Parts: I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII - VIII - IX - X - XI - XII - XIII - XIV - XV - XVI - XVII - XVIII - XIX - XX - XXI - XXII - XXIII - XXIV - XXV - XXVI - (XXVII)

PART II ADMINISTRATION OF THESE REGULATIONS
Appointment of Chief Inspector of Mines and other Inspectors of Mines

2.1 (1)(a) The Minister shall, subject to the laws governing the public service, appoint -

(i) a competent person to be known as the Chief Inspector of Mines or, during the absence or incapacity of the Chief Inspector to exercise or perform his or her powers, duties or functions, an acting Chief Inspector of Mines, who shall be charged, subject to the control of the Minister and the instructions and directives of the Permanent Secretary, with the administration of these regulations, and shall exercise or perform the powers, duties and functions conferred or imposed upon the Chief Inspector by or under the provisions of these regulations or any other law and such other functions as may be imposed upon him or her by the Minister;

(ii) such number of competent persons to be known as Inspectors of Mines (or such other designation as may be determined by the Permanent Secretary) as the Minister may deem necessary for purposes of the effective application of these regulations, who shall exercise or perform, subject to the direction and control of the Minister, the powers, duties and functions conferred or imposed upon any inspector by or under the provisions of these regulations or any other law and such other functions as may be imposed upon any such inspector by the Minister.

(b) An Inspector shall at the time of his or her appointment be furnished with a certificate signed by the Permanent Secretary stating that he or she has been appointed as an Inspector.

(2) The powers conferred and the duties and functions imposed upon the Chief Inspector by or under the provisions of these regulations or any other law may be exercised or performed by the Chief Inspector personally or, except in so far as the Chief Inspector otherwise determines, by any Inspector engaged in carrying out such provisions under the direction and control of the Chief Inspector.

Powers of Inspectors

2.2 (1) In addition to the powers conferred upon an inspector under these regulations or any other law, an Inspector may, for purposes of the administration of these regulations -

(a) in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 2 and 3 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act 51 of 1977), at any reasonable time and without prior notice -

(i) enter, without any limitations as to the indemnification of the owner of the mine or any other person connected with the mine, any place in or at a mine in connection with any matter to which the Minerals Act and these regulations relates;

(ii) bring into or be provided with and use at any mine, vehicles, equipment and material as necessary to perform any function in terms of these regulations;

(iii) inspect any work performed, or any condition, article, substance or machinery;

(iv) search for any book, writing or other document or any other thing used by the mine manager of such mine or any other person employed or otherwise present in or at such mine;

(v) seize, or make any copy of, or extract from, any such book, writing, document or thing,

as if such inspector were a police official referred to in the said Criminal Procedure Act, 1977, and such book, writing or other document or such thing were concerned in the commission of any offence in terms of the Minerals Act or these regulations;

(b) if he or she believes that any occurrence, practice or condition in or at any mine endangers or may endanger the health or safety of any person in or at the mine or of any other person, the Inspector may give to the manager or a person designated by the manager or, in their absence, the most senior employee available in or at the mine any instruction necessary to protect the health or safety of persons at such mine, including but not limited to an instruction that 

(i) operations at the mine or a part of the mine be halted;

(ii) the performance of any act or practice at the mine or a part of the mine be suspended or halted, and may place conditions on the performance of that act or practice;

(iii) the manager take the steps set out in the instruction, within the specified period, to rectify the occurrence, practice or condition;

(iv) all affected persons, other than those who are required to assist in taking steps referred to in paragraph (iii), be moved to safety.

(2) any instruction given in terms of sub-regulation (b)(i) shall remain in force until such time, as soon as is practicable, that it is either confirmed, amended or set aside by the Chief Inspector.

(a) take such steps as he or she may deem necessary in order to ascertain whether the body of any person shows any abnormal condition, including the taking of blood samples by a designated medical practitioner;

(b) question any person employed or otherwise present in or at any mine so entered upon, in connection with any matter to which the Minerals Act or these regulations relates;

(c) direct that such mine or any part thereof or anything therein or thereon be left undisturbed, whether generally or in any particular respects, for as long as it is reasonably necessary to search such premises for any book, writing or other document or thing, in connection with any matter to which the Minerals Act or these regulations relates;

(d) require any person who has control over, or custody of, any such book, writing or other document or thing prepared or used in connection with any matter to which the Minerals Act or these regulations relates, to produce such book, writing or other document or thing to him or her forthwith or at such time and place as may be determined by such inspector by notice in writing to such person;

(e) examine any such book, writing or other document or thing;

