MINING OPERATIONS.

SECOND GENERAL REVISION, 1899.

LAWS 1899, P. 301,

APRIL 18, 1899.

AN ACT to revise the laws in relation to coal mines and subjects relating thereto, and providing for the health and safety of persons employed therein.

MAPS OR PLANS OF MINES.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted, etc.:

MAPS NECESSARY.-(a) That the operator of every coal mine in the State shall make, or cause to be made, an accurate map or plan of such mine, drawn to a scale not smaller than 200 feet to the inch, and as much larger as practicable, on which shall appear the name of the State, county and township in which the mine is located, the designation of the mine, the name of the company or owner, the certificate of the mining engineer or surveyor as to the accuracy and date of the survey, the north point and the scale to which the drawing is made.

SURFACE SURVEY.-(b) Every such map or plan shall correctly show the surface boundary lines of the coal rights pertaining to each mine, and all sections or quarter section lines or corners within the same; the lines of town lots and streets; the tracks and side tracks of all railroads, and the location of all wagon roads, rivers, streams, ponds, buildings, landmarks and principal objects on the surface.

UNDERGROUND SURVEY.-(c) For the underground workings said maps shall show all shafts, slopes, tunnels or other openings to the surface or to the workings of a contiguous mine; all excavations, entries, rooms and cross-cuts; the location of the fan or furnace and the direction of the air currents; the location of pumps, hauling engines, engine planes, abandoned works, fire walls and standing water; and the boundary line of any surface outcrop of the seam.

MAP FOR EVERY SEAM.-(d) A separate and similar map, drawn to the same scale in all cases, shall be made of each and every seam, which, after the pas sage of this Act, shall be worked in any mine, and the maps of all such seams shall show all shafts, inclined planes or other passageways connecting the same. SEPARATE MAP FOR THE SURFACE.-(e) A separate map shall also be made of the surface whenever the surface buildings, lines or objects are so numerous as to obscure the details of the mine workings if drawn upon the same sheet with them, and in such case the surface map shall be drawn on transparent cloth or paper, so that it can be laid upon the map of the underground workings, and thus truly indicate the local relation of lines and objects on the surface to the excavations of the mine.

THE DIP. (f) Each map shall also show by profile drawing and measurements, in feet and decimals thereof, the rise and dip of the seam from the bottom of the shaft in either direction to the face of the workings,

COPIES FOR INSPECTORS AND RECORDERS.-(g) The original or true copies of all such maps shall be kept in the office at the mine, and true copies thereof shall also be furnished to the State Inspector of Mines for the district in which said mine is located, and shall be filed in the office of the recorder of the county in

which the mine is located, within thirty days after the completion of the same. The map so delivered to the inspector shall be the property of the State, and shall remain in the custody of said inspector during his term of office, and be delivered by him to his successor in office; they shall be kept at the office of the inspector, and be open to the examination of all persons interested in the same, but such examination shall only be made in the presence of the inspector, and he shall not permit any copies of the same to be made without the written consent of the operator or the owner of the property.

ANNUAL SURVEYS.-(h) An extension of the last preceding survey of every mine in active operation shall be made once in every twelve months prior to July 1 of every year, and the results of said survey, with the date thereof, shall be promptly and accurately entered upon the original maps and all copies of the same, so as to show all changes in plan or new work in the mine, and all extensions of the old workings to the most advanced face or boundary of said workings, which have been made since the last preceding survey. The said changes and extensions shall be entered upon the copies of the maps in the hands of the said inspector and recorder, within thirty days after the last survey is made.

ABANDONED MINES.-(i) When any coal mine is worked out or is about to be abandoned or indefinitely closed, the operator of the same shall make or cause to be made a final survey of all parts of such mine, and the results of the same shall be duly extended on all maps of the mine and copies thereof, so as to show all excavations and the most advanced workings of the mine and their exact relation to the boundary or section lines on the surface.

SPECIAL SURVEY.-(j) The State Inspector of Mines may order a survey to be made of the workings of any mine, and the results to be extended on the maps of the same and the copies thereof, whenever, in his judgment, the safety of the workmen, the support of the surface, the conservation of the property or the safety of an adjoining mine require it.

PENALTIES FOR FAILURE.-(k) Whenever the operator of any mine shall neglect or refuse, or, for any cause not satisfactory to the mine inspector, fail, for the period of three months, to furnish to said inspector and recorder, the map or plan of such mine or a copy thereof, or of the extensions thereto, as provided for in this Act, such operator shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars, and shall stand committed to the county jail until such fine is fully paid and in addition thereto, the inspector is hereby authorized to make or cause to be made an accurate map or plan of such mine at the expense of the owner thereof; and the costs of the same may be recovered by law from the operator in the same manner as other debts by suit; in the name of the inspector and for his use, and a copy of the same shall be filed by him with said recorder. (Amended. See page 207.)

