Bob Leeming

Eur Ing John Robert Leeming BSc(Hons) CEng FIMMM

HM Chief Inspector of Mines, Health and Safety Executive

Bob started his mining career in 1974 and gained his honours degree in Mining Engineering from North Staffordshire. Having completed training with the National Coal Board to gain a 1st Class Certificate of Competency in mine management, he held supervisory and management positions at collieries in Staffordshire and Cumbria. Bob was also trained in Mines Rescue and has captained one of his colliery’s teams.

Joining the Health and Safety Executive as one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Mines and Quarries, Bob worked for three years in South Wales before being posted to Nottinghamshire. As the British coal mining sector diminished, Bob regulated mines of all minerals across Great Britain. Bob was and remained the youngest ever mines inspector appointed in the UK.

After holding the position of HM Chief Inspector of Mines for 6 years, Bob retired in 2023 with over 36 years’ experience of mines regulation. His records show that he has ventured underground in 219 mines in a professional capacity.

Bob has written and presented papers to UK Institutions, and to symposia and conferences on mine ventilation and other topics in the USA, Canada, Australia, China, and Kazakhstan. He has also made presentations on various mining related subjects to UK Trades Unions, mining companies and education establishments, and has contributed to the annual Irish Mines Rescue Competition.

Bob has authored HSE publications on the safe use of belt conveyors in mines and the prevention of heat illness in mines. He has been involved in the drafting of guidance on the prevention of fires and explosions underground, and the Coal Mines (Control of Inhalable Dust) Regulations 2007. He led the major review of mining legislation which resulted in enactment of the Mines Regulations 2014. He sat on a CEN European Standards Committee that was concerned with explosion barriers in coal mines.

Bob is a registered Chartered Engineer and European Engineer. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, and a Past President of the Nottinghamshire Branch of the Institution of Mining Engineers. He is a member of the International Mine Ventilation Committee.