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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A brand new trophy has arrived at the Diavik Diamond Mine, about 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife, after the mine's rescue team took home third place at its first international-level competition last month.

Diavik Diamond Mine rescue team members compete at the Donetsk, Ukraine, International Mine Rescue Competition which took place Sept. 12 and 13. - photo courtesy of Diavik Diamond Mines Inc.

The bronze trophy, secured at the International Mine Rescue Competition in Donetsk, Ukraine on Sept. 12 and 13, is the first trophy won by the NWT diamond mine in a competition outside of Canada. Diavik competed against 26 teams from 13 countries around the world, including Australia, South Africa, and Poland, and placed third in the marquee rescue action event.

"There's a new section (of the Diavik trophy case)," said Mike Lowing, superintendent of health and safety at Diavik. "It's got a picture of the international mine rescue competition team, an actual trophy, a plaque, a picture, and a small banner hung in the trophy case to remind the competition team members what they achieved, and to remind the rest of the mine rescue team members of what we are capable of and our skill base.

"People don't just win third place in two-hour international competitions because they look good in their uniform."

Lowing, who travelled to the Ukraine as the ninth member of the Diavik mine rescue team, has been in charge of the mine's emergency response team since 2008 and, despite the 60-member team's high turnover rate, has seen the team's gradual improvement to the international level of competition.

The rescue event, which was judged by five Russian judges, gave the Diavik team the opportunity to display its knowledge of responding to mine emergencies, and was conducted as a simulated coal mine exploration and rescue of an injured miner exercise.

Mine rescue competitions give Diavik a chance to see how it stands against operations around the world, Lowing said, and also gives emergency response team members the occasion to train and practice aggressively.

"When (mine rescue competition team members) go back to being regular emergency response team members, they take back enhanced skills, well-practised skills, and that ripples through the rest of the emergency response team, so competitions benefit the emergency response team by that practice," Lowing said. "It keeps teams well-trained."

The emergency response team is made up of about 60 Diavik employees from across departments, including process plant workers, underground miners, truck shop employees, mechanics, electricians, and engineers.

At Diavik, the team responds to about a half-dozen incidents at the mine a month, including medical emergencies, reports of smoke, and fire alarms.

A team entered by Ekati Diamond Mine owner BHP Billiton at the Ukraine mine rescue competition in September placed first in the engineering analysis category.

The event was Diavik's last scheduled mine rescue competition of the year.

Diavik also competed in the Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC) Mine Rescue Competition in Yellowknife last June, and is scheduled to take part in the 2013 WSCC mining week rescue event as well.

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