Guide to Mining in the United States

According to Mine Safety and Health Association (MSHA), approximately 328,732 miners work across 12,721 across the United States (2024).

That figure ignores the universe of mine contractors, mining consultants, mineral & aggregate refinery operations, mine equipment service workers, and other mine support personnel.

See fatality statistics for all mining operations in the United States for 2024:

Historic Average Annual Wages by Mining Job

Notice in the table above, the safety role is forgotten; perhaps falling as it so often does to an “experienced miner” or “competent person”—a miner who has been on the job for several years and who has completed MSHA Part 46 or MSHA Part 48 safety training requirements.

The old rule required a miner to receive new miner training within 12 months or to accumulate 12 months of mining experience within the previous 36 months to be considered an “experienced miner.” The new rule requires that a miner both receive new miner training and have 12 months of mining experience to qualify as an “experienced miner.”

Looking for easy and efficient training to become MSHA-certified? HSI makes it easy for you or your employees to become certified and ready to enter a mine site with the industry's No. 1 online MSHA training courses.

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