SURVEYS AND MAPS 211.25 Mine-office maps-(a) Surveys to be made and maps extended every 6 months; surveys to be made before abandoning any section of a mine. Accurate surveys of new workings shall be made at least every 6 months and a map prepared thereof on a scale of 50 feet, 100 feet, or 200 feet to the inch. The mine-office maps of the workings in each coal bed shall be extended to show the advancement of all the mine workings and all other changes of a permanent character that have taken place during the period between successive surveys. Before any mine or section of a mine is abandoned, closed, or becomes inaccessible, a survey of such mine or section shall be made and recorded on the map. (b) Map legend. In addition to the information required by the lease, maps shall bear the name of the mine, the name of the lessee, and the serial number assigned by the district land office, and shall show the true north or meridian, the public survey land lines with indication of corners found, the distance and direction from the mine opening to a land corner, the boundary barrier pillars, the scale to which the map is drawn, and an explanatory legend. (c) Surface buildings and bore holes to be shown on mine map. The surface map shall show in outline the location of all structures or buildings and the surface location and depth of each bore hole, appropriately numbered. The map shall also show the altitude at the surface, the altitude and section of each coal bed penetrated by boring, and any other pertinent information, including the angle and direction of prospect drilling where not vertical. (d) Coal sections, stoppings, ventilation, etc., to be shown on map. The mine map shall show at each face the date of extension and at each entry face the coal sections and altitude, also the location of all pillars and the parts of pillars not extracted in pillar work; the position of all fire walls, dams, main pumps, fire pipe lines, permanent ventilating stoppings, doors, overcasts, undercasts, and regulators; the direction of the ventilating current in the various parts of the mine at the time of making latest surveys; fire areas; known bodies of standing water either in or above the workings of the mine; areas containing flammable gas; areas affected by squeezes. (e) Profiles of steeply dipping beds; vertical view of workings in bed dipping more than 45°. Where the dip of the coal bed or beds exceeds 45°, profiles or vertical cross sections parallel with the approximate average direction of the dip and not more than 1,000 feet apart shall be made on the same scale as the mine maps, with appropriately marked reference points, and a vertical view of the mine workings shall be prepared on the same scale as the general mine map to show the mine workings in that bed on a vertical plane parallel with the average strike of the bed or beds, with appropriately marked reference points. (f) Blueprints to be furnished annually, or semiannually on request. Blueprints or reproductions in duplicate of the maps and drawings prescribed in the preceding paragraphs and such other maps as may be required shall be submitted to the district mining super Page 18 visor annually without his special request, or semiannually on request.** [Sec. 28] 211.26 Maps made when lessee fails to furnish them-(a) Liability of lessee for expense of survey. In the event of the failure of the lessee to furnish the maps required, the mining supervisor or district mining supervisor shall employ a competent mine surveyor to make a survey and maps of the mine, and the cost thereof shall be charged to and promptly paid by the lessee. (b) Incorrect maps. If any map submitted by a lessee is believed to be incorrect, the district mining supervisor may cause a survey to be made, and if the survey shows the map submitted by the lessee to be substantially incorrect in whole or in part, the cost of making the survey and preparing the map shall be charged to and promptly paid by the lessee.** [Sec. 29] MINING BY STRIPPING 211.27 Requirements and prohibitions-(a) Drainage of stripping operations. No strip pit will be permitted on the outcrop of any dipping coal bed until the workable coal at lower altitude in that bed and underlying beds has been extracted, unless there is free natural or artificial drainage from the pit that will prevent seepage underground down the dip. (b) Fire prevention. Accumulations of slack coal or combustible waste that may, if fired, endanger the coal deposit shall not be permitted at or near coal or carbonaceous material in place. (c) Overhanging banks. Overhanging banks or ledges must be shot down promptly to eliminate danger to employees from falling rock or dirt. (d) Coal face to be covered in strip pits. Upon completion or indefinite suspension of mining operations in all or any part of a strip pit, the face of the coal shall be covered with noncombustible material that will effectively prevent the coal bed from becoming ignited. (e) Underground workings from strip pits prohibited. The driving of underground working places from the face of a strip pit for the purpose of getting cheap coal is contrary to conservation principles and is prohibited.