The Mines Act, 1952 came into force on 1st July, 1952. The provisions of the said Act came into force on different dates but not later than 31st December, 1953 as has been mentioned in the Act. The applicability of the Act is extended to the whole of India. Mines Act, 1952 was legislated with the purpose of regulating the health and safety of laborers working in the mines.

The mines act, 1952 was amended in 1983 which provided a new law for the mine workers. It provides that the person working in the mine should not be less than eighteen years of age. If in case a child is seen to be working in the mine, in such a case,  the owner, manager or agent of such a mine should be held responsible and a penalty of rupees five hundred would be imposed upon him

Definition:-

Mine means any excavation where any operation for the purpose of searching for or obtaining minerals has been or is being carried on and includes–

• All borings, bore holes, oil wells and accessory crude conditioning plants, including the pipe conveying mineral oil within the oil fields.
• All shafts, in or adjacent to and belonging to a mine, whether in the course of being sunk or not.
• All levels and inclined planes in the course of being driven.
• All open cast workings;
• All conveyors or aerial rope-ways provided for the bringing into or removal from a mine of minerals or other articles or for the removal of refuse there from.
• All audits, levels, planes, machinery, works, railways, tramways and sidings in or adjacent to and belonging to a mine.
• All protective works being carried out in or adjacent to a mine.
• All workshops and stores situated within the precincts of amine and under the same management and used primarily for the purposes connected with that mine or a number of mines under the same management.
• All power stations, transformer sub-stations, converter stations, rectifier stations and accumulator, storage stations for supplying electricity solely or mainly for the purpose of working the mine or a number of mines under the same management.
• Any premises for the time being used for depositing sand or other material for use in a mine or for depositing refuse from a mine or in which any operations in connection with such sand, re fuse or other material is being carried on, being premises exclusively occupied by the power of the mine.