The Mines (Shafts and Winding) Regulations 1993

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

• “appoint” in relation to a person means appoint in writing with a written statement summarising his responsibilities and authority, and “appointed” shall be construed accordingly;

• “conveyance” means any carriage, cage, skip or kibble in which persons, mineral or materials are wound through a shaft;

• “counterweight” means a frame containing weights connected into a single conveyance winding system to reduce the out-of-balance static loads within the system;

• “examination” means a visual examination by a competent person carried out carefully and critically and supplemented by other means (such as measurement and where necessary non-destructive testing) in order to arrive at a reliable conclusion as to the condition and safety of the equipment or installation which if necessary should be dismantled, and “examine” shall be construed accordingly;

• “inspection” means a visual inspection by a competent person looking carefully and critically for anything which may impair the safe and efficient working of the equipment or installation, and “inspect” and “inspected” shall be construed accordingly;

• “keps” means retractable supports in a shaft on which a conveyance may rest but does not include the doors at the top of the shaft sinking;

• “lift apparatus” means an electrically powered lift and includes equipment used in relation to the lift in the shaft and at shaft entrances;

• “mine” means an excavation or system of excavations, including all such excavations to which a common system of ventilation is provided, made for the purpose of, or in connection with, the getting, wholly or substantially by means involving the employment of persons below ground, of minerals (whether in their natural state or in solution or suspension) or products of minerals;

• “overwind” means unintentional overtravel of a conveyance or counterweight beyond the limits set by a device installed for the purpose of preventing such overtravel;

• “owner” in relation to a mine means the person who is for the time being entitled to work it;

• “shaft” includes a staple-pit, raise, winze or any similar excavation whether sunk or in the course of being sunk and so much of any superstructure provided at the top of a shaft as forms an extension to the shaft shall be deemed to form part of the shaft which is below ground;

• “winding apparatus"” means mechanically operated apparatus for lowering and raising loads through a shaft and includes a conveyance or counterweight attached to such apparatus and all ancillary apparatus;

• “winding engineman” means a person competent to operate the winding apparatus during manual winding.

(2) A mine shall be treated as being worked at any time when there are persons at work below ground or plant or equipment is in operation at the mine to maintain the safety of that mine or of any other mine or the operation of driving a shaft or outlet is being undertaken at the mine.

(3) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference to—

(a) a numbered regulation is a reference to the regulation of these Regulations so numbered;

(b) a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph so numbered in the regulation in which that reference appears.

(4) In any document issued under these Regulations any word or expression to which meaning is assigned by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the Mines and Quarries Act 1954(1) or these Regulations shall have the meaning so assigned to it.

(1)

1954 c. 70, extended by the Mines and Quarries (Tips) Act 1969 (c. 10) and the Mines Management Act 1971 (c. 20); relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1974/2013 and S.I. 1976/2063.