JULY 1. THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE 2185

(2.) If any explosive remains in the possession of a workman
at the end of his shift he shall bring it with him out of the
mine and return it at once to the place of storage provided
for the purpose.
(3.) No explosive shall be taken or used underground
except in cartridges of the diameter of ⅞ in., 1¼ in., 1⁷⁄₁₆ in.,
1¾ in., or 2 in.
(4.) No drill shall be used for the boring of a shot-hole
unless it allows at least a clearance of ⅛ in. over the diameter
of the cartridge which is intended to be used in that hole,
and no person shall attempt to charge a shot-hole unless
such clearance exists.
(5.) Subject to the provisions of paragraphs (e) and (f) of
section 40 of the said Act, detonators shall not be used in or
taken for the purpose of use into any mine unless the follow-
ing conditions are observed:—
(a.) Detonators shall be under the control of the manager
of the mine, or some person or persons specially
appointed in writing by the manager for the pur-
pose, and shall be issued only to shot-firers appointed
in pursuance of Regulation 131 or (in mines to
which Part II does not apply) to officials specially
authorized in writing by the manager.
(b.) Shot-firers and other authorized persons shall keep
all detonators issued to them, until about to be
used for the charging of a shot-hole, in a suitable
case or box, securely locked, separate from any
other explosive.
(6.) In the case of a shaft being sunk from the surface
or deepened, it shall not be deemed a contravention of the
foregoing provision if the primers for charges are fitted with
detonators on the surface before being taken into the shaft,
provided the primers are so fitted in a workshop established
for the purpose, and are only taken into the shaft immediately
before use by the shot-firer or other authorized person, and
in a thick felt bag or other receptacle to protect them from
shock.
126. (1.) Every charge shall be placed in a properly drilled
and placed shot-hole, and shall have sufficient stemming,
and each such charge shall consist of a cartridge or cartridges
of not more than one description of explosive. It shall be
the duty of the person firing the shot to satisfy himself that
these requirements are fulfilled before he fires the shot.
(2.) No explosive shall be forcibly pressed into a hole, and
when a hole has been charged the explosive shall not be
unrammed, nor shall any part of the stemming be removed,
nor shall the detonator leads be pulled out.
(3.) Before any shot is charged the direction of the hole
shall, where possible, be distinctly marked on the roof or other
convenient place.
(4.) The person firing the shot shall, before doing so, see
that all persons in the vicinity have taken proper shelter,
and he shall also take suitable steps to prevent any person
approaching the shot. He shall also himself take proper
shelter. If he has reason to believe that there is a possibility
of the shot blowing through into an adjoining place he shall
send verbal warning to the persons in that adjoining place to
take proper shelter.
(5.) No shot shall be fired in any mine except by means
of an efficient magneto-electrical apparatus, or by means of
a fuse complying with the conditions and ignited in the manner
specified in the Fourth Schedule to the British Home Office
Explosives in Coal-mines Orders from time to time issued.
(6.) The person firing the shot shall, after the shot has
been fired, make a careful examination of the place, and see
that it is safe in all respects.
(7.) Where shots are fired electrically they shall only be
fired by a person authorized in writing by the manager for
the purpose. The authorized person shall not use, for the
purpose of firing, a cable which is less than 20 yards in length.
He shall himself couple up the cable to the fuse or detonator
wires, and shall do so before coupling the cable to the firing-
apparatus. He shall take care to prevent the cable coming
into contact with any power or lighting cables. He shall
also himself couple the cable to the firing-apparatus. Before
doing so he shall see that all persons in the vicinity have
taken proper shelter.
(8.) Every electrical firing-apparatus shall be provided
with a push-button and with a removable handle, which
shall not be placed in position until the shot is required to be
fired, and which shall be removed as soon as a shot has been
fired. The removable handle shall at all times remain in the
personal custody of the authorized person whilst on duty.
For the push-button there may be substituted an arrange-
ment by which the firing-contact is automatically made at the
end of the travel of the handle, and on the release of the handle
is automatically broken.
127. If a shot misses fire—
(a.) If the person firing the shot has occasion to leave the
place he shall fence off the place before leaving, and
indicate by chalk marking on such fence the pre-
sence of a missfired shot,
(b.) A second charge shall not be placed in the same hole.
(c.) If the shot was fired electrically he shall, before ap-
proaching the shot-hole, disconnect the cable and
the removable handle from the firing-apparatus,
and shall examine the cable and connections for any
defect.
(d.) Except where the missfire is due to a faulty cable or
a faulty connection, and the shot is fired as soon as
practicable after the defect is remedied, another
shot shall be fired in a fresh hole (except in the case
of nitro-glycerine compounds, when the distance
below the hole shall not be less than 3 ft.), which
shall be drilled not less than 12 in. away from the
hole in which the shot has missed fire, and shall,
as far as practicable, be parallel with it.
(e.) If the missfired shot contains a detonator the person
firing the second shot shall, before doing so, attach
a string to the electric leads or the fuse of the miss-
fired shot, and secure it by attaching it to the cable
or to a prop or otherwise.
(f.) After the second shot has been fired no person shall
work in the place until the person firing the shot
or an official of the mine has made a careful search
for the detonator and charge of the missfired shot.
If the detonator and charge are not found, the stone
or coal shall be loaded under the supervision of the
person firing the shot, or an official, and sent to the
surface in a specially marked tub. The search for
the detonator and charge, and the loading of any
stone or coal which may contain a detonator, shall
be carried out as far as possible without the aid of
tools.
(g.) Should the missfired shot not be dislodged by the
second shot, further holes must be drilled and the
same precautions taken as aforesaid.
(h.) The person or persons firing the shots shall report the
circumstances to the manager or underviewer with-
out delay, and the number of cartridges (if any)
which have not been found, and hand to him the
detonator and charge, if found.

