Spice mining is the process by which the spice melange was removed from the sands of the planet Arrakis for consumption.
The spice mining process was a labour-intensive, difficult and dangerous process. Spice Harvesters collected the spice from the sand dunes. While the harvester would collect the spice, spotters would be on the ground and in the air, scouting for wormsign. If wormsign was detected, Carryalls would then lift the harvester to safety before the sandworm can attack. Unfortunately, this was often, as worms would attack all rhythmic vibrations, and harvesters were heavy pieces of machinery that would generate considerable vibration.
All spice mining equipment required considerable manpower by way of Dunemen in order to be operated effectively.