THE MAIN SHAFT.

SEC. 2. SINKING SUBJECT TO INSPECTION.-(a) Any shaft in process of sinking, and any opening projected for the purpose of mining coal, shall be subject to the inspection of the State Inspector of Mines for the district in which said shaft or opening is located.

PASSAGEWAY AROUND THE BOTTOM.-(b) At the bottom of every shaft and at every caging place therein, a safe and commodious passageway must be cut around said landing place to serve as a traveling way by which men or animals may pass from one side of the shaft to the other without passing under or on the cage.

GATES AT THE TOP.-(c) The upper and lower landings at the top of each shaft, and the opening of each intermediate seam from or to the shaft, shall be kept clear and free from loose materials, and shall be securely fenced with automatic or other gates, so as to prevent either men or materials from falling into the shaft.

GENERAL EQUIPMENT.-(d) Every hoisting shaft must be equipped with substantial cages fitted to guide-rails running from the top to the bottom. Said cages must be safely constructed; they must be furnished with suitable boileriron covers to protect persons riding thereon from falling objects; they must be equipped with safety catches. Every cage on which persons are carried must be fitted up with iron bars or rings in proper place and sufficient number to furnish a secure hand hold for every person permitted to ride thereon. At the top landing cage supports, where necessary, must be carefully set and adjusted so as to act automatically and securely hold the cage when at rest.

THE ESCAPEMENT SHAFT.

SEC. 3. Two PLACES OF EGRESS.— -(a) For every coal mine in this State, whether worked by shaft, slope or drift, there shall be provided and maintained, in addition to the hoisting shaft, or other place of delivery, a separate escapement shaft or opening to the surface, or an underground communicating passageway between every such mine and some other contiguous mine, such as shall constitute two distinct and available means of egress to all persons employed in such coal mine.

The time allowed for completing such escapement shaft or making such connections with an adjacent mine, as is required by the terms of this Act, shall be three months for shafts 200 feet or less in depth, and six months for shafts less than 500 feet and more than 200 feet, and nine months for all other mines, slopes or drifts or connections with adjacent mines. The time to date in all cases from the hoisting of coal from the main shaft.

UNLAWFUL TO EMPLOY MORE THAN TEN MEN.-(b) It shall be unlawful to employ, at any one time, more men than in the judgment of the inspector is absolutely necessary for speedily completing the connections with the escapement shaft or adjacent mine; and said number must not exceed ten men at any one time for any purpose in said mine until such escapement or connection is completed.

PASSAGEWAYS TO ESCAPEMENT. (c) Such escapement shaft or opening or communication with a contiguous mine as aforesaid, shall be constructed in connection with every seam of coal worked in such mine, and all passageways communicating with the escapement shaft or place of exit, from the main hauling ways to said place of exit, shall be maintained free of obstruction at least five feet high and five feet wide. Such passageways must be so graded and drained that it will be impossible for water to accumulate in any depression or dip of the same, in quantities sufficient to obstruct the free and safe passage of men. At all points where the passageway to the escapement shaft, or other place of exit, is intersected by other roadways or entries, conspicuous signboards shall be placed, indicating the direction it is necessary to take in order to reach such place of exit.

DISTANCE FORM THE SHAFT.-(d) Every escapement shaft shall be separated from the main shaft by such extent of natural strata as may be agreed upon by the inspector of the district and the owner of the property, but the distance between the main shaft and escapement shaft shall not be less than 300 feet without the consent of the inspector, nor more than 300 feet without the consent of the owner.

BUILDINGS ON THE SURFACE.-(e) It shall be unlawful to erect any inflammable structure or building in the space intervening between the main shaft and the escapement shaft on the surface, or any powder magazine in such location or manner as to jeopardize the free and safe exit of the men from the mine, by said escapement shaft, in case of fire in the main shaft building.

STAIRWAYS OR CAGES.-(f) The escapement shaft at every mine shall be equipped with safe and ready means for the prompt removal of men from the mine in time of danger, and such means shall be a substantial stairway, set at an angle not greater than forty-five degrees, which shall be provided with handrails and with platforms or landings at each turn of the stairway.

In any escapement shaft which may, at the time of the passage of this Act, be equipped with a cage for hoisting men, such cage must be suspended between guides and be so constructed that falling objects cannot strike persons being hoisted upon it. Such cage must also be operated by a steam hoisting engine, which shall be kept available for use at all times, and the equipment of said hoisting apparatus shall include a depth indicator, a brake on the drum, a steel or iron cable and safety catches on the cage. OBSTRUCTIONS IN SHAFT.-(g) No accumulation

of ice, nor obstructions

of any kind shall be permitted in any escapment shaft, nor shall any steam, or heated or vitiated air be discharged into said shaft; and all surface or other water which flows therein shall be conducted, by rings or otherwise, or receptacles for the same, so as to keep the stairway free from falling water.

