Occupational Employment Statistics

DETAILED OCCUPATION DATA

51-4051 Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders

Occupational Description:
Operate or tend furnaces, such as gas, oil, coal, electric-arc or electric induction, open-hearth, or oxygen furnaces, to melt and refine metal before casting or to produce specified types of steel. Excludes “Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic" (51-4191).

Occupational Employment Statistics(OES) Wage Data
First Quarter 2026

Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Percentiles
Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Mean	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th
Minnesota	200	15	$32.25/hr	$21.91/hr	$24.97/hr	$37.31/hr	$38.89/hr	$38.89/hr

Leading Industries for Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders

Industry	OES Employment (Statewide)	OES Median Wage (Statewide)
Manufacturing	200	$37.31/hr

Other Regional Data for Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders

Geography	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change 2022-2032
Northwest Minnesota	N/A	N/A	N/A
Southwest Minnesota	N/A	N/A	N/A
Seven County Mpls-St Paul, MN	N/A	N/A	-5.8%
Duluth MN-WI MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Fargo ND-MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Grand Forks ND-MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
La Crosse WI-MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Mankato-North Mankato MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Southeast Balance of State	N/A	N/A	N/A
Rochester MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Central Minnesota	N/A	N/A	N/A
Northeast Minnesota	N/A	N/A	N/A
St Cloud MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Southeast Minnesota	10	$22.04/hr	-4.3%
Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington MN-WI MSA	160	N/A	N/A
Minnesota	200	$37.31/hr	-2.6%

Related Occupations

Occupations	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change -
Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders	120	$27.80/hr	N/A
Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	90	$20.21/hr	-7.6%
Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers	410	$25.87/hr	N/A
Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	1,810	$28.12/hr	4.5%
Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	660	$27.81/hr	-4.6%
Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand	120	$25.54/hr	-16.7%
Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	50	$29.82/hr	-5.3%
Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators	N/A	N/A	N/A
Engine and Other Machine Assemblers	270	$28.93/hr	-6.3%
Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders	N/A	$37.65/hr	N/A

Task for Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders

Inspect furnaces and equipment to locate defects and wear.
Record production data, and maintain production logs.
Observe air and temperature gauges or metal color and fluidity, and turn fuel valves or adjust controls to maintain required temperatures.
Prepare material to load into furnaces, including cleaning, crushing, or applying chemicals, by using crushing machines, shovels, rakes, or sprayers.
Draw smelted metal samples from furnaces or kettles for analysis, and calculate types and amounts of materials needed to ensure that materials meet specifications.
Sprinkle chemicals over molten metal to bring impurities to the surface.
Remove impurities from the surface of molten metal, using strainers.
Operate controls to move or discharge metal workpieces from furnaces.
Regulate supplies of fuel and air, or control flow of electric current and water coolant to heat furnaces and adjust temperatures.
Drain, transfer, or remove molten metal from furnaces, and place it into molds, using hoists, pumps, or ladles.