Chapter 8 General Provisions

96. Delegation and exercise of power

1) The Minister may delegate any power conferred upon the record by or under this Act, except the power to make regulations, to the Chief Inspector of Mines.

2) The Chief Inspector of Mines may delegate any power or assign the performance of any duty conferred or imposed upon the Chief Inspector of Mines by or under this Act, or any other law, to-- a) any inspector; b) any other person with appropriate knowledge and experience who is under the control of the Chief Inspector of Mines; or c) any other person, after consulting the Council.

3) A delegation or assignment under subsection (1) or (2) must be in writing, and may be subject to any conditions or restrictions determined by the Minister or Chief Inspector of Mines, as the case may be.

4) A delegation under subsection (1) or (2) does not prevent the exercise of that power by the Minister or Chief Inspector of Mines, as the case may be.

97. Minister's power to add and change Schedules

1) The Minister, after consulting the Council, by notice in the Gazette may add to, change or replace any Schedule to this Act other than Schedules 2, 3 and, subject to subsection (5), Schedule 4.

2) The Minister, after consulting the Council, by notice in the Gazette may add to this Act a further Schedule containing matters in respect of which health and safety committees may consult.

3) The Minister, after consulting the Council, by notice in the Gazette may add to this Act a further Schedule containing the constitution of the Council and its committees.

4) The Minister, after consulting the Council and the Mining Qualifications Authority, by notice in the Gazette may add to this Act a further Schedule containing the constitution of the Mining Qualifications Authority and its committees.

5) The Minister, after consulting the Council, by notice in the Gazette may add to Schedule 4 further items containing transitional provisions necessary for the implementation of this Act.

6) The Minister, after consulting the Council and in consultation with the Minister of Health, by notice in the Gazette may add to this Act a further Schedule to suspend or vary the application of the Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act, 1973 (Act No. 78 of 1973), except in relation to the determination or payment of compensation.

7) The Minister may add to, change or replace any page header or sidenote by notice in the Gazette.

98. Regulations

1) The Minister, after consulting the Council, by notice in the Gazette may make regulations regarding--

1. health and safety of persons at mines;
2. health and safety standards, codes of practice and the provision of protective clothing, equipment and facilities in connection with health and safety at mines;
3. the performance of work by employees exposed to a health hazard and the measures to eliminate, control and minimise health risks;
4. health and safety management systems at mines;
5. orderly operations at mines;
6. the powers, duties, functions and responsibilities of employees at mines and of the employers;
7. the issuing of permits for the use of machinery, equipment and material at mines and the accreditation of persons to test machinery, equipment and material for these purposes;
8. the conditions under which machinery, equipment or material may be erected or used at mines;
9. the elimination, control and minimisation of health and safety hazards;
10. requirements for the safe use, handling, processing storage. transport and disposal of hazardous substances used in the mining process and waste produced at the mine;
11. the transport, handling, storage and use of explosives and the mixing of substances to make explosives at a mine;
12. the protection of equipment, structures, water sources and the surface of land;
13. the conditions in which equipment, structures, water sources or the surface of land may be used, and the prohibition on, or restriction of, the erection of equipment and structures and the use of water sources or the surface of land in the vicinity of the working places at a mine;
14. the making safe of undermined ground and of dangerous excavations, tailings, waste dumps, ash dumps and structures of whatever nature made in the course of prospecting or mining operations or which are connected with those operations;
15. the monitoring and control as contemplated in section 49(3)(a) of those environmental aspects at mines which affect, or may affect, the health and safety of employees or other persons;

    (Section 49(3)(a) empowers the Chief Inspector of Mines to monitor and control those environmental aspects at mines that affect the health and safety of employees or other persons.)

16. standards of housing and nutrition of employees who are accommodated at the mine;
17. initial standards of fitness to perform work involving exposure to a health hazard, standards of fitness to continue performing such work and the conditions under which employees may be withdrawn either temporarily or permanently from such work;
18. standards of occupational hygiene measurement techniques, the frequency and manner in which measurements must be made, the manner of record keeping and reporting of occupational hygiene measurements made at mines;
19. standards of medical tests or biological monitoring used in medical surveillance, the persons who may carry out those tests and that monitoring, the interpretation of results of medical surveillance, the frequency for carrying out periodic medical surveillance, the keeping of records of medical surveillance and the reporting of confidential extracts from records of medical surveillance;
20. the manner of reporting prescribed accidents and health matters at mines, the keeping of records and statistics in relation to accidents and health matters and the provision of emergency medical treatment after an accident or in connection with a health matter;
21. the manner of reporting prescribed occupational diseases at mines, the keeping of records in relation to occupational diseases and the control and provision of medical services in connection with occupational diseases;
22. the form of an exit certificate and the content of medical examinations associated with an exit certificate;
23. the form of any application to be made in terms of this Act and of any consent or document required to be submitted with an application, and the information or details which must accompany an application;
24. the form of any register, record, notice. sketch plan or information to be kept, given, published or submitted in terms of or for the purposes of this Act, and the manner in which a register, record, notice. sketch plan or information is to be kept, given, published or submitted;
25. the drawing up and keeping of mine plans and the submission of statistical and other reports in relation to minerals, mines and machinery;
26. negotiations and consultations in terms of sections 26 and 33 and the time periods within which the negotiations and consultations must be completed;

