PART I DEFINITIONS |
| 1.1 Unless the context indicates otherwise in these regulations, any word
to which a meaning has been assigned to in the Minerals (Prospecting and
Mining) Act, 1992 (Act 33 of 1992) (hereinafter in these regulations referred
to as the Minerals Act), shall have that meaning. "accredited agent" means a person designated in accordance with the provisions of section 121 of the Minerals Act as the accredited agent for the holder of a mining licence or a mining claim; "adit" means a nearly horizontal access into underground workings from a side of a hill or surface; "air" includes any pure gas or mixture of gases suitable for underwater respiration at the required depth "approved inspection authority" means an inspection authority approved by the Chief Inspector for the verification, surveillance and certification of the design construction, manufacture, test, inspection and repair of compression chambers and bells; "attachments", in relation to a shaft conveyance, anything suspended from or attached to a conveyance other than the winding rope or a balance or tail rope; "bank", in relation to a shaft means the station situated on the surface; "banksman" means a competent person duly authorized to supervise the lowering and raising of persons, material or rock in a conveyance at the bank and to give the necessary signals; "bell", in relation to underwater mining, means a compartment either at ambient pressure (open bell) or pressurized (closed bell) by means of which a diver can be transported to and from the underwater work site, which allows the diver access to the surrounding environment, and which is capable of being used as a refuge during diving operations; "blaster" means a competent person who is in possession of a valid blasting certificate; "blasting certificate" means a blasting certificate issued under the provisions of Part XI; "bench mark" means a fixed point of reference, the elevation of which is known; "bottom time" means the total elapsed time, measured in minutes, from the time a descending diver leaves the surface of the water towards the underwater working place until such time the diver begins his or her final ascent; "breathing mixture" means a respirable mixture of different gases that provides adequate oxygen to support life and does not cause detrimental physiological effects, such as excessive breathing resistance or impairment of neurological function. "buddy line" means a cord not exceeding five meters in length and with a breaking strength of at least 500 Newtons which is used for securely connecting two divers to each other during a dive; "charge" means explosive or blasting agent or an explosive and a blasting agent placed in a drill hole or other position for the purpose of producing an explosion and "to charge" shall have a corresponding meaning; "chief inspector" means the Chief Inspector of Mines appointed under regulation 2.1(1)(a)(i); "circuit" means an arrangement of conductors for the purpose of carrying electrical energy; "class I diver" means a diver who has been trained in all aspects of mixed gases, saturation and bell diving to a depth of not less than 100 meters; "class II diver" means a diver trained in all aspects of air diving using scuba and surface air supply diving equipment to a depth not exceeding 50 meters; "class III diver" means a diver trained in all aspects of air diving using scuba and surface air supply diving equipment to a depth not exceeding 30 meters without the use of a surface compression chamber; "class IV diver " means a diver trained in all aspects of air diving using scuba to a depth not exceeding 30 meters ,without the use of a surface compression chamber; "combustible" any substance capable of igniting and burning; "competent person" means a person who is :- (a) qualified by virtue of his or her knowledge of, and training, skills and experience in any matter in respect of which he or she is required to be a competent person; and / or (b) familiar with the provisions of these regulations or any other law which apply to the work to be performed; and / or (c) trained to recognize any potential or actual danger to health and safety in performance of the work; "compression chamber" means a pressure vessel for human occupation having internal dimensions sufficient to accommodate not less than one diver lying in a horizontal position as well as one other person, and which allows the entry or exit of personnel while the occupants are under pressure. "compression chamber dive" means the simulation of an actual dive to specific depths by using a compression chamber. "council" means the Council for Diving Operations (Hypobaric Operations) established in terms of these regulations "conductor" means material with the ability to carry or conduct electrical energy. "conveyance", in relation to a shaft, means any cage, skip, bucket, kibble, stage or any other receptacle or structure attached to or suspended from a winding rope and operated by a winder and intended to serve as a