2090
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
No. 41

to comply with the directions of the person in charge, nor in any way obstruct or interfere with such person in the discharge of his duties; and any person failing to comply with this regulation shall be reported by the person in charge to the manager or underviewer.

INJURIES TO WORKMEN.

168. Every person receiving in or about the mine any personal injury caused by an explosion of gas or dust or any explosive, or by electricity, or overwinding, or any other special cause, or any personal injury causing him to absent himself from his work, shall as soon as possible report the same to one of the officials, and if required by the official shall forthwith proceed to the appointed place for first-aid treatment.

SAFETY-LAMPS.

169. Where safety-lamps are required to be used, a competent person shall externally examine the safety-lamp of every workman before passing the station and see that it is in safe working-order and securely locked before permitting him to go beyond such station.

170. Every person using a safety-lamp shall examine the same externally and assure himself that it is locked and in good order before entering the mine, and shall from time to time while in the mine examine the lamp to see that it is in safe working-order, and he shall when he has completed his shift return the lamp to the lamp-room. If the lamp is damaged while in his possession he shall at once carefully extinguish the light.

171. No person shall when testing or examining for the presence of fire-damp with a safety-lamp raise the lamp higher than may be necessary to allow the presence of fire-damp to be detected.

172. Should any person find himself in the presence of inflammable gas he shall not throw away his lamp or attempt to blow it out but shall shelter it, hold the lamp near the floor, avoid jerking it, and take it steadily into fresh air. If the gas fires in the lamp where he cannot take it into fresh air, he shall smother out the light or extinguish it in water.

173. Every person in charge of a safety-lamp who loses his light shall proceed to the appointed station to have his lamp relighted and examined before being again used.

174. Any person witnessing any improper treatment of a safety-lamp by any one shall immediately report the same to the manager or other official.

175. Wherever safety-lamps are required by the said Act or these regulations to be used, no safety-lamp or lamp-glass shall be used by any person employed in a mine unless it is of a type for the time being approved by the Minister, and as named and described in the current British Home Office Safety-lamp Orders and the schedules to such Orders.

176. The underground use of apparatus for the relighting electrically of safety-lamps is authorized, provided—

(a.) The apparatus complies in all respects with the requirements of any regulations in force for the time being with respect to the use of electricity underground, and is in accordance with the provisions of such regulations and of the said Act.

(b.) The station where the apparatus is used shall not be within a distance of 200 yards of any part of the working-face.

(c.) When not in use the apparatus shall be kept securely locked, and no person shall be given or have in his possession any key or contrivance for unlocking the apparatus, other than a person appointed in accordance with the provisions of the said Act.

(d.) The apparatus shall not be used in any part of a mine where inflammable gas, although not normally present, is likely to occur in quantity sufficient to be indicative of danger.

(e.) The apparatus shall be so constructed, worked, and maintained as to preclude the accumulation of explosive gas within it.

(f.) The lamp shall be examined by the appointed person after being relighted and before being reissued.

SEARCH OF PERSONS EMPLOYED BELOW GROUND FOR PROHIBITED ARTICLES BEFORE THE COMMENCEMENT OF WORK.

177. The manner of searching persons employed below ground for the purpose of ascertaining before they commence work whether they have in their possession any prohibited article shall be as follows:—

(1.) The search shall be made by a person or persons appointed for the purpose in writing by the manager.

(2.) In the case of members of a shift the search shall be made in the presence of two or more members of the shift.

(3.) The search shall be made with due regard to propriety, and so as to occasion the person searched as little inconvenience as possible.

(4.) The person conducting the search shall—

(a.) Search or turn out all pockets;

(b.) Pass his hands over all clothing; and

(c.) Examine any article in the workman’s possession.

(5.) If the person conducting the search suspects that the person searched is concealing any prohibited article he shall detain him, and as soon as possible refer the matter to the manager, underviewer, or other official authorized by the manager for the purpose, who shall not allow the person to proceed to work until he has satisfied him that he has no prohibited article in his possession.

USE OF ELECTRIC LAMPS OTHER THAN ELECTRIC SAFETY-LAMPS.

178. In any mine or part of a mine in which safety-lamps are required to be used, electric lamps, if enclosed in airtight fittings and having the lamp-globes hermetically sealed, may, subject to the provisions of the said Act and the regulations as to the use of electricity in mines, be used within the following limits:—

(a.) On main intake airways and haulage-roads ventilated by intake air up to within 300 yards of the nearest working-face.

(b.) On main return airways within 300 yards of the bottom of the upcast shaft if that shaft is regularly used for the purpose of winding persons or minerals, but not within 300 yards of the nearest working-face.

VENTILATION OF MINES.

179. Air-measurements required by section 91 (3) of the said Act shall be taken at the beginning of the main return-airway, at the beginning of the return-airway from each ventilating district, and at such additional places as are required by the Inspector.

180. Mechanical ventilation appliances shall be installed whensoever at any mine deemed necessary by the Inspector.

181. (1.) In every mine in which inflammable gas has been reported within the preceding six months, an adequate amount of ventilation, as provided in the said Act, shall, by means of a mechanical ventilation appliance, be produced continuously during the whole of the time when there are any persons in the mine, also during the preceding eight hours, and also during such additional times as may be required by the Inspector.

(2.) At other mines where mechanical ventilation appliances have been installed such appliances shall be started and continuously run to their usual running-capacity during the whole of the time when any person is in the mine, and for at least two hours before workmen enter the mine, and also for such additional times as may be required by the Inspector.

182. The owner or manager shall cause to be provided in connection with every ventilating-fan driven by mechanical power a water-gauge and either an automatic indicator registering the number of revolutions of the fan or an automatic indicator registering the water-gauge. This regulation shall not apply to auxiliary fans underground.

Persons in Charge of Ventilating-machines.

The following regulations shall not apply to any auxiliary fan placed underground which does not contribute to the general ventilation of the mine or of any ventilating district of the mine:—

183. The person in charge of any ventilating-machinery driven by mechanical power shall keep the machinery running at the speed ordered by the manager or underviewer, and shall examine the machinery and observe the indicators at intervals which each shall be of not more than half an hour or such longer time as may be approved by the Inspector, but in no case shall the interval exceed four hours, and shall enter the result of such examination in a book kept for the purpose at the fan-house.

184. In changing shifts the man in charge of the ventilating-apparatus shall not leave his place before the arrival of a substitute. In case of sickness or lawful absence the fan attendant must give early and sufficient notice to the manager, so that a substitute may be provided.

185. He shall from time to time observe the ventilating pressure as indicated by the water-gauge, and where an automatic indicator registering the water-gauge is not in use he shall at the end of each period of two hours enter in a book to be provided by the manager the number of revolutions of the fan and the pressure shown by the water-gauge at the end of that period.

186. The person in charge of any ventilating-machinery as aforesaid shall immediately report to the official under whose direction he works any stoppage of, any damage to,