Coal Mines Act 1911
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
Coal Mines Act, 1911
(1 & 2 Geo. 5.) CHAPTER 50.
An Act to consolidate and amend the Law relating to Coal Mines and certain other mines.
[16th December 1911]
Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
Application of Act.
Application of Act.
1 Application of Act.
1. The mines to which this Act applies are mines of coal, mines of stratified ironstone, mines of shale, and mines of fire-clay; and in this Act the expression ‘mine,’ unless the context other vise requires, means a mine to which this Act applies.
Part I.
Management.
Managers.
2 Appointment of manager of mine.
(1) Every mine shall be under one manager, who shall be responsible for the control, management, and direction of the mine, and the owner or agent of every mine shall appoint himself or some other person to be the manager of such mine.
(2) If any mine is worked without there being such a manager for the mine as is required by this section, the owner and agent shall each be guilty of an offence against this Act:
Provided that, if the person appointed to be manager of a mine, by reason of death, resignation, or otherwise, ceases to be manager, nothing in this section shall prevent the mine being worked (for a period not exceeding four months) until a new manager is appointed, if in the meantime a competent person holding a first-class or second-class certificate of competency under this Act is temporarily appointed to perform the duties and exercise the powers of manager.
(3) A small mine shall be exempt from the provisions of this section, unless the inspector of the division, by notice in writing served on the owner or agent of the mine, requires that it be under the control of a manager, and in any mine so exempt in which a manager has not been appointed the powers and duties conferred or imposed on the manager shall be exercised and performed by the owner or agent, and anything by or under this Act required to be done by or to the manager shall be done by or to the owner or agent.
(4) The owner or agent of a mine required to be under the control of a manager shall not take any part in the technical management of the mine unless he is qualified to be a manager.
(5) For the purpose of this section, workings having a common system of ventilation or any part of a system of ventilation in common shall be deemed to form part of the same mine.
3 Daily supervision of mine by manager or under-manager.
(1) In every mine required to be under the control of a manager, daily personal supervision shall be exercised by the manager, and, where an under-manager has been appointed by the owner or agent of the mine, also by that under-manager.
(2) In cases where, on account of the absence of the manager or under-manager on leave or from sickness or any other temporary cause, such daily personal supervision as is required by this section cannot be exercised, arrangements shall be made for the duties of the manager or under-manager, as the case may be, in respect of daily personal supervision being performed—
(a ) in the absence of the manager, by the under-manager, if any, or by a person not under the age of twenty-five years and holding a first or second-class certificate of competency under this Act, appointed in writing by the owner or agent;
(b ) in the absence of the under-manager, in the case of a mine for which a separate under-manager is required by this Act to be appointed, by a person not under the age of twenty-five years and holding a first or second-class certificate of competency under this Act appointed as aforesaid:
And any person performing the duties of a manager or under-manager whether under this or under the last preceding section, shall have the same responsibility, and shall be subject to the same liability, as the person whose duties he is performing.
(3) If in any mine there is a contravention of or non-compliance with the provisions of this section, the mine shall be deemed to be not managed in conformity with this Act.
4 Limitation of number of mines for which manager may act.
(1) After the first day of January nineteen hundred and thirteen, no person who is the manager of a mine shall, without the approval of the inspector of the division, be the manager of any other mine required to be under the control of a manager, if the aggregate number of persons employed underground in the mine of which he is manager and that other mine exceeds one thousand, or if all the shafts or adits for the time being in use in working the mine of which he is manager and that other mine do not lie within a circle having a radius not exceeding two miles.
(2) Where any person is appointed to be the manager of two or more mines required to be under the control of a manager, a separate under-manager shall be appointed for each mine.
(3) If it as appears to the Secretary of State that the personal supervision and control exercised by the manager of any mine are insufficient, by reason of the person who is manager of that mine being also manager of any one or more other mines, the Secretary of State may by order limit the number of such mines for which a person may act as manager.
If the owner, agent, or manager of the mine disputes the reasonableness of the order, the matter shall be settled in manner provided by this Act for settling disputes.
(4) If any person acts in contravention of any such order, or connives at any such contravention, he shall be guilty of an offence against this Act.
5 Qualifications of managers and under-managers.
(1) A person shall not be qualified to be appointed or to be manager of a mine required to be under the control of a manager, unless he is at least twenty-five years of age and is for the time being registered as the holder of a first-class certificate of competency under this Act.
(2) A person shall not be qualified to be appointed or to be an under-manager of a mine, or manager of a mine which is not required to be under the control of a manager, unless he is for the time being registered as the holder of a first-class or a second-class certificate of competency under this Act.
6 Notification of name and address of manager, &c.
6. On the appointment in pursuance of this Act of a person to be manager or under-manager of a mine, or to perform temporarily the duties of manager or under-manager, the owner or agent shall send to the inspector of the division notice of the name and address of that person and the number and class of the certificate held by him, and, if he fails to do so, he shall be guilty of an offence under this Act.
Certificates of Competency.
7 Description of certificates of competency.
7. There shall be two descriptions of certificates of competency under this Act (that is to say,)—
(1) first-class certificates;
(2) second-class certificates.
8 Constitution of Board for Mining Examinations.
(1) For the purpose of ascertaining the fitness of applicants for certificates of competency under this Act, a Board, to be styled ‘The Board for Mining Examinations,’ shall be constituted by the Secretary of State, consisting of—
(a ) six representatives of owners or agents of mines or managers of mines or mining engineers;
(b ) six representatives of workmen employed in mines;
(c ) the chief inspector and two divisional inspectors of mines; and
(d ) two persons eminent in mining and scientific knowledge.
The members of the Board shall be appointed and may be removed by the Secretary of State, and shall hold office during his pleasure.
(2) The procedure of the Board shall be in accordance with rules made by the Board subject to the approval of the Secretary of State.
(3) The Board shall, at such intervals as the Secretary of State may determine, make to him a report of their proceedings and of such other matters as he may require.
9 Examinations for certificates.
(1) The Board for Mining Examinations shall hold examinations at such times and in such places as may be fixed by the Board subject to the approval of the Secretary of State.
(2) The Board may, subject to the approval of the Secretary of State, make rules for the conduct of the examinations and the qualifications of applicants for certificates of competency under this Act, and the rules shall amongst other things provide—
(a ) that the examination and qualifications of applicants for second-class certificates shall be suitable for practical working miners; and
(b ) that no person shall be qualified to be an applicant for a certificate unless he—
(i) is twenty-three years of age or upwards; and
(ii) has had such practical experience in mining (either in the United Kingdom or partly in the United Kingdom and partly elsewhere) as may be required by the rules for a period of not less than five years, or (in the case of an applicant who has received an approved diploma, or has taken an approved degree) of not less than three years; and
(iii) has given satisfactory evidence of his sobriety, experience, and general good conduct; and
(c ) for the holding, as a part of the examination, of viv voce examinations in different localities with a view to the practical knowledge of applicants for certificates in each locality being tested with reference to the local mining...
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