Sixteen mine rescue teams from across the province converged on Penticton May 22 and 23 for the 68th annual BC Mine Rescue and First Aid Competition.
From motor-vehicle incidents to large dumpster fires, crews representing 11 different mines, including Hudbay Copper Mountain near Princeton, tested their skills in simulated conditions at the Penticton Fire Training Centre.
“These are really, in some cases, dramatic and real-life simulations that each team undergoes,” said Mining Association of British Columbia president Michael Goehring. “So it gives teams the opportunity to test all of the theory and all of the practice that they have to put in place to keep their certification as mine rescuers.”
Dozens of spectators were seen at the event as early as 8 a.m. on Saturday.
Surface crews on Saturday competed at four task stations: fire, practical, extrication, and three-person first aid.
Underground teams showed off their skills on Friday at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre (PTCC) and Memorial Arena.
“The workers’ safety is top priority for us,” said Jagrup Brar, B.C.’s Minister of Mining and Critical Minerals. “Every major mine is required to have what we call an emergency team, which is ready for any kind of emergency.”
The competition comes after B.C. invested $751 million in the mining exploration sector last year. Six major mining projects were also approved in 13 months, Brar added.
“This brings over $5 billion of what you call the capital investment,” he said.
The competition, which Penticton will also host in 2027, isn’t limited to mining.
At the extrication station, for instance, the rescue scenario involved a pick-up truck colliding with a loader inside a repair shop, resulting in the driver needing to be extricated.
“They’ll also come to aid in local communities,” Goehring said of the rescue teams.
The long-running event “exemplifies the spirit” of the province’s mining industry, he added.
“You have mines that are in rural and remote areas of B.C. and economically support local communities,” Goehring said. “It’s a gift to see how everybody comes together in the mine rescue community. They’re first responders and it’s really in many ways a community of service, because people volunteer and commit to become certified as mine rescuers.”
The 11 mines represented at this year’s competition included:
Surface and Three Person First Aid
• Taseko Gibraltar
• Conuma Resources
• Hudbay Copper Mountain
• Centerra Mt. Milligan
• Elk Valley Resources Line Creek
• Elk Valley Elkview
• Elk Valley Greenhills
Underground
• Newmont Brucejack
• Newmont Red Chris
• Couer Silvertip
• Couer New Afton