Coal Mines Regulation Act, 1887

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Part II.

Rules.

General Rules.

General rules:

49. The following general rules shall be observed, so far as is reasonably practicable, in every mine:

Ventilation of mine.

Rule 1. An adequate amount of ventilation shall be constantly produced in every mine to dilute and render harmless noxious gases to such an extent that the working places of the shafts, levels, stables, and workings of the mine, and the travelling roads to and from those working places shall be in a fit state for working and passing therein.

In the case of mines required by this Act to be under the control of a certificated manager, the quantity of air in the respective splits or currents shall at least once in every month be measured and entered in a book to be kept for the purpose at the mine.

Rule 2. Where a fire is used for ventilation in any mine newly opened after the passing of this Act, the return air, unless it be so diluted as not to be inflammable, shall be carried off clear of the fire by means of a dumb drift or airway.

Rule 3. Where a mechanical contrivance for ventilation is introduced into any mine after the commencement of this Act, it shall be in such position and placed under such conditions as will tend to ensure its being uninjured by an explosion.

Stations and inspection of condition as to ventilation, &c.

Rule 4. A station or stations shall be appointed at the entrance to the mine, or to different parts of the mine, as the case may require; and the following provisions shall have effect:

(i) As to inspection before commencing work[¹] :—

A competent person or competent persons appointed by the owner agent or manager for the purpose not being contractors for getting minerals in the mine shall, within such time immediately before the commencement of each shift as shall be fixed by special rules made under this Act, inspect every part of the mine situate beyond the station or each of the stations, and in which workmen are to work or pass during that shift, and shall ascertain the condition thereof so far as the presence of gas ventilation, roof and sides, and general safety are concerned.

No workman shall pass beyond any such station until the part of the mine beyond that station has been so examined and stated by such competent person to be safe.

The inspection shall be made with a locked safety lamp,[²] except in the case of any mine in which inflammable gas has not been found within the preceding twelve months.

A report specifying where noxious or inflammable gas, if any, was found present, and what defects (if any) in roofs or sides, and what (if any) other source of danger were or was observed, shall be recorded without delay in a book to be kept at the mine for the purpose, and accessible to the workmen, and such report shall be signed by, and so far as the same does not consist of printed matter shall be in the handwriting of the person who made the inspection.

For the purpose of the foregoing provisions of this rule, two or more shifts succeeding one another without any interval are to be deemed to be one shift.

(ii) As to inspection during shifts:—

A similar inspection shall be made in the course of each shift of all parts of the mine in which workmen are to work or pass during that shift, but it shall not be necessary to record a report of the same in a book: Provided that in the case of a mine worked continuously throughout the twenty-four hours by a succession of shifts, the report of one of such inspections shall be recorded in manner above required.

Inspection of machinery, &c. above and below ground.

Rule 5. A competent person or competent persons appointed by the owner agent or manager for the purpose, shall, once at least in every twenty-four hours, examine the state of the external parts of the machinery, the state of the guides and conductors in the shafts, and the state of the head gear, ropes, chains, and other similar appliances of the mine which are in actual use both above ground and below ground, and shall once at least in every week examine the state of the shafts by which persons ascend or descend; and shall make a true report of the result of such examination, and every such report shall be recorded without delay in a book to be kept at the mine for the purpose, and shall be signed by the person who made the inspection.

Fencing of entrances.

Rule 6. Every entrance to any place which is not in actual use or course of working and extension, shall be properly fenced across the whole width of the entrance, so as to prevent persons inadvertently entering the same.

Withdrawal of workmen in case of danger.

Rule 7. If at any time it is found by the person for the time being in charge of the mine, or any part thereof, that by reason of inflammable gases prevailing in the mine, or that part thereof, or of any cause whatever, the mine or that part is dangerous, every workman shall be withdrawn from the mine or part so found dangerous, and a competent person appointed for the purpose shall inspect the mine or part found so dangerous, and if the danger arises from inflammable gas shall inspect the mine or part with a locked safety lamp; and in every case shall make a true report of the condition of the mine or part; and a workman shall not, except in so far as is necessary for inquiring into the cause of danger or for the removal thereof, or for exploration, be re-admitted into the mine, or part so found dangerous, until the same is stated by the person appointed as aforesaid not to be dangerous. Every such report shall be recorded in a book which shall be kept at the mine for the purpose, and shall be signed by the person who made the inspection.

Use of safety lamps in certain places.

Rule 8. No lamp or light other than a locked safety lamp shall be allowed or used—

(a) In any place in a mine in which there is likely to be any such quantity of inflammable gas as to render the use of naked lights dangerous; or

(b) In any working approaching near a place in which there is likely to be an accumulation of inflammable gas.