WEEKLY INSPECTION.-(h) All escapement shafts and the passageways leading thereto, or to the works of a contiguous mine, must be carefully examined at least once a week by the mine manager, or a man specially delegated by him for that purpose, and the date and findings of such inspection must be daily entered in the record book in the offices at the mine. If obstructions are found, their location and nature must be stated together with the date at which they are removed.

COMMUNICATION WITH ADJACENT MINE.-(1) When operators of adjacent mines have, by agreement, established underground communication between said mines, as an escapement outlet for the men employed in both, the roadways to the boundary on either side shall be regularly patrolled and kept clear of every obstruction to travel by the respective operators, and the intervening doors shall remain unlocked and ready at all times for immediate use.

When such communication has once been established between contiguous mines, it shall be unlawful for the operator of either mine to close the same without the consent both of the contiguous operator and of the State Inspector for the district: Provided, that when either operator desires to abandon mining operations, the expense and duty of maintaining such communication shall devolve upon the party continuing operations and using the same.

THE ENGINE AND BOILER HOUSE.

SEC. 4. LOCATION.-(a) Any building erected after the passage of this Act, for the purpose of housing the hoisting engine or boilers at any shaft, shall be substantially fire-proof, and no boiler house shall be nearer than sixty feet to the main shaft or opening, or to any building or inflammable structure connecting therewith.

BRAKE OR DRUM.-(b) Every hoisting engine shall be provided with a good and sufficient brake on the drum, so adjusted that it may be operated by the engineer without leaving his post at the levers.

FLANGES. (c) Flanges shall be attached to the sides of the drum of any engine used for hoisting men, with a clearance of not less than four inches when the whole rope is wound on the drum.

CABLE FASTENINGS.-(d) The ends of the hoisting cables shall be well secured on the drum, and at least two and a half laps of the same shall remain on the drum when the cage is at rest at the lowest caging place in the shaft.

INDICATOR.-(e) An index dial or int..cator, to show at all times the true position of the cages in the shaft, shall be attached to every hoisting engine for the constant information and guidance of the engineer.

SIGNALS. (f) The code of signals, as provided for in this Act, shall be displayed in conspicuous letters at some point in front of the engineer when standing at his post.

GAUGES. (g) Every boiler shall be provided with a steam gauge, except where two or more boilers are equipped and connected with a steam drum, properly connected with the boilers to indicate the steam pressure, and another steam gauge shall be attached to the steam pipe in the engine house, the two to be placed in such positions that both the engineer and fireman can readily see what pressure is being carried. Such steam gauges shall be kept in good order and adjusted and be tested as often at least as every six months. SAFETY VALVES.-(h) Every boiler or battery of boilers shall be provided with a safety valve of sufficient area for the escape of steam, and with weights and springs properly adjusted.

INSPECTION OF BOILERS.-(i) All boilers used in generating steam in and about coal mines shall be kept in good order, and the operator of every coal mine where steam boilers are in use shall have said boilers thoroughly examined and inspected by a competent boiler maker or other qualified person, not an employe of said operator, as often as once in every six months, and oftener if the inspector shall deem it necessary, and the result of every such inspection shall be reported on suitable blanks to said inspector.

THE POWDER HOUSE.

SEC. 5. All blasting powder and explosive materials must be stored in a fireproof building on the surface, located at a safe distance from all other buildings.

NOTE.-Sections 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are under the subject, Miner's Examining Board, page 62.

SEC. 11. BOUNDARIES DEFINED.-(a) The State shall be divided into seven inspection districts, as follows:

The first district shall be composed of the counties of Boone, McHenry, Lake, DeKalb, Kane, DuPage, Cook, LaSalle, Kendall, Grundy, Will, Livingston, and Kankakee.

The second district shall be composed of the counties of Jo Daviess, Stephenson, Winnebago, Carroll, Ogle, Whiteside, Lee, Rock Island, Henry, Bureau, Mercer, Stark, Putnam, Marshall, Peoria, and Woodford.

The third district shall be composed of the counties of Henderson, Warren, Knox, Hancock, McDonough, Schuyler, Fulton, Adams, and Brown.

The fourth district shall be composed of the counties of Tazewell, McLean, Ford, Iroquois, Vermilion, Champain, Piatt, DeWitt, Macon, Logan, Menard, Mason, and Cass.

The fifth district shall be composed of the counties of Pike, Scott, Morgan, Sahgamon, Christian, Shelby, Moultrie, Douglas, Coles, Cumberland, Clark, Edgar, Montgomery, Macoupin. Greene, Jersey, and Calhoun.

The sixth district shall be composed of the counties of Monroe, St. Clair, Madison, Bond, Clinton, Fayette, Marion, Effingham, Clay, Jasper, Richland, Crawford, and Lawrence.