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Roof Bolters, Mining

Operate machinery to install roof support bolts in underground mine.

2,160 people do this job in the US. $78,540 a year.

now
0%

of the working time. Estimate.

Kinds of work
  • 0%
  • 0%
  • 100%
0%

Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.

Half the desk work within reach
No desk work

On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.

Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030

0%25%50%75%100%2027202820292030NowDesk work: 0% of the time
Chosen to Ceiling: the share
DateNow
NowEnd of 2030

What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .

At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.

How far this has come

With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 0%. Today's estimate: 0%.

0%5%10%2023202420252026GPT-4, March 2023: 0% within reachGPT-4 Turbo (Nov 2023), November 2023: 0% within reachGPT-4o, May 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.5 Sonnet (June 2024), June 2024: 0% within reacho1-preview, September 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.5 Sonnet (Oct 2024), October 2024: 0% within reacho1, December 2024: 0% within reachClaude 3.7 Sonnet, February 2025: 0% within reacho3, April 2025: 0% within reachGPT-5, August 2025: 0% within reachGemini 3 Pro, November 2025: 0% within reachClaude Opus 4.5, November 2025: 0% within reachGPT-5.2, December 2025: 0% within reachClaude Opus 4.6, February 2026: 0% within reachClaude Mythos Preview (early), April 2026: 0% within reachToday (estimate), September 2026: 0% within reach
Each step is a new best model measured by METR, four in five; the dashed end is today's estimate. Point at a dot for the model.

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.

The tasks

Sorted by . 14 tasks from .

TaskKind
Install various types of bolts, including truss, glue, and resin bolts, traversing entire ceiling spans.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 28%42 min25 min to 1.7 hStays with people
Perform ventilation tasks, such as hanging ventilation curtains and tubes.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 11%21 min8 min to 50 minStays with people
Drill test holes and test bolts for specified tension, using torque wrenches.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 9%17 min8 min to 33 minStays with people
Dust rocks after bolting.Done several times a day by most who do it. 8%17 min8 min to 25 minStays with people
Pull down loose rock that cannot be supported.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 7%13 min4 min to 25 minStays with people
Perform safety checks on equipment before operating.Done daily by most who do it. 5%13 min8 min to 17 minStays with people
Position bolting machines, and insert drill bits into chucks.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 5%8 min4 min to 17 minStays with people
Drill bolt holes into roofs at specified distances from ribs or adjacent bolts.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 5%8 min4 min to 17 minStays with people
Position safety jacks to support underground mine roofs until bolts can be installed.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 5%13 min4 min to 25 minStays with people
Force bolts into holes, using hydraulic mechanisms of self-propelled bolting machines.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 4%7 min3 min to 13 minStays with people
Tighten ends of anchored truss bolts, using turnbuckles.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 4%13 min4 min to 25 minStays with people
Perform tests to determine if methane gas is present.Done hourly or more by most who do it. 3%4 min3 min to 8 minStays with people

Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.

Jobs that share skills with this one

From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.

Where this job works

The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).

Where the most of these jobs are

The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).