Drillers and blasters - surface mining, quarrying and construction

NOC

73402

Drillers bore blast holes in open-pit mines, quarries and building foundations. Blasters fill blast holes with explosives to detonate and dislodge coal, ore and rock or to demolish structures.

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Full NOC Description

Drillers and blasters in surface mining, quarrying and construction operate mobile drilling machines to bore blast holes in open-pit mines and quarries and to bore holes for blasting and for building foundations at construction sites. Blasters in this unit group fill blast holes with explosives and detonate explosives to dislodge coal, ore and rock or to demolish structures. They are employed by mining, quarrying and construction companies and by drilling and blasting contractors.

Main Duties

This group performs some or all of the following duties:

Drillers

Drive and operate tracked or truck-mounted rotary drilling, air-track or other drilling machines to bore large blast holes to specified depths at staked positions in open-pit mine or quarry

Operate drilling machines to drill blast holes in rock at road or other construction sites

Operate tracked or truck-mounted drill equipped with auger or other attachment to drill holes for building foundations or pilings

May measure location and stake out pattern of holes to be drilled, load blast holes with explosives and detonate explosives to dislodge coal, ore or rock.

Blasters

Read instructions or diagrams, lay out drill pattern and determine depth and diameter of blast holes and conduct field tests to determine type and quantity of explosives required

Assemble or direct other workers to assemble primer charges using selected detonators, fuses, detonating cords and other materials

Load explosives in blast holes by hand or direct movement of bulk explosives trucks to load holes

Connect electrical wires, detonating cords or fuses into series and connect series to blasting machines; press handle or button to detonate charges

Handle, store and transport explosives and accessories in accordance with regulations and ensure that safety procedures are observed

May operate air-track, rotary, down-the-hole or other drilling machines to drill blast holes or may direct drilling of blast holes.

Also Known As

blaster - quarrying
blaster - surface mining
construction driller
driller - surface mine
open-pit blaster

rotary drilling machine operator

Requirements

Employment Requirements

Completion of secondary school is usually required.

On-the-job training is provided.

Experience as a heavy equipment operator may be required for drillers.

Experience as a blaster helper in surface mining and quarrying or construction may be required for blasters.

Provincial blasting licence is usually required for blasters.

Trade certification for blasters is compulsory in Nova Scotia.

Provincial Regulation

Provincially Regulated: Yes
Compulsory: No
Red Seal: No

Regulation Body

Skilled Trades NB

Employment by Sex

The following graph shows the percentage of men and women working in this occupation in New Brunswick.

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0.0%

Female

100.0%

Male

Employment by age

The following graph shows the breakdown of all persons working in this occupation in New Brunswick by age group.

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0.0%

15-24

0.0%

25-34

0.0%

35-44

0.0%

45-54

0.0%

55-64

0.0%

65+

Employment by highest level of education

The following graph shows the breakdown of all persons working in this occupation in New Brunswick by highest level of education achieved.

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0.0%

No Certificate, Diploma or Degree

62.5%

High School, Diploma or Equivalent

0.0%

Apprenticeship or Trades Certificate or Diploma

0.0%

College or University Below Bachelor Level

0.0%

University - Bachelor Level or Above

Employment by Industry

The following graph shows the industry groups in which the largest shares of persons working in this occupation in New Brunswick are employed. Small percentages for all top three industry groups may suggest employment for this occupation is widely distributed amongst many industry groups.

Data legend

75.0%

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction

N/A

25.0%

All Other Industries

Employment by Economic Regions

The following graph shows the breakdown of all persons employed in this occupation in New Brunswick by which economic region they reside in.

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Data legend

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Economic Regions

The following map displays New Brunswick’s five economic regions. An economic region (ER) is a grouping of counties, created as a standard unit for analysis of regional economic activity across Canada.

Annual Average Salary by Economic Regions

The following graph shows the average salary of all persons employed in this occupation in each of New Brunswick’s five economic regions.

No Data Available

Data legend

No Data Available

Economic Regions

Hourly Median Wages by Economic Regions

The following represents the median hourly wage of all persons employed in this occupation in each of New Brunswick’s five economic regions.

Salary

The following shows the average salary of everyone who worked full-time and year-round in this occupation across each of the Atlantic Provinces and nationally.

Employment Outlook

The following represents the number of job openings that are expected to occur in this occupation over the next three and ten years respectively, broken down by openings expected to result from growth (“new jobs”) and openings expected to result from attrition (death and retirements).

Occupational Profiles