Coal Mining Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (SOR/90-97)

Geological Faults

• 56 (1) At least one exploring drift shall be driven in advance of the working face of workings in a coal mine that are advancing towards an area

  • (a) that is less than 300 m below the sea bottom or a body of water or material that may flow; and

  • (b) where there is likely to be a geological fault at a distance of 50 m or less from the working face.

• (2) Where the throw or dislocation of a geological fault exceeds 10 m or where the faces of the fault plane are separated by material more than 600 mm thick, no coal face shall be worked within 11 m of that fault.

• (3) Where a solid measure below a sea bottom is less than 150 m, soundings shall be taken to a distance of at least 300 m in advance of any workings referred to in subsection (1) for the purpose of determining the depth of the water, and levels shall be taken at the working face at least once every three months for the purpose of determining the depth of the solid measure.

• (4) The location of the soundings and the levels referred to in subsection (3) shall be marked on a plan of the underground workings that is kept readily available at the coal mine in respect of which it applies for examination by employees.

Training

• 57 (1) Subject to subsection (2), no person shall be employed to work as a coal miner at a working face unless the person is a coal miner.

• (2) A person who is not a coal miner may be employed at a working face to perform the functions of a coal miner if the person is employed for training purposes for not more than eight months and a qualified person accompanies the person, exercises close personal control over the person and provides appropriate guidance to the person in respect of safe work practices.

• (3) No person shall be employed at a working face to perform functions other than the functions of a coal miner unless the person has received training in the safety and health procedures to be followed.

58 Every employee whose employment in a coal mine requires that the employee be the holder of a certificate, other than a coal miner’s certificate, shall complete a refresher course, approved by the Provincial Board, within six months after the expiration of every five-year period after

• (a) the date of the certificate; or

• (b) the date of the most recent refresher course taken by the employee in respect of the certificate.

PART IIIUnderground Transportation and Hoisting

Underground Transportation

• 59 (1) The mine manager shall prepare in writing and implement safe procedures for the operation of cages, trips and mobile equipment underground.

• (2) The procedures referred to in subsection (1) shall specify the conditions under which persons may be transported.

• (3) The employer shall submit a copy of the procedures referred to in subsection (1) and any changes in those procedures to the Coal Mining Safety Commission for approval at least 30 days before the implementation of the procedures or changed procedures.

• 60 (1) Transportation underground by trips or mobile equipment shall be subject to the following conditions:

  • (a) an electric lamp with a red light shall be affixed to the approaching end of the trip or mobile equipment;

  • (b) switches, derails, stop blocks, frogs and other track safety devices shall be installed in a manner that provides for the safe operation of trips on the track and for the safety of employees walking in the roadway;

  • (c) a clearance of not less than 300 mm shall be provided on one side of the trip or mobile equipment and of not less than 600 mm on the other side;

  • (d) a clearance of not less than 300 mm shall be provided

    • (i) above the top of any load on the trip or mobile equipment, or

    • (ii) where the trip or mobile equipment is covered, above the top of the cover;

  • (e) manholes shall be provided at intervals not exceeding 50 m in all roadways in which trips or mobile equipment are moved by mechanical means, other than by locomotives;

  • (f) in all roadways in which trips or mobile equipment are moved by locomotives, the maximum interval between manholes shall be

    • (i) 100 m in roadways that have no curve and where the gradient does not exceed 3.5 per cent, and

    • (ii) 30 m in all other roadways and on curves; and

  • (g) where the gradient of a roadway referred to in paragraph (e) exceeds 5.2 per cent, the employer shall set out in writing and keep at the entrance to the roadway procedures that specify the speed limits and safety control measures for trips and mobile equipment on that roadway.

• (2) Where a roadway that is used for transportation intersects a roadway that is used by employees, a fence shall be installed and a warning sign posted at the intersection.

• (3) Every manhole referred to in subsection (1) shall be

  • (a) securely supported;

  • (b) at least 1.3 m in depth and 0.9 m in width; and

  • (c) 1.5 m in height or the height of the roadway, whichever is the higher.

