Okla. Stat. tit. 45, § 45-506
This is the official text of Okla. Stat. tit. 45, § 45-506, part of Oklahoma’s Stat. tit. 45, — part of the compiled statutory law of Oklahoma, published by the state as "Stat. tit. 45,." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Ventilation - Construction of air and hoisting shafts
Official statutory text
It shall be unlawful for the operator or superintendent, mine
foreman or other person, to employ more than ten persons in any coal
or other mine, or permit more than ten persons to be employed
therein at any one time unless they are in communication with at
least two available openings to the surface from each seam or
stratum of coal or other mineral worked in such mine: Provided,
that in any mine operated by shaft or slope and ventilated by a fan
placed at the second opening, and said second opening is a slope or
shaft, it may be used as an airway and for a traveling way into and
from the mine, and if the said second opening is a shaft through
which the employees travel into and from the mine, by reason of a
stairway, or are regularly lowered into and hoisted from the mine by
the use of machinery and such shaft is divided by suitable material
into two compartments while developing or opening the mine up, to
the ten men as hereinbefore, one of them may be used for an airway
and the other for the purpose of ingress and egress into and from
said mine; and further provided, that any fan shaft hereafter
divided into compartments for the purpose of ventilation, and
ingress and egress into and from the mines or any divided partition
now in use that may hereafter be replaced, wholly or in part, shall
be constructed of noncombustible material. And there shall be cut
around the bottom of all hoisting shafts, or driven through the
solid strata a traveling way not less than five (5) feet high and
three (3) feet wide, to enable persons to pass from one side of the
shaft to the other without passing over or under the cage or other
apparatus, and there shall be cut around all other shafts a
traveling way to save the necessity of passing under the shaft.
foreman or other person, to employ more than ten persons in any coal
or other mine, or permit more than ten persons to be employed
therein at any one time unless they are in communication with at
least two available openings to the surface from each seam or
stratum of coal or other mineral worked in such mine: Provided,
that in any mine operated by shaft or slope and ventilated by a fan
placed at the second opening, and said second opening is a slope or
shaft, it may be used as an airway and for a traveling way into and
from the mine, and if the said second opening is a shaft through
which the employees travel into and from the mine, by reason of a
stairway, or are regularly lowered into and hoisted from the mine by
the use of machinery and such shaft is divided by suitable material
into two compartments while developing or opening the mine up, to
the ten men as hereinbefore, one of them may be used for an airway
and the other for the purpose of ingress and egress into and from
said mine; and further provided, that any fan shaft hereafter
divided into compartments for the purpose of ventilation, and
ingress and egress into and from the mines or any divided partition
now in use that may hereafter be replaced, wholly or in part, shall
be constructed of noncombustible material. And there shall be cut
around the bottom of all hoisting shafts, or driven through the
solid strata a traveling way not less than five (5) feet high and
three (3) feet wide, to enable persons to pass from one side of the
shaft to the other without passing over or under the cage or other
apparatus, and there shall be cut around all other shafts a
traveling way to save the necessity of passing under the shaft.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Oklahoma?
Find a Oklahoma lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.