112 CHAPTER VIII. 
safety. Oilfields both in India and Burma are given complete exemp- 
tion from the operation of the Mines Act, which would otherwise apply to 
them. In Burma there is an Oilfields Act which is directed to the preser- 
vation of the oil sands and includes provisions for the prevention of fire, 
but is not designed for the protection of labodr. We are of opinion that 
the protection of the law in regard to rest days, hours, health and safety 
should be extended to workers on the oilfields. We also think that labour 
statistics analogous to those for factories and mines should be compiled 
and published. We therefore recommend that conditions on the oilfields 
be examined by Government with a view to determining whether the end 
can be achieved by modifying the present exemption and applying appro- 
priate provisions of the Mines Act, or whether separate legislation should 
be passed for the regulation of hours, rest days, safety and health on oil- 
fields. Whichever course may prove more suitable, some form of inspec- 
tion will be necessary, In India, excluding Burma, the mines inspectors 
should be able to make the necessary Inspections : in Burma the inspec- 
tion of the oilfields, combined with the inspection of mines in the pro- 
vince, will require the appointment of a separate mspector. 
Other Mines. 
The quarrying of stone, including slate and limestone, and the 
extraction of iron ore employ a large number of workers. The former 
industry is widely distributed over India and Burma and employs 28,000 
persons in those quarries which come under the Mines Act; quarries less 
than 20 feet deep and in which less than 50 persons are employed are 
exempted from the operation of the Act. Slate is quarried mainly in the 
Monghyr district of Bihar. Limestone comes principally from the 
Punjab, the Central Provinces, Bihar and Sind. Other kinds of stone are 
worked In all parts of India, though none of the excavations for stone in the 
Madras Presidency has been reported as coming under the Act. The 
work in stone quarries is largely in the hands of contractors; little machin- 
ery is used and, since in almost all cases the workers come from surround- 
ing villages, no special arrangements are made for housing, sanitation and 
health. The majority of the quarries are in scattered localities difficult of 
access and frequent inspection has not been found possible. There were 
11 fatal accidents in stone quarries and 4 in limestone quarries during 1929. 
In iron ore mines, which are all open workings, some 8,000 persons are 
employed, including 2,700 women. Except for one mine in Burma, the 
production is almost all in the hands of three large firms who quarry ore in 
the Singbhum district of Bibar and Orissa. The majority of the workers 
are recruited in the district and many attend their work daily from their 
villages. It is reported that some housing is provided at the mines, and 
that hospitals and medical officers are maintained, while two out of the 
three large concerns have piped water supplies. 
The Coalfields. 
Coal is worked in Assam, Baluchistan, Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, 
the Central Provinces and the Punjab; but the great bulk of the 
collieries of India are concentrated in a comparatively small area. the