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

Rounds of Shots

• 29 (1) Where all of a round of shots misfire, the shotfirer shall, in the following sequence,

  • (a) remove the handle or key from the blasting machine and disconnect the shotfiring cable from the blasting machine;

  • (b) twist the ends of the shotfiring cable together at the blasting machine and isolate them from ground;

  • (c) wait 15 minutes;

  • (d) test the circuit for electrical continuity; and

  • (e) if the test shows that there is electrical continuity, attempt to fire the round using either the same blasting machine or another blasting machine that is suitable for the purpose.

• (2) Where the test referred to in paragraph (1)(e) shows that there is no electrical continuity, or where the attempt referred to in that paragraph fails, the shotfirer shall, in the following sequence,

  • (a) remove the handle or key from the blasting machine and disconnect the shotfiring cable from the blasting machine;

  • (b) twist the ends of the shotfiring cable together at the blasting machine and isolate them from ground;

  • (c) wait 15 minutes;

  • (d) disconnect the shotfiring cable and detonator lead wires at each shot hole;

  • (e) test for electrical continuity in the shotfiring cable and detonator lead wires;

  • (f) test the blasting machine; and

  • (g) if the tests show that there is electrical continuity, the detonator lead wires and the shotfiring cable shall be reconnected and tested for electrical continuity and a further attempt shall be made to fire the round.

• (3) Where any of the tests referred to in paragraphs (2)(e) to (g) do not produce the desired result, the shotfirer shall install barricades and post a warning sign in accordance with subsection 31(1).

• (4) Where a single shot in a round misfires and is recovered, or where a part of a round of shots misfires and is recovered, the shotfirer shall sort the debris by hand, recover all explosives and detonators from the debris and take them to the structure referred to in subsection 11(2).

Unrecovered Misfired Shots

• 30 (1) Where a single shot in a round misfires and is not recovered, the procedures set out in subsections 29(1) and (2) shall be carried out.

• (2) Where a part of a round of shots misfires and is not recovered, the procedures set out in subsection 29(2) shall be carried out and groups of shots with the same millisecond-delay shall be fired in turn, in increasing order of delay.

• 31 (1) Where a misfired shot is not recovered, the shotfirer shall cause

  • (a) barricades to be installed to prevent persons from entering the danger area for the shot hole determined in accordance with paragraph 22(1)(a); and

  • (b) a warning sign to be conspicuously posted on each barricade referred to in paragraph (a) with the words “MISFIRED SHOT — KEEP OUT” and “COUP DE MINE RATÉ — ENTRÉE INTERDITE”.

• (2) After having carried out the procedures set out in subsection (1), the shotfirer shall report orally to the underground manager or mine manager the misfired shot and the procedures carried out.

Flamed Shots

• 32 (1) Where a shot flames on firing, the shotfirer shall, in the following sequence,

  • (a) immediately take steps to extinguish the flame;

  • (b) verify that the section of the coal mine in which the shot was fired is guarded by an employee and left unworked, except for making the section safe, until inspected by a safety officer;

  • (c) without delay, report the flamed shot orally to the shotfirer’s supervisor or the underground manager; and

  • (d) report the flamed shot in writing to the mine manager.

• (2) Where a mine manager is informed of a flamed shot in accordance with paragraph (1)(d), the mine manager shall, without undue delay, make a report of the flamed shot to a safety officer at the district office.

Reports and Records

• 33 (1) At the end of a shotfirer’s shift, the shotfirer shall report in writing to the shotfirer’s immediate supervisor every misfired shot and flamed shot for which the shotfirer was responsible during the shift.

• (2) Where an immediate supervisor is informed of a misfired shot or flamed shot in accordance with subsection (1), the supervisor shall, without undue delay, report in writing to the underground manager or mine manager the misfired shot or flamed shot.

• 34 (1) At the end of a shotfirer’s shift, the shotfirer shall record in a book that is kept for that purpose all the shots the preparation and firing of which the shotfirer was responsible for during the shift.

• (2) The record referred to in subsection (1) shall include

  • (a) the number of detonators used;

  • (b) the amount of explosive used, expressed in grams;

  • (c) in respect of each shot or round of shots,

    • (i) the time of firing of the shot or round of shots,

    • (ii) the concentration of flammable gas in the air before and after each shot or round of shots was fired,

    • (iii) the number of detonators used, and

    • (iv) the amount of explosive used, expressed in grams;

  • (d) the number of misfired shots and whether they were recovered; and

  • (e) the number of flamed shots.

PART IISafe Occupancy of the Work Place

General

• 35 (1) The mine manager shall, in respect of each underground portion of a coal mine,

  • (a) develop for employees procedures for the safe entry to, exit from and occupancy of that portion;

  • (b) develop emergency procedures that include

    • (i) an emergency evacuation plan,

    • (ii) a description of the procedures to be followed,

    • (iii) the location of the emergency equipment provided by the employer, and

    • (iv) an up-to-date plan of the coal mine; and

  • (c) develop and implement safe operating procedures for each employee occupation.

