The 10th International Mines Rescue Competition – IMRC 2016 – will be held in Sudbury from August 19 to August 26, 2016.
Hosted by Workplace Safety North (WSN) and Ontario Mine Rescue, the event will attract mine rescue teams from around the globe.
“This event will be a very unique opportunity for mine rescue teams from across the world to meet each other, compete, exchange knowledge and build a network of underground emergency response experts,” said Alex Gryska, secretary/treasurer of the International Mines Rescue body.
Organizers are anticipating the largest international competition to date. Approximately 30 teams representing 20 countries are expected to compete in different events including a simulated emergency scenario at Vale’s 114 Orebody, as well as firefighting, first aid and high angle rope rescue competitions.
This is the first international competition in Canada, and the first in North America since 2008. The inaugural IMRC was held in Louisville, Kentucky in 1999. Subsequent competitions were hosted by China in 2006, Reno, Nevada, in 2008, Australia in 2010, Ukraine in 2012 and Poland in 2014.
Mine rescue teams participating in previous competitions have come from Australia, China, Colombia, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia, Romania, Slovakia, the United States and Vietnam. Canadian teams have come from Ontario, Quebec, Western Canada and the Atlantic provinces.
“Mine rescue at Vale has a very long and proud history, and we are honoured to be hosting the underground competition on our site,” said Conor Spollen, chief operating officer, Vale’s Ontario & UK Operations. “We look forward to working with all of the partners involved to help ensure this competition is the best the world has seen.”
A number of major mining companies are sponsoring the event, including Vale, Glencore, KGHM, Goldcorp and Dräger.
