[Note.—The Proclamation as enacted in the Protectorate differs from this copy in the addition of a clause suspending—as regards licences to mine issued under the previous Proclamation—the operation of Section 26 and Regulation 23 (relating to royalties) until 1st January 1911, to which date the provisions of the “Minerals Proclamation, 1902,” with regard to duty on profits, are kept in force.]
THE MINERALS PROCLAMATION, 1910
A Proclamation regulating the right to search for minerals and also to dig for, mine, and work minerals, and for other purposes relating thereto.
Be it enacted by the Governor of Northern Nigeria as follows:—
1. This Proclamation may be cited as “The Minerals Proclamation, 1910.”
2. In this Proclamation, unless the context otherwise requires:—
“Person” includes a corporation.
“Holder” of a prospecting right or exclusive licence to prospect means the person to whom such right or licence was granted in the first instance, but in the case of an exclusive licence to prospect includes a person in whom such licence or a part of the rights thereunder has become vested by transfer, assignment, or otherwise.
“Lessee” of a mining lease includes all persons having any right or interest in or under a mining lease, whether by transfer, assignment, or otherwise.
“Treasurer” includes any officer appointed by the Governor to perform any act or duty or to exercise any authority which by this Proclamation may be done by, or is imposed upon, the Treasurer.
“Government Inspector of Mines” includes any officer appointed by the Governor to perform any act or duty or to exercise any act or authority which by this Proclamation may be done by, or is imposed upon, or may be exercised by, the Government Inspector of Mines.
Court.
“Court” means the Supreme Court or any Provincial Court.
“Minerals” means and includes the following as classed hereunder (a), (b), (c), and (d):—
(a) Metalliferous minerals, including antimony, arsenic, bismuth, copper, cobalt, chromium, cadmium, gold, iron, iridium, lead, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, platinum, silver, tin, tungsten, uranium, zinc, and all others of a similar nature to any of them, and all ores or combinations of any of them with each other or with any other substance, excepting only those that occur in the form of precious stones.
(b) Carbonaceous minerals, including anthracite, asphalt, brown coal, bitumen and its compounds, coal, graphite, lignite, and all substances of a like nature to any of them, or combinations of any of them with each other or with any other substance.
(c) Earthy minerals, including asbestos, barytes, clays, gypsum, infusorial earth, sandstone, marble, mica, phosphates, potash, rock salt, soda, sulphur, steatite, slate, talc, and all other substances of a like nature to any of them.
(d) Precious stones, including amber, amethyst, beryl, cat’s eye, chrysolite, diamond, emerald, garnet, opal, ruby, sapphire, turquoise, and all substances of a similar nature to any of them.
3. Nothing in this Proclamation shall prevent any person from quarrying stone for building purposes, or any native of the Protectorate from mining for iron, salt, soda, or potash, except in any area over which a mining lease has been granted.
4.—(1) It shall not be lawful for any person to prospect for minerals without having first obtained a prospecting right or an exclusive licence to prospect in the prescribed form.
(2) An exclusive licence to prospect shall not be granted to any applicant who has not, either by himself or his duly authorised agents, examined the area over which an exclusive licence to prospect is applied for.
(3) It shall be in the discretion of the Governor for good cause to refuse an application for a prospecting right or an exclusive licence to prospect.
5. A prospecting right shall entitle the holder to prospect for any minerals in those parts of the Protectorate which are not included in any exclusive licence to prospect, and which the Governor has not by Government Notice in the Gazette declared to be closed to prospectors.
In the case of a company or corporation employing prospecting engineers or prospectors, each prospecting engineer or prospector shall be required to take out an individual prospecting right.
6. An exclusive licence to prospect shall entitle the holder thereof, and his duly authorised agents, to the sole right of prospecting for minerals within an area not less than one square mile and not more than sixteen square miles in extent, and for a period of one year from the date thereof, subject to renewal in accordance with the prescribed regulations for further terms of one year each, but so as not to exceed a period of three years in the whole.
7. A prospecting right and an exclusive licence to prospect shall, subject to the terms thereof and to the prescribed regulations, entitle the holder thereof to enter upon any land and prospect for minerals, and any person interfering with or obstructing such holder in the exercise of any rights hereby conferred upon him shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £25 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months.