means of raising or lowering persons, material or rock. "decompression stop" means a pause, calculated with the aid of decompression tables, which must be observed at a specific depth below the surface of the water during a diver's ascent from the underwater working place, in order to release excess nitrogen or other inert gases absorbed by his or her body, and in respect of a compression chamber dive it has a corresponding meaning. "designated medical practitioner" means a medical practitioner registered or authorized as such under the Medical and Dental Professions Act, 1993 (Act 21 of 1993), and designated under paragraph 4 as a medical practitioner able to establish whether or not a diver is fit to dive. "danger" means danger to health, life or limb; "dive" means any underwater operation performed by divers from the control point on the surface of the water to any point under the surface of the water and back to the control point; "diver" means a competent person who is in possession of a valid certificate of fitness granted by a medical practitioner and is registered in terms of these regulations as a Class I, II, III, IV or learner diver. "diver's logbook" means the logbook in the form set out in Appendix 1 "diving mode" means a dive requiring scuba, surface-supplied air, or surface-supplied mixed gas equipment with related procedures and techniques. "diving operation" means all activities of a diving team in preparation for, during and after a dive. "diving stage" means a suspended platform designed to carry one or more divers and used for lowering divers into the water and bringing them to the surface when underwater decompression is undertaken or standard diving dress is used. "diving supervisor" means a person authorized as such in writing by the Chief Inspector, who has complete responsibility for a diving operation, including responsibility for the health and safety of all diving personnel, and who is registered as a diving supervisor in terms of these regulations. "diving team" means the diving supervisor, divers, standby divers, and diver support personnel involved in a diving operation, including the line attendant, live-support technician and such other persons as are necessary to man any machinery and equipment which may be required before, during and after a dive. "diving time" means the time in minutes which elapses from the time when a diver dives from the surface of the water until he or she is again exposed to atmospheric pressure after a dive; "dressed in" means fully equipped to dive and ready to enter the water, with all life support and communications equipment tested and at hand, but not necessarily with the helmet, face plate or face mask in place. "earthed" means connected to the general mass of the earth in such manner as will ensure at all times an immediate discharge of electrical energy without danger; "effective combined weight" means the static weight resulting from the mass of any load where winding is conducted in a vertical plane and it shall be 1,05 times the incline component of this static weight where winding is conducted in an inclined plane. "electrical apparatus" includes electric cables and any part of any machine, apparatus or appliance being a part designed for the generation, conversion, storage, transmission or utilization of electricity. "excavation" means any trench, pit, quarry, shaft or other open or underground working made in the course of mining operations, prospecting operations or quarrying operations, as the case may be, excluding any superficial excavations made for purposes of geochemical soil and rock sampling. "explosives" means explosives as defined in section 1 of the Explosives Act, 1956 (Act 26 of 1956). "explosives magazine" means an explosives magazine as defined in section 1 of the Explosives Act, 1956 (Act 26 of 1956). "face" means the moving front of any workings. "factor of safety", in relation to any rope or part of machinery, means the ratio of the breaking force or strength of that rope or part of machinery to the maximum total static force on it including the component of its own weight. "flammable" means any substance which is capable of being easily set alight. "flexible cable" means a cable having flexible insulated conductors and earthing conductors within a protective sheath, but shall not include signalling cable, telephone cable, blasting cable or flexible electric cord used with electrical apparatus at a voltage not exceeding 250 volts AC on a single-phase system. "gas" means any pure gas or mixture of gases, other than air, suitable for underwater breathing. "guidelines" means any guideline or instruction issued under section 138B of the Minerals Amendment Act. "in-date diver" means a diver who is the holder of a valid medical certificate of fitness in which he or she is certified fit to dive. "inspector" means an Inspector of Mines appointed under regulation 2.1(1)(a)(ii), and includes the Chief Inspector. "insulated" means covered with insulating material of such