Mineral Resources (MinRes) has been taking its safety commitment to new heights with its emergency rescue and mental health initiatives.
Emergency rescue
MinRes was recently announced the winner of the firefighting event at the Chamber of Minerals and Energy’s (CME) surface mine emergency rescue competition in Coolgardie, Western Australia.
First held in 1903, this was the first year MinRes had entered a team in the competition, winning the firefighting event in which participants worked through a scenario where a fire had spread from a vehicle to an excavator.
MinRes principal advisor emergency management Daniel Goss, who is also the CME mine rescue committee chair, congratulated MinRes.
“The team was well managed by Chris O’Halloran and received tremendous support from the Mt Marion leadership team,” Goss said.
“The feedback from the event adjudication team was overwhelmingly positive, highlighting their strong commitment to training and preparation, teamwork, camaraderie and focus on safety.”
Mental health
MinRes has deployed a team of in-house mental health counsellors to its mine sites across WA, the first model of its kind for the state.
The investment aims to ensure all MinRes employees – including its 7500 fly in, fly out (FIFO) workers – are empowered to talk about mental health and receive support at the earliest opportunity.
The new ‘Mind Matters’ team features seven highly qualified mental health clinicians, each designated to work at a MinRes-operated site, with a roving counsellor also supporting client sites.
MinRes mental health head and psychologist Chris Harris said the new model ensures employees can connect with professionals about their mental health and access support at the earliest opportunity.
“MinRes is committed to supporting our FIFO workforce, helping to tackle the unique challenges they face and reducing the stigma often associated with mental health,” Harris said.
“We consider mental health as important as physical health and have embedded programs that encourage a culture where it is spoken about openly.
“The goal is to empower people to champion their own mental health and physical wellbeing, value the importance of self-care and build capacity and resilience.”
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