8. All disputes between holders of exclusive licences to prospect in respect of the exercise of the rights granted by such licences shall be submitted through the Government Inspector of Mines to the Governor for his decision, which shall be final and conclusive between the parties: Provided always that the Governor may in his discretion refer any particular matter in dispute to a court for its decision.
9. Any person prospecting without a prospecting right or licence to prospect shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction before a court be liable to a penalty not exceeding £50 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months.
10. A prospecting right shall not be transferable, but an exclusive licence to prospect or any portion of the rights granted under such licence may be transferred with the consent in writing of the Governor, signified by endorsement thereon.
11. In case of any breach by the holder of a prospecting right or exclusive licence to prospect or by any attorney, agent, or employee of such holder, of any of the provisions of this Proclamation or of any rule or regulation made thereunder, the Governor may summarily revoke the said right or licence and thereupon all privileges and rights conferred thereby or enjoyed thereunder shall as from the date of such revocation cease: Provided always that the fact of such revocation shall not in any way affect the liability of such holder, attorney, agent, or employee, in respect of the breach of any provision of this Proclamation or of any such rule or regulation committed by him before such revocation.
12. An exclusive licence to prospect or any portion of the rights granted under such licence may be surrendered at any time after three months’ notice in writing has been given of the intention to surrender: Provided that such surrender shall not affect any liability incurred by the holder before such surrender shall have taken effect.
13.—(1) It shall not be lawful for the Governor to grant a mining lease to any person other than the holder of a prospecting right or an exclusive licence to prospect, nor to any person who cannot show to his satisfaction that he has, either himself or by his duly authorised agent, carried out bonâ fide prospecting operations on the area applied for.
(2) The holder of an exclusive licence to prospect who has fulfilled all the conditions attached thereto shall be entitled to the grant of a mining lease in respect of any portion of the area covered by such licence subject to the conditions relating to the grant of such leases.
14. The Governor may require an applicant for a mining lease to show to his satisfaction that he possesses or commands sufficient working capital to ensure the proper development and working of the mine; and may require any reports on the matter made by competent engineers to be submitted for his information. In the event of such applicant failing to satisfy the Governor as aforesaid, the Governor may refuse the application, but the applicant may renew his application at any time.
15. Any applicant for a mining lease wilfully or recklessly giving false information as to any of the matters in respect of which information is or may be required to be given under this Proclamation shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding £50 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months.
16.—(1) A mining lease may be granted for any term not exceeding 21 years.
(2) If at the expiration of the term originally granted the lessee or his assigns shall be carrying on work in a normal and business-like manner under the lease, and the lease shall not at that time be liable to be declared void under any of the provisions of this Proclamation, and the lessee or his assigns shall have given to the Government six months’ notice in that behalf, then the lessee or his assigns shall be entitled to obtain a renewal of the lease for a further term not exceeding 21 years, upon the conditions which are then generally applicable to new mining leases.
17. Mining leases shall be of the following kinds, viz.:—
(1) Lode mining leases, the unit of area being one claim of 80,000 square feet, rectangular, and of such dimensions that the width shall not be less than one-half the length. No greater area than 30 claims shall be included in one lease. The rent payable under such lease shall be at the rate of £4 per claim per annum.
(2) Alluvial mining leases, which shall not exceed 800 acres in area and shall have a minimum width throughout of 400 yards. The rent payable under such lease shall be at the rate of five shillings per acre per annum.
(3) Stream mining leases, which shall not be granted in cases where an alluvial mining lease is applicable, shall be confined to the bed of a stream and shall not exceed one mile in length. The rent payable under such lease shall be at the rate of twenty shillings per annum for each 100 yards or part thereof.
(4) Iron mining leases.
(5) Carbonaceous minerals leases.
(6) Earthy minerals and precious stones leases.
(7) Dredging leases.
Leases of the kind (4), (5), (6), and (7) shall be granted subject to regulations to be made by the Governor under section 34 of this Proclamation.
(8) Water power leases, which shall be the subject of special agreements with the Governor; and such agreements shall make provision inter alia:
(a) As to the rate to be charged to consumers for the supply of power, such rate to be specified in each agreement, and not increased without the consent in writing of the Governor;
(b) As to the compensation to be paid by the beneficiaries thereunder in respect of interference with pre-existing individual rights of any kind whatever;
(c) To ensure, under penalty of revocation, the adequate development of the available power; and
(d) To ensure the supply of power on equitable terms to all consumers.
