POWDER RIVER COAL COMPANY
GILLETTE, WYOMING
COAL MINING CAREERS

There are various careers in the mining industries. Many of the men and women who work at coal mines have gone to college and obtained a degree. Some positions require associate degrees, some require bachelor's degrees, and others require more than four years of college. All employees continue their education while they are employed, both on their own time and on the job. To earn a promotion an employee must participate in training sessions including Train the Trainer, Leadership, Motivation, and Tech. Training. Employees are required to work safely, and perfect attendance is also expected. Following is a list of some of the jobs people have at surface coal mines.

ACCOUNTANT--works on budgets and payroll.

CIVIL ENGINEER--designs buildings, drainage areas, and haul roads.

COAL ANALYST--lab technician who analyzes coal in the labs.

COMPUTER ANALYST--works with technology to increase communication and to track equipment usage.

ELECTRICIAN--maintains complete electrical service on the mine site and performs troubleshooting, repairs, and maintenance on electric-drive haul trucks and electric shovels.

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER--protects and maintains wildlife and their habitats, investigates archeological remains, complies with federal, state, and local government regulations.

GEOLOGIST--locates the coal.

HUMAN RESOURCES / EMPLOYEE RELATIONS--acts as a liaison between management and hourly employees, and teaches others how to treat fellow employees and how to deal with any problems that may arise.

HYDROLOGIST--analyzes the quality of water located on the mine property, submits reports to government agencies, makes sure sediment is not causing any problems.

LAWYER--handles any legal matters that occur, writes contracts with landholders, as well as making sure all governmental restrictions and guidelines are followed.

MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN--performs preventive maintenance on all mine-site equipment, repairs all equipment, including light duty pick-ups, shovels, drills, trucks, scrapers, blades, etc.

MILLWRIGHT--performs preventive maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair of coal plant facilities.

MINING ENGINEER--decides which area of the mine site will be mined and how long it will take to mine that area.

PRODUCTION TECHNICIAN / EQUIPMENT OPERATOR--operates heavy equipment, including haul trucks, shovels, draglines, scrapers, blades, water truck, etc.

RANGE MANAGEMENT ENGINEER--works with environmental engineers to determine the types of soil and vegetation on the land and to determine what vegetation to replant when the land is reclaimed. This decision is sometimes State-mandated.

SAFETY ENGINEER--oversees the safety of employees on the mine site.

SECRETARY--maintains office, uses computer skills, handles correspondence and phone calls.

WELDER--welds to repair equipment and fabricate projects.

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