2) No regulation may be made relating to--

1. State revenue or expenditure except with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance;
2. any health matter, except after consultation with the Minister for Health.

3) The Minister, after consultation with the Mining Qualifications Authority. by notice in the Gazette, may make regulations to provide for--

1. the qualifications for employment in any occupation;
2. conditions for acceptance as a candidate for examinations;
3. the issuing of certificates of competency in respect of any occupation;
4. the funding of the Mining Qualifications Authority including the manner by which such funds may be raised;
5. procedures for assessing competency;
6. the accreditation of assessors;
7. the establishment of examination bodies;
8. the appointment of examiners and moderators;
9. the monitoring and administration of examinations;
10. the setting of examination fees;
11. the accreditation of providers of training;
12. the establishment of quality assurance procedures;
13. the issue of qualifications;
14. the registering of qualifications; and
15. any other matter, the regulation of which may be necessary or desirable in order to promote the activities of the Mining Qualifications Authority.

4) Regulations made in terms of subsection (3) must be in accordance with the National Qualifications Framework approved in terms of the South African Qualifications Authority Act, 1995 (Act No. 58 of 1995).

5) The Minister may incorporate all or part of any health and safety standard, without restating the text of it, in a regulation by referring to the number, title and year of issue of that health and safety standard or, to any other Particulars by which that health and safety standard is sufficiently identified.

6) The Minister must consult the Council before incorporating a health and safety standard in a regulation.

7) The Minister, after consulting the Council, by notice in the Gazette, may make regulations imposing any function of an employer on any person, other than the employer, who employs employees.

8) For the purposes of this Act, any health and safety standard referred to in subsection (5) incorporated in a regulation is deemed to be a regulation, in so far as it is not repugnant to any regulation made under subsection (1).

9) Whenever a health and safety standard which has been incorporated in a regulation is subsequently amended or substituted by the competent authority, the regulation referred to in subsection (5) incorporating that health and safety standard is deemed to refer to that health and safety standard as so amended or substituted, unless a contrary intention is stated in the notice.

10) The Chief Inspector of Mines must keep a register of particulars of--

1. every amendment or substitution of a health and safety standard incorporated in the regulations;
2. the publication of any amendment or substitutions;
3. every publication in which a health and safety standard that has been incorporated in the regulations under subsection (5) was published; and
4. the place in the Republic where each of those standards and publications is obtainable or otherwise available for inspection.

11) The Chief Inspector of Mines must allow any person to inspect the register kept in terms of subsection (9) and to make an extract from it.

12) The provisions of section 31 of the Standards Act, 1993 (Act No. 29 of 1993), do not apply to any incorporation of a health and safety standard or to any amendment or substitution of a health and safety standard under this section.

99. Amendment of laws

Each of the laws referred to in Schedule 3 is hereby amended to the extent specified in that Schedule.

100. Transitional arrangements

1) The amendment of laws referred to in Schedule 3 does not affect any transitional arrangement made in Schedule 4.

2) The transitional arrangements in Schedule 4 must be read and applied as substantive provisions of this Act.

101. Interpretation

1) [Subsection (1) deleted by s.42 of Act No. 72 of 1997].

2) Subject to sections 26 and 33, no agreement may affect any--

1. provision of this Act;
2. condition, notice, order, instruction, prohibition, authorisation, permission, consent, exemption, certificate or document determined, given, issued, promulgated or granted by or under this Act by the Minister, Chief Inspector of Mines, inspector or any other person authorised under this Act; or
3. any condition contained in any exemption.

(Section 26 deals with the election and appointment of health and safety representatives.

Section 33 deals with the election and appointment of members of health and safety committees.)

3) Subsection (2) applies to any agreement whether entered into before or after the commencement of this Act or before or after the issuing of the documents referred to in subsection (2).

4) Any notice, order or any other document issued in good faith in terms of this Act, is valid according to its terms, despite any want of form or lack of power on the part of any person to issue or authenticate it, provided the necessary power is subsequently conferred upon that person.

