Duties and Responsibilities of Operator

C.R.S. tit. 34, art. 24
in effect

C.R.S. § 34-24-101 Annual report

34-24-101. Annual report. On or before January 31 of each year, every owner or operator shall make a report covering the twelve months preceding the previous January 1. Such report shall contain the name and address of the operator, the location of the mine, the capacity of the mine, the mineral resource being produced, the total tons mined, the mining methods employed, the number of employees, the safety statistics, the location of the processing facility, and the percentage distribution of the mine product in-state and out-of-state.

C.R.S. § 34-24-102 Coal or other mine maps

34-24-102. Coal or other mine maps. (1) Every operator shall make a map of the surface of the property and a map of the underground workings. Such map shall be updated and submitted annually to the division. (2) Each map shall be retained by the division in its permanent records. Such records shall be available for inspection, on request, by the public. Maps filed with the division prior to July 1, 1980, shall be made available to the public if the property is abandoned, and such maps shall be made available to the public with permission of the operator if the map depicts a mine which is still in production. (3) Whenever surface features of a mine property can be shown upon such map without obscuring its details or impairing its usefulness, a separate map need not be made. (4) Each map shall be made on a scale of not less than one hundred feet nor more than five hundred feet to the inch unless a different scale is approved by the office of active and inactive mines, and such map shall bear the name or number of the mine, its location as to county, township, and section, the name of the company or operator, the north point, the scale to which the map is drawn and an explanatory legend, and the certificate of the engineer or surveyor as to the accuracy of the map. (5) The underground map shall be made on the same scale as the surface map unless a different scale is approved by the office of active and inactive mines and shall show the mine openings or excavations; the shafts, slopes, and drifts of the mine, the connections with other mines or workings, or any other seams in the same mine; the entries, rooms, pillars, and abandoned workings of the mine; and the barrier pillars between adjoining properties. Each map shall show the elevation of the mine haulageways and cross entries every five hundred feet.

C.R.S. § 34-24-103 Explosives and diesel permits - fees - active and inactive mines operation - fund

34-24-103. Explosives and diesel permits - fees - active and inactive mines operation - fund. (1) To protect the public health and safety from the improper storage, transportation, and use of explosives at mine sites, the office of active and inactive mines is authorized to enter into agreements with the United States bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives and other authorized federal agencies, consistent with their statutory authorities, to provide explosives inspection and other explosives assistance to such federal agencies regarding mine site explosives storage, transportation, and use. (2) and (3) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2003, p. 2490, § 2, effective June 5, 2003.) (4) No diesel-powered machinery or equipment shall be used in any underground mine until it has been approved by the United States mine safety and health administration and approved or permitted by the office of active and inactive mines. The office of active and inactive mines has the authority to conduct any investigations which may be necessary to grant or renew such permits. (5) (a) The fee for the issuance of each diesel permit relating to mining operations shall be a fee specified in paragraph (b) of this subsection (5). Moneys received from such fees shall be credited to the office of active and inactive mines operation fund, which fund is hereby created. All moneys credited to said fund, and all interest earned on such moneys, are subject to appropriation by the general assembly for paying the expenses of the office of active and inactive mines, and said moneys shall remain in such fund for such purposes and shall not revert to the general fund. (b) The fee specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection (5) shall be in accordance with the following table: Employees Permit Fee 1-5 $10.00 6-25 $30.00 26-50 $50.00 51-75 $70.00 76 or more $90.00 (5.5) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2003, p. 2490, § 2, effective June 5, 2003.) (6) If, following a hearing held in accordance with the provisions of article 4 of title 24, C.R.S., the head of the office of active and inactive mines finds that the applicant for a permit under this section or the holder of a permit issued under this section has committed any violation of this article relating to the use of diesel equipment in mining operations, the head of the office of active and inactive mines may refuse to issue, revoke, or suspend such permit. (7) A permit issued pursuant to this section may be withheld or suspended if the permittee fails to pay any permit fees.

C.R.S. § 34-24-104 Employees - age

34-24-104. Employees - age. No person under eighteen years of age shall be employed in or about a mine except in office, janitorial, or food service capacities or other nonextraction, preparation, or production activities on the surface of such mine.

