YELLOWKNIFE - What exactly does Mining Week mean for the average Yellowknife resident?

Whether you are involved in the largest industry in the territory or not, you can still partake in a number of events being put together by the NWT Chamber of Mines and the Worker's Compensation Board (WCB) of the Northwest Territories.

Sean Breannan (left), president and chief operating officer of Ekati Diamond Mine, Ida Leblanc and Wayne LeBlanc flip burger at the Mining Week picnic. A number of opportunities and challenges exist for mining companies in the future said Brennan. - David Ryan/NNSL photo

Chamber office manager Cheryl Wourms says there are a few contests open to kids and adults, a word search for school kids in the Kindergarten to Grade 8 range, and a crossword puzzle open to all ages. There is also a who's who contest that requires contestants to match up faces and names of folks in the industry with their company. All of these contests are available through the Chamber of Mines website or at their office.

The peak event of the week, however, is the Miners Picnic this Saturday, June 9, on the front lawn of City Hall. The picnic will be featuring face painting, panning for gold, rock bingo and an opportunity for kids to dress up in mining gear and have a Polaroid shot taken of themselves.

There will also be a selection of front lawn barbecue fare, burgers, hotdogs and such for hungry miners (and pseudo miners) in the crowd. Wourms says the picnic will go on "rain or shine," adding that they have a history of good weather that they are counting on to prevail again.

Saturday will also see the Mine Rescue Competition put on by WCB. The rescue competition is a dual purpose event that allows for emergency response teams to show off their specialized skills to the public, while also taking part in very real practice exercises where their skills can be evaluated by WCB officials.

Dave Arthur of WCB's mine safety department said that rescue workers from each of the mines volunteer for their employer's team, and then the teams compete in seven different tasks over Friday and Saturday. Saturday's tasks will be the more visually entertaining stuff for spectators, such as the first aid contest and the underground obstacle course, which is a simulated underground situation for the teams to maneuver.

Arthur couldn't say exactly what the first aid contest would involve, other than it would be a simulated accident related to mining in some way.