102. Definitions

In this Act, unless the context otherwise indicates--

biological monitoring
means a planned programme of periodic collection and analysis of body fluid, tissues, excreta or exhaled air in order to detect and quantify the exposure to or absorption of any substance or organism;

chief executive officer
means the person who is responsible for the overall management and control of the business of an employer;

Chief Inspector of Mines
means the officer appointed in terms of section 48(1) and includes any officer acting in that capacity;

Commission
means the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration established in terms of section 112 of the Labour Relations Act;

Council
means the Mine Health and Safety Council established by section 41(1);

Department
means the Department of Minerals and Energy;

employee
means any person who is employed or working at a mine;

employer
means an owner;

engine
means any appliance or combination of appliances by which power, other than human or animal power, can be applied to do mechanical work;

hazard
means a source of or exposure to danger;

health
refers to occupational health at mines;

health and safety committee
means a health and safety committee established in terms of section 34;

health and safety equipment
means an article or part of an article that is manufactured, provided or installed in the interest of the health or safety of any person;

health and safety representative
means an employee elected and appointed in terms of section 29;

health and safety standard
means any standard, irrespective of whether or not it has the force of law, which, if applied for the purposes of this Act, will in the opinion of the Minister promote the attainment of an object of this Act;

health hazard
means any physical, chemical or biological hazard to health, including anything declared to be a health hazard by the Minister;

health-threatening occurrence
means any occurrence that has or may have the potential to cause serious illness or damage to health;

healthy
means free from illness or injury attributable to occupational causes;

inspector
means an officer appointed in terms of section 49(1)(c), a Medical Inspector and any Principal Inspector of Mines;

Labour Court
means the Labour Court established by section 151 of the Labour Relations Act;

Labour Relations Act
means the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act No. 66 of 1995);

machinery
means any engine, boiler or appliance or any combination of them, which is situated at a mine and used or intended to be used--

1. for generating, developing, receiving, storing, converting, transforming, transmitting or distributing any form of power or energy; or
2. for conveying persons, material or minerals;

manager
means any competent person appointed in terms of section 3(1)(a);

Medical Inspector
means a Medical Inspector appointed in terms of section 49(1)(b);

medical practitioner
means a medical practitioner as defined in the Medical, Dental and Supplementary Health Service Professions Act, 1974 (Act No. 56 of 1974);

medical surveillance
means a planned programme of periodic examination, which may include clinical examinations, biological monitoring or medical tests, of employees by an occupational health practitioner or by an occupational medical practitioner contemplated in section 13;

mine
means, when--

1. used as a noun--

   1. any borehole, or excavation, in any tailings or in the earth, including the portion of the earth that is under the sea or other water, made for the purpose of searching for or winning a mineral, whether it is being worked or not; or
   2. any other place where a mineral deposit is being exploited, including the mining area and all buildings, structures, machinery, mine dumps, access roads or objects situated on or in that area that are used or intended to be used in connection with searching, winning. exploiting or processing of a mineral, or for health and safety purposes. But, if two or more excavations, boreholes or places are being worked in conjunction with one another, they are deemed to comprise one mine, unless the Chief Inspector of Mines notifies their employer in writing that those excavations, boreholes or places comprise two or more mines; or
   3. a works; and
2. used as a verb, the making of any excavation or borehole referred to in paragraph (a)(i), or the exploitation of any mineral deposit in any other manner, for the purpose of winning a mineral, including prospecting in connection with the winning of a mineral;

mineral
means any substance, excluding water, but including sand, stone, rock, gravel and clay, as well as soil, other than top soil--

1. whether that substance is in solid, liquid or gaseous form;
2. that occurs naturally in or on the earth, in or under water or in tailings; and
3. that has been formed by or subjected to a geological process;

Minerals Act
means the Minerals Act, 1991 (Act No. 50 of 1991);

mining area
means the mining area as defined in section 1 of the Minerals Act;

Minister
means the Minister of Minerals and Energy;

occupational disease
means any health disorder including a compensatable disease as contemplated by the Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act, 1973 (Act No. 78 of 1973), and an occupational disease contemplated by the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, 1993 (Act No. 130 of 1993);

occupational health
includes occupational hygiene and occupational medicine;

occupational health practitioner
means an occupational medical practitioner or a person who holds a qualification in occupational health recognised by the South African Interim Nursing Council;

occupational hygiene
means the anticipation, recognition, evaluation and control of conditions at the mine, that may cause illness or adverse health effects to persons;

occupational medicine
means the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illness, injury and adverse health effects associated with a particular type of work;

occupational medical practitioner
means a medical practitioner who holds a qualification in occupational medicine, or an equivalent qualification, recognised by the Interim National Medical and Dental Council of South Africa or a medical practitioner engaged in accordance with section 13(4);

