New Mexico § 69-5-7 - Duties; state mine inspector; director of mining and minerals

§ 69-5-7. Duties; state mine inspector; director of mining and minerals

A. The state mine inspector shall: (1) develop and maintain mine safety and health training programs; (2) upon notification of any explosion or other catastrophic event at a mine in which

the lives of mine workers are jeopardized or in which fatalities have occurred, allocate

available resources within a twenty-four-hour time period to assist the mine operator

in the rescue of persons and the subsequent accident investigation; (3) upon request from any operator, provide compliance assistance to include on-site

audits to any mine or mine operator within the state to aid in the health and safety

of mine workers and mine operators; (4) if a mine is found to be unsafe during an inspection, give written notice that

the mine is unsafe to the owner, operator or manager of the mine with an explanation

for the notice; (5) support and maintain a uniform system of mine bell signals and furnish a copy

of the signal system to each underground mine operator within the state. Automated hoists shall be exempt from compliance with the bell signal requirements; (6) implement a program of certifying mine personnel as provided by law; and (7) make a report to the governor on or before June 1 of each year, which report covers

the preceding calendar year and contains a review of the official acts of the inspector. B. The director of the mining and minerals division of the energy, minerals and natural

resources department shall: (1) cooperate with the state mine inspector to assist the state mine inspector in

the performance of the state mine inspector's duties, including providing the state

mine inspector with mine registration and other information collected by the department; (2) provide an annual resources report to the governor that shall include statistics

of the number of persons employed in mining, the production and value thereof; and (3) have right of entry to the mines as may be required to fulfill the director's

statutory duties.