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  5. Mine Drillers and Blasters

Exploring Trades and Occupations

Mine Drillers and Blasters

On this page

  • Job description
  • Advancement and mobility
  • Hourly wage
  • Job prospects for 2021-2025
  • Sectors of activity
  • Training and requirements
  • Main skills and characteristics
  • Personality profiles (RIASEC)
  • Additional information

Job description

Drillers drill holes in quarries, open-pit mines, and shafts. Their work enables them to conduct blasting operations.

Blasters load explosives into blast holes. They detonate charges to clear coal, ore, and rocks or to demolish structures.

Environment

  • Climatic conditions
  • Equipment, machinery, tools
  • Vehicle or passenger compartment
  • Nontoxic dust
  • Hazardous workplaces
  • Noise
  • Falling objects
  • Vibration

Main tasks

Drillers

  • Drill blast holes at prescribed locations and depths.
  • Operate drills or borers.
  • Determine the location of holes to be drilled, as required.
  • Place marking stakes.
  • Load holes with explosives and detonate charges as required.

Blasters

  • Read instructions or diagrams to determine hole location, depth, and diameter.
  • Conduct tests to determine the type and quantity of explosives required.
  • Connect charges with detonators, or instruct other workers in the procedure.
  • Load explosives into blast holes.
  • Attach wires to blasting devices.
  • Explode charges.
  • Ensure the handling, storage, and transportation of explosives according to the current safety measures.
  • Operate drills and borers to drill holes, as required.
  • Direct hole drilling , as required.

Advancement and mobility

  • Drillers and Blasters often combine each other’s duties.
  • Experience leads to supervisory positions.

Hourly wage

Not available.

Job prospects for 2021-2025

sr.comparaison-region.titre

Les 2 champs de sélection ci-dessous vous permettent de comparer 2 régions. Les données des régions seront automatiquement mises à jour à la sélection. Par défaut, la province de Québec est sélectionnée pour la première région.

Job prospects for 2021-2025

Job prospects

All of Québec

Non available
Limited
Good
Very good
Good

All of Québec

Non available
Limited
Good
Very good
Non available

Total jobs for 2020

All of Québec

600

All of Québec

na

Gender distribution

All of Québec

Not available.
1.7% Female
98.3% Male

Not available.
  • 1.7% Female
  • 98.3% Male

Job types

All of Québec

Not available.
Full time
Part time

Not available.
  • Full time
  • Part time

Yearly wage

All of Québec

Not available.

All of Québec

Other characteristics

All of Québec

  • Seasonal worker
  • Non traditional for women
  • None

All of Québec

  • Seasonal worker
  • Non traditional for women
  • None

Sectors of activity

All of Québec

Not available.
  1. Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction
    NAICS 21
    46% of jobs
  2. Construction
    NAICS 23
    45% of jobs
  3. Utilities
    NAICS 22
    3% of jobs
  4. Business, building and other support services
    NAICS 55, 56
    3% of jobs
  5. Non-Metallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
    NAICS 327
    2% of jobs
  6. Others
    1% of jobs

All of Québec

Not available.
  1. Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction
    NAICS 21
    46% of jobs
  2. Construction
    NAICS 23
    45% of jobs
  3. Utilities
    NAICS 22
    3% of jobs
  4. Business, building and other support services
    NAICS 55, 56
    3% of jobs
  5. Non-Metallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
    NAICS 327
    2% of jobs
  6. Others
    1% of jobs

Training and requirements

Formation

Most training programs are offered in French only.

Secondary

DVS in forage et dynamitage This hyperlink will open in a new window.
Code : 5369

Placement rate: 97.1%

More on graduates’ employment situation

Also required

  • Certificate of qualification.

Sometimes required

Drillers

  • Experience as a Heavy Equipment Operator may be required.

Blasters

  • Experience as a Helper in construction or quarries and open-pit mines may be required.

Main skills and characteristics

Skills

  • Data collection
  • Monitoring operations
  • Operations and control
  • Equipment maintenance
  • Critical thought
  • Result evaluation
  • Quality control analysis
  • Coordination
  • Troubleshooting
  • Active listening
  • Oral expression
  • Solving complex problems
  • Equipment selection
More Less skills

Abilities

  • Control accuracy
  • Limb coordination
  • Hand-arm stability
  • Reaction time
  • Manual dexterity
  • Depth perception
  • Speed control
  • Near vision
  • Perception speed
  • Oral comprehension
  • Information organization
  • Deductive reasoning
  • Hearing sensitivity
  • Awareness of issues
  • Distance vision
  • Visualization
  • Digital dexterity
  • Colour perception and distinction
  • Inductive reasoning
  • Auditory attention
  • Selective attention
  • Speech clarity
  • Written comprehension
  • Written expression
  • Verbal skills
  • Processing flexibility
More Less abilities

Knowledge and attributes

  • Capacity to work under pressure
  • Critical thinking
  • Autonomy
  • Sense of responsibility
  • Capacity to work in a team
  • Rigour
  • Respect standards and regulations
  • Assiduity and punctuality
  • Sense of observation
  • Knowledge of buildings and construction

Interests

  • Make, build, install
  • Work manually
  • Develop and exploit natural resources
  • Work outdoors

Personality profiles (RIASEC)

Realistic
People with this profile prefer carrying out concrete tasks and being physically involved in what they do.
Conventional
People with this profile prefer specific, well-defined tasks. They like to respect the order of things and follow established rules.
Social
People with this profile prefer to be in contact with others, in particular to entertain, help or teach them.
Additional information

Note about CNP

Occupational information is provided based on the National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2016. The 5-digit code of the NOC 2021 is shown in parentheses for information purposes only for occupations that correspond to those of NOC 2016.

Official name of the NOC 7372 (73402)

Drillers and blasters - surface mining, quarrying and construction

Job titles

  • Blasters-Drillers
  • Construction blaster
  • Blaster - surface mining
  • Construction driller
  • Driller - surface mining
  • Blaster (except underground mining)
  • Blaster - quarrying
  • Open-pit blaster
  • Driller - quarrying
  • Quarry driller
  • Open-pit driller
  • Driller - surface mine
  • Seismic prospecting driller
  • Foundation drill operator
  • Foundation drill operator - construction
  • Core drill operator - construction, surface mining and quarrying
  • Diamond drill operator - surface mining and quarrying
  • Drilling machine operator - construction
  • Air-track drill operator - construction
  • Rotary drilling machine operator
  • Rotary drilling machine operator - surface mining and quarrying
More Less job titles

Skill type

Trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations

Related occupations

  • Contractors and supervisors, heavy equipment operator crews
  • Oil and gas well drillers, servicers, testers and related workers
  • Supervisors, mining and quarrying
  • Underground production and development miners
  • Water well drillers

See also

  • Glossary (PDF 229 Kb)
  • Québec emploi This hyperlink will open in a new window.

See also

Non traditional

Hats Off to You!

Last update: December 22, 2022

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