Any power conferred by this Act or regulations F6or health and safety regulations which expressly apply to all mines F7. . ., any class of mines F7. . . or a particular mine F7. . . on F8the Health and Safety Executive or an inspector to grant, give or impose an exemption, consent, approval, authority, direction, requirement, prohibition or restriction or to make a determination shall be construed as including a power exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like conditions, if any, to vary or revoke the exemption, consent, approval, authority, direction, requirement, prohibition, restriction or determination.

Any exemption, consent, approval or authority granted or given under this Act or regulations F6or such health and safety regulations by F8the Health and Safety Executive or an inspector may (subject to any express provision of this Act or regulations F6or such health and safety regulations) be without limit of period or limited so as to expire on a specified date unless renewed, and may be absolute or conditional.

This section defines “mine” for the purposes of this Act.

Premises used to deposit refuse from a single mine and occupied exclusively by the owner of the mine are deemed to form part of the mine.

Premises used to deposit refuse from two or more mines and occupied by the owner of one of the mines (either exclusively or jointly with the owner of the other or any of the others) are deemed to form part of whichever of the mines the Health and Safety Executive directs.

A railway line serving one or more mines, other than a line falling within subsection (3) or belonging to a railway company, is deemed to form part of the mine or (if more than one) of whichever of the mines the Health and Safety Executive directs.

A conveyor or aerial ropeway provided for the removal from a mine of minerals extracted from it, or of refuse from it, is deemed to form part of the mine.

Subject to the provisions of this section, in this Act the expression “owner” means, in relation to a mine F11. . ., the person for the time being entitled to work it.

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Where the business of a person who, by virtue of the foregoing provisions of this section is, for the purposes of this Act, to be taken to be owner of a mine F14. . . is carried on by a liquidator, receiver or manager, or by some other person authorised to carry it on by an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, the liquidator, receiver, manager or other person shall be taken for the purposes of this Act to be an additional owner of the mine F14. . ..

This section shall, in its application to Scotland, have effect as if, for subsection (3), there were substituted the following subsection:—

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say:—

• F15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• “central rescue station” has the meaning assigned to it by section seventy-two of this Act;

• “contravention” includes, in relation to—

  1. a

     a provision of this Act, of an order made thereunder or of regulations; or

  2. b

     a direction, prohibition, restriction or requirement given or imposed by a notice served under or by virtue of this Act by an inspector; or

  3. c

     a condition attached to an exemption, consent, approval or authority granted or given under or by virtue of this Act by F16the Health and Safety Executive or an inspector;

  4. d

     F17a prohibition or requirement imposed by or under health and safety regulations which expressly apply to all mines F18. . ., any class of mine F18. . . or a particular mine F18. . .

  a failure to comply with the provision, direction, prohibition, restriction, requirement or condition, and the expression “contravene” shall be construed accordingly:

• “gas” includes fume or vapour;

• “gravity operated rope haulage apparatus” means rope haulage apparatus worked solely by the action of gravity on a vehicle or vehicles attached to a rope forming part of the apparatus;

• “gravity operated winding apparatus” means winding apparatus worked solely by the action of gravity on a part of it in which a load is carried;

• F19“health and safety regulations” has the meaning assigned by section 15(1) of the M1Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974

• “inset” means, in relation to a shaft or outlet of a mine, a heading, chamber or other space driven or excavated from the shaft or outlet, being a heading, chamber or space to which access can only be had from the shaft or outlet and not being a heading, chamber or space the sole or main purpose of the driving or excavation of which is the getting of minerals or products of minerals;

• F20“inspector” means an inspector appointed by the Health and Safety Executive under section 19 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and references in any provision of this Act to the inspector for the district are references as respects a mine F18. . ., to the inspector so appointed for carrying into effect the provisions of the Mines and Quarries Acts 1954 to 1971 in the district in which the mine F18. . . is situated;

• “legal proceedings” includes arbitration;

• “mechanically operated rope haulage apparatus” means rope haulage apparatus worked by a stationary engine;

• “mechanically operated winding apparatus” means winding apparatus worked by a stationary engine;

• “minerals” includes stone, slate, clay, gravel, sand and other natural deposits except peat;

• “the Minister” means F21the Secretary of State;

• “notice” means a notice in writing;

• “parent” F22means a parent of a young person or any person who is not a parent of his but who has parental responsibility for him (within the meaning of the Children Act 1989) or who has parental responsibilities in relation to him (within the meaning of section 1(3) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995), and includes, in relation to any young person, a person having direct benefit from his wages;