officer
means a woman or man who has been appointed permanently despite the fact that such appointment may be on probation to a post contemplated in section 8(1)(a) of the Public Service Act, 1994 (Proclamation No. 103 of 1994), and includes a woman or man contemplated in section 8(1)(b) or 8(3)(c) of that Act;

organism
means any biological entity which is capable of causing illness to persons;

owner

1. in relation to a mine, means--

   1. the holder of a prospecting permit or mining authorisation issued under the Minerals Act;
   2. if a prospecting permit or mining authorisation does not exist, the person for whom the activities contemplated in paragraph (b) of the definition of 'mine' are undertaken, but excluding an independent contractor; or
   3. if neither (i) or (ii) is applicable, the last person who worked the mine or that person's successor in title; and
2. in relation to a works, means the person who is undertaking the activities contemplated in the definition of 'works', but excluding an independent contractor;

prescribed
means prescribed by regulation;

Principal Inspector of Mines
means the officer appointed by the Chief Inspector of Mines to be in charge of health and safety in any region established in terms of section 47(2);

processing
means the recovering, extracting, concentrating, refining, calcining, classifying, crushing, milling, screening, washing, reduction, smelting or gasification of any mineral, and "process" has a similar meaning;

prospecting
means intentionally searching for any mineral by means that disturb any tailings or the surface of the earth, including the portion of the earth that is under the sea or under other water, by means of excavation or drilling, but does not include mine as a verb;

reasonably practicable
means practicable having regard to--

1. the severity and scope of the hazard or risk concerned;
2. the state of knowledge reasonably available concerning that hazard or risk and of any means of removing or mitigating that hazard or risk;
3. the availability and suitability of means to remove or mitigate that hazard or risk; and
4. the costs and the benefits of removing or mitigating that hazard or risk;

record
includes information contained in or on a computer printout, tape or disc or any other computer storage medium;

record of medical surveillance
means a record kept in terms of section 13(3);

registered trade union
means a trade union registered in terms of the Labour Relations Act;

regulation
means a regulation made under section 98 or in force in terms of item 4 of Schedule 4;

representative trade union
means a registered trade union, or two or more registered trade unions acting jointly, that have as members the majority of employees at a mine;

risk
means the likelihood that occupational injury or harm to persons will occur;

safety
means safety at mines;

serious injury
means any injury which is reportable under this Act;

serious illness
means any illness resulting from occupational exposure that affects the health of a person to the extent that it incapacitates the affected person from resuming that person's normal or similar occupation for four days or more;

standard
means any provision occurring--

1. in a specification, compulsory specification, code of practice or standard method as defined in section 1 of the Standards Act, 1993 (Act No. 29 of 1993); or
2. in any specification, code or any other directive having standardisation as its aim and issued by an institution or organisation inside or outside the Republic which, whether generally or with respect to any particular article or matter and whether internationally or in any particular country or territory, seeks to Promote standardisation;

substance
includes any solid, liquid, vapour, gas or aerosol, alone or in any combination;

this Act
includes--

1. the section numbers, but not the page headers, headings or sidenotes;
2. the Schedules;
3. the regulations; and
4. any condition, suspension, notice, order, instruction, prohibition, authorisation, permission, consent, exemption, certificate or document determined, given, issued, promulgated or granted by or under this Act by the Minister, Chief Inspector of Mines, an inspector, any person authorised under section 49(4) or any person to whom a power has been delegated or the performance of a duty has been assigned under section 96;

topsoil
means topsoil as defined in section 1 of the Minerals Act;

working place
means any place at a mine where employees travel or work;

works
means any place, excluding a mine, where any person carries out--

1. the transmitting and distributing to another consumer of any form of power from a mine, by the employer thereof, to the terminal point of bulk supply or where the supply is not in bulk, to the power supply meter on any such other consumer's premises; or
2. training at any central rescue station; or
3. the making, repairing, re-opening or closing of any subterranean tunnel; or
4. any operations necessary or in connection with any of the operations listed in this paragraph.

103. Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993, not applicable

The Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act No. 85 of 1993), is not applicable to any matter in respect of which any provision of this Act is applicable.

104. Civil liability of State

The State does not incur any civil liability only because an officer took an action or failed to take an action that the officer may take or is required to take under or in terms of this Act, and in taking or failing to take that action the officer acted without negligence and in good faith.

105. Act binds State

The provisions of this Act bind the State except in so far as any criminal liability is concerned.

106. Short title and commencement

1) This Act is called the Mine Health and Safety Act, 1996.

2) This Act comes into operation on a date fixed by the President by proclamation in the Gazette.