(1) The division of workers' compensation shall certify coal mine foremen and determine if applicants meet certain qualifications and are knowledgeable in the area of coal mine safety.

(2) A person who wishes to apply for certification as a coal mine foreman shall submit an application form in writing to the division. Such application forms shall be available from the division.

(3) The division shall examine the qualifications of all applicants for the examination of coal mine foremen and conduct a thorough examination as to their knowledge of mines and mine workings. Examinations shall be given at times and places within Montana as considered necessary by the number of applicants and within the division's capabilities. A person may not be certified as a coal mine foreman whose grade on the examination is less than 75%.

(4) An applicant for certification as a coal mine foreman can request certification as an underground coal mine foreman or a surface coal mine foreman, or both. In order to qualify for certification as an underground coal mine foreman, the applicant must have at least five years experience in underground coal mining in the United States. Applicants for surface coal mine foreman must have at least two years experience in surface coal mining in the United States. Applicants for surface coal mine foreman must have at least two years experience in surface coal strip mining in the United States. The division may, in its discretion, allow a substitution of formal education for the experience requirements set forth above.

(5) Applicants for coal mine foreman shall be prepared to submit to, and satisfactorily pass, an examination as to their knowledge in: the theoretical, technical, and practical knowledge of coal mining; general safety matters; first aid to the injured; the different systems of working coal mines; the safe operation of coal mines; the ventilation and sanitation of coal mines; the nature of noxious, poisonous and explosive gases in coal mines; the nature and properties of coal dust; the mechanics relating to coal mining machinery and equipment; electricity and its applications to coal mining machinery and equipment; the explosives used in coal mines; coal mine maps and their use in coal mining; and, any other subjects valuable in the safe operation of coal mines which the division considers includable in the examination.

(6) Certificates of qualification shall be issued by the division to applicants who meet the qualifications and pass the examination. The certificate shall be prescribed by the division, and the division shall keep records of all certificates granted. A person maintaining a valid certificate from another state, territory of the United States, or another nation, may apply for a similar certificate to be issued by the division in the division's discretion. Those individuals who have received coal mine foreman certificates from the industrial accident board and the Division of Workers' Compensation prior to the effective date of this rule, shall be considered to be holding a valid certificate under this rule.

(7) Any person who acts in the capacity of a mine foreman, either of an underground coal mine or a surface coal mine, who thus has charge of the general direction of a coal mine at the mine site, shall have the appropriate coal mine foreman certificate as provided for in this rule.