Industry group, 2122
Metal Ore Mining
45,430 people work in this industry in the US, at mean pay of $82,200 a year (BLS, May 2025). What follows is how much of their working time the best AI models could finish, when, and in which jobs and tasks. Estimates.
of the paid hours. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
a year: 15 million hours at what they cost. Not a forecast of savings.
- 24%
- 8%
- 68%
of the paid hours are within reach now in tasks people already bring to Claude. Another 15% is within reach in tasks not yet seen there.
Across the US: 30% within reach now and 36% by the end of 2028, on the long-run pace at four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
Share of the paid hours within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
What handing the work over would take
For the 27,910 people in jobs so far, 61% of the industry's people; the others are in the totals above and join this split as the review reaches their jobs. Shares of their working time within reach now, at the pace and reliability chosen above. Estimates. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
about 9.1 million hours a year. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
about 3.4 million hours a year. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
about 2.3 million hours a year. Short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the totals.
What their work is made of
- 20%
- 6%
- 5%
- 7%
- 62%
Each task's time split among five kinds of doing, judged one task at a time; only documents and systems can count as within reach.
What changes for the people
For the 27,910 people in jobs reviewed task by task so far, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five: the shares of their working time, from each job page's own map, weighted by how many people here do that job. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job. Estimates.
Conversation, in-person and hands-on work.
Desk work within reach in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs.
Desk work within reach that is small if wrong, with lighter checks.
What most people here would learn first
How many of them have each skill among the first two things to learn on their job's page. Every state, and the US
- The hands-on craft18,900 (68%)
- Judgment where errors are severe16,305 (58%)
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself9,940 (36%)
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts6,222 (22%)
- The conversations1,903 (7%)
- Signing off under your license1,390 (5%)
- Running AI inside the business systems780 (3%)
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this industry's paid hours were within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 9%. Today's estimate: 17%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 67% of the working time of the people in this industry as physical work. For 48% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 25% in a purpose-built cell, 20% in a structured facility, 2% in any setting. 0.72 of 3.
- Not physical 33%
- No robot shown 19%
- In a purpose-built cell 25%
- In a structured facility 20%
- In any setting 2%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. Weighted by the people in each occupation; each job's page names the robot behind each rated task.
Where the hours are
Jobs by hours within reach now. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index. The 40 largest jobs hold 86% of the people.
| People | Pay here | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers | 1,580 | 32% | 1 million | $106K |
| First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers | 1,040 | 47% | 1 million | $111K |
| Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks | 470 | 72% | 703,873 | $99K |
| Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 1,940 | 14% | 556,858 | $79K |
| General and Operations Managers | 450 | 45% | 421,203 | $171K |
| Maintenance and Repair Workers, General | 1,750 | 11% | 414,964 | $77K |
| Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines | 3,250 | 6% | 385,320 | $77K |
| Training and Development Specialists | 410 | 43% | 369,269 | $102K |
| Human Resources Specialists | 270 | 63% | 352,687 | $82K |
| Industrial Machinery Mechanics | 1,270 | 13% | 338,125 | $81K |
| Electricians | 1,350 | 12% | 331,344 | $84K |
| First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers | 330 | 48% | 327,415 | $106K |
People: BLS counts for this industry, May 2025. Pay here: the median paid for the job in this industry, else its mean, else the national median. 74 smaller jobs (5,850 people) count in every total but are not listed. Task data covers 91% of the industry's people; the rest are in BLS "all other" groups with no task list, or in counts BLS does not publish.
The tasks with the most hours within reach by the end of 2028
Across the whole industry, on the chosen pace and reliability.
- Estimate material or worker requirements to complete jobs.First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers367,124 hours100% of the task within reach
- Develop or implement electronic maintenance programs or computer information management systems.First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers347,430 hours100% of the task within reach
- Design, develop, and implement computer applications for use in mining operations such as mine design, modeling, or mapping or for monitoring mine conditions.Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers303,802 hours96% of the task within reach
- Devise solutions to problems of land reclamation and water and air pollution, such as methods of storing excavated soil and returning exhausted mine sites to natural states.Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers278,579 hours88% of the task within reach
- Select locations and plan underground or surface mining operations, specifying processes, labor usage, and equipment that will result in safe, economical, and environmentally sound extraction of minerals and ores.Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers265,923 hours84% of the task within reach
- Design new equipment to aid in the repair or maintenance of machines, mechanical equipment, or building structures.Maintenance and Repair Workers, General264,482 hours70% of the task within reach
- Design, implement, and monitor the development of mines, facilities, systems, or equipment.Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers244,188 hours77% of the task within reach
- Become familiar with digging plans, machine capabilities and limitations, and efficient and safe digging procedures in a given application.Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining191,470 hours100% of the task within reach
- Plan production commitments or timetables for business units, specific programs, or jobs, using sales forecasts.Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks186,555 hours100% of the task within reach
- Read specifications, such as blueprints, to determine construction requirements or to plan procedures.First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers184,498 hours70% of the task within reach
Scan a typical company in this industry
The industry's largest jobs, in the proportions BLS counts across the whole industry, at the pay it pays, run through the company scan. A starting point before you have a roster, or a benchmark for the one you have. Or choose the whole industry: every occupation BLS publishes for it with task data, at its nationwide headcount, the sector report ($249 for the full report, or included in Pro).
Next to this industry
Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
How it is built: BLS counts the people in each job in this industry; each job's tasks and their lengths give its share within reach at a date; the industry's share is those shares weighted by people. Value is pay times 1.43 for benefits and payroll costs. Seen in Claude use splits today's share by whether Anthropic saw people bring each task to Claude in 2025; other AI tools are not counted. How it works
Questions about this industry
- How much of the work in Metal Ore Mining is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 17% of the paid hours in Metal Ore Mining are within reach of AI models now and 24% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (22% to 24% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which jobs in Metal Ore Mining carry the most hours within reach?
- By hours within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index): First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (1,580 people, 32% of their time, about 1 million hours a year); First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers (1,040 people, 47% of their time, about 1 million hours a year); and Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks (470 people, 72% of their time, about 703,872 hours a year).
- Which tasks in Metal Ore Mining carry the most hours within reach by the end of 2028?
- Estimate material or worker requirements to complete jobs (First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers, about 367,124 hours a year); Develop or implement electronic maintenance programs or computer information management systems (First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers, about 347,430 hours a year); and Design, develop, and implement computer applications for use in mining operations such as mine design, modeling, or mapping or for monitoring mine conditions (Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers, about 303,802 hours a year).
- What would people working in Metal Ore Mining learn first?
- Among the 27,910 people in jobs reviewed task by task, the skills most often among the first two things to learn on their job's page are the hands-on craft (18,900 people); judgment where errors are severe (16,305 people); and reviewing work you did not do yourself (9,940 people). By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 73% of their working time stays with people, 23% becomes checking a model's work and 3% can be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- How is this estimated?
- BLS counts the people in each occupation in Metal Ore Mining (May 2025); each occupation's share of working time within reach comes from its O*NET tasks, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. The industry's share is those shares weighted by people. Task data covers 91% of its people, and 61% are in occupations reviewed task by task. Data checked November 10, 2026.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.