SECTION I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Subject
Article 1
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.

Definitions
Article 2
For the purpose of this Directive:
1. 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. 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.