Mine rescue skills put to the test

Mine rescue teams from across Australia converged on Bendigo recently to compete in the WorkSafe-sponsored Annual Victorian Underground Mine Rescue Competition.

The Northgate Stawell Gold Mine Emergency Rescue Team was declared the overall winner of the competition, which is in its 18th year.

“Mining is intrinsically dangerous work - workers are underground, they’re isolated, and often they’re working with heavy machinery,” WorkSafe’s Hazard Management Division Acting Director Rod Gunn said. “Although health and safety incidents in the industry are rare, everyone knows that if something goes wrong, it can go very wrong. That’s why strong health and safety and emergency response processes are critical.

“The Mine Rescue Competition gives volunteer rescue teams a chance to exercise emergency plans in scenarios as close to real life as possible - they’re under pressure and working against the clock.

“We don’t ever want the rescue teams to have to use the skills they’re testing and refining at this event, but the fact is that every mine must be prepared for an emergency.”

Significant mine incidents in Victoria in recent years include the 2008 death of a teenager who was run over by a truck at a Ballarat gold mine and 11 workers affected by toxic carbon monoxide fumes at the Fosterville Gold Mine after an underground blast in 2007. In 2006, a worker was crushed by a steel beam while carrying out maintenance work at the Yallourn open cut mine.

“Around 650 people are employed in the mining industry in the immediate Bendigo region, and health and safety incidents result in about 1% of these workers being injured each year,” Gunn continued. “This number might seem low, but worst-case scenarios include an explosion or fire in an underground mine, workers being entrapped by falling ground or an incident involving mining and mobile equipment.

“Mine rescue teams are trained to handle these situations. If a genuine emergency does occur, the training and practice employed during these competitions might just be invaluable.”

WorkSafe Victoria also sponsors the Victorian Surface Mine Rescue Competition, which will be held in the Latrobe Valley on 23 October 2010.