• (4) Every manhole shall be located on the side of the roadway that has the greater clearance.

• (5) Every manhole shall be

  • (a) kept clear of material;

  • (b) kept free of obstacles to entry; and

  • (c) clearly marked with an identifying number.

61 Where more than 10 employees normally use a roadway, the roadway shall be not less than 1.5 m in height and, where a conveyor is in service in the roadway, have a clearance of not less than 600 mm between one side of the conveyor and the side of the roadway.

Communications on Roadways

62 Where a trip that is used by persons is operated in a roadway underground that is more than 30 m in length, a means of signalling and communication between all regular stopping places designated in the procedures referred to in subsection 59(1) and the hoist operator or the locomotive operator shall be provided.

Surface Hoist Operation

• 63 (1) Every surface hoist shall be operated by a hoist operator who is a qualified person.

• (2) No person, other than an authorized person, shall enter a hoist room.

• (3) A hoist operator shall be in attendance in the hoist room at all times when a person is in an underground portion of the coal mine that is normally entered by means of a hoist.

• 64 (1) No hoist operator shall operate a surface hoist above ground that is used for transporting employees unless a physician has

  • (a) examined the hoist operator

    • (i) in the three-month period prior to the operation of the hoist, and

    • (ii) on the hoist operator’s return to work after an illness or injury for which the hoist operator received medical attention; and

  • (b) certified that the hoist operator is mentally and physically fit to operate a surface hoist.

• (2) The employer shall keep the physician’s certificate referred to in paragraph (1)(b) at the coal mine in which the hoist operator who is the subject of the certificate works.

Surface Hoist Standards

• 65 (1) Every surface hoist shall meet the following standards:

  • (a) the engine shall be installed on a concrete or other rigid foundation;

  • (b) hoisting drums on which the rope is coiled shall be provided with flanges or horns and, where a hoisting drum is conical, with such other safety devices as will prevent the rope from slipping;

  • (c) the hoist shall be equipped with a device that

    • (i) clearly indicates to the hoist operator the location of the cage or trip, and

    • (ii) where a trip may be used on more than one track, is of a type that indicates on which track the trip is being hoisted;

  • (d) the hoist shall be equipped with a braking system that

    • (i) stops cages or trips within the deceleration rates set out in the procedures referred to in subsection 59(1) for both the descending and ascending modes,

    • (ii) is automatically applied in the event of a power failure, and

    • (iii) may be applied by the hoist operator in the event of an emergency;

  • (e) the hoist shall be equipped with an overwind preventor and a speed controller that shut off the power and apply the braking system when the cage or trip travels

    • (i) beyond the top or bottom of the run, or

    • (ii) at a speed in excess of the maximum speed for the cage or trip set out in the procedures referred to in subsection 59(1);

  • (f) unless the overwind preventor and speed controller referred to in paragraph (e) are in full and fixed engagement with the hoisting engine, the overwind preventor and speed controller shall be

    • (i) designed to be fully engaged automatically or by the hoist operator whenever persons are to be transported, and

    • (ii) provided with an automatic device that indicates to the hoist operator and all persons responsible for the loading of the cage or trip that the overwind preventor and speed controller have been fully engaged; and

  • (g) where used for transporting persons, the hoist shall be equipped with at least two brakes that meet the requirements of subparagraphs (d)(i) to (iii).

• (2) Every device referred to in paragraph (1)(c) shall be tested for effective functioning after every adjustment to the length of the hoist rope.

Surface Hoist Tests and Inspections

• 66 (1) During each shift, a hoist operator shall test the surface hoist, including the safety devices connected to it.

• (2) Where tests are performed in accordance with subsection (1), the hoist operator shall test

  • (a) the overwind preventor to verify that the cage or trip does not travel more than 0.6 m past the top or the bottom of the run; and

  • (b) the speed controller with the cage midway in the shaft or with the trip part of the way along the run.

• (3) Subject to subsection (4), where a surface hoist has not been operated for more than four hours, before persons are transported on that hoist, a trial wind shall be carried out over the lesser of

  • (a) the complete run of the cage or trip, or

  • (b) 400 m.

