73402 Drillers and blasters - surface mining, quarrying and construction

What this occupation covers

Drillers and blasters in surface mining, quarrying and construction operate mobile drilling machines to bore blast holes in open-pit mines and quarries and to bore holes for blasting and for building foundations at construction sites. Blasters in this unit group fill blast holes with explosives and detonate explosives to dislodge coal, ore and rock or to demolish structures. They are employed by mining, quarrying and construction companies and by drilling and blasting contractors.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 10 main duties for this code.

• Drive and operate tracked or truck-mounted rotary drilling, air-track or other drilling machines to bore large blast holes to specified depths at staked positions in open-pit mine or quarry
• Operate drilling machines to drill blast holes in rock at road or other construction sites
• Operate tracked or truck-mounted drill equipped with auger or other attachment to drill holes for building foundations or pilings
• May measure location and stake out pattern of holes to be drilled, load blast holes with explosives and detonate explosives to dislodge coal, ore or rock.
• Read instructions or diagrams, lay out drill pattern and determine depth and diameter of blast holes and conduct field tests to determine type and quantity of explosives required
• Assemble or direct other workers to assemble primer charges using selected detonators, fuses, detonating cords and other materials
• Load explosives in blast holes by hand or direct movement of bulk explosives trucks to load holes
• Connect electrical wires, detonating cords or fuses into series and connect series to blasting machines; press handle or button to detonate charges
• Handle, store and transport explosives and accessories in accordance with regulations and ensure that safety procedures are observed
• May operate air-track, rotary, down-the-hole or other drilling machines to drill blast holes or may direct drilling of blast holes.

Do not copy these lines into your reference letter. The letter has to describe what you actually did, in your employer’s words. DUTYPROOF flags wording lifted from the NOC as something to review, and an officer reading a letter that mirrors the NOC reads it the same way.

What DUTYPROOF screens for

This is DUTYPROOF’s screening threshold, not IRCC’s decision. For this NOC, screening requires at least 2 of its 10 official duties to be evidenced in your own words, plus the required letter elements. IRCC asks that you performed the actions in the occupation’s lead statement and a substantial number of its main duties — so treat the duty coverage as the number that matters, not the badge.

Codes this one is confused with

The NOC profile names these itself. Choosing the wrong code of a look-alike pair is the most common way genuine work experience fails to establish eligibility.

• 83100 Underground production and development miners
• 83101 Oil and gas well drillers, servicers, testers and related workers
• 72021 Contractors and supervisors, heavy equipment operator crews
• 82020 Supervisors, mining and quarrying
• 72501 Water well drillers

Excluded from this code

• Blaster - underground mining (See 83100 Underground production and development miners)
• Driller - oil and gas drilling (See 83101 Oil and gas well drillers, servicers, testers and related workers)
• Driller - underground mining (See 83100 Underground production and development miners)
• Drilling and blasting foreman/woman - construction (See 72021 Contractors and supervisors, heavy equipment operator crews)
• Surface mine supervisor (See 82020 Supervisors, mining and quarrying)
• Water well drillers (See 72501 Water well drillers)

Job titles filed under this code

A title on this list does not by itself put your experience in this code — the duties in your letter decide that.

air-track drill operator - construction · blaster - quarrying · blaster - surface mining · blaster (except underground mining) · construction blaster · construction driller · core drill operator - construction, surface mining and quarrying · diamond drill operator - surface mining and quarrying · driller - quarrying · driller - surface mine · driller - surface mining · drilling machine operator - construction · foundation drill operator · foundation drill operator - construction · open-pit blaster · open-pit driller · quarry driller · rotary drilling machine operator · rotary drilling machine operator - surface mining and quarrying · seismic prospecting driller

Employment requirements

• Completion of secondary school is usually required.
• On-the-job training is provided.
• Experience as a heavy equipment operator may be required for drillers.
• Experience as a blaster helper in surface mining and quarrying or construction may be required for blasters.
• Provincial blasting licence is usually required for blasters.
• Trade certification for blasters is compulsory in Nova Scotia.