S.I. No. 78/1970:

MINES (SURVEYORS AND PLANS) REGULATIONS, 1970.

MINES (SURVEYORS AND PLANS) REGULATIONS, 1970.

ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS.

PART I.

Preliminary and General.

Regulation

1. Short title

2. Commencement

3. Interpretation

4. Application

5. Exemption

PART II.

Appointment, Qualifications and Duties of Surveyors.

6. Appointment and qualifications of surveyors

7.-8. Duties of surveyors

PART III.

Working Plans.

9.-13. General

14. Scale of plans

15. Correlation with grid

16. Variations in level

17. Gradient of seam

18. Faults

19. Manner of showing other workings

20. External dangers to workings

21. Water dams

22. Position and level of shafts, etc.

23. Boundaries

24. Correlation

PART IV.

Geological Map and Sketch of the Mine.

25. Geological map

26. Sketch of the mine

PART V.

Abandonment Plans.

27.-31. General

S.I. No. 78 of 1970.

MINES (SURVEYORS AND PLANS) REGULATIONS, 1970.

I, JOSEPH BRENNAN, Minister for Labour, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 18 , 21 and 127 of the Mines and Quarries Act, 1965 (No. 7 of 1965) and the Labour (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order, 1966, ( S.I. No. 164 of 1966 ), and after due compliance with the provisions of the Second Schedule to that Act, hereby make the following regulations:--

PART I. Preliminary and General.

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Mines (Surveyors and Plans) Regulations, 1970.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of June, 1970.

3. In these Regulations--

" the Act " means the Mines and Quarries Act, 1965 ;

"inspector" means an inspector appointed under section 130 of the Act;

" manager " means a person appointed under section 13 of the Act;

" Minister " means the Minister for Labour;

" new plan " means a plan kept in pursuance of regulation 10 of these Regulations;

" old plan " means a plan kept in pursuance of regulation 11 of these Regulations;

" owner " when used in relation to any mine means the person for the time being entitled to work it.

4. These Regulations shall apply to every mine.

5. The Minister or an inspector may, by notice served on the owner, exempt any mine from the application of any provision of these Regulations if he is satisfied that the safety of persons employed at the mine will not be prejudiced in consequence of the granting of the exemption.

PART II. Appointment, Qualifications and Duties of Surveyors.

6. (1) The manager of a mine shall appoint a competent person (hereinafter referred to as the surveyor) to be a surveyor for the mine.

(2) No person shall be qualified to be appointed or to be the surveyor for a mine unless he is the holder of such qualifications in mine surveying as are acceptable to the Minister.

7. (1) It shall be the duty of the surveyor for a mine to prepare or supervise the preparation of all plans, drawings and sections of the mine which are required by Part III of these Regulations to be kept.

(2) It shall be the duty of the surveyor for a mine to establish the accuracy as regards any matters which may involve substantial error or danger, of any such plans, drawings and sections of the mine which have not been prepared by him or to ensure that such accuracy is established by a person who is qualified to be appointed the surveyor for that mine.

8. (1) It shall be the duty of the surveyor for a mine to ensure that working papers recording all observations or calculations which were necessarily made for the preparation or checking of any plans, drawings or sections kept by the manager by virtue of Part III of these Regulations are signed by the person making them and are preserved.

(2) Where any such papers are not kept at the office at the mine or a place approved by an inspector, it shall be the duty of the surveyor for the mine to make such arrangements as will ensure that upon his ceasing to be the surveyor or upon the abandonment of the mine all such papers are transferred to the owner of the mine or to a person nominated by the owner.

PART III. Working Plans.

9. It shall be the duty of the manager of every mine to keep at the office at the mine or at such other place as may be approved by an inspector plans and sections in accordance with the following provisions of this Part of these Regulations.