thickness and properties that will prevent the flow of electrical energy between the object so covered and its surroundings or any external object in contact with it. "isolated" means disconnected from the normal source of energy; "ladderway" means any place where permanent ladders are installed for the use of persons ascending or descending thereon. "learner diver" means any person registered as a learner diver. "lifeline" means a line, or something similar, not less than ten millimeters in diameter and with a minimum breaking strength of 5 Kilonewtons, one end of which is attached at the control point on the surface of the water to a substantial anchorage, and the other end of which is secured to the diver during the dive. "life-support technician" means a person trained, to the satisfaction of the Chief Inspector, in the physics, physiology and medical aspects of supporting life in high pressure environments. "line attendant" means a person trained, to the satisfaction of the Chief Inspector, in the use of diving signals, life lines, and telephones and other surface cables. "line attendant" means a competent person who has been trained in the use of diving signals, life-lines, service telephones and other service cables; "live" means electrically energized; "locked out" means the isolation of machinery or electrical apparatus by means of a device which can be physically locked so as to prevent the unintentional movement or energizing of the equipment; "machinery" means - (a) any article or combination of articles assembled, arranged or connected and which is used or intended to be used for converting any form of energy into performing work, or which is used or intended to be used, whether incidental thereto or not, for developing, receiving, storing, containing, transforming, transmitting, transferring or controlling any form of energy; (b) any appliance or combination of appliances declared by the Minister by notice in the Gazette to be machinery for the purposes of these regulations; "material" means anything, except persons or rock, conveyed or to be conveyed by means of a winder; "medical certificate of fitness" means a certificate issued by a designated medical practitioner in terms of these regulations. "medical examination" means a medical examination of a diver or a learner diver conducted by a medical practitioner. "mine" means a mine as defined in part I of the Minerals (Prospecting and Mining) Act, 1992 (Act 33 of 1992); "mineral licence area" means any area covered by a licence issued in terms of the Minerals, Prospecting and Mining Act of 1992. "mine manager" means a competent person appointed in terms of regulation 2.4(1)(a) and includes the owner of a mine who himself or herself acts as mine manager in terms of regulation 2.4(1)(b) and includes the term acting mine manager; "Minister" means the Minister of Mines and Energy; "misfire", in relation to a charge, means a charge which has failed to explode either wholly or in part; "month" means a calendar month; "onsetter" means a competent person duly authorized to be in charge of a shaft conveyance in which persons, material or rock are lowered or raised from any station below the bank and to give the necessary signals; "opencast workings" means any workings below the surface of the ground, excluding underground workings and any trench, pit or other such excavation; "owner", in relation to a mine, means the holder of a mining licence or a mining claim, and includes the accredited agent for such a holder and a person to whom an interest in such mining licence or mining claim has been granted, ceded or assigned in terms of the provisions of the Minerals Act; "raise" means any tunnel in a mine having an inclination of more than 10 degrees above the horizontal and which is not included under the definition of 'ramp' or "shaft"; "ramp" means any roadway inclined above or below the horizontal especially designed for the movement of trackless vehicles; "rock" means any portion of the earth's crust whether consolidated or not; "saturation dive" means a dive executed by a diver whose tissues are saturated with the inert gas in the breathing mixture so as to allow an extension of bottom time without additional compression. "scuba" means self-contained underwater breathing apparatus in which the supply of breathing mixture carried by the diver is independent of any other source; "shaft" means a vertical or inclined excavation of limited area compared with its depth, leading from the surface to underground workings or from one part of an underground workings to another made for - (a) mining minerals; (b) raising and lowering persons, material or rock; or (c) ventilating underground workings; "shot hole" means any drill hole charged or intended to be charged; "shot line" means a line of not less than 15 millimeters in diameter with a minimum breaking strength of 5 kilo Newtons, one end of which is attached at the control point on the surface of the water and which extends to the underwater working