• (2) The employer shall keep a copy of the procedures referred to in subsection (1) readily available for examination by employees at the coal mine in respect of which the procedures apply.

• (3) The employer shall instruct and train all employees in the procedures referred to in paragraphs (1)(a) and (b).

• 36 (1) The employer shall provide every person granted access to an underground portion of a coal mine with an electric safety lamp.

• (2) The employer shall provide every person who carries out an inspection that is required to be carried out under these Regulations by a person who holds a certificate as a mine examiner with a locked-flame safety lamp.

37 Not more than 15 persons shall be present at one time in a place underground, unless there are at least two separate means of exit to the surface.

• 38 (1) Subject to subsection (2), no person shall excavate a shaft at a distance of less than 30 m from another shaft.

• (2) A shaft may be connected to another shaft by a passageway if the passageway is not less than 1.2 m in width and 1.2 m in height.

• 39 (1) A qualified person shall, every day, inspect

  • (a) the vertical shafts by which employees descend or ascend in a coal mine; and

  • (b) all shaft equipment that is used in the transportation system for employees in the vertical shafts.

• (2) The qualified person referred to in subsection (1) shall make a written report of the inspection in a book kept for that purpose.

Overmen’s Sections

• 40 (1) A mine manager shall define on a plan, on a scale of not less than 1:10,000, the limits of each section of the mine for which an overman is responsible in such a manner that

  • (a) every working face, other than an area where work is being carried out for the purpose of repairing or enlarging a roadway, is included within a section; and

  • (b) the section is of a size that permits a pre-shift inspection to be completed in two hours or less.

• (2) A mine manager shall designate a meeting station that is located at the entrance to each overman’s section referred to in subsection (1) and shall

  • (a) mark each meeting station clearly on the plan; and

  • (b) cause a notice to be posted at each meeting station identifying it as a meeting station.

• (3) No person, other than a person carrying out an inspection or a person accompanying that person, shall pass beyond a meeting station referred to in subsection (2) unless

  • (a) the section has been inspected and reported to be safe by the person who carried out the inspection referred to in subsection 41(1); and

  • (b) the person is instructed to pass beyond the meeting station by the overman responsible for the section.

• (4) No overman shall instruct any person to pass beyond the meeting station of the section for which the overman is responsible unless the overman has information indicating that it is safe to pass beyond the meeting station.

Pre-Shift Inspections

• 41 (1) Every overman’s section shall be inspected by a mine examiner within the four-hour period preceding the beginning of work by each shift in that section.

• (2) Where there are persons present in an overman’s section, a mine examiner shall carry out the inspections of that section at intervals not exceeding eight hours.

Inspections During Shifts

• 42 (1) Every overman who is responsible for a section shall inspect every part of the section at least once during every shift at such times that no place at which an employee works remains uninspected by the overman for more than four hours after the timewhen the shift of that employee began work in that section.

• (2) The inspection referred to in subsection (1) shall be carried out to ascertain the conditions in relation to ventilation, strata control and general safety.

• (3) At least once during every shift, a mine examiner shall inspect every part of the overman’s section that is allotted to the mine examiner for inspection purposes.

Inspections Outside an Overman’s Section

• 43 (1) At the beginning of every shift and at least once during every shift, a mine examiner shall inspect the following places that are not included in an overman’s section:

  • (a) every place at which mineral is being worked for repairing or enlarging a roadway;

  • (b) every place from which machinery, equipment, tools or supports are being removed or salvaged; and

  • (c) every place at which employees may work and through which employees do not regularly pass.

• (2) A mine examiner shall inspect

  • (a) every roadway or place through which employees regularly pass, at intervals not exceeding 24 hours; and

  • (b) every airway, at least once per week.

General Duties

• 44 (1) Every overman or mine examiner who carries out an inspection under any of sections 41 to 43 shall, in the course of the inspection,

  • (a) inspect the machinery and equipment;

  • (b) report to the underground manager any machinery or equipment found by the employee to be unsafe; and

  • (c) post at the appropriate meeting station a record of the report referred to in paragraph (b).

• (2) No person shall use any machinery or equipment that is the subject of a record referred to in paragraph (1)(c) until such time as it has been reported to be safe.

Reports

• 45 (1) Every mine examiner who carries out an inspection referred to in section 41 or subsection 42(2) shall make a report of the inspection in a book kept for that purpose, including

  • (a) the state of the roof support;

  • (b) the state of the ventilation and all matters affecting ventilation;

  • (c) the concentration of flammable gases; and

  • (d) any thing or circumstance that is likely to be hazardous to the safety or health of employees.

• (2) Every overman or mine examiner who carries out an inspection referred to in subsection 42(1) or section 43 shall make a report of the inspection in a book kept for that purpose, including all information relevant to the safety or health of employees.

• (3) Where an inspection discloses a dangerous condition in an underground portion of a coal mine, the employee who carried out the inspection shall forthwith report the condition to the overman who is responsible for that portion of the coal mine or to the underground manager.