Mine Rescue Week 2019 kicked off on Thursday May 30th, and this year marked the 64th annual Provincial Mine Rescue and First Aid Competition in Williams Lake, British Columbia with Mine Rescue teams competing to qualify in their respective zones for the final event on Saturday.

The Mine Rescue and First Aid Competition is focused on team knowledge of the Western Canada Mine Rescue Manual in three main categories: three person first aid, surface mine rescue and underground mine rescue.

The final event on June 1st, 2019 determined which teams take home the winning title, and move on to the regional competition in the fall.

Highland Valley Copper’s Mine Rescue Team competes in the fire task.

Mine Rescue is an important opportunity for mining professionals from across the province to come together and test their skills against industry standards in a safe and controlled environment and share best practices with colleagues from other operations.

Every major mine in British Columbia is required to have a mine rescue team responsible for emergency response and rescue.  Safety is the number one priority of BC’s mining operations and these teams are vital to maintaining a strong safety record across the industry.  Mine rescue teams, however, don’t just ensure the safety of the workplace, they also support their local communities in times of emergency and mine rescue teams can sometimes be called upon as first responders for local communities during emergencies.

We are incredibly proud of all the mine rescue teams that participated in the 2019 competition.  They are an important part of the fabric of our sites and communities, and they bear the critical responsibility of making sure our workers get home safe every single day.

Participants in the qualifying rounds for 2019 included Northern teams from Red Chris Mine, Mount Milligan, and two teams from Conuma Coal Resources, Wolverine and Brule, as well as Southern teams from Gibraltar Mines, Highland Valley Copper from Logan Lake, Copper Mountain out of Princeton, and Willow Creek as well as the North, South and Central Mine Rescue and Safety Association, and the East Kootenay Mines Industrial Safety Association.

New Afton’s Mine Rescue Team performs the underground search and fire supression task.

2019 BC Provincial Mine Rescue and First Aid Competitions Winner below:

3 Person 1st Aid

• Best Coach for 3 Person First Aid: Sandra McRae, Line Creek
• 3 Person First Aid: Line Creek

Surface Mine Rescue

• Best Extrication: Line Creek
• Best Bench: Fording River
• Best Fire: Highland Valley Copper
• Best Written: Line Creek
• Best Rope Task: Highland Valley Copper
• Best 1st Aid: Highland Valley Copper
• Highest Points Non Aggregate: Line Creek
• Overall Surface: Line Creek

Underground Mine Rescue

• Best Bench Technician: Brandon Moe, New Afton
• Best Written: Myra Falls
• Best Underground Coordinator: Brandon Moe, New Afton
• Best First Aid: New Afton
• Best Practical Bench: Silvertip
• Best Smoke: New Afton
• Best Obstacle and Recovery: Myra Falls
• Levitt Fire Trophy: Myra Falls
• Overall Underground: Mrya Falls

The Mine Rescue competition is a community event with a long history in BC, dating all the way back to 1950’s. The competition is open to the public, and people travel from across the region to participate and watch.

The top placing teams for surface and underground move on to the National Western Region Mine Rescue Competition held September 6th and 7th, 2019 in Fernie, BC.

View the BC Government press release here.

Learn more about the Provincial Mine Rescue Competition here.