10. (1) In the case of any mine, plans and sections of the workings of which are made after the commencement of these Regulations, there shall be kept as aforesaid--

(a) a separate plan or series of plans for each seam, vein or lode being worked in the mine showing clearly and accurately the workings in that seam, vein or lode and all shafts, outlets, drifts or staple-pits driven from or to it up to a date not more than three months past and up to a point not more than three hundred feet (91.44 metres) from their actual positions at any time; and

(b) such sections of the seams, veins or lodes being worked in the mine as may be necessary to show any substantial variation in the thickness or character thereof, and so far as practicable such sections of the strata sunk or driven through in the mine or proved by boring as may be necessary to enable the relation between those seams, veins or lodes to be determined at any place within the boundaries of the mine.

(2) An Inspector may on account of special circumstances existing at any mine by notice served on the manager thereof exempt it from the requirement that a separate plan be kept for each seam, vein or lode for as long as the workings in each seam, vein or lode are shown on a plan and are clearly distinguished by the use of different colours or otherwise.

11. In the case in which the provisions of the last preceding regulation do not apply, there shall be kept as aforesaid--

(a) a plan showing at any time clearly and accurately the workings in the mine up to a date not more than three months past; and

(b) a section of the strata sunk or driven through or, if that is impracticable, a section of every seam, vein or lode being worked in the mine.

12. (1) Plans kept in pursuance of either of the two last preceding regulations shall show as clearly and accurately as is practicable the position of--

(a) any workings of the mine which are disused or abandoned; and

(b) any workings of any other mine (whether abandoned or not);

being workings within the boundaries of the mine or within three hundred and seventy-five feet (114.30 metres) outside any boundary (measured from any point on the boundary in a straight line on any plane) and being workings which are or are likely at any stage to be at a depth differing from the depth of workings to which the plans relate by not more than one hundred and twenty feet (36.58 metres) or which are likely at any time to contain an accumulation of water dangerous to persons working in the mine.

(2) The position of any such workings which are not disused or abandoned shall be shown up to a date not more than three months past.

(3) Each of the following persons, namely, the owner of a mine and the manager thereof, shall, if requested so to do by the owner of another mine, furnish to the owner of that other mine or the surveyor therefor any information in the possession of the person to whom the request is made, and permit the owner of that other mine or the surveyor therefor to inspect and take copies of, or extracts from, any plans, sections, drawings or other documents in the possession or under the control of the said person, being information or, as the case may be, documents requisite for the purpose of the preparation of any plan, section or drawing which, by virtue of paragraph (1) (b) of this regulation, is required to be kept in the case of that other mine.

13. (1) In addition to the plans and sections required by regulation 10 or 11 there shall be kept as aforesaid at every mine a plan showing the system of ventilation in the mine and in particular the general direction of the flow of the ventilation, the points at which the quantity of air passing is measured and the principal devices for regulating the flow of the ventilation.

(2) On any such plan every airway which as regards any working face or stope is an intake airway and which is not as regards any working face or stope a return airway shall be coloured blue, and every airway which as regards any working face or stope is a return airway and which is not as regards any working face or stope an intake airway shall be coloured red.

(3) If an inspector is satisfied as regards any mine that the information required by paragraph (1) of this regulation cannot be shown fully and clearly on a plan, he may by notice served on the manager of the mine authorise the keeping in substitution therefor of such a drawing as will show the information fully and clearly.

14. Every plan to which these Regulations apply shall be a scale of not less than ½500.

15. Every new plan shall be oriented to and correlated with the Ordnance Survey National Grid and marked with kilometre squares on the scale ½500.

16. (1) Every new plan shall indicate variations in level from an assumed datum ten thousand feet (3048.00 metres) below Ordnance Datum:--

(a) on every length of road which is a main intake airway or a main return airway; and

(b) so far as they can be ascertained, on the outline of any disused or abandoned workings shown on the plan;

at horizontal intervals not exceeding three hundred feet (91.44 metres) and at any such intermediate points as are necessary to indicate any substantial change in gradient with such an interval.