Provided that (1) no such agreement shall be concluded until at least three months after reasonable advertisement of the application for the lease; and (2) the Governor shall at all times have the power to determine any such agreement, subject to reasonable notice and to the payment of adequate compensation in respect of expenditure incurred.
18. The Governor may in any case where he shall deem it necessary, before granting a mining lease, require that the boundaries of the land affected shall be surveyed by a surveyor approved by the Governor, and the cost of such survey shall be paid by the person applying for the lease.
19. In the event of any areas the subject of mining leases or exclusive licences to prospect being found to overlap, the ground in dispute shall be considered as within the area first granted, and no claim, whether for compensation or otherwise, shall be allowed in respect thereof to the lessee or licensee of the area subsequently granted.
20. Every mining lease and every instrument by or under which the rights or any portion thereof granted by such lease shall be transferred or assigned shall be registered as an instrument affecting land under the provisions of the law for the time being in force with regard to the registration of such instruments.
21. Any person digging for, mining, or working any mineral without a mining lease shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable upon conviction thereof to a penalty not exceeding £500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months.
22. The lessee of a mining lease shall be entitled to the use of all water within the area of his lease, but he shall not, without the consent in writing of the Government Inspector of Mines, treat any river or other flowing water or stream in such a manner as to prevent its return to its natural channel before it leaves the said area.
Provided that nothing herein contained shall be construed to affect or prejudice the existing rights of any person to the reasonable use of the water flowing in a natural bed or channel through, or along the margin of, land occupied by him, or naturally deposited within such land.
23. Any person diverting any river, flowing water, or stream without consent as aforesaid, or diverting water in such a manner as to render it unavailable for use by another person legally entitled to the use thereof, shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £25, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months.
24.—(1) A mining lease shall not of itself confer any rights in or over the surface of the area included in the lease, but if the lessee shall apply to the Governor for a right of occupancy over the whole or any portion of the area included in his lease, and shall show to the satisfaction of the Governor that the exclusive use and enjoyment of the said area or portion thereof is necessary to the full and effective exercise of the rights conferred by the lease, the Governor shall grant a right of occupancy over such area or portion thereof, subject to the provisions of the law for the time being in force with regard to such rights, and to such reservations as he shall think fit to make in respect of any railway, tramway, public road, building, burial-ground, or land appropriated to any public purpose, or land in the legal occupation of any other person.
(2) A right of occupancy granted as aforesaid shall run concurrently with the mining lease, and shall be renewable on application with each renewal of the mining lease, and no rent shall be payable thereunder over and above the rent payable under the mining lease; but compensation shall be payable in respect of any disturbance of native rights.
(3) In the event of any application being received from a third party for any rights in or over the surface of an area included in a mining lease, the Governor shall give notice thereof to the lessee, and if the latter shall within six months of the date of such notice show to the satisfaction of the Governor that the application cannot be granted without loss or damage to him in respect of the rights conferred by the said mining lease, the Governor shall assess reasonable compensation to be paid by the applicant to the lessee as a condition precedent to the grant of the application. If, however, the lessee shall fail to satisfy the Governor as aforesaid, the Governor may thereupon grant the application and no action shall lie in respect of any loss or damage that may ensue in respect thereof.
25. Compensation shall be made to the legal occupier by the holder of a prospecting right or exclusive licence to prospect, and by the lessee of a mining lease other than the holder of a right of occupancy, for all damage done by himself, his agents, or employees, to the surface of any land upon, or under which prospecting or mining operations are being carried on, or to any house or building upon any such land, and the amount of such compensation shall be decided by the Resident of the province in which such land is situated: Provided that if either party is dissatisfied with the decision of such Resident he may within fourteen days appeal to the Governor, who may either decide the matter, in which case such decision shall be final, or refer it to a court for decision.
26. There shall be paid by all holders of mining leases a royalty to the Government on all ores, minerals, and metals won, which royalty shall be at such rate as may be laid down in the regulations made under section 34, and may be collected in the form of an export duty or in such manner and subject to such conditions as may be laid down in such regulations.
27. If the holder of any right acquired under this Proclamation shall consider himself injuriously affected by the mining or prospecting operations of another, he shall report the matter in writing to the Government Inspector of Mines. The Government Inspector of Mines shall forward a copy of the report to all persons concerned, and after due consideration shall give his decision thereon.
