Do you have to be
licensed or certified to use explosives in North Carolina? No, North Carolina does not have a blasters certification program.
Each city or county government may have permit requirements for the use
of explosive materials, which is enforced by the local fire marshal. Specific
requirements are in the North Carolina State Building Code, Fire Prevention,
Chapter 19, Explosives.
Where do I get assistance
if a mining operation throws rock onto my property or does damage
to my home as a result of blasting?
Damage to property as a result of mining activities is regulated under
the N.C. Mining Act and is enforced by the Department of Environment,
Health, and Natural Resources, Bureau of Land Resources, Land Quality
Section (PO Box 27687, Raleigh, NC 27611 or (919) 733-4572).
What is a mine?
A mine is an area of land and all private ways and roads appurtenant
thereto, structures, facilities, machinery, tools, equipment, shafts,
slopes, tunnels, excavations, and other property, real or personal,
placed or constructed on, under, used in, or to be used in, or resulting
from (including the reclamation of mined areas or the storage of
materials in mined areas), or to facilitate the work or exploring
for, developing of, or extracting by any means of method in such
area all minerals, inorganic and organic, from their natural deposits.
The term "mine" also includes all mineral processing and
milling facilities except those used the processing of source materials
as defined in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Several mine sites in
North Carolina adjoin operations that fall under the jurisdiction
of NCOSH such as asphalt plant and brick plants. The Mine and Quarry
Bureau can assist in determining jurisdiction under OSHA and MSHA.
What is a borrow pit?
A borrow pit is an excavation of soil for the sole purpose of fill
material such as road and dam construction or for backfill material.
The North Carolina Occupational Safety & Health Division regulates
this type of excavation.
Where do I receive the
safety and health training required by MSHA 30 CFR, Part 46?
Part 46, Training and Retraining of Miners, required by the Mine
Safety and Health Administration, can be obtained from a "competent
person." A competent person is a person designated by the
production-operator or independent contractor who has the ability,
training, knowledge, or experience to provide training to miners
in his or her area of expertise. The competent person must be able
to effectively communicate the training subject to miners and evaluate
whether the training given to miners is effective. A competent
person can be any employee of the mine or independent contractor
who meets the requirements of the above paragraph. Also, state
and federal agencies, manufacturers' representatives, and other
organizations specializing in training can be designated as competent
persons.
How many mines are there
in North Carolina?
There are over 450 mine sites in North
Carolina.
What type of minerals are
mined in North Carolina?
Minerals mined in North Carolina include but not exclusive: quartz,
pyrophyllite, phosphate, olivine, mica, marl, lightweight aggregate,
gold, gem stone, spodumene, feldspar, limestone, clay, shale, granite
and sand.
What types of mining operations
are there in North Carolina?
At the present there is only surface open pit mining in North Carolina.
This includes quarrying for crushed granite and limestone, dimension
stone for monuments and building blocks; and open pit excavations
for minerals such as sand, gravel, clay, shale, marl, etc. There
are also various milling processes associated with mining to produce
many products.
What are some of the gemstones
mined in North Carolina?
Gem stones include ruby, sapphire, emerald, garnet, and quartz
crystals.
What is the Mine and Quarry
Bureau and what does it do?
The Mine and Quarry Bureau is a bureau within the N.C. Department
of Labor charged with the responsibility of enforcing the 1975 Mine
Safety and Health Act of North Carolina and conducting a program of
inspections, education and training, technical assistance, and consultations
to implement provisions of the act. The bureau assists mine and quarry
operators in complying with the provisions of the 1977 federal Mine
Safety and Health Act, which requires them to train their employees
in safe working procedures. The bureau also inspects abandoned mine
surfaces for the protection of the general public, promotes rockhound
safety, and conducts special training programs relative to the mining
industry.
