Top Mine Rescue Teams to Compete in Goderich
Seven mine rescue teams from across Ontario will test their emergency response knowledge and skills 1,750 feet under Lake Huron in the world’s largest salt mine during the 68 th annual Ontario Mine Rescue Provincial Competition in Goderich, Wednesday and Thursday, June 7 and 8.
Compass Minerals, Goderich Mine will host the competition organized by Ontario Mine Rescue, a part of Workplace Safety North. The competition will test the teams’ mining emergency response knowledge, firefighting skills, first aid response, use of emergency equipment and decision-making ability under stress during a simulated emergency.
The public and media are welcome to watch the competition via live streaming video at the Huron County Museum, 110 North St., Goderich. Admission is free. The competition will start at 6 a.m. each day. Media and spectators are asked not to share competition details, photos or videos on social media until the competition ends Friday, June 9 at 9 a.m.
Competing mine rescue teams, each a winner of their respective qualifying district competition in early May, are:
Wednesday June 7:
- Tahoe Canada – Timmins West & Bell Creek mines (Timmins District)
- Goldcorp Canada, Musselwhite Mine (Red Lake District)
- North American Palladium, Lac des Iles Mine (Thunder Bay & Algoma District)
- Vale Canada Ltd., West Mines (Sudbury District).
Thursday June 8:
- Kirkland Lake Gold North Complex – Holt-McDermott & Taylor mines (Kirkland Lake District)
- Glencore, Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations – Fraser & Nickel Rim South Mines (Onaping District)
- Canadian Gypsum Company, Hagersville Mine (Southern District)
Mine Rescue competitions, which started in 1950, are as much intensive learning opportunities as a chance to test emergency response capabilities. The competitions ensure that mine rescue volunteers across the province are trained to the same high standards. Mine rescue team members, the backbone of Ontario Mine Rescue, are volunteer mine workers trained by Mine Rescue Officers to respond to all types of mine emergencies including fires, explosions and the entrapment of miners. Under the authority of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and headquartered in Sudbury, Ontario Mine Rescue staffs, equips and maintains a network of mine rescue stations across the province that ensure mines within a specified geographic area have adequate emergency response capability.
The 2017 Ontario Mine Rescue Provincial Competition is hosted by Compass Minerals, Goderich Mine. Major sponsors are Drager Safety; T’NT Work and Rescue; and Technica Mining. Workplace Safety North provides products and services to promote workplace health and safety in the mining, forestry, and paper, printing and converting industries, as well as workplaces across Ontario.