Any person may appeal from the decision of the Government Inspector of Mines to the Governor, after first notifying the Government Inspector of Mines of his intention to do so, and stating the grounds of his dissatisfaction. The Government Inspector of Mines shall at once report the matter to the Governor, who may either decide the matter himself, in which case his decision shall be final, or refer it to a court, which, upon such reference, shall decide the matter in dispute as though it came before it in the ordinary course of law.
28. No person entitled or claiming to be entitled to any rights under a prospecting right or an exclusive licence to prospect or under a mining lease shall, in the exercise of any such rights, without the consent in writing of the Governor, disturb or interfere with any railway, tramway, public road or building, burial ground or land appropriated by law to any public purpose, and any person guilty of any such disturbance or interference shall be liable on conviction before a court to a penalty not exceeding £100, and in addition may be ordered by the court to pay the costs of making good any damage caused by him.
29. If there shall be a breach on the part of the lessee of a mining lease of any condition or provision of this Proclamation or of any regulation made thereunder, or of any of the terms of his lease, and if the lessee shall not make good such breach within three months from receiving notice in writing from the Governor so to do, or if the lessee shall wholly discontinue operations under the lease during a continuous period of six months without the consent in writing of the Governor, then the lease may be determined by the Governor without prejudice to any claim against the lessee which shall already have accrued. The decision of the Governor determining the lease shall be sufficiently notified to the lessee by its publication in the Gazette, and shall operate to vest in the Government all the plant, buildings, and other property of the lessee in connection with the land leased without any payment or compensation to the lessee in respect thereof.
30. Any person who shall place or deposit, or be accessory to the placing or depositing of, any metal, ore, or mineral in any spot or place for the purpose of misleading any person as to the nature, quality, or quantity of the mineral naturally occurring at such spot or place, or who shall mingle or cause to be mingled with any sample of metal, mineral, or ore, any valuable metal or any substance whatsoever which will increase the value or in any way change the nature of the said metal, mineral, or ore, with intention to defraud any person, shall be guilty of felony, and shall be liable, on conviction, to a penalty not exceeding £500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.
31. There shall be kept at the principal office within the Protectorate of the lessee of a mining lease or his attorney (1) accurate and regular accounts containing full entries of all minerals raised or got under such lease, together with all such particulars as may be necessary to form an estimate of the quantity and value of such minerals; and (2) correct plans and sections of all mines worked under the rights conferred by his said lease, and of all the workings thereof, and of all veins or lodes which shall have been discovered therein, upon which the extent, position, and actual condition of the works shall at least once in every half year be accurately delineated. The scale of plans and sections shall be, for underground plans 1 in 500 and for surface plans 1 in 5000.
32. No officer, whether civil or military, shall, while in the service of the Government of the Protectorate, acquire or hold any right or interest under any prospecting right, licence to prospect, or mining lease, and any licence or lease purporting to confer any such right or interest on any such officer shall be null and void.
33. The Government Inspector of Mines may at any time enter and inspect any land over which an exclusive licence to prospect or a mining lease has been granted, for the purpose of ascertaining the condition thereof, and may inspect and take copies of or extracts from any books or papers, plans, &c., dealing with the operations of the licensee or lessee, and required by this Proclamation to be kept.
34. The Governor shall have power to make rules and regulations for carrying this proclamation into effect and in particular for all or any of the following matters:—
(a) The manner in which applications for prospecting rights, exclusive licences to prospect, and mining leases shall be made, the forms to be used, and the fees payable in respect thereof;
(b) The information to be supplied by the applicants;
(c) The shape of areas over which exclusive licences to prospect may be granted and the manner in which the same shall be surveyed and beaconed;
(d) The manner in which the right of entry upon land shall be exercised; and the conditions on which shafts, pits, temporary buildings, and other works may be made or erected for the purpose of prospecting;
(e) The amount of work to be done under an exclusive licence to prospect;
(f) The construction of roads, tramways, and railways;
(g) The construction and erection of houses, machinery, and other works to be used for mining purposes;
(h) The fencing off or rendering secure of any of the works constructed, erected, or made for prospecting or mining purposes;
(i) The grazing of cattle and other animals, and the cutting down and use of timber for the purpose of carrying on prospecting operations;
(k) For securing the safety of persons employed in mines and for the carrying on of mining operations in a safe, proper, and effectual manner;
(l) The reference of disputes to a court for decision;
(m) The transfer and assignment of rights under licences and leases;
(n) The amount of royalty payable to the Government and the form and manner in which such royalty shall be collected and paid; and
(o) The grant of leases of the kinds numbered (3), (4), (5), and (6) in Section 17;
and may attach to the breach of any such rule or regulation a penalty not exceeding £50 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months for each such breach.
