SIMEC Mining has emerged as the winner of the South Australian Mines Emergency Rescue Competition held in Roxby Downs, 570km north of Adelaide.
A record number of teams put their safety and rescue skills to the test at the event, the largest field assembled in the competition’s 15-year history.
Held as part of National Safe Work Month, nine teams competed across 10 scenarios designed to test their skills and knowledge in the event they are called on to respond to a mine emergency.
Overall winners were Whyalla-based SIMEC Mining, which also took out individual categories – Theory, BA Search and Rescue, Road Crash Rescue and the Best Captain Award.
The home team, BHP Olympic Dam won Industrial Rescue, First Aid and Confined Space Rescue to finish second overall.
The competition’s first international team, OceanaGold Corporation from New Zealand, took out the Fire Fighting category and placed third overall.
Other categories were won by BHP Prominent Hill (Rope Rescue), Cadia Valley (Underground Rescue), BHP Carrapateena (Team Skills) and Hillgrove Resources Kanmantoo (Chairman’s Award).
The 2024 event was hosted by principal sponsor BHP Copper SA – Olympic Dam, the largest underground mine in South Australia and the fourth largest copper deposit in the world.
SafeWork SA was a premium sponsor of the event along with Roxby Council, Byrnecut, Sandvik, South Australian Chamber of Mines & Energy, Fire and Safety Australia, MSA and ISH24.
The six South Australian mines represented were Carrapateena, Jacinth Ambrosia, Kanmantoo Copper, Olympic Dam, Prominent Hill and last year’s host SIMEC Whyalla.
Anglo American’s Queensland Moranbah North mines rescue team was recently crowned the champion of the 2024 Australian Underground Mines Rescue competition in Newcastle, New South Wales.
The team will be invited to represent Australia at the International Mines Rescue Competition which will be held in Zambia in 2026.
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