(2) Every old plan shall indicate variations from Ordnance Datum or from a datum below Ordnance Datum specified on the plan on such appropriate roads in the mine and at such places thereon as to indicate the gradients and any substantial change of gradient, being variations of ten feet (3.05 metres) or multiples of ten feet (3.05 metres).

17. (1) Every new plan shall, so far as their position can be ascertained, be marked with contour lines indicating the level of the floor of the workings in every part of the seam, vein or lode which is being worked, being the level relative to the assumed datum ten thousand feet (3048.00 metres) below Ordnance Datum as follows, that is to say--

(a) if the gradient of the seam, vein or lode at no place exceeds 1 : 3, such lines shall show vertical variations at intervals not exceeding fifty feet (15.24 metres); or

(b) if the gradient of the seam, vein or lode exceeds 1 : 3 at any place, such lines shall show the vertical variations of multiples of ten feet (3.05 metres) being not less than fifty feet (15.24 metres) nor more than one hundred and fifty feet (45.72 metres).

In every case the vertical variation represented by any consecutive contour lines shall be the same throughout the plan and the lines shall be marked with the level relative to the assumed datum.

(2) In the case of any new plan where the level of the floor of the workings in a seam shown thereon does not change by more than fifty feet (15.24 metres), the plan shall show the direction and rate of dip of the seam.

(3) Every old plan shall show the general direction and rate of dip of the strata.

18. Every plan to which these Regulations apply shall show the position, direction, extent and vertical throw, so far as they can be ascertained, of any known fault or other displacement of the seam, vein or lode (in the case of a new plan) or each seam, vein or lode (in the case of an old plan) and any known washout, roll, igneous intrusion or mineral vein affecting such seam, vein or lode.

19. On every plan to which these Regulations apply workings shown in pursuance of regulation 12 of these Regulations shall be shown in outline.

20. If there is any evidence that within one hundred and fifty feet (45.72 metres) of any working in a mine there may be--

(a) any rock or stratum containing or likely to contain water (whether dispersed or in natural cavities) which might constitute a danger to persons in the mine, or

(b) any peat, moss, sand, gravel, silt or other material that is likely to flow when wet;

the plan of that working shall record the nature, position, thickness and extent thereof as accurately as possible and shall also record such particulars, so far as they are available, of any such rock, stratum or material within the boundaries of the mines or within three hundred and seventy-five feet (114.30 metres) outside any such boundary.

21. Every new plan shall show, so far as they can be ascertained, the position and the dimensions of any water dam which may affect workings in the seam, vein or lode.

22. (1) Every plan to which these Regulations apply shall show, so far as they can be ascertained, the position of and the level at the top and bottom of every shaft, outlet, drift or staple-pit giving access to the workings to which the plan relates and the level of every entrance giving access thereto from those workings.

(2) Every new plan shall show, so far as they can be ascertained, the position and the level at the top and bottom of every borehole sunk from or driven to the surface or from one seam, vein or lode to another which may provide evidence relevant to the workings to which the plan relates.

23. Every plan to which these Regulations apply shall show the boundaries to which it is intended that the workings shown thereon should extend.

24. Every new plan shall indicate--

(a) the direction of the National Grid North;

(b) the assumed datum level; and

(c) the date on which it was commenced.

PART IV. Geological Map and Sketch of the Mine.

25. The manager of every mine shall keep at the office at the mine or at such other place as may be approved by an inspector a geological map of the district in which the mine is situated, being a map on a scale of 1/10560 or, if a map on so large a scale is not available, a map on the nearest scale which shows the boundaries of superficial and drift deposits.

26. The manager of every mine shall provide a sketch of the mine showing the main roads and means of egress from each part of the mine to the surface and the telephone stations below ground.

PART V. Abandonment Plans.

