The club will host a rock drilling event to coincide with the annual Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community Fair, where organisers are expecting more than 60 nominations for the competition on the Saturday, March 21.

Promoter Nick Fardell told MiningNews.net that community support for the event had been exceptional, with sponsorship coming forward from the mining and service industries to guarantee the success of the competition.

Club president Ken Harman said he had seen more successful companies moving to airleg miners and astute managers realising the method made smaller deposits - and stringers off the main deposit, outside the resource model - more accessible at a lower cost.

"This method can add some very handy ounces to production figure and often at some quite high grades," Harman said.

"With the reshuffle of mine ownership and management, more airleg miners are being utilised and, if this continues, we will need a lot more guys to move back into this type of mining."

While there have been iron ore and coal booms in the recent past that have pulled workers out of more traditional hard rock mines, the art of the airleg miner is not lost and may well reduce some companies' production costs in comparison to jumbo operations.

The one day competition will include the traditional singles event, which has not been run for 18 years in Kalgoorlie, a doubles event and the Jack and Jill team event.

Fardell said interstate nominations had already been received and the interest among the community was growing every day.

"Many that now call Kalgoorlie home have never seen these events and to be able to wonder down to the fair and see what the miners talk about, it will be an opportunity not to missed," he said.

"For the guys drilling there is a bit of gamesmanship. Paul Maher, reigning title holder for 18 years, is already walking with a limp when other potential competitors are around."

Major sponsor Drilling Tools Australia is a local success story, focused on the larger drilling consumables that are manufactured in Kalgoorlie and supplied both here and overseas.

"For a supplier company such as ours this presents a unique opportunity - we are all in awe of these guys on their hand held machines, this is the purest form of mining and its only right we support this," DTA production manager George Grljusich said.

"This is the right time for all companies still battling away to support the communities they survive in. It's in the tough times great companies stand up and support, it is alright to be a frontrunner when the boom is on, now is when it counts and remembered.

"This is about bringing the community together for a bit of competition and a laugh while working hard in tough times"

For more information or to nominate: www.warockdrillclub.com.au