Queensland Consolidated Regulations

COAL MINING SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATION 2017 - REG 156

156 Emergency mine sealing and entry airlocks

(1) The site senior executive for an underground mine must ensure—

(a) each entrance from the surface to the underground mine is capable of being sealed—

(i) at the surface without requiring persons to travel in front of the entrance to seal it; or

(ii) if the entrance is a vertical shaft—

(A) in the way mentioned in subparagraph (i) ; or

(B) in a roadway at the bottom of the shaft; and

(b) at least 1 entrance from the surface to the underground mine has a mine entry airlock.

(2) The site senior executive must also ensure—

(a) each seal installed for sealing an entrance from the surface to the underground mine is a type E seal; and

(b) each mine entry airlock is capable of withstanding a pressure pulse of 70kPa passing through the entrance while the airlock is open.

(3) The site senior executive must also ensure the underground mine, when sealed, has facilities allowing the following—

(a) the use of inertisation equipment from a safe position;

(b) the monitoring of the atmosphere behind the seal from a safe position;

(c) persons to re-enter the mine through the entrance;

(d) large mobile equipment to enter or exit the mine through an airlock.

(4) This section does not apply to a drift or shaft being driven from the surface in material other than coal.

(5) Nothing in this section prevents a type E seal from also being designed for pressure relief for an overpressure of more than 70kPa.

(6) In this section—

"type E seal" means a ventilation control device capable of withstanding an overpressure of 70kPa.