Shaft design

(1) A mine shaft shall be designed by a professional mining engineer and shall be equipped with a means to guide each shaft conveyance to prevent contact with another shaft conveyance; any shaft furnishing; or the shaft itself. Underwind (2) The shaft shall have underwind clearances that exceed the stopping distance of any shaft conveyance when travelling at the maximum permitted speed and carrying the maximum permitted load, except during shaft sinking operations. Friction hoist guides. (3) Where a friction hoist is installed, the shaft shall be equipped with tapered guides, or other devices acceptable to the Inspector, which shall be located above and below the limits of regular travel and designed to decelerate and safely stop a conveyance in the event of overtravel. Shaft lining. (4) A shaft shall be securely lined and if necessary cased, and the lining or casing shall be maintained within 20 meters (66 feet) of the bottom of the shaft during shaft sinking operations. partitioning. (5) Shaft compartments used for handling materials shall be partitioned from the other compartments at the collar, and at all level openings. Ladderway partitioned. (6) The ladderway in a shaft compartment shall be separated from the hoisting compartments by a partition that prevents– (a) a falling object from entering the ladderway compartment; or (b) the intrusion of an object from the ladderway compartment into the hoisting compartment. 135 (7) Where the hoisting compartment at a shaft station is not securely closed off, a substantial gate shall be installed so as to securely close off the hoisting compartment. Gates on shaft (8) A suitable stairway or ladderway shall be maintained in every shaft, and during sinking operations if the ladder does not extend to the bottom of the shaft then an auxiliary ladder shall be installed which extends to the bottom of the shaft. Ladderway Transport during shaft sinking. (9) When the vertical depth of a shaft below the collar exceeds 50 meters (165 feet), a sinking bucket shall be provided for the transport of persons; and when the distance between the head sheave and the bottom exceeds 100 meters (300 feet), a crosshead shall be used with the bucket. Crosshead (10) The crosshead shall land on at least two chairs at the bottom crosshead stop to prevent distortion; shall be attached to the rope by a safety appliance to ensure that the bucket is stopped if the crosshead should jam in the shaft and shall be of a type that encloses the bucket, unless the shaft compartment is tightly lined and the bucket is barrel shaped. (11) Dual lights shall be installed within view of the hoist operator to indicate that the crosshead and the sinking bucket are descending the shaft together after leaving the dumping position and also to indicate whether the service doors or dump doors are in or out of the shaft compartment. Signal lights for hoistman. (12) During sinking operations, service doors shall be installed at the collar, and any other place in the shaft, in order to cover the shaft compartments where the bucket is loaded or unloaded, and the doors shall automatically latch out by mechanical means whenever they are being removed from the hoisting compartment; be closed whenever a bucket is being loaded or unloaded; and be closed whenever persons are entering or leaving the bucket, except where a closed crosshead provides equivalent protection. Automatic latch of dump doors. 136 (13) During sinking operations, dump doors shall be installed at the bucket dumping position and arranged so as to prevent a bucket from being dumped when the doors are in the open position, and to prevent any material from falling down the shaft when the bucket is dumped and automatically latched out by mechanical means whenever they are removed from the hoisting compartment. Dump door arrangement. Multideck hoisting stages. (14) Where a multi-deck stage is used for sinking a shaft, it shall be designed by a professional engineer and constructed in accordance with the design. Sinking bucket (15) A shaft sinking bucket shall be filled so that no piece of rock projects above the level of its rim. Persons to ride in bucket. (16) Except during shaft maintenance and inspection operations, every person being transported by a bucket shall ride in the bucket. Bucket control near shaft bottom. (17) bucket being lowered to the shaft bottom shall be stopped at a distance of at least 5 meters (16.5 feet) and not more than 10 meters (33 feet) above the shaft bottom; and after a separate signal has been given, it shall be lowered slowly from this point. Bucket lowering after blasting. (18) During sinking operations, on the first trip carrying persons down the shaft after blasting, the bucket shall not be lowered beyond a point of 15 meters (50 feet) above the blasting set or bulkhead, or beyond any point in the shaft where the safety or health of persons could be endangered, until the persons riding in the bucket signal the further descent of the bucket.