02 October 2024
A record number of teams including the first international challenger will put their safety and rescue skills to the test this month in the South Australian Mines Emergency Response Competition (SAMERC).
Nine teams will compete across 10 scenarios designed to test their skills and knowledge in the event they are called on to respond to a mine emergency.
The 2024 event is being hosted by principal sponsor BHP Copper SA – Olympic Dam with most scenarios staged in the Roxby Downs township from 18-20 October. The underground scenario will be staged at the nearby Olympic Dam mine site, which is about 570km north of Adelaide.
Olympic Dam is the largest underground mine in South Australia and the fourth largest copper deposit in the world.
SafeWork SA is a premium sponsor of the event along with Roxby Council, Byrnecut, Sandvik, South Australian Chamber of Mines & Energy, Fire and Safety Australia, MSA and ISH24.
This year’s teams include the first ever entry from New Zealand, Oceana Gold NZ and two teams from New South Wales, Cadia Valley and CSA Mine.
The six South Australian mines represented are Carrapateena, Jacinth Ambrosia, Kanmantoo Copper, Olympic Dam, Prominent Hill and last year’s host SIMEC Whyalla.
The total of nine teams is the largest field assembled in the competition’s 15-year history.
The competition is being staged as part of National Safe Work Month(external site) activities.
The 2023 event in Whyalla was the first time SAMERC was held in a city, giving the public a chance to watch the action. More than 5000 turned out to cheer on the competitors.
The 2024 events are again open to the public.
Scenarios on show include firefighting, vertical rescue, road crash rescue, confined space rescue, team skills, BA search and rescue and industrial rescue.
The teams will be competing for the SAMERC Perpetual Trophy with trophies also awarded to the winners of each event along with Best Team Captain and a SAMERC Chairman’s Award for the team that best demonstrates the values of the competition.
The weekend will also include one of the largest public displays of mining equipment ever seen in South Australia.
The display in the Roxby Downs town centre will feature underground jumbo drills, underground truck and loaders, explosive truck, underground refuