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    Spain · National · Royal Decree

    Royal Decree 863/1985: General Basic Mining Safety Regulations

    In force, amended and supplemented by specific rules

    Current official Spanish title: Real Decreto 863/1985, de 2 de abril, por el que se aprueba el Reglamento General de Normas Básicas de Seguridad Minera.

    Original publication and analysisConsolidated textELI identifier
    On this page
    1. What it regulates
    2. Who it applies to
    3. Key provisions
    4. History and versions
    5. Transitional provisions and application notes
    6. Official BOE legal relationships
    7. Official sources
    8. Explore the concepts in Sabentis Explore

    What it regulates

    Sets minimum mining safety rules and the technical arrangements needed to protect people working in the covered activities. It addresses technical management, installations, accidents, rescue and the risks of underground, surface and drilling operations. It operates alongside the relevant complementary technical instructions (ITCs) and occupational risk prevention legislation. This entry covers the general regulations; it does not mean that every ITC has already been catalogued.

    Who it applies to

    Spain. Activities listed in article 1 of the Regulations: mines, quarries, salt works, groundwater, geothermal resources, storage sites, drilling, excavations and mineral processing facilities, subject to the mining-technique or explosives conditions specified there. This entry focuses on worker protection and operational safety; it does not independently cover resource exploitation, licensing or third-party protection.

    Key provisions

    The basic rules are national minimum standards. Article 2 authorises ITCs and distinguishes direct and supplementary application and subjects applying directly throughout Spain; the applicable autonomous-community rules must also be checked.

    Article 1

    Activities require a responsible technical director. Contracts must identify who is responsible for compliance; internal safety instructions, records of workings, projects and installations have specific requirements. Technical direction does not remove the employer’s preventive duties.

    Article 3

    Commissioning and electrical maintenance have specific responsibilities and checks. Fatal or serious accidents, serious incidents and imminent hazards require urgent notification to the mining authority, without replacing labour-law notifications; the Regulations also address rescue and prevention of further hazards.

    Article 16

    Royal Decree 150/1996 amended article 109 and added the annex of minimum requirements for mineral-extracting industries through drilling. This must be distinguished from the surface and underground extractive activities governed by Royal Decree 1389/1997.

    Article 109

    History and versions

    Initial publication: 12/06/1985 · Initial entry into force: 02/07/1985

    BOE-A-1985-10836

    Published on 12 June 1985 and in force from 2 July 1985. The correction published on 18 December 1985 affects, among other passages, article 2 of the Regulations. Royal Decree 150/1996 amended article 109 and added the drilling annex; Royal Decree 249/2010 amended articles 11 and 126. The record also contains three supplementary or related instruments, which are not new versions of the Regulations. An administrative record update is not an amendment to the provisions.

    Royal Decree 863/1985 of 2 April: approval of the Regulations; published 12 June 1985, in force 2 July 1985.

    Publication: 12/06/1985 · Effective date: 02/07/1985

    BOE-A-1985-10836

    Correction published on 18 December 1985; read alongside the initial text.

    BOE-A-1985-26320

    Royal Decree 150/1996 of 2 February, published on 8 March 1996: amends article 109 and adds minimum drilling requirements.

    Publication: 08/03/1996 · Effective date: 28/03/1996

    BOE-A-1996-5479

    Royal Decree 1389/1997 of 5 September: related mining safety and health instrument; a normative connection, not wholesale replacement of the Regulations.

    BOE-A-1997-21178

    Order PRE/2426/2004 of 21 July, published on 22 July 2004: implements article 135 on the content, format and keeping of record books.

    BOE-A-2004-13609

    Royal Decree 249/2010 of 5 March, published on 18 March 2010: amends articles 11 and 126 on commissioning, collaborating entities and responsibility for electrical maintenance.

    Publication: 18/03/2010 · Effective date: 19/03/2010

    BOE-A-2010-4514

    Order TED/723/2021 of 1 July, published on 9 July 2021: approves ITC 02.0.02 on respirable dust and crystalline silica under article 2 of the Royal Decree.

    BOE-A-2021-11458
    All text versions recorded by the BOE

    Publication and effective dates are different. The table retains the dates and provisions of each recorded text version; it does not treat future transitional deadlines as requirements already applicable.