place where the other end is attached or anchored, and along which he or she has to return to the surface of the water. "socket" means the remaining or enlarged portion of a drill hole after a charge has been fired; "standard diving dress" means a heavy weight surface-supplied diving outfit for deep diving. "standby diver" means an in-date diver who is fully qualified to dive to the maximum depth required by the particular diving operation with the aid of the diving equipment in use in the event of an emergency, and who is not prevented from diving by an excess of inert gas in his or her system. "station", in relation to a shaft means any floor, platform or landing which is an authorized stopping place for a conveyance; "steeply inclined", in relation to any excavation means an inclination of more than 35 degrees to the horizontal; "stope" means an underground excavation made by the removal of any mineral, but does not apply to excavations made for engine rooms and pump chambers or for development purposes such as shafts, drives, winzes and raises; "survey station" means a point which has been surveyed within the limits of the allowable error prescribed under the regulations; "system" means an electrical interconnection of conductors, circuits and apparatus to a common source of electromotive force; "tailings" means any waste rock, slimes or residue derived from any mining operation or processing of any mineral; "The Board" means the Mine Health and Safety Board established under regulation 2.4; "therapeutic recompression" means treatment of a diver for decompression sickness, usually in a hyperbaric chamber, in accordance with approved procedures. "these regulations" include any guidelines as defined. "toxic" means any substance in such concentration as is capable of causing injury to or harmful pathological change in any part of a person by absorption or inhalation; "trackless vehicle" means any vehicle having wheels, tracks or skids, self-propelled or otherwise, which does not run on rails; "trailing cable" means any flexible cable used to supply power to any mobile machine and which is dragged across the ground; "underground" means any place in a mine under the natural surface of the earth which is solely connected to the surface by means of an adit, ramp or shaft, including such adit, ramp or shaft; "underground workings" means any workings below the natural surface of the earth, access to which is by means of an adit, ramp or shaft, but excludes opencast workings; "underwater workplace" means the point or place under the surface of the water where a diving operation is undertaken; "ventilating district", in relation to a mine in which underground workings are being carried on, means - (a) in the case of a mine other than a mine which is ventilated by natural means, such part of such mine as has an independent intake commencing from a main intake airway and an independent return terminating at a main return airway; and (b) in the case of a mine which is ventilated by natural means, the whole of such mine or such part thereof as is so ventilated; "voltage" means the difference of electrical potential between any two conductors, or between a conductor and earth and shall be classified as follows - (a) extra low: normally not exceeding 48 volts AC; (b) low: normally exceeding 48 volts AC, but not exceeding 250 volts; (c) medium: normally exceeding 250 volts AC, but not exceeding 650 volts; (d) high: normally exceeding 650 volts AC, but not exceeding 6600 volts; (e) extra high: normally exceeding 6600 volts AC; "warning signal" in relation to underwater mining means - (a) by day, flag A as defined in the International Code of Signals; and (b) by night, the lights as defined in the International Regulations for Preventing Collision at Sea, 1983. "winder" means the machinery used to raise or lower by means of a rope or ropes any conveyance in a shaft for the conveyance of persons, material or rock, but excluding any lifting machine, endless rope haulage or scraper winch installation; "winze" means any tunnel in a mine having an inclination of more than 10 degrees below the horizontal and which is not included under the definition of 'ramp' or 'shaft'; "workings" means any part of a mine, whether on surface or underground, which has been excavated or is in the process of being excavated; "workplace" means any place at a mine to which access has been authorized; "work injury" means any injury suffered by a person which arises out of and in the course of his or her employment; the word injury shall be construed to include also occupational disease and work related disability. APPLICATION OF THESE REGULATIONS 1.2 (1) These regulations shall apply to any Mineral Licence Area in Namibia. (2) In the application of any provision of these regulations, a reference to the expressions "mine" and "mining operations" shall, unless it would appear to be clearly inappropriate, be construed as references to "prospecting area" or "prospecting operations", respectively. |