C.R.S. § 34-24-105 Opening or abandonment of mine - maps

34-24-105. Opening or abandonment of mine - maps. (1) It is the duty of the operator of every mine to notify the director prior to the opening of any mine or the abandonment of any mine. (2) Before a mine is abandoned or closed, the owner shall make a complete survey of all workings not represented on the maps and plans of such mine, and he shall enter the results on the maps to show the most advanced workings in the mine in relation to the boundary of the property. The owner shall file a copy of the updated map with the division.

C.R.S. § 34-24-106 Old workings

34-24-106. Old workings. (1) The entrance to inactive or abandoned workings shall be posted to warn unauthorized persons against entering the territory. (2) Abandoned workings shall be sealed or ventilated.

C.R.S. § 34-24-107 Danger signals - operator's duty

34-24-107. Danger signals - operator's duty. When operations are temporarily suspended in a mine, the operator shall see that danger signals are placed across the mine entrances, which signals shall be a warning for persons not to enter said mine. If the circulation of air through the mine is stopped, each entrance to said mine shall be closed off in such a manner as will ordinarily prevent persons from entering said mine, and a danger signal shall be displayed upon each entrance until such time as the ventilation is restored and the mine has been examined by a properly authorized representative. The mine foreman shall see that all danger signals used in said mine are in good condition.

C.R.S. § 34-24-108 Scales - weights certified

34-24-108. Scales - weights certified. (1) It is required that every corporation, company, or person engaged in the business of mining and selling by weight, and where workmen are paid on a tonnage basis, to produce and constantly keep on hand, at the proper place, the necessary scales and whatever else may be necessary to correctly weigh the coal or other minerals mined and taken out by the workmen or miners of such corporation, company, or person. It is the duty of the inspector of weights and measures of each county in which the coal or other minerals are mined and sold to visit each mine operated therein once each year, unless oftener requested by the operator or the miners, to test the correctness of the scale. If in any county there is no inspector of weights and measures, then the district inspector of the district in which the mine is located shall be required to test the correctness of such scales within a reasonable time after application is made by either the operator or the miners. (2) All weights necessary for testing and adjusting scales shall be duly certified and provided by the operator.

C.R.S. § 34-24-109 Barrier pillar at property line

34-24-109. Barrier pillar at property line. In all underground workings approaching property lines, a barrier pillar shall be left at least fifty feet on each side of the property line; but said barrier pillars may be removed upon mutual agreement of the operators in writing.

C.R.S. § 34-24-110 Abandoned mine to be covered - penalty

34-24-110. Abandoned mine to be covered - penalty. (1) Every abandoned or inactive mine endangering the life of man or beast shall be securely covered or fenced. It is the duty of the operator of such mine, upon the abandonment or cessation of operations therein or thereon, to securely cover or fence the same and post a "No Trespassing" sign bearing the name and address of the owner or operator. Anyone failing to securely cover or fence such mine or any person removing such fence or covering without permission of the operator commits a civil infraction. Such fine when assessed and paid shall be distributed as follows: Seventy-five percent to the office of active and inactive mines to be used to cover or fence mines that are dangerous to man or beast and twenty-five percent to the general fund of the state. (2) In the case of any abandoned mine or any inactive mine where the owner or operator is unknown or cannot be found, the office of active and inactive mines has the right to erect a sign across or near the entrance of any such mine prohibiting the trespassing by any person, except as provided in section 34-24-112, into the mine and warning any trespasser that any such trespasser will be prosecuted and subject to the penalty provided for in subsection (3) of this section. (3) It is unlawful for any person to trespass into any mine. Any person so trespassing commits a petty offense. (4) This provision shall not conflict with the requirements placed on those mines regulated by the mined land reclamation board or office of mined land reclamation pursuant to the provisions of articles 32 and 33 of this title.

C.R.S. § 34-24-111 Penalty for removing covering or fencing

34-24-111. Penalty for removing covering or fencing. Any person removing or destroying any covering or fencing placed around or over any mine as provided for in section 34-24-110 commits a petty offense.

C.R.S. § 34-24-112 When visitors allowed underground

34-24-112. When visitors allowed underground. (1) It is unlawful for any person to enter any active or inactive mine unless accompanied by, or with prior written permission from, the operator of said mine. (2) Persons desiring entry into abandoned mines, where the operator cannot be found, shall first secure written authorization from the office of the commissioner or the office of active and inactive mines. (3) Any person violating any provision of this section commits a petty offense. (4) Each violation of this section shall be a separate offense.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-34.docxFetched: 10/6/2026