Mine Health and Safety Act, 1996 (Act No. 29 of 1996) Chapter 8 : General Provisions 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;

 

Constitution

means the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996;

[Definition inserted by section 30(a) of Notice No. 428, GG 32140, dated 17 April 2009 (Mine Health and Safety Amendment Act No. 74 of 2008)]

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—

 

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—

 

mineral

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

 

Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act

means the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (Act No. 28 of 2002);

[Definition inserted by section 30(b) of Notice No. 428, GG 32140, dated 17 April 2009 (Mine Health and Safety Amendment Act No. 74 of 2008)]

 

Minerals Act

[Definition deleted by section 30(c) of Notice No. 428, GG 32140, dated 17 April 2009 (Mine Health and Safety Amendment Act No. 74 of 2008)]

 

mining area

means the mining area as defined in section 1 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development 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

[Definition deleted by section 30(d) of Notice No. 428, GG 32140, dated 17 April 2009 (Mine Health and Safety Amendment Act No. 74 of 2008)]

 

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 Health Professions Council of South Africa or a medical practitioner engaged in accordance with section 13(4);

[Definition substituted by section 30(e) of Notice No. 428, GG 32140, dated 17 April 2009 (Mine Health and Safety Amendment Act No. 74 of 2008)]

 

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

[Paragraph (a)(i) substituted by section 30(f) of Notice No. 428, GG 32140, dated 17 April 2009 (Mine Health and Safety Amendment Act No. 74 of 2008)]

 

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;

 

Public Finance Management Act

means the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999);

[Definition inserted by section 30(g) of Notice No. 428, GG 32140, dated 17 April 2009 (Mine Health and Safety Amendment Act No. 74 of 2008)]

 

reasonably practicable

means practicable having regard to—

 

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—

 

substance

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

 

this Act

includes—

 

topsoil

means topsoil as defined in section 1 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act;

[Definition substituted by section 30(h) of Notice No. 428, GG 32140, dated 17 April 2009 (Mine Health and Safety Amendment Act No. 74 of 2008)]

 

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—