And when it is necessary to work the coal in any part of a ventilating district with safety lamps, it shall not be allowable to work the coal with naked lights in another part of the same ventilating district situated between the place where such lamps are being used and the return airway.

Construction of safety lamps.

Rule 9. Wherever safety lamps are used, they shall be so constructed that they may be safely carried against the air current ordinarily prevailing in that part of the mine in which the lamps are for the time being in use, even though such current should be inflammable.

Examination of safety lamps.

Rule 10. In any mine or part of a mine in which safety lamps are required by this Act or by the special rules made in pursuance of this Act to be used—

(i) A competent person appointed by the owner agent or manager for the purpose, shall, either at the surface or at the appointed lamp station, examine every safety lamp immediately before it is taken into the workings for use, and ascertain it to be in safe working order and securely locked; and such lamps shall not be used until they have been so examined and found in safe working order and securely locked:

(ii) A safety lamp shall not be unlocked except either at the appointed lamp station or for the purpose of firing a shot, in conformity with the provisions herein-after contained:

(iii) A person, unless he has been appointed either for the purpose of examining safety lamps or for the purpose of firing shots, shall not have in his possession any contrivance for opening the lock of any safety lamp:

(iv) A person shall not have in his possession any lucifer match or apparatus of any kind for striking a light, except within a completely closed chamber attached to the fuse of the shot.

Lamp stations.

Rule 11. Where safety lamps are required to be used, the position of the lamp stations for lighting or re-lighting the lamps shall not be in the return air.

Use of explosives below ground.

Rule 12. Any explosive substance shall only be used in the mine below ground as follows:—

(a) It shall not be stored in the mine:

(b) It shall not be taken into the mine, except in cartridges in a secure case or canister containing not more than five pounds:

Provided that on the application of the owner agent or manager of any mine, the Secretary of State may by order exempt such mine from so much of this rule as forbids taking an explosive substance into the mine except in cartridges.

(c) A workman shall not have in use at one time in any one place more than one of such cases or canisters:

(d) In the process of charging or stemming for blasting, a person shall not use or have in his possession any iron or steel pricker, scraper, charger, tamping rod, or stemmer, [¹ and only clay or other non-inflammable substances shall be used for stemming, and shall be provided by the owner of the mine]:

(e) No explosive shall be forcibly pressed into a hole of insufficient size, and, when a hole has been charged, the explosive shall not be unrammed, and no hole shall be bored for a charge at a distance of less than six inches from any hole where the charge has missed fire:

(f) In any place in which the use of a locked safety lamp is for the time being required by or in pursuance of this Act, or which is dry and dusty, no shot shall be fired except by or under the direction of a competent person appointed by the owner agent or manager of the mine, and such person shall not fire the shot or allow it to be fired until he has examined both the place itself where the shot is to be fired and all contiguous accessible places of the same seam within a radius of twenty yards, and has found such place safe for firing:

(g) If in any mine, at either of the four inspections under rule 4 recorded last before a shot is to be fired, inflammable gas has been reported to be present in the ventilating district in which the shot is to be fired, the shot shall not be fired—

(1) Unless a competent person, appointed as aforesaid, has examined the place where gas has been so reported to be present, and has found that such gas has been cleared away, and that there is not at or near such place sufficient gas issuing or accumulated to render it unsafe to fire the shot; or

(2) Unless the explosive employed in firing the shot is so used with water or other contrivance as to prevent it from inflaming gas, or is of such a nature that it cannot inflame gas:

(h) If the place where a shot is to be fired is dry and dusty, then the shot shall not be fired unless one of the following conditions is observed, that is to say—

(1) Unless the place of firing and all contiguous accessible places within a radius of twenty yards therefrom are at the time of firing in a wet state from thorough watering or other treatment equivalent to watering, in all parts where dust is lodged, whether roof, floor, or sides; or

(2) In the case of places in which watering would injure the roof or floor, unless the explosive is so used with water or other contrivance as to prevent it from inflaming gas or dust, or is of such a nature that it cannot inflame gas or dust:

(i) If such dry and dusty place is part of a main haulage road, or is a place contiguous thereto, and showing dust adhering to the roof and sides, no shot shall be fired there unless—

(1) Both the conditions mentioned in sub-head (h) have been observed; or

(2) Unless such one of the conditions mentioned in sub-head (h) as may applicable to the particular place has been observed, and moreover all workmen have been removed from the seam in which the shot is to be fired, and from all seams communicating with the shaft on the same level, except the men engaged in firing the shot, and such other persons, not exceeding ten, as are necessarily employed in attending to the ventilating furnaces, steam boilers, engines, machinery, winding apparatus, signals, or horses, or in inspecting the mine:

(k) In this Act “ventilating district” means such part of a seam as has an independent intake commencing from a main intake air course, and an independent return airway terminating at a main return air course; and “main haulage road” means a road which has been or for the time being is, in use for moving trams by steam or other mechanical power:

(l) Where a seam of a mine is not divided into separate ventilating districts the provisions in this Act relating to ventilating districts shall be read as though the word “seam” were substituted for the words “ventilating district”:

(m) So much of this rule as requires the explosive substance taken into the mine to be in cartridges, and so much of the provisions of sub-head (f) as relates to a dry and dusty place, and the provisions (g), (h), (i), (k), and (l) shall not apply to seams of clay or stratified ironstone which are not worked in connexion with any coal seam, and which contain no coal in the working.