    PublicationEffective dateOfficial referenceAffected provisions
    12/06/198502/07/1985BOE-A-1985-10836Introductory note, Preamble, Article 1, Article 2, Article 3, Article 4, Signature, Regulation, Chapter I, Article 1, Article 2, Chapter II, Article 3, Article 4, Article 5, Article 6, Article 7, 2.1 Project, Article 8, Article 9, 2.2 Assembly, commissioning, maintenance and inspection, Article 10, Article 11, Article 12, Article 13, Article 14, Article 15, Chapter III, 3.1 Action in the event of an accident, Article 16, Article 17, 3.2 Rescue stations, Article 18, Article 19, Article 20, Chapter IV, 4.1 Classification, Article 21, Article 22, Article 23, Article 24, Article 25, Article 26, 4.2 Access, Article 27, Article 28, Article 29, Article 30, 4.3 Hoisting, Article 31, Article 32, Article 33, Article 34, Article 35, Article 36, 4.4 Winding equipment and winches, Article 37, Article 38, Article 39, Article 40, Article 41, Article 42, Article 43, 4.5 Traffic and transport, Article 44, Article 45, Article 46, Article 47, Article 48, Article 49, Article 50, Article 51, Article 52, Article 53, Article 54, 4.6 Work and mining operations, Article 55, Article 56, Article 57, Article 58, Article 59, Article 60, Article 61, Article 62, Article 63, Article 64, Article 65, Article 66, 4.7 Ventilation and drainage, Article 67, Article 68, Article 69, Article 70, Article 71, Article 72, Article 73, 4.8 Environmental conditions, Article 74, Article 75, Article 76, Article 77, Article 78, Article 79, Article 80, Article 81, Article 82, Article 83, Chapter V, Article 84, Article 85, Article 86, Article 87, Article 88, Article 89, Article 90, Article 91, Article 92, Article 93, Article 94, 5.1 Fourth-category mines, Article 95, Article 96, 5.2 Mines with explosive dust, Article 97, 5.3 Mines prone to fires, Article 98, Article 99, Article 100, Article 101, Article 102, Article 103, Chapter VI, Article 104, Article 105, Article 106, Article 107, Article 108, Article 109, Chapter VII, Article 110, Article 111, Article 112, Article 113, Article 114, Article 115, Article 116, Article 117, Chapter VIII, Article 118, Article 119, Chapter IX, Article 120, Article 121, Article 122, Article 123, Article 124, Article 125, Article 126, Chapter X, Article 127, Article 128, Article 129, Article 130, Article 131, 10.1 Storage, Article 132, Article 133, Article 134, Article 135, Article 136, 10.2 Use, Article 137, Article 138, Article 139, Article 140, Article 141, Article 142, Article 143, Article 144, Article 145, Article 146, Article 147, Article 148, Article 149, 10.3 Special blasting operations, Article 150, Article 151, 10.4 Special provisions for work involving flammable or explosive gases or dust, Article 152, Article 153, Article 154, Article 155, Article 156, Article 157, Chapter XI, Article 158, Article 159, Article 160, Article 161, Article 162, Article 163, Article 164, Chapter XII, Article 165, Article 166, Chapter XIII, Article 167, Chapter XIV, Article 168, Chapter XV, Article 169
    08/03/199628/03/1996BOE-A-1996-5479Article 109, Annex
    18/03/201019/03/2010BOE-A-2010-4514Article 11, Article 126

    Transitional provisions and application notes

    • Repeal of the earlier mining-police framework includes conditional preservation of compatible measures pending the relevant ITCs. Do not describe all 1934 provisions as immediately and completely repealed, or treat an old ITC as current without checking its own history.

      Article 3

    • The six subsequent relationships in the checked record are not a complete ITC register or a statement that compliance is sufficient. Dust and silica, training, documentation and other risks require their specific rules and applicable general legislation to be checked.

      Article 2

    Official BOE legal relationships

    Relationships may affect only specific provisions. They do not by themselves determine the status of the whole instrument: consult its history and application notes.

    Earlier references (5)
    Subsequent references (6)

    Official sources

    Official sources checked on 14/11/2026. Updating a database record does not by itself mean that the legislation has been amended.

    1. Original publication and analysis
    2. BOE-A-1985-10836
    3. ELI identifier
    4. BOE-A-1985-26320
    5. BOE-A-1996-5479
    6. BOE-A-2004-13609
    7. BOE-A-2010-4514
    8. BOE-A-1997-21178
    9. BOE-A-2021-11458

    Official BOE sources consulted on 14 November 2026. Consolidation is informative and has no legal force; the official publication must be consulted for legal purposes. The history of the checked record is retained without claiming complete coverage of case law or implied amendments.

    Sabentis editorial translation into English; it is not an official translation and does not replace the official text.

    Editorial information

    Publication date: 14 November 2026.

    Editorial responsibility: Sabentis editorial team.

    Editorial review by Pablo RodríguezLinkedIn

    Executive Vice President of the International ORP Foundation and Chief Financial Officer of Sabentis.

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