Hosted by the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia at Focus Minerals’ Coolgardie operations, the competition saw mines rescue teams compete in simulated emergency situations with the ultimate goal of improving emergency response skills and knowledge.

A total of seven teams competed this year across nine challenging scenarios including team skills, confined space rescue, firefighting, vehicle extrication, rope rescue, hazardous chemicals, first aid, incident management scenario and a theory assessment.

KCGM 1 took the overall honours for best team, followed by La Mancha Resources in second place and KCGM 2 in third place.

The awards were presented last night at a gala presentation dinner at the Goldfields Institute of Technology.

CME CEO Reg Howard-Smith said the event was focused on training industry personnel to respond to hazards present in the resources sector.

“Our people work hard in challenging conditions and we want to make sure they go home safe and healthy every day,” he said.

“The event prepares teams to respond to any emergency situation, while sharpening the skills they hopefully will never have to put to use.”

The other winners were:

• Best captain: Drew Miller, KCGM 2
• Best new team: KCGM 1
• Best new captain: Bill Randall, KCGM 1
• Team skills: La Mancha Resources
• Vehicle extrication: KCGM 1
• Hazchem: La Mancha Resources
• Rope rescue: KCGM 2
• Theory: Norton Gold Fields
• Team safety: KCGM 1
• Firefighting: KCGM 2
• Incident management scenario: Graham Bailey, MMG Golden Grove
• Confined space rescue: La Mancha Resources
• First aid: KCGM 1
• Theory individual: Steve D’Souza, Norton Gold Fields
• Overall breathing apparatus skills: La Mancha Resources
• Overall first aid: La Mancha Resources.