Key Terms

For the purposes of 30 CFR 48.23 through 48.30, a miner is defined as any person working in a surface mine or surface areas of an underground mine who meets one or more of the following criteria:

• Engaged in the extraction and production process
• Engaged in shaft or slope construction
• Regularly exposed to mine hazards
• Employed by the operator of a mine as a maintenance or service worker
• Contracted by the operator of a mine as a maintenance or service worker for frequent or extended periods

The foregoing definition also includes the operator of a mine, if the operator works at the mine on a continuing, even if irregular, basis.

For the purposes of 30 CFR 48.31, a miner is defined as any person working in a surface mine, including the following:

• Any delivery, office, or scientific worker
• Any occasional, short-term maintenance or service worker contracted by the operator of the mine
• Any student engaged in academic projects involving his or her extended presence at the mine

A new miner is defined as any miner who has had no previous mining experience.

A competent person has abilities and experience that qualify him or her to perform the duties to which he or she has been assigned. In keeping with MSHA regulations, an individual is not required to be a mine foreman, mine superintendent, or other person associated with mine management to qualify as a competent person. A competent person must possess effective communication skills to provide training and be able to adequately evaluate whether the training is successful.

Mining is the act, process, or industry of extracting valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth.

Mining operations refers to mine development; drilling, blasting, milling, crushing, extracting, screening, and sizing minerals at a mine; repairing and maintaining mining equipment; and any associated hauling of materials within the mine.

The term normal working hours refers to the period of time during which a miner is scheduled to work. This definition does not prohibit the scheduling of mandatory training classes on a workday. Miners must be paid the same rate of pay they would have received had they been performing their normal work tasks.

An operator is any owner, lessee, or other person who operates, controls, or supervises a surface mine or surface area of an underground mine. An operator is also defined as any independent contractor who may also be identified as an operator performing services or construction at a surface mine.

Overburden consists of the rock, soil, and ecosystem that lie above a coal seam or ore body at a mine site.

A task is any work assignment that includes duties of a job occurring on a regular basis and requiring job knowledge and physical abilities.

To learn more about MSHA Part 48 training requirements visit our MSHA Part 48 Subpart B Surface Mining Online Training web page.