Water and bore-holes.

Rule 13. Where a place is likely to contain a dangerous accumulation of water, the working approaching that place shall not at any point within forty yards of that place exceed eight feet in width, and there shall be constantly kept at a sufficient distance, not being less than five yards, in advance, at least one bore-hole near the centre of the working, and sufficient flank bore-holes on each side.

Signalling and manholes for travelling planes worked by machinery.

Rule 14. Every underground plane on which persons travel, which is self-acting or worked by an engine windlass or gin, shall be provided (if exceeding thirty yards in length) with some proper means of communicating distinct and definite signals between the stopping places and the ends of the plane, and shall be provided in every case, with sufficient man-holes for places of refuge, at intervals of not more than twenty yards, or if there is not room for a person to stand between the side of a tub and the side of the plane, then (unless the tubs are moved by an endless chain or rope) at intervals of not more than ten yards.

Man-holes for other travelling roads.

Rule 15. Every road on which persons travel underground where the load is drawn by a horse or other animal shall be provided, at intervals of not more than fifty yards, with sufficient man-holes, or with places of refuge, and every such place of refuge shall be of sufficient length, and at least three feet in width, between the waggons running on the road and the side of such road. There shall be at least two proper travelling ways into every steam engine room and boiler gallery.

Man-holes to be kept clear.

Rule 16. Every man-hole and every place of refuge shall be constantly kept clear, and no person shall place anything in any such man-hole or place of refuge.

Dimensions of travelling roads.

Rule 17. Every travelling road on which a horse or other draught animal is used underground shall be of sufficient dimensions to allow the horse or other animal to pass without rubbing against the roof or timbering.

Fencing of old shafts.

Rule 18. The top of every shaft which for the time being is out of use, or used only as an air shaft, shall be and shall be kept securely fenced.

Fencing of entrances to shafts.

Rule 19. The top and all entrances between the top and bottom, including the sump, if any, of every working ventilating or pumping shaft shall be properly fenced, but this shall not be taken to forbid the temporary removal of the fence for the purpose of repairs or other operations, if proper precautions are used.

Securing of shafts.

Rule 20. Where the natural strata are not safe, every working or pumping shaft shall be securely cased lined or otherwise made secure.

Securing of roofs and sides.

Rule 21. The roof and sides of every travelling road and working place shall be made secure, and a person shall not, unless appointed for the purpose of exploring or repairing, travel or work in any such travelling road or working place which is not so made secure.

Timbering.

Rule 22. Where the timbering of the working places is done by the workmen employed therein, suitable timber shall be provided at the working place, gate end, pass bye, siding or other similar place in the mine convenient to the workmen, and the distance between the sprags or holding props where they are required shall not exceed six feet or such less distance as may be ordered by the owner agent or manager.

Option of using downcast shaft.

Rule 23. Where there is a downcast and furnace shaft to the same seam, and both such shafts are provided with apparatus in use for raising and lowering persons, every person employed in the mine shall, on giving reasonable notice, have the option of using the downcast shaft.

Attendance of engineman.

Rule 24. In any mine which is usually entered by means of machinery, a competent male person not less than twenty-two years of age shall be appointed for the purpose of working the machinery which is employed in lowering and raising persons therein, and shall attend for that purpose during the whole time that any person is below ground in the mine.

Where any shaft, plane, or level is used for the purpose of communication from one part to another part of a mine, and persons are taken up or down or along such shaft, plane, or level by means of any engine, windlass, or gin, driven, or worked by steam or any mechanical power, or by an animal, or by manual labour, the person in charge of such engine, windlass, or gin, or of any part of the machinery, ropes, chains, or tackle connected therewith must be a competent male person not less than eighteen years of age.

Where the machinery is worked by an animal, the person under whose direction the driver of the animal acts, shall for the purposes of this rule, be deemed to be the person in charge of the machinery.

Means of signalling for working shafts.

Rule 25. Every working shaft used for the purpose of drawing minerals or for the lowering or raising of persons shall, if exceeding fifty yards in depth, and not exempted in writing by the inspector of the district, be provided with guides and some proper means of communicating distinct and definite signals from the bottom of the shaft and from every entrance for the time being in use between the surface and the bottom of the shaft to the surface, and from the surface to the bottom of the shaft and to every entrance for the time being in use between the surface and the bottom of the shaft.

