¹[40. Employment of persons below eighteen years of age.--(1)After the commencement of the the Mines (Amendment) Act, 1983 (42 of 1983), no person below eighteen years of age shall be allowed to work in any mine or part thereof.
     (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), apprentices and other trainees, not below sixteen years of age, may be allowed to work, under proper supervision, in a mine or part thereof by the manager:
     Provided that in the case of trainees, other than apprentices, prior approval of the Chief Inspector or an Inspector shall be obtained before they are allowed towork.
     Explanation.--In this section and in section 43, "apprentice" means an apprentice as defined in clause (a) of section 2 of the Apprentices Act, 1961 (52 of 1961).]