*+ [Sec. 30] MANWAYS AND EXITS 211.28 Construction requirements-(a) Escapeways to surface and distance between at surface. In every mine the lessee shall provide an escapeway or second means of egress to the surface, which, if a drift, slope, or tunnel exit, shall be separated at the surface from the first exit by not less than 50 feet of rock or coal in place; if either is a shaft or both are shafts, the exits shall be not less than 200 feet apart. (b) Surface exit. During the course of development of a shaft mine not more than 10 men shall be employed underground on any shift until connections are made to the second exit. **For statutory and source citations, see note to § 211.1. Page 19 (c) Steps or stairways in slopes. If the escapeway is a slope and more than 25° from the horizontal, steps or a stairway shall be provided. If the floor is slippery or wet, steps may be required where the dip is less than 25°.*f [Sec. 31] 211.29 Shafts when escape by other means unavailable-(a) Hoist or ladder in shafts. In every shaft mine, unless escape is available by drift, tunnel, or slope, one shaft shall be equipped with hoist and cage suitable for hoisting or lowering men: Provided, That if less than 10 men are employed underground and the shafts are less than 50 feet in depth, a well-maintained ladder in each shaft will suffice as a means of entering and leaving the mine. (b) Stairway construction in shafts. Where the main shaft and escape shaft are less than 300 feet in depth, one shall be equipped for the hoisting and lowering of men and the other shall be equipped with a substantial stairway of approved design. The pitch of the flights shall not exceed 45°, the flights shall have suitable landings at each turn, and the hand rails and stairs shall be maintained in good order. (c) Hoists in both shafts if more than 300 feet deep; ladderway construction. The escape shaft and main shaft, if more than 300 feet in depth, shall each be provided with an adequate hoist and cage suitable for hoisting and lowering men, an efficient signaling system, and a qualified hoistman who shall be available on appropriate signal. The hoisting equipment and cages in each of the two shafts shall have sufficient capacity, independently of each other, to hoist out of the mine all persons on any shift in 30 minutes and with due regard to safety. A stairway or emergency ladderway of approved design shall be provided in at least one of the shafts. If a ladderway is constructed, it shall be provided with landings not more than 20 feet vertically apart, and the pitch shall not exceed 80°.** [Sec. 32] 211.30 Passageways at shaft landings. At each shaft landing there shall be a passageway at least 6 feet high and 4 feet wide, free of obstruction, that will enable persons to go from one side of the shaft to the other side without passing through any compartment of the shaft: Provided, That a shaft compartment may be used for a passageway if properly floored and roofed over by a bulkhead sufficiently strong to withstand the fall of heavy bodies.*t [Sec. 33] 211.31 Support of roof and sides of traveling roads. The roof and sides of every traveling road and working place shall be maintained in a safe condition, and no one shall be permitted, unless appointed for the purpose of exploring or repairing, to travel on or work in any traveling road or working place which is not in safe condition.*† [Sec. 34] 211.32 Fireproof shafts. The shafts of all mines designed for the employment of more than 50 men, if the lining or facing thereof is combustible, shall be fireproofed within 6 months after completion by lining, guniting, or coating with cement or other noncombustible material. Such fireproofing shall be maintained over all combustible Page 20 **For statutory and source citations, see note to § 211.1. material, except guides, ladderways, and stairways, as long as said shafts form the principal means of egress.** [Sec. 35] 211.33 Fireproof passageways adjacent to shafts. In every mine designed for the employment of more than 50 men underground on any shift, the roofs and walls of entries and passageways within 300 feet of the bottom of each shaft, if in coal or timbered, shall be fireproofed with a cement coating or the equivalent within 1 year after said entries and passageways have been driven, and such fireproofing shall be maintained in good condition so long as the shaft is used.** [Sec. 36] 211.34 Manways not used for haulage to be provided. The lessee shall arrange, so far as practicable, manways free from regular haulage for the passage of underground employees to and from their working places. Such manways shall be maintained in safe condition, and signs with arrows shall be provided showing direction toward the escapeways on each side of crossing or intersecting passages. The lessee shall require his employees to use the manways, so far as practicable, in going to and from their working places.