SECTION IGENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1Subject

1.

This Directive, which is the twelfth individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16 (1) of Directive 89/391/EEC, lays down minimum requirements for the safety and health protection of workers in the surface and underground mineral- extracting industries defined in Article 2 (a).

2.

The provisions of Directive 89/391/EEC shall apply in full to the sphere referred to in paragraph 1, without prejudice to more stringent and/or specific provisions contained in this Directive.

Article 2Definitions

For the purpose of this Directive:

  1. (a)

    surface and underground mineral-extracting industries shall mean all industries practising:

    • surface or underground extraction, in the strict sense of the word, of minerals, and/or

    • prospecting with a view to such extraction, and/or

    • preparation of extracted materials for sale, excluding the activities of processing the materials extracted,

    excluding the mineral-extracting industries through drilling defined in Article 2 (a) of Directive 92/91/EEC;

  2. (b)

    workplace shall mean the whole area intended to house workstations, relating to the immediate and ancillary activities and installations of the surface or underground mineral-extracting industries, including overburden dumps and other tips and accommodation, where provided, to which workers have access in the context of their work.