Mining and quarry workers and related operatives Pay Data UK — 2025

Mining and quarry workers and related operatives roles in the UK earn a median of £39,000 per year, equivalent to £17.09 per hour as of 2025. Pay increased 9.2% compared to the previous year. Regionally, pay ranges from £32,500 in North East to £46,000 in London. Pay has risen over the past 4 years. The ONS national median for this occupation is £38,301/yr (2% above our computed national average).

Labour Market

Employment figures from ONS Annual Population Survey (APS). Counts are estimates; suppressed cells (small samples) are excluded from totals.

Pay by Region

Annual pay for Mining and quarry workers and related operatives across UK regions. The bar shows the typical pay range (25th–75th percentile); the diamond marks the median.

Source: ONS ASHE. Based on broad UK regions (NUTS1).

How Pay Has Changed Over Time

Annual pay grew by +9.2% from 2024 to 2025.

National average (NUTS1 actuals) based on ONS ASHE April snapshot. Shaded band shows 25th–75th percentile range.

Year-on-Year Pay Change

Annual percentage change in median pay for Mining and quarry workers and related operatives.

Percentage change from the prior year's April figure.

About Mining and quarry workers and related operatives

Quarry workers erect supports in underground workings, set and detonate explosives to loosen rocks and set up and operate drilling equipment to extract coal and other minerals from the ground, and operate machinery to wash, crush or separate stone and ores.

Typical Tasks and Duties

• inspects blasting area, drills shot holes, inserts explosives and detonates charges to loosen large pieces of rock, coal or ore
• assembles drilling and cutting tools, operates controls to start machines and to regulate the speed and pressure of cutting and drilling
• erects timber or metal supports to shore up tunnel and assists tunnel miner with the excavation of vertical shafts and underground tunnels
• operates heading, ripping and cutting-loading machines to remove material from working face and monitors conveyor carrying away loose material
• conveys goods and materials to and from the workface, loads and unloads mine cars and transfers materials from underground and surface conveyors to bunkers, tubs and rail trucks
• operates agitators/vibrators to separate minerals and ensures that screened, filtered, crushed and separated material is discharged to appropriate chutes or conveyors
• performs other mining and quarrying tasks not elsewhere classified including digging clay from open pits, operating high-pressure hoses to wash china clay from open pit faces and otherwise assisting miners

Entry Routes and Qualifications

There are no formal academic entry requirements. Training is typically provided on-the-job. NVQs/ SVQs in land drilling operations at level 2 and processing operations (extractive industries) at level 3 are available. There is a minimum age limit of 18 for underground work.

Related Occupations

Salary data is sourced from official UK pay datasets and updated periodically.