• (4) Except in the case of an emergency, where a surface hoist has not been operated for any period because of an accident or defect, a full trial wind shall be carried out before lowering or hoisting is resumed.

• (5) A qualified person shall test

  • (a) at least once every 24 hours, the overwind preventor, speed controller and other safety devices of a surface hoist that is used only for transporting persons;

  • (b) at least once every week, the overwind preventor, speed controller and other safety devices of a surface hoist that is used for hoisting materials; and

  • (c) at least once every month, the braking system of every surface hoist, including the emergency brake, overwind preventor, speed controller, other safety devices and the devices referred to in paragraph 65(1)(c) and subparagraph 65(1)(f)(ii).

• (6) The hoist operator or qualified person who carries out the tests referred to in subsections (1) to (5) shall make a record of those tests in a book kept for that purpose.

67 At least once every 24 hours, a mine mechanic shall

• (a) inspect the external parts of all surface hoists, including cages, mine cars, tackling equipment, head gear, ropes, sockets, rope paths and couplings, that are in use in the coal mine; and

• (b) make a record of the inspection referred to in paragraph (a) in a book kept for that purpose.

Hoist Rope Standards and Tests

68 Every hoist rope shall be made of steel and have a factor of safety of not less than six.

• 69 (1) No hoist rope shall be placed in service unless it has been tested for breaking strength by a rope-testing laboratory.

• (2) The employer shall keep, for every hoist rope, every test certificate issued in respect of the rope by a rope-testing laboratory and a certificate from the manufacturer of the rope.

• (3) The certificates referred to in subsection (2) shall contain the following information in respect of the hoist rope:

  • (a) the name and address of the manufacturer;

  • (b) the manufacturer’s rope number;

  • (c) the date of manufacture;

  • (d) the diameter, expressed in millimetres;

  • (e) the mass per unit length, expressed in kilograms per metre;

  • (f) the number of strands;

  • (g) the class of core;

  • (h) the percentage by mass of lubricant in the core;

  • (i) the trade name of the interior rope lubricant;

  • (j) the number of wires in a strand;

  • (k) the diameter of the wires, expressed in millimetres;

  • (l) the breaking strength of steel from which the wire is made, expressed in kilopascals;

  • (m) the results of the standard torsion test of the wires;

  • (n) the actual breaking strength; and

  • (o) the extension of a test piece when tested to destruction.

• (4) For every hoist rope, the following information shall be recorded in a record book:

  • (a) the name of the company from which the rope was purchased;

  • (b) the date of purchase;

  • (c) the manufacturer’s rope number;

  • (d) the date on which the rope is installed in or removed from a particular location;

  • (e) the location referred to in paragraph (d);

  • (f) the mass of the cage or mine car in respect of which the rope is installed;

  • (g) the maximum load for which the rope is designed;

  • (h) the maximum length of rope in service below the sheave;

  • (i) the maximum mass of rope in service below the sheave;

  • (j) the factor of safety of the rope in each location where it is installed;

  • (k) the dates on which rope samples are taken;

  • (l) the dates and results of tests for breaking strength; and

  • (m) where applicable, the date of permanent removal from service and the reasons therefor.

• (5) The employer shall keep the record book referred to in subsection (4) at the coal mine in which the rope is in service

  • (a) during the period in which the rope is in service; and

  • (b) during the five-year period immediately following the day on which the rope is permanently removed from service.

70 No spliced hoist rope, other than an endless hoist rope, shall be used for transporting persons.

• 71 (1) Where a cage or trip is at its lowest point on the run, the drum shall have remaining on it at least five turns of hoist rope.

• (2) The diameter of a hoist rope sheave shall be not less than

  • (a) for a rope 25 mm or more in diameter, 80 times the rope diameter; and

  • (b) for a rope less than 25 mm in diameter, 60 times the rope diameter.

• (3) Every hoist rope sheave shall be machined to fit the rope that is used on it.