Until further or other provision be made under this section, the rules and regulations set forth in the schedule hereto shall be and remain in force.
35. Nothing in this Proclamation shall be construed to refer to or to sanction the prospecting or mining for mineral oil of any kind.
36. Nothing in this Proclamation shall be construed to affect any rights existing at the date of its commencement.
THE SCHEDULE
Rules and Regulations
1.—(1) Any person desiring to obtain a prospecting right shall apply in writing for the same to the Governor through the Secretary to the Administration, and in making such application shall give the following particulars:—
(a) The name, nationality, and description of the applicant, and an address in the Protectorate at which notices, &c., may be served;
(b) The parts of the Protectorate in which the applicant desires to travel; and
(c) A copy of the memorandum and articles of association of any syndicate or corporation on behalf of which the applicant is applying as aforesaid.
(2) The applicant shall show, if required by the Governor to do so, that he possesses sufficient money or credit to enable him to pay all reasonable travelling and prospecting expenses likely to be incurred in the exercise of the rights conferred by a prospecting right.
2. A prospecting right shall be in Form I. of the Appendix hereto.
3. The fee to be paid for a prospecting right shall be £5, and its duration shall be for one year from the granting of the right.
4. Any person desiring to obtain an exclusive licence to prospect may apply in writing to the Governor through the Secretary to the Administration, and in making such application shall give the following particulars:—
(a) The name, nationality, and description of the applicant, and if representing a corporation or company the like information with regard to the directors thereof, and the amount of cash, working capital, and nominal capital of such corporation or company, and an address in the Protectorate at which notices, &c., may be served;
(b) Copies of the memorandum and articles of association of any corporation, syndicate, or company represented by the applicant;
(c) The class, or combination of classes, of minerals for which the applicant desires to prospect; and
(d) The boundaries, area, and situation of the ground over which an exclusive licence is desired: Provided that
(1) The boundaries shall be defined in such a manner as to be a sufficient guide to others desiring to locate contiguous areas, and shall have been demarcated to the satisfaction of the Inspector of Mines;
(2) A sketch plan shall be furnished on the scale of 1:25,000, showing the topography and main drainage in such a manner as will illustrate the position of the boundaries and enable them to be identified upon the ground; and
(3) No statement of latitude and longitude shall be considered as defining an exclusive prospecting area.
5. Applications under the preceding regulation shall be submitted in duplicate, and one copy shall be filed in the office of the Secretary to the Administration (or at such other place as the Governor may appoint); and the file shall be open to inspection at all reasonable times.
6. The shape of an area over which an exclusive licence to prospect may be granted shall be such that the average width, as determined by dividing the area by the greatest length, is not less than one-third of the greatest length.
7. An exclusive licence to prospect shall be in Form II. of the Appendix hereto.
8. The fee to be paid for an exclusive licence to prospect shall be £5 per square mile or part of a square mile per annum.
9.—(1) The holder of an exclusive licence to prospect shall, under penalty of revocation of such licence under the provisions of section 11 of the Proclamation, during the whole of the period for which such licence is granted, either by himself or his agents, carry on bonâ fide prospecting operations.
(2) The Governor may refuse to renew any exclusive licence if satisfied that bonâ fide prospecting operations have not been carried on.
10. The holder of a prospecting right or an exclusive licence to prospect may in respect of the land subject to his right or licence exercise the following rights for the purpose of prospecting:—
(a) Enter upon the said land unless the Governor shall by Government notice declare any part thereof to be closed to prospectors;
(b) Erect temporary buildings or set up camp thereon;
(c) Use any water thereon or divert any watercourse; provided that no stream of a greater width from bank to bank than 20 feet shall be diverted without the consent in writing of the Government Inspector of Mines;
(d) Sink shafts or wells, or dig trenches; and
(e) Cut timber for any purpose essential to the work of carrying on prospecting operations in an efficient manner.
