Hand chisels
Laser rangefinders
Explosives handling robots
Digital ohmmeters
Digital voltmeters
Millivoltmeters
Tamping rods
Remote blasting systems
Non-electric delay detonators
Hoisting equipment
Safety harnesses
Day boxes
Remote firing devices
Dewatering pumps
Equipment dollies
Precision tweezers
Electrical circuit testers
Weighted tape measures
Padded gloves
Short period delay detonators
Protective ear plugs
Galvanometers
Coated gloves
Folding knives
Vernier calipers
Shock tube detonators
Wire loop pullers
Safety fuses
Insulated pliers
Hacksaws
Electricians' knives
Perforating capsule guns
Phase rotation meters
Resistance testers
Explosives time delay fuses
Overhead cranes
Depth measurement gauges
Tongue and groove pliers
Forklifts
Tie-down equipment
Wood wedges
Hole savers
Clinometers
Instantaneous electrical detonators
Fixed blade knives
Jackhammers
Avalaunchers
Wire cutting tools
Loading poles
Safety goggles
Fuse testers
Stake flags
Explosive blasting caps
Protective safety glasses
Long period delay detonators
End cutting pliers
Digital wattmeters

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