(f) require from any person referred to in paragraph (c) an explanation of any entry in any such book, writing or other document or thing;

(g) order any person by notice in writing to such person to appear before him or her at such time and place as may be specified in such notice in connection with any matter to which the Minerals Act or these regulations relates and question any such person on any such matter;

(h) give directions in connection with the posting of any notices required under the Minerals Act or these regulations to be posted in or at any mine;

(i) take such measurements, recordings and photographs and make such readings as he or she considers necessary for the purposes of an inquiry in terms of the Minerals Act or these regulations;

(j) take samples of any article or substance found in or at any mine which he or she has power to enter, and of the atmosphere in or in the vicinity of any mine, and in the case of an article or substance which appears to him or her to be likely to cause immediate danger to health or safety to cause it to be dismantled or subjected to any process test, and to take possession of it for so long as is necessary for the purposes of examining it and doing anything which he or she is empowered to do with it;

(k) require a member of the Namibian Police Force, or request any other person, to assist him or her as an interpreter or otherwise in exercising or performing his or her powers, duties or functions under the Minerals Act or these regulations.

(3) When an inspector exercises a power or performs a duty under the Minerals Act or these regulations in the presence of any person affected thereby, the inspector shall on demand by any such person produce to him or her the certificate issued to such inspector in terms of regulation 2.1(1)(b).

(4) A member of the Namibian Police Force required, or any other person requested, by an inspector to assist him or her as provided in paragraph (k) of sub-regulation (2) may accompany such inspector in the exercise of his or her powers or the performance of his or her duties or functions under the Minerals Act or these regulations as if such member or person were an inspector.

(5) The mine manager shall at all times furnish such facilities and equipment as are reasonably required by an inspector in order to enable him or her to exercise or perform effectively the powers and duties to be exercised or performed by him or her under the Minerals Act or these regulations in or at the mine.

(6) Whenever any work has been given out on contract by the owner of a mine or the mine manager to any contractor, any inspector may exercise in relation to that contractor or any subcontractor of such contractor or any person employed by such contractor or subcontractor all the powers conferred upon an inspector by these regulations in relation to a mine.

Powers of Chief Inspector to issue certain orders

2.3 The Chief Inspector may, if he or she has reason to believe that any owner of a mine or the mine manager of such mine -

(a) has contravened or is contravening any provision of the Minerals Act, these regulations or any guideline issued thereunder or has failed to comply with any such provision;

(b) has contravened any such provision in circumstances where it is likely that such contravention will be continued or repeated,

(c) by notice in writing to the owner of the mine or the mine manager issue an order -

(i) stating the provision which is in his or her belief so contravened; and

(ii) setting out the facts and grounds on which such belief is based; and

(iii) requiring such owner or mine manager to remedy within such period as may be specified in such notice any matter so specified which has arisen in consequence of such contravention or to comply with any such provision within such period and such conditions, if any, as may be specified in such notice; or

(iv) ordering such owner or mine manager to refrain from carrying out or to carry out, any actions specified in such notice which are required to be carried out or not to be carried out by any such provision.

Appointment of Mine Managers

2.4 (1) The owner or owners of a mine -

(a) shall appoint and at all times have a competent person as mine manager or, during the absence or incapacity of the mine manager to exercise his or her powers or to perform his or her duties or functions, such other competent person as acting mine manager.

(b) may, if such owner is a natural person, himself or herself act, or, in the case of a mine owned by two or more persons, designate from amongst their number one person to act, as mine manager or acting mine manager in respect of such mine as if he or she were appointed in terms of paragraph (a) as mine manager.

(2) The owner of a mine referred to in sub-regulation (1) shall inform the Chief Inspector, in such form as may be determined by the Chief Inspector, of -

(a) the opening or re-opening of a mine by virtue of any Mineral Licence;

(b) the appointment of a mine manager in terms of sub-regulation (1) or, in the case of any such owner who is a natural person and the sole owner of such mine, of the fact that he or she has elected to act himself or herself as mine manager of the mine concerned;

(c) the termination of any appointment referred to in sub-regulation (b);

(d) the change of ownership or name of such mine, within a period of 30 days or such longer period as the Chief Inspector may allow after such opening, re-opening, appointment, termination or change.

(3) The owner of a mine or, in the case of a company which is the owner of a mine, any director of such company who or which fails to comply with the provisions of this regulation shall for purposes of these regulations be deemed to be the mine manager or mine managers, as the case may be, and to be responsible for the performance or carrying out of such functions and duties as may be imposed upon the mine manager by these regulations, until such time as such owner or company complies with such provisions.