11. A prospecting right, an exclusive licence to prospect, and any licence granted under the provisions of the Proclamation or of these regulations, and a written authority given by the holder of an exclusive licence to any person to prospect upon his area, shall be produced to the Government Inspector of Mines demanding to inspect the same, and any person who shall fail to produce such licence, right, or authority when demanded as aforesaid shall be guilty of an offence and be liable to a penalty not exceeding £25.
12. An application for a mining lease shall be made through the Secretary to the Administration and shall contain the following particulars and information:—
(a) The name, nationality, and description of the applicant, and if a syndicate or corporation the like information with regard to the members or directors thereof, and the amount of the nominal and subscribed capital of such syndicate or corporation, and an address in the Protectorate at which notices, &c., may be served;
(b) A map on a scale of 1:5000 showing the boundaries, extent, and situation of the area in which it is desired to mine, and containing sufficient topographical information to enable the position of the area to be easily located;
(c) The length of term desired;
(d) Whether it is desired to dig for, mine, and work all minerals and precious stones, or some one or more and which of them; and
(e) A copy of the memorandum and articles of association of any syndicate or corporation applying as aforesaid.
13. A mining lease shall be in the Form III., and an assignment thereof in the Form IV. set forth in the Appendix hereto, or as near thereto as circumstances admit.
14. All mining areas shall be bounded by straight lines and vertical planes from the surface boundary lines downwards to an unlimited depth from the surface.
13. Within a period not exceeding twelve months from the date of the commencement of a mining lease there shall be erected by the lessee beacons of a permanent character:—
(a) In the case of a lode mining lease, at the corners of each claim; and
(b) In the case of an alluvial lease, at each angular point of the polygon formed by the boundary lines, and at such other points as may be necessary to secure that no two consecutive beacons shall be more than 2000 feet apart: Provided that where for any reason it may be impracticable to comply strictly with these provisions, the Government Inspector of Mines may authorise the placing of beacons at such other points as may in his opinion most conveniently define the boundaries of the area.
16. A lessee of a mining lease shall keep his beacons and boundary marks in good condition and repair so that they shall be at all times a reasonable guide for persons desirous of marking out contiguous areas.
17. The lessee of a mining lease shall within twelve months of date of granting of such lease, or within such further time as the Governor by writing under his hand may grant, commence mining operations upon the lands subject to his said lease.
18. The lessee of a mining lease will at all times during the continuance thereof, except during the first twelve months, and unless prevented by any disturbances, or by unavoidable accident, effectually and vigorously work and develop and carry on mining operations on the land subject to the said lease.
19. No mine shall be considered to be effectually or properly worked within the meaning of the preceding regulation unless it can be shown that an expenditure per annum has been incurred in respect of working on the ground of at least £2 per acre in the case of an alluvial, and £100 per claim in the case of a lode mining, lease.
Provided that in the case of contiguous leases held by the same person or corporation, the Governor may, on cause being shown, allow any two or more of the said leases to be regarded as one for the purpose of calculating the expenditure required by this regulation.
20. In any case where tailings or any other products whatever from the operations of mining or metallurgy are being discharged, or about to be discharged, in such a manner as to hinder or injuriously affect any other person in the execution of his legal mining rights, or the future development of mining, it shall be lawful for the Government Inspector of Mines to order the disposal of such products or tailings in some other manner not detrimental to present or future mining.
21. It shall not be lawful for any person to construct underground any magazine for the storage of explosives, or to erect a magazine for such purpose upon the surface of the ground without previously having obtained permission in writing from the Government Inspector of Mines. Any such magazine shall be erected subject to the following conditions:—
(a) It shall be constructed at a distance of at least 100 yards from any occupied building, public road, bridge, aqueduct, or railway, or structure that might sustain damage in the event of an explosion;
(b) The walls shall be of suitable and substantial construction;
(c) The roof shall be as light as possible, but fire-proof;
(d) It shall be provided with a reliable lightning conductor, which shall have its lower end attached to a metal plate at least four square feet in area which shall be buried at least three feet in the ground, and the point at which the conductor enters the ground, and the ground in which it is buried, shall be as far as possible kept damp;
(e) It shall have no windows;
(f) The door shall be provided with a stout lock and be kept fastened when not in use;
(g) The ground within a radius of sixty yards shall be kept clear of bushes and grass.
22. On or before the 8th of each month, or as soon after as circumstances will permit, every manager or person in charge of mining operations shall lodge with the Government Inspector of Mines a written statement setting forth:—