What is a Mine Shuttle Car Operator?
Position Description Operate diesel or electric-powered shuttle car in underground mine to transport materials from working face to mine cars or conveyor.
Shuttle Operator Responsibilities
- Measure, weigh, or verify levels of rock, gravel, or other excavated material to prevent equipment overloads.
- Observe hand signals, grade stakes, or other markings when operating machines.
- Push or ride cars down slopes, or hook cars to cables and control cable drum brakes, to ease cars down inclines.
- Move mine cars into position for loading and unloading, using pinchbars inserted under car wheels to position cars under loading spouts.
- Monitor loading processes to ensure that materials are loaded according to specifications.
- Open and close bottom doors of cars to dump contents.
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Shuttle Operator Required Skills
When polled, Mine Shuttle Car Operators say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:
Operation and Control: Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Operation Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Equipment Maintenance: Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Types of Shuttle Operator Jobs
- Shuttle Operator
- Buggy Driver
- Cart Driver
- Car Pincher
- Ram Car Operator
Is There Going to be Demand for Mine Shuttle Car Operators?
In 2016, there was an estimated number of 1,500 jobs in the United States for Mine Shuttle Car Operator. There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Mine Shuttle Car Operator. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 100 job openings in this field each year.

The states with the most job growth for Shuttle Operator are Colorado, Nebraska, and West Virginia. Watch out if you plan on working in Kentucky, Alabama, or Indiana. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Average Mine Shuttle Car Operators Salary
The typical yearly salary for Mine Shuttle Car Operators is somewhere between $44,030 and $66,270.

Mine Shuttle Car Operators who work in Wyoming, Pennsylvania, or Illinois, make the highest salaries.
How much do Mine Shuttle Car Operators make in each U.S. state?
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Illinois | $56,730 |
Kentucky | $46,390 |
Pennsylvania | $62,820 |
West Virginia | $56,730 |
Wyoming | $92,010 |
What Tools do Mine Shuttle Car Operators Use?
Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Mine Shuttle Car Operators:
- Data entry software
Becoming a Shuttle Operator
Education needed to be a Mine Shuttle Car Operator:

How Long Does it Take to Become a Shuttle Operator?

Who Employs Mine Shuttle Car Operators?

The table below shows the approximate number of Mine Shuttle Car Operators employed by various industries.

Similar Careers
Are you already one of the many Mine Shuttle Car Operator in the United States? If you’re thinking about changing careers, these fields are worth exploring:
References:
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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