Processing Plant Operator
industrial_energy_operations › Mining Processing Plant · S1 — S1 — Support Associate · Support
Entry-level operator who runs basic crushing, grinding, and material-handling equipment in a mineral processing plant.
Median pay · United States · annual
$37,323 USD
Typical range ()
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What this role is
Entry-level operator who runs basic crushing, grinding, and material-handling equipment in a mineral processing plant. At the Support Associate (S1) level, the role owns a single task type or queue, routine, well-defined requests, and drives individual transactions. None.
What this level does
- Learn to operate a single piece of processing plant (e.g. one crusher, screen or conveyor feed point), becoming competent on that item under close supervision and detailed instruction.
- Monitor and maintain the flow of unprocessed material from conveyors into the assigned machine, keeping feed steady to the job specification given.
- Carry out routine housekeeping and preventative inspection tasks on the assigned equipment and report any plant defects observed to a senior operator or supervisor.
- Perform basic visual and hand quality checks on processed material against a supplied standard, collect samples for laboratory testing, and record shift quantities, types and dimensions on the log sheet.
- Knowledge applied
- General knowledge of the operating routine for one item of plant; applies specific instructions and job specifications to keep material flowing and to run standard visual/hand quality checks.
- Complexity & problem solving
- Routine, prescribed tasks where the answer is readily available; escalates anything unusual rather than solving it.
- Collaboration & interaction
- Standard interactions with the shift team; reports defects and records shift data for senior operators.
- Typical experience
- 0–1 years; apprentice or entry operator, often working toward a Level 2 mineral-products diploma where regulated.
Skills at this level
- Stationary Processing Plant Operation
- — Sets up and operates plant and machinery that grind, crush, cut, saw and slice rock, minerals and stone to job specifications, and maintains steady feed of unprocessed material from conveyors into the machines.
- Circuit Monitoring and Control
- — Observes meters, gauges and control panels and adjusts valves and controls to keep crushing, screening, milling, thickening, leaching, CIL and gold-recovery circuits running safely and efficiently.
- Mineral Separation and Recovery
- — Separates metal and mineral concentrates from ore and alluvial deposits using thickening, flotation, gravity separation, filtration, and magnetic or electrostatic separation.
- Processing Chemistry Knowledge
- — Applies knowledge of leaching, flotation, gravity separation and related chemical processes involved in pre-treatment and demineralization, and uses it to make changes that optimize plant performance and efficiency.
- Quality Sampling and Inspection
- — Examines processed material visually and by hand against standards, collects representative samples for laboratory testing, and records processing quantities, types and dimensions during the shift.
- Malfunction Detection and Maintenance Support
- — Detects abnormal noise, vibration, flow or readings that signal a plant malfunction, and assists with preventative and corrective maintenance and repair of plant and machinery.
- Preventative Maintenance and Housekeeping
- — Carries out routine preventative maintenance inspections and housekeeping of processing equipment and reports plant defects for repair.
- Process Optimization Adjustment
- — Makes appropriate changes across plant processes and circuits to improve throughput, recovery and efficiency, accounting for downstream effects of each adjustment.
- Safety, Environmental and Regulatory Compliance
- — Conducts risk assessments and works within environmental regulations and the safety rules governing mineral-processing plant operation.
- Shift Record Keeping
- — Records processing information such as quantities, types, dimensions and circuit readings on shift logs to document plant operation and support quality control.
- Working Lead on Shift
- — Guides less experienced operators, allocates equipment coverage, and leads safe start-up, shut-down and isolation of the plant during a shift without formal people-management authority.
- Operating Procedure Development
- — Contributes to the creation and refinement of standard operating procedures, start-up/shut-down sequences and risk assessments, and coaches operators to the new methods within the plant.
- Regulated Operator Qualification
- — Holds and maintains required mineral-processing plant operating qualifications (e.g. the MPQC Level 2 Diploma in Mineral Products Mobile Plant Operations with underpinning English and maths) where the pathway is regulated.
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As of · 2026-07-30
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