27. (1) In the event of the abandonment of a mine or seam, vein or lode in a mine or of the expiration of the period of twelve months from the time at which the mine or seam, vein or lode in a mine was last worked for the purpose of getting minerals or products of minerals, the person who is the owner of the mine at the time of the happening of that event shall within three months thereafter send to the inspector the plans, drawings and sections of those workings required to be kept by virtue of regulations 10 and 11 (where such plans, drawings and sections are no longer required by regulation 9 to be kept at the mine or a place approved by an inspector) or an accurate copy thereof or of so much thereof as is shown by virtue of those workings being a copy prepared by or made under the supervision of the surveyor when the mine was last worked or if such a person is not available a person who is qualified to be appointed surveyor for that mine.

Provided that, an inspector may, if he is of the opinion that it is necessary having regard to the circumstances and conditions which may be likely to exist, require the aforesaid owner to send to the inspector the aforesaid plans, drawings and sections within three months from the time at which the mine or a seam in the mine was last worked for the purpose of getting minerals or products of minerals.

(2) In a case in which the provisions of paragraph (1) of this regulation apply to any mine by virtue only of the expiration of the period of twelve months from the time at which the mine or the seam, vein or lode therein was last worked for the purpose of getting minerals or products of minerals, an inspector may, if he is of opinion that compliance with the requirements of the paragraph is unnecessary having regard to the circumstances and to the plans, drawings and sections thereof kept at the office at the mine or at such other place as is approved by an inspector, by notice served on the owner of the mine to exempt him from the obligation imposed by that paragraph by virtue of the happening of that event.

(3) In the event of the abandonment of a mine the person who is the owner of the mine at the time of the abandonment shall send to the inspector with the plans, drawings and sections referred to in paragraph (1) of this regulation all working papers relating to those plans, drawings and sections required to be preserved by regulation 8 or accurate copies thereof.

28. The owner of a mine to whom the provisions of paragraph (1) of the last preceding regulation apply shall ensure that every plan sent to the inspector in pursuance of that paragraph is endorsed with a certificate that no further work has been carried out at the mine which would affect the accuracy of the plan being a certificate given by--

(a) the manager of the mine or the person who was the manager when the mine was last worked; or

(b) a person appointed by the owner for the purpose of securing the fulfillment in relation to that mine of statutory responsibility of the owner being a person who can so certify from his knowledge.

29. (1) The owner of a mine to whom the provisions of paragraph (1) of regulation 27 apply shall ensure that there is endorsed on or attached to every plan sent to the inspector in pursuance of that paragraph a report of the surveyor when the mine was last worked or, if such a person is not available, a person who is qualified to be appointed surveyor for that mine or a person who is or was employed at that mine and is the holder of qualifications specified in regulation 6.

(2) Such report shall indicate the extent to which the person making it can certify the accuracy and completeness of the plan as at the date when the mine or the seam, vein or lode in question was last worked, the steps taken by him to ensure such accuracy and completeness and the reason for any qualifications made by him and may include any information which he considers desirable for the promotion of safety.

30. Any copy of a plan sent to an inspector by virtue of regulation 27 shall be on a scale not less than the plan of which it is a copy.

31. Any plan or copy of a plan sent to an inspector by virtue of regulation 27 shall show (so far as they can be ascertained) as regards the mine or seam, vein or lode abandoned or disused--

(a) the position of any pump in use below ground immediately before the mine or that seam, vein or lode was abandoned or was last worked for the purpose of getting minerals or products of minerals and the quantity of water being pumped by each such pump;

(b) any variation in level on the boundaries of the workings from Ordnance Datum or from the datum below Ordnance Datum used for the purpose of the plan;

(c) the position and extent of any area known to be waterlogged; and

(d) the position and, so far as practicable, the dimensions and method of construction of any water dam and the pressure of water being retained by it immediately before the mine or that seam, vein or lode was abandoned or was last worked for the purpose of getting minerals or products of minerals.

GIVEN under my Official Seal this 10th day of April, 1970.

JOSEPH BRENNAN,

Minister for Labour.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

For the purposes of the relevant provisions of the Mines and Quarries Act 1965 , these regulations prescribe the qualifications and responsibilities of surveyors employed in mines and require that mine owners should keep proper and up-to-date plans of mine workings.