Miners test skills at Ontario Mine Rescue provincial championship

Eight teams representing from across Ontario competed for bragging rights at the provincial championship held at Glencore’s Kidd Creek Mine.

If a miner gets trapped under a rock, other miners need to know what to do to help. That was one of the challenges mine rescue teams had to figure out during the provincial championship that took place this week at Glencore’s Kidd Mine Site in Timmins.

Eight teams participated in the event, including those from Timmins, Sudbury and Rainy River.

“We’ve been working for this since 2019,” said Justin Borger, an equipment trainer with New Gold Inc.’s Rainy River Mine.

“We’ve been trying to get to provincials. So, this year we were able to take districts finally and we were able to get here … the team worked really hard.”

The other challenge took place underground, where a miner was pinned by a vehicle.

“So the guys, when they were in there … they had to try to sneak into a pretty confined space to try and put an apparatus on the casualty,” said Borger.

‘It was very, very tough’

“They managed to do that -- and it was very, very tough.”

Officials with Ontario Mine Rescue said testing miners’ skills is important for many reasons, especially since the skills are not used often.

“Prevention has come a long way in mining, and that’s really the direction that we want to continue heading, but when incidents do take place, they’re very serious,” said Danny Taillfer, deputy chief mine rescue officer with Ontario Mine Rescue.

“You’re in, you know, a pretty hazardous environment.”

While no cash prize is up for grabs, the knowledge the participants gain at the competition could one day save a life.

“It’s really bragging rights for the year,” said Taillfer.

“We’ve got, you know, a pretty amazing trophy that we’re going to be handing out on Friday night and, yeah, I mean, at the end of it, it’s just a pride thing. These guys have worked extremely hard to try and get their name put on that trophy.”

The winning team will also be invited to compete at an international competition in Zambia, Africa, next spring.