Cornwall coal mine wins best overall at VMRC

Mines across NSW, Victoria and Tasmania took part in the Minerals Council of Australia’s (MCA) Victorian Mine Rescue Competition (VMRC) from August 23 – 25.

Organised by MCA Victoria, the VMRC is a major annual safety training exercise involving simulated rescue scenarios for mine emergency response teams.

Scenarios were hosted by Agnico Eagle’s Fosterville gold mine and the Central Deborah gold mine, both of which are in Victoria.

Cornwall Coal won best overall at the event, with Ballarat gold mine coming in second and Mandalay Resources’ Costerfield operations coming in third.

Now in its 31^st year, the VMRC is a critical part of the mining industry’s efforts to support highly trained rescue personnel.

An important part of the competition is the involvement of emergency response agencies, including Victoria Police and Ambulance Victoria to improve preparedness within the mine rescue community.

Eight teams competed in the stimulated exercises, helping prepare mines for any emergency.

Full results are below:

Overall

First: Cornwall coal mine

Second: Ballarat gold mine

Third: Mandalay Resources, Costerfield operations

Winning team captain

Anthony Woods, Cornwall coal mine

Winning team – overall safety

Fosterville gold mine

Fire exercise

First: Mandalay Resources, Costerfield operations

Second: Cornwall coal mine

Third: Stawell gold mine

First aid

First: Cornwall coal mine

Second: Ballarat gold mine

Third: Stawell gold mine

Ropes exercise

First: Fosterville gold mine

Second: Mandalay Resources, Costerfield operations

Third: Cornwall coal mine

Underground search and rescue

First: Ballarat gold mine

Second: Fosterville gold mine

Third: Cornwall coal mine

Skills exercise

First: Cornwall coal mine

Second: Mandalay Resources, Costerfield operations

Equal third: CFA Oscar 1 and Fosterville gold mine

Theory

First: Mandalay Resources, Costerfield operations

Second: Fosterville gold mine

Third: Ballarat gold mine

Breathing apparatus

First: Mandalay Resources, Costerfield operations

Second: Cowal gold mine

Third: CFA Oscar 1

Road crash rescue

First: Cowal gold mine

Equal second: Fosterville gold mine and Ballarat gold mine