Quarry Worker

Introduction

Quarry workers or operatives operate the machinery used in quarries to crush and transport rocks and minerals. They may also carry out routine maintenance on the equipment.

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Work Activities

Quarry workers or operatives are responsible for a number of jobs in quarries, where materials like limestone, sandstone, chalk, clay, sand and gravel are excavated.

There are different job titles for the people who do the various tasks. For example, there are drillers, shot firers, mobile plant operators, fixed plant operators, concrete and asphalt plant operators and maintenance workers. There are also jobs in dispatch, organising delivery trucks and operating the weighbridge.

Shotfirers load explosives, which they use to blast out the rocks and stones. They place the explosives in holes which drillers have created using rigs. Other quarry workers operate excavators or loading shovels that move the quarried stone into dump trucks. Some quarry workers carry out routine repairs on quarry equipment.

Some quarry firms are responsible for other activities, like producing coated stones for road building and maintenance, or producing lime, concrete products or ready-mixed cement. Quarry workers may supply and deliver materials to customers.

Quarries can be very noisy and dusty. Nearly all the work is outdoors, in all types of weather.

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Personal Qualities and Skills

Quarry workers or operatives must be physically fit and active and enjoy working outside.

Because quarries are potentially dangerous places in which to work, common sense and reliability are important.

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Pay and Opportunities

The pay rates given below are approximate.

Quarry workers earn in the range of £270 - £320 a week, rising to £350 - £450. Higher earners can make around £470 a week.

Quarry workers usually work a 39-hour week, usually in 8 hour shifts, which may include weekends. Overtime may be available.

Employers in the extractive industries include mining and quarrying companies in limestone, sand and gravel, granite, ball and china clay, slate, chalk, and gypsum. Jobs may also be available with concrete producers and asphalt surfacing companies. Quarries are normally situated in isolated rural areas.

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Adult Opportunities

It is illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

Skills and abilities gained within the building/construction industries, for example, as a construction operative, are helpful.

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