• “period of employment” means the period (inclusive of the time allowed for meals and rest) within which a person may be employed on any day;

• “permitted lights” means, in relation to a mine or a part of a mine, locked safety-lamps and any other means of lighting the use of which below ground in mines generally, in mines of a class to which that mine belongs or in that mine is authorised by regulations F23or health and safety regulations;

• “prescribed” has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (5) of section one hundred and forty-one of this Act;

• “railway company” means any persons authorised by an enactment to construct, work or carry on a railway . . . F24, and for the purposes of this definition the expression “enactment” includes a provision of an order or scheme made under or confirmed by an Act;

• “regulations”, “general regulations” and “special regulations” have the meanings respectively assigned to them by subsection (5) of section one hundred and forty-one of this Act;

• “responsible person” means, in relation to a mine, the manager thereof F25. . .;

• “road” does not include an unwalkable outlet;

• “rope” includes chain;

• “rope haulage apparatus” means apparatus for transporting loads in vehicles attached to ropes;

• “safety-lamp mine” means a mine in no part of which below ground is the use of lamps or lights other than permitted lights lawful;

• “safety-lamp part of a mine” means a part of a mine other than a safety-lamp mine, being a part below ground in which either the use of lamps or lights other than permitted lights is unlawful or safety-lamps are for the time being in use by way of temporary precaution;

• “sanitary conveniences” includes urinals, water-closets, earth-closets, ash-pits, privies and any similar convenience;

• “shaft” means a shaft the top of which is, or is intended to be, at the surface;

• “staple-pit” includes winze;

• “statutory responsibilities” means responsibilities under this Act, orders made thereunder and regulations;

• “support rules” has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (1) of section fifty-four of this Act;

• “transport rules” has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (1) of section thirty-seven of this Act;

• “unwalkable outlet” means an outlet which, owing to the gradient thereof or of any part thereof (whether alone or in combination with other circumstances), persons cannot walk up with reasonable convenience;

• “week” means the period between midnight on Saturday night and midnight on the succeeding Saturday night;

• “winding apparatus” means, in relation to a mine shaft or staple-pit, apparatus for lowering and raising loads through the shaft or staple-pit;

• “woman” means a woman who has attained the age of eighteen;

• “young person” means a person who is over compulsory school age but has not attained the age of eighteen.

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References in this Act to the use of safety-lamps by way of temporary precaution shall, in relation to a mine, be construed as references to the occasional or intermittent use of locked safety-lamps by workmen employed below ground in the mine in a place in which the use of naked lights might be dangerous and, in relation to a part of a mine below ground, be construed as references to the occasional or intermittent use of locked safety-lamps by workmen employed in that part in such a place.

References in this Act to any other enactment shall be construed as references to that enactment as amended, extended or applied by or under any subsequent enactment including, except where the context otherwise requires, this Act.

For the purposes of this Act an excavation or system of excavations made for training purposes shall be deemed to be a mine, and the use for those purposes of any premises which are a mine as defined by subsection (1) of section one hundred and eighty of this Act or are, by virtue of this section, deemed to be a mine shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to constitute the working of the mine; but the Minister may by order direct that this Act shall, in its application to any such premises as aforesaid which are used exclusively for training purposes, have effect subject to such exceptions, adaptations and modifications as may be specified in the order.

In this section the expression “training purposes” means the purposes of instructing or training below ground persons in, or in any work connected with, mining minerals.

Nothing in this Act shall affect any special rule established under an enactment repealed by this Act, but any such rule so established shall, if in force at the commencement of this Act and so far as it could, had it been a regulation, have been made under this Act, have effect as if it had been a regulation so made.

Any document referring to any Act or enactment repealed by this Act shall be construed as referring to this Act or the corresponding enactment in this Act.

Any inquiry or formal investigation under section eleven or eighty-three of the M5Coal Mines Act 1911, which is uncompleted at the commencement of this Act may be carried on and completed in all respects as if this Act had not passed.

Any person holding office or acting or serving under or by virtue of an enactment repealed by this Act shall continue to hold office or to act or serve as if he had been appointed under or by virtue of the corresponding enactment in this Act.

Any register kept under an enactment repealed by this Act shall be deemed part of the register to be kept under the corresponding enactment in this Act.

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The mention of particular matters in this section shall be without prejudice to the general application of F35sections 16(1) and 17(2)(a) of the M6Interpretation Act 1978 with regard to the effect of repeals.

This Act may be cited as the M9Mines and Quarries Act 1954.

This Act shall not extend to Northern Ireland.