Rule 26. If in any mine the winding apparatus is not provided with some automatic contrivance to prevent overwinding, then the cage, when men are being raised, shall not be wound up at a speed exceeding three miles an hour, after the cage has reached a point in the shaft to be fixed by the special rules.

Cover overhead.

Rule 27. A sufficient cover overhead shall be used for every cage or tub employed in lowering or raising persons in any working shaft, except where the cage or tub is worked by a windlass, or where persons are employed at work in the shaft, or where a written exemption is given by the inspector of the district.

Chains.

Rule 28. A single linked chain shall not be used for lowering or raising persons in any working shaft or plane except for the short coupling chain attached to the cage or tub.

Prevention of rope slipping on drum.

Rule 29. There shall be on the drum of every machine used for lowering or raising persons, such flanges or horns, and also if the drum is conical, such other appliances as may be sufficient to prevent the rope from slipping.

Break and indicator.

Rule 30. There shall be attached to every machine worked by steam, water, or mechanical power, and used for lowering or raising persons, an adequate break or breaks, and a proper indicator (in addition to any mark on the rope) showing to the person who works the machine the position of the cage or tub in the shaft.

If the drum is not on the crank shaft, there shall be an adequate break on the drum shaft.

Fencing machinery.

Rule 31. Every fly-wheel and all exposed and dangerous parts of the machinery used in or about the mine shall be and shall be kept securely fenced.

Safety valves and gauges for boilers.

Rule 32. Each steam boiler, whether separate or one of a range, shall have attached to it a proper safety valve, and also a proper steam gauge and water gauge, to show respectively the pressure of steam and the height of water in each boiler.

Barometer, &c.

Rule 33. A barometer and thermometer shall be placed above ground in a conspicuous position near the entrance to the mine.

Stretchers.

Rule 34. Where persons are employed underground, ambulances or stretchers, with splints and bandages, shall be kept at the mine ready for immediate use in case of accident.

Wilful damage.

Rule 35. No person shall wilfully damage, or without proper authority remove or render useless, any fence, fencing, manhole, place of refuge, casing, lining, guide, means of signalling, signal, cover, chain, flange, horn, break, indicator, steam gauge, water gauge, safety valve, or other appliance or thing provided in any mine in compliance with this Act.

Observance of directions.

Rule 36. Every person shall observe such directions with respect to working as may be given to him with a view to comply with this Act or the special rules in force in the mine.

Books and copies thereof.

Rule 37. The books mentioned in these rules shall be provided by the owner agent or manager, and the books, or a correct copy thereof, shall be kept at the office at the mine, and any inspector under this Act, and any person employed in the mine or any one having the written authority of any inspector or person so employed, may at all reasonable times inspect and take copies of and extracts from any such books; but nothing in these rules shall be construed to impose the obligation of keeping any such book or a copy thereof for more than twelve months after the book has ceased to be used for entries therein under this Act.

Any report by this Act required to be recorded in a book may be partly in print (including lithograph) and partly in writing.

Periodical inspection on behalf of workmen.

Rule 38. The persons employed in a mine may from time to time appoint two of their number or any two persons, not being mining engineers, who are practical working miners, to inspect the mine at their own cost, and the persons so appointed shall be allowed once at least in every month, accompanied, if the owner agent or manager of the mine thinks fit, by himself or one or more officers of the mine, to go to every part of the mine, and to inspect the shafts, levels, planes, working places, return air-ways, ventilating apparatus, old workings, and machinery. Every facility shall be afforded by the owner agent and manager, and all persons in the mine for the purpose of the inspection, and the persons appointed shall forthwith make a true report of the result of the inspection, and that report shall be recorded in a book to be kept at the mine for the purpose, and shall be signed by the persons who made the inspection; and if the report state the existence or apprehended existence of any danger, the owner agent or manager shall forthwith cause a true copy of the report to be sent to the inspector of the district.

Rule 39. No person not now employed as a coal or ironstone getter shall be allowed to work alone as a coal or ironstone getter in the face of the workings until he has had two years’ experience of such work under the supervision of skilled workmen, or unless he shall have been previously employed for two years in or about the face of the workings of a mine.

[¹ This inspection is to extend to all working places in which work is temporarily stopped within any ventilating district in which the men have to work; see 59 & 60 Vict. c. 43, s. 5 (1).]

[² As to safety lamps, see 59 & 60 Vict. c. 43, s. 5 (2).]

[¹ Substituted for “nor shall coal or coal dust be used for tamping” by 59 & 60 Vict. c. 43, s. 5 (3).]