Part II.—Special Provisions.

128. (1.) In any coal-mine in which inflammable gas has
     been found within the previous three months in such quantity
     as to be indicative of danger, no explosive other than a per-
     mitted explosive as hereinafter defined shall be used in or
     taken for the purpose of use into the seam or seams in that
     mine in which the gas has been found, or any shaft or drift
     communicating therewith which is in process of being sunk,
     deeepened, driven, or enlarged, as the case may be.
     (2.) In all coal-mines other than opencast workings which
     are not naturally wet throughout, no explosive other than a
     permitted explosive as hereinafter defined shall be used in
     or taken for the purpose of use into any road or any dry and
     dusty part of the mine, or any shaft or drift communicating
     therewith which is in process of being sunk, deepened, driven,
     or enlarged, as the case may be.
129. In all cases in which permitted explosives are re-
     quired by these regulations to be used—
     (a.) A competent person (in these regulations called a
     shot-firer) shall be appointed in writing by the
     manager of the mine for the purpose of firing shots.
     No person shall be so appointed if the amount of
     his wages depends upon the amount of coal or
     stone to be gotten, and no person, unless he is em-
     ployed in a mine in which inflammable gas is
     unknown, shall be qualified to be appointed or to
     be a shot-firer unless he has obtained a fireman-
     deputy’s or underviewer’s certificate stating that he
     has passed in testing for inflammable gas.
     (b.) A shot-firer shall keep a daily record (in a book which
     shall be kept at the mine for the purpose) of the
     number of shots fired by him, the number of missfired
     shots (if any) and the number of cartridges in each
     shot.
     (c.) No shot shall be fired in coal unless the coal has been
     holed or sidecut to a depth greater than the depth
     of the shot-hole. This provision shall not apply to
     any anthracite-mine or to any mine which may be
     exempted by the Inspector on the ground that, by
     reason of the character of the coal or the inclination
     of the seam, holing would be impracticable or
     dangerous.
     (d.) Every shot shall be charged and stemmed by or under
     the supervision of a shot-firer. Before the hole is
     charged a shot-firer shall examine it for breaks
     running along or across, and if any such break is
     found the hole shall not be charged, except in stone
     drifts if special permission has been given in writing
     by the manager or underviewer.