NOC 83100: Underground production and development miners
What underground production and development miners do
Underground production and development miners drill, blast, operate mining machinery, and perform related duties to extract coal and ore in underground mines and to construct tunnels, passageways and shafts to facilitate mining operations. They are employed by coal, metal and non-metallic mineral underground mines and by specialized contractors in mine construction, shaft sinking and tunnelling. Apprentices are also included in this unit group.
Main duties
This group performs some or all of the following duties:
- Set up and operate drills and drilling machines to produce a designated pattern of blasting holes
- Operate diamond drills or other specialized drills such as raise boring machinery to test geological formations or to produce underground passageways
- Set up and operate mining machinery to shear coal, rock or ore from the working face
- Load explosives, set fuses, and detonate explosives to produce desired blasting patterns and rock fragmentation in underground mines
- Operate scooptram, load-haul-dump (LHD) machine or mucking machine to load and haul ore from stopes, drifts and drawpoints to ore passes
- Perform duties required to ensure safety and to support the mining advance, such as scaling loose rock from walls and roof, drilling and installing rock bolts, extending and installing air and water pipes, operating ore loading machinery, inspecting mine shafts, operating hoists that transport people, equipment and materials through mine shafts, and constructing timber supports and cribbing if required
- Perform routine maintenance of mining machinery.
Job titles under NOC 83100
81 job titles are classified here, including blaster - underground mining, chute blaster - underground mining, diamond driller - underground mining.
- apprentice miner
- bench blaster - underground mining
- blast hole driller - underground mining
- blaster - underground mining
- blockholer - underground mining
- bolter operator - underground mining
- brine well tender
- chute blaster
- chute blaster - underground mining
- coal miner
- continuous mining machine operator
- core driller
- core driller - underground mining
- core-drill operator
- core-drill operator - underground mining
- cutting machine operator - underground mining
- development miner
- diamond driller - underground mining
- diamond-drill operator
- diamond-drill runner - underground mining
- diamond-point drill operator
- diesel loaderman/woman - underground mining
- downhole loader - underground mining
- drift driller - underground mining
Employment requirements
- Completion of secondary school is usually required.
- Formal training of up to six weeks followed by extended periods of specialized training as a helper or in support occupations is usually provided.
- Previous experience as a mine labourer or in other mine occupations is usually required.
- Provincial blasting licence may be required.
- May be certified in the basic common core program or as an underground hard rock miner in Ontario.
- Trade certification for miners is available, but voluntary, in Quebec.
- Company licensing or certification is often required for occupations in this unit group.
- Certificate in first aid may be required.
Underground production and development miners wages in Canada
Low, median and high hourly wages from Job Bank’s 2025 wage data. Annual figures assume full-time work (1,950 hours a year).
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Canada | $28.00/hr | $42.00/hr | $56.00/hr |
Toronto ON | $32.38/hr | $41.89/hr | $59.67/hr |
Vancouver Lower Mainland region, BC | $29.44/hr | $44.20/hr | $71.54/hr |
Calgary AB | $33.19/hr | $43.88/hr | $62.62/hr |
Edmonton AB | $31.67/hr | $47.18/hr | $66.68/hr |
Winnipeg MB | $26.48/hr | $40.08/hr | $63.09/hr |
Québec City Quebec region, QC | $28.00/hr | $42.00/hr | $65.93/hr |
Hamilton Hamilton–Niagara Peninsula region, ON | $32.07/hr | $41.13/hr | $55.91/hr |
Kitchener-Waterloo Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie region, ON | $29.40/hr | $41.33/hr | $57.97/hr |
Victoria Vancouver Island and Coast region, BC | $34.00/hr | $41.00/hr | $58.00/hr |
Saskatoon Saskatoon–Biggar region, SK | $31.00/hr | $47.00/hr | $60.00/hr |
Regina Regina–Moose Mountain region, SK | $40.00/hr | $48.00/hr | $54.00/hr |
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Newfoundland and Labrador | $28.75/hr | $40.00/hr | $53.70/hr |
Nova Scotia | $22.89/hr | $32.00/hr | $55.00/hr |
New Brunswick | $22.00/hr | $38.46/hr | $56.00/hr |
Quebec | $28.00/hr | $42.00/hr | $65.93/hr |
Ontario | $27.52/hr | $39.70/hr | $56.00/hr |
Manitoba | $22.89/hr | $38.00/hr | $56.00/hr |
Saskatchewan | $31.00/hr | $47.00/hr | $57.00/hr |
Alberta | $28.00/hr | $43.00/hr | $52.00/hr |
British Columbia | $34.97/hr | $43.00/hr | $50.33/hr |
Using NOC 83100 for your resume or Express Entry profile
- IRCC asks you to make sure the main duties listed for your NOC match what you actually did at your job. If they don’t, look for another unit group whose duties do.
- Describe your own work in your own words. Recruiters and ATS software look for concrete tools, results and scope, not text copied from the NOC.
- Applying from outside Canada? Run your resume through the Canadian resume format checker to catch things Canadian employers don’t expect, like a photo or date of birth.
- Use the job title the employer’s posting uses. The 81 titles above are how the same work is named across employers.
Not in this group
Similar jobs classified under a different NOC code:
- Drillers and blasters - surface mining, quarrying and construction (NOC 73402)
- Mine labourers (NOC 85110)
- Supervisors, mining and quarrying (NOC 82020)
- Underground mine service and support workers (NOC 84100)
Frequently asked questions
What is the NOC code for underground production and development miners?
Underground production and development miners are NOC 2021 unit group 83100. Example job titles in this group include blaster - underground mining, chute blaster - underground mining, diamond driller - underground mining, drift miner.
What TEER is NOC 83100?
NOC 83100 is TEER 3 (College or apprenticeship (under 2 years)). Usually requires a college program or apprenticeship of less than 2 years, or more than six months of on-the-job training. TEER 0, 1, 2 and 3 work counts as skilled work experience for Express Entry’s Federal Skilled Worker and Canadian Experience Class programs.
How much do underground production and development miners earn in Canada?
Job Bank's 2025 wage data puts the median at $42.00/hr, about $82,000 a year full-time, with a range of $28.00/hr to $56.00/hr.
Related occupations
Sources: Statistics Canada, National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 Version 1.0; Employment and Social Development Canada, Job Bank wages (2025). Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. OfferJetAI is not affiliated with the Government of Canada. Check IRCC’s NOC guidance before you apply.