** [Sec. 37] HOISTS, HOISTING EQUIPMENT, AND SHAFT LANDINGS 211.35 Hoists-(a) Hoisting equipment to be of ample capacity and standard design. All hoisting equipment used in shafts and slopes shall be of ample capacity and of a standard design commercially recognized as safe and in accordance with State requirements. (b) Drum flanges. The drums or cable reels of hoists shall be provided with flanges that extend at least 2 inches radially beyond the last layer of rope or cable when fully coiled on the drum or reel. (c) Hoist brakes. All hoists shall have sufficient power to hoist the loaded unbalanced cage or skip and shall be equipped with brakes adequate to stop and hold the fully loaded unbalanced cage or skip at any point in the shaft or slope.*+ [Sec. 38] 211.36 Hoisting cables-(a) Safety factor of hoisting cable. A metal hoisting cable of recognized standard character shall be used for hoisting or lowering men. When newly installed in the shaft or slope, it shall have a safety factor of not less than 6 as rated by the manufacturer, based on the maximum load including the weight of the cable, or, if the hoistway is inclined, the calculated component of the weights parallel with the incline. (b) Broken wires on hoisting cables. No cable shall be used for hoisting and lowering men if on inspection it is found that the number of broken wires exceeds six in any single pitch length or lay of the rope, that the crowns of the strands are worn down to less than 65 percent of their original diameter, or that a dangerous amount of corrosion or distortion exists: Provided, however, That when such broken wires are reduced by wear more than 30 percent in cross section, the number of breaks in any lay of the rope shall not exceed three. (c) Attachment of hoisting cable to cage. Cages, skips, or cars used in hoisting or lowering men shall be connected to the hoisting cable or ring by standard babbitted or zinc-filled sockets or by **For statutory and source citations, see note to § 211.1. Page 21 clamps. The cable shall be resocketed or reclamped at intervals not exceeding 4 months, and at least 4 feet of the cable shall be cut off from the end to be socketed or clamped, and clamping shall be so done that at least 80 percent of the breaking strength of the cable shall be retained. (d) Fastening of hoisting cable to drum or reel. Hoisting cable shall be firmly clamped to the drum or reel, and at least two turns of the cable shall remain on the drum or reel at all times when the cable is extended to the lowest landing.*+ [Sec. 39] 211.37 Hoistway clearance; overwinding and overspeeding preventers or detaching hooks. In shafts and slopes where men are hoisted or lowered, there shall be at least 20 feet of hoistway clearance above the surface landings at which men enter or leave the cages or cars; and at mines in which more than 50 men are employed underground on any shift, overwinding and overspeeding preventers or equivalent devices, approved by the district mining supervisor, shall be connected with the hoists and so maintained as to prevent the cages from being overwound or from falling if overwound and to prevent overspeeding, considering the character of the hoisting equipment and the depth of hoisting.* [Sec. 40] 211.38 Cages for hoisting men-(a) Bonnets, gates, and handholds on cages used for hoisting men. Cages for hoisting men shall have bonnets extending over the space on which the men stand, metal sides extending not less than 5 feet above the floor of the cage or of each deck of a multiple-deck cage, and gates or doors at least 4 feet high closing the entrances to the cage on each deck. Each deck of a cage used for hoisting men shall have overhead or side bars so arranged that every man on the cage may have an easy and secure handhold. Self-dumping cages shall be so designed that the platform can not overturn in the shaft. (b) Safety catches on cages. Cages used for hoisting or lowering men shall be provided with safety catches capable of bringing the fully loaded cage to a stop within a distance of 10 feet in any part of the shaft or headframe should the cable or cable connection break. (c) Cage rests or chairs. Cage rests or chairs shall be provided at all shaft landings regularly used in the hoisting or lowering of men unless their omission is authorized in writing by the district mining supervisor.*+ [Sec. 41] 211.39 Landings-(a) Landing gates. Gates 4 feet high or covers shall be used at the top or ground landings of vertical or inclined shafts, and the gates shall be kept closed except when the cage is at the landing and attended. (b) Derail for shaft or slope landing. The track at the surface landing of a shaft or slope shall have a derailing device which shall always be kept open except when a car is being taken from or placed on the cage at said landing, or when a car is entering the slope under control.* [Sec. 42] 211.40 Shaft and sump guards. Shafts when not in use for hoisting men and slopes or sumps that extend below the floor of a Page 22 **For statutory and source citations, see note to § 211.1. |