{"alias":"contentPage","byline":null,"standfirst":null,"content":{"layouts":[{"type":"sidebar","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFS120450\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E(Published January 2022, replacing March 2016)\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EI\u003C/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003Entroduction\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThis page looks to give the facts a person would need to know to run Mine Exploration for a group of young people, or to do it for themselves if they are a young person.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EWhat is Mine Exploration?\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMine Exploration is the exploration of man-made underground passages previously excavated in search of resources such as stones, minerals or metals.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EWhat is a Mine Exploration Permit?\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe adventurous activity permit scheme is designed to ensure that only people with the relevant skills and experience lead adventurous activities for the young people. Therefore all activities classed as adventurous can only be lead by someone holding the appropriate permit. Additionally young people (under 18) can take part in adventurous activities for themselves with personal activity permits.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA Mine Exploration permit is required for all activities going into a man-made underground environment, except where that underground environment is an official show mine.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003ELevels of Permit\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are four levels of permit available for Mine Exploration. These are:\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EMine Exploration - No Vertical Pitches\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EMine Exploration with Ladders\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EMine Exploration with SRT for the leader\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EMine Exploration with SRT for the group\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003C/ul\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAdditionally, each of these permits can be further restricted (such as through specific mines etc) to end up with an individual permit to the level of the competence and requirements of any person.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003ETypes of Permit\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are two types of permit available for mine exploration. These are:\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EPersonal \u2013 Allows a young person (under 18) to take part in mine exploration with others with a personal mine exploration permit.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003ELeadership \u2013 Allows the permit holder to lead mine exploration for a single group.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003C/ul\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EPermit Limitations\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPersonal\u003C/strong\u003E \u2013 If you hold a personal mine exploration permit, you can go into mines with others who hold a personal mine exploration permit. It doesn\u0027t allow you to go into mines with anyone not holding a mine exploration permit.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELeadership\u003C/strong\u003E - A permit to lead mine exploration will allow you to take a group of no more than eight people and no fewer than four people (including yourself) into a mine. You must remain in the mine system with the group at all times, and remain responsible for everyone within that group.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf you have a permit with SRT for the group, then you can use SRT with your group up to the level of any restrictions on the permit. If not, this technique can\u0027t be used. The same applies to permits that include the use of ladders for vertical pitches. If you have a permit with SRT for the leader, you can use SRT yourself, but not for anyone else in the group.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EUse of ropes\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUse of ropes when travelling, for example abseiling, two members of the party should be confident dealing with emergency situations. One of these people will be the permit holder but a second person should be able to respond if any emergency occurs whilst the permit holder is themselves travelling on the rope. This second person could be a young person or an adult.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003ERisk Assessment\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile maximum group sizes and minimum first aid requirements are defined for mine exploration, this does not mean they are always the most appropriate for each mine trip you run. Depending on your risk assessment for each individual trip it may be decided to lower the maximum party size or require more specific first aid knowledge for certain trips. \u0026nbsp;This risk assessment should also look at what would happen if the permit holder were to be injured and whether there is the need to have another competent member in each group to deal with this situation.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EEquipment\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen ascending or descending vertical pitches, a suitable sit harness and suitable cowstails with appropriate karabiners should be used rather than waist belts. Direct belay systems should be used rather than indirect belays that are only appropriate for emergency situations.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAll equipment must be designed for its intended purpose and used, managed and maintained in line with manufacturer\u2019s guidance.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EFurther\u0026nbsp;Definitions\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EVertical Pitches\u003C/strong\u003E refers to places that would require the use of Ladders or SRT for ascent or descent with a group.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESRT\u003C/strong\u003E refers to Single Rope Techniques. This is a method to allow you to both descend and ascend vertical pitches within mines using a single rope and specialist pieces of equipment as found in a personal SRT kit.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERadon\u003C/strong\u003E \u2013 for more information and guidance check out the \u003Ca href=\u0022https://british-caving.org.uk/our-work/safety/#radon\u0022\u003EBritish Caving Association guidance\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]},{"items":[{"gridType":"callToAction","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","buttonText":"Mine Exploration Assessment Checklist","buttonLink":{"name":"AC120952 Mine Exploration Nov 2024","id":null,"url":"https://prod-cms.scouts.org.uk//media/v4lfnjee/ac120952-mine-exploration-may-2025.docx","newWindow":false,"target":null},"colour":{"value":null,"label":null},"alignment":"left"},{"type":"Promo","cta":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022/por/9-activities/rule-97-adventurous-activities-permit-scheme/\u0022 title=\u0022Rule 9.7 Adventurous Activities Permit Scheme\u0022\u003ERule 9a.7\u003C/a\u003E Adventurous Activities Permit Scheme\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022/por/9-activities/rule-98-adult-groups-undertaking-activities/\u0022 title=\u0022Rule 9.8 Adult Groups undertaking activities\u0022\u003ERule 9a.8\u003C/a\u003E Adult groups undertaking activities\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.scouts.org.uk/por/9b-requirements-for-specific-activities/#9b.4\u0022 title=\u0022Rule 9.35 Caving and Mine Exploration\u0022 data-anchor=\u0022#9b.4\u0022\u003ERule 9b.4.2\u003C/a\u003E Caving and mine exploration\u003C/p\u003E","link":null,"colour":"#ffe627","title":"Rules relating to mine exploration","image":null,"imageFocus":"","imageId":0,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"type":"Promo","cta":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022/por/9-activities/rule-91-all-activities/\u0022 title=\u0022Rule 9.1 Activity Rules \u2013 Application\u0022\u003ERule 9a.1\u003C/a\u003E All Activities\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022/por/9-activities/rule-96-use-of-external-centres-and-instructors/\u0022 title=\u0022Rule 9.6 Use of External Centres and Instructors\u0022\u003ERule 9a.6 \u003C/a\u003EUse of External Centres and Instructors\u003C/p\u003E","link":null,"colour":"#ffe627","title":"General activity rules","image":null,"imageFocus":"","imageId":0,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"type":"Promo","cta":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022/activities/?category=Adventure\u0022 title=\u0022Activities\u0022 data-anchor=\u0022?category=Adventure\u0022\u003EActivities A-Z\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022/volunteers/running-your-section/programme-guidance/information-for-volunteers/general-activity-guidance-a-z/route-plan/\u0022 title=\u0022Route plan\u0022\u003ECave Route Plan\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022/volunteers/running-your-section/programme-guidance/general-activity-guidance/underground-activities/single-rope-technique-training/\u0022 title=\u0022Single rope technique (training)\u0022\u003ESingle Rope Technique\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","link":null,"colour":"#f1f1f1","title":"Additional information","image":null,"imageFocus":"","imageId":0,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":"This page looks to give the facts a person would need to know to run Mine Exploration for a group of young people.","pageType":null,"location":null,"browserTitle":"","versionDate":"14 July 2023","reviewDate":"03/12/2020","redirectUrl":"","id":45994,"nodeName":"Mine Exploration","title":"Mine Exploration","type":"contentPage","image":null,"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Mine Exploration","headerSubTitle":"","headerCta":"","headerCtaText":"","headerCtaLink":"","headerBackgroundColour":"ffe627","showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":[]},"subHeader":"This page looks to give the facts a person would need to know to run Mine Exploration for a group of young people.","silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC80NTk5NCJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/volunteers/running-your-section/programme-guidance/information-for-volunteers/general-activity-guidance-a-z/mine-exploration/"}