A major safety training exercise has been held at the annual Victorian Mine Rescue Competition, hosting representatives from mines in Victoria and New South Wales.
Eight teams from Victorian and New South Wales mines competed in a range of events including team skills, firefighting, first aid, rope rescue, and search and rescue at Agnico Eagle’s Fosterville Gold Mine and ISH 24’s safety training facility near Bendigo.
The competition featured a variety of simulated emergency situations to test and train mine rescue teams to prepare for any.
Mandalay Costerfield won best overall at the event, followed by CFA Oscar 1 Technical Rescue in second place and CMOC Northparkes in third place.
The competition is a critical part of the mining industry’s efforts to support highly trained rescue personnel across Australia and contributes greatly to the minerals industry’s commitment to zero harm.
The simulated exercises faced by the teams at the competition help prepare them for any emergencies on site by putting their skills to the test and also providing an event for mine rescue teams to share their knowledge and experience.
Emergency response agencies attended the competition to help enable mine rescue personnel and first responders to be prepared if called upon in operations throughout the state.
Full results for the 2022 Victorian Mine Rescue Competition are as follows:
Overall
First: Mandalay Costerfield
Second: CFA Oscar 1 Technical Rescue
Third: CMOC Northparkes
Winning Team Captain
Owen Shay of CFA Oscar 1 Technical Rescue
Winning Team – Overall Safety
Mandalay Costerfield
Fire Exercise
First: Mandalay Costerfield
Second: Agnico Eagle Fosterville Mine
Third: CMOC Northparkes
First Aid
First: Mandalay Costerfield
Second: CMOC Northparkes
Third: Agnico Eagle Fosterville Mine
Ropes Exercise
First: CFA Oscar 1 Technical Rescue
Second: Mandalay Costerfield
Third: CMOC Northparkes
Underground Search and Rescue
First: CFA Oscar 1 Technical Rescue
Second: Mandalay Costerfield
Third: CMOC Northparkes
Skills Exercise
First: CFA Oscar 1 Technical Rescue
Second: Ballarat Gold Mine
Third: Mandalay Costerfield
Theory
First: Mandalay Costerfield
Second: Agnico Eagle Fosterville Mine
Third: Cadia Valley
Breathing Apparatus
First: CMOC Northparkes
Second: Cadia Valley
Third: Mandalay Costerfield
I find it interesting when you talked about having simulated exercises that will prepare the mining engineering team for any emergency situations. I can imagine how important that would be because that kind of industry is quite risky. So the workers have to be trained well, and the owners have to cover the training programs which have to be done every now and then as much as possible.