Job Duties for Drillers and blasters – surface mining, quarrying and construction
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.
Working Conditions for Drillers and blasters – surface mining, quarrying and construction
Work is performed outdoors with heavy equipment and/or explosives; this makes attention to safety precautions very important for workers. Ear protection is necessary due to frequent loud noises.
Alternate Job Titles
- Air-track Drill Operator - Construction
- Blaster - Quarrying
- Blaster - Surface Mining
- Blaster (except Underground Mining)
- Construction Blaster
- Construction Driller
- Core Drill Operator - Construction, Surface Mining And Quarrying
- Diamond Drill Operator - Surface Mining And Quarrying
- Driller - Quarrying
- Driller - Surface Mine
- Driller - Surface Mining
- Drilling Machine Operator - Construction
- Foundation Drill Operator
- Foundation Drill Operator - Construction
- Open-pit Blaster
- Open-pit Driller
- Quarry Driller
- Rotary Drilling Machine Operator
- Rotary Drilling Machine Operator - Surface Mining And Quarrying
- Seismic Prospecting Driller
- Blaster - Quarrying
- Blaster - Surface Mining
- Construction Driller
- Driller - Surface Mine
- Open-pit Blaster
- Rotary Drilling Machine Operator
- Directional Driller