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MINES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1969 - SECT 66

Prohibition of possession of smoking materials in certain mines and parts of mines.

66.(1) A person who takes or has in his possession below ground in a
safety-lamp mine or takes into, or has in his possession in, a
safety-lamp part of a mine, any cigar or cigarette, any pipe or other
contrivance for smoking or any match or mechanical lighter, shall be guilty of
an offence.

(2) It shall be the duty of the manager of every safety-lamp mine and of every
mine containing a safety-lamp part

(a)to make, and to ensure the efficient carrying out of, arrangements whereby
all persons employed below ground in the mine or, as the case may be, employed
in the safety-lamp part thereof or such of those persons as may be selected in
accordance with a system approved by the Ministry by notice served on the
manager of the mine, and any articles which they have with them, and all other
persons and any articles which they have with them, will, for the purpose of
ascertaining whether any of them has in his possession any such article as is
mentioned in subsection (1), be searched in the authorised manner immediately
before, or (if that is impracticable) immediately after, they go below ground
in the mine on any occasion or, as the case may be, enter the safety-lamp part
thereof on any occasion; and

(b)to secure that, at any time when the said arrangements are not in
operation, no person goes below ground in the mine or as the case may be,
enters the safety-lamp part thereof;

(3) Where, upon a search made in pursuance of this section, a person who is
about to go below ground in a safety-lamp mine or to enter a
safety-lamp part of a mine is found to have in his possession any such article
as is mentioned in subsection (1), he shall be guilty of an offence.

(4) Without prejudice to the institution of proceedings against a person for
an offence under this section, any such article as is mentioned in subsection
(1) which is found upon any search made at a mine in pursuance of this section
may be seized by the person making the search and dealt with in such manner as
may be directed by the manager of the mine.

(5) No person shall, in pursuance of this section, search any other person on
any occasion unless he has previously given on that occasion an opportunity to
some two other persons to search himself and, if searched by them, has not
been found to have in his possession any such article as is mentioned in
subsection (1).

(6) A person who on any occasion refuses to allow himself or an article which
he has with him to be searched in pursuance of this section shall be guilty of
an offence and, without prejudice to the institution of proceedings against
him in respect of the offence, if the refusal occurs before he goes below
ground in a mine shall not be allowed to go below ground in it on that
occasion and, if the refusal occurs when he is in a mine, shall not be allowed
to remain in it on that occasion.

(7) It shall be the duty of the manager of every safety-lamp mine and of every
mine containing a safety-lamp part to secure that, at or near every place
where searches are carried out under arrangements made in pursuance of
subsection (2)(a), notices warning persons of their liability under subsection
(1) are kept posted in such characters and in such positions as to be easily
seen and read by persons liable to be searched.

(8) In this section the expression "mechanical lighter" means a mechanical,
chemical or electrical contrivance designed or adapted primarily for the
purpose of igniting tobacco and the expression "authorised manner" means such
manner as may be specified in an order made by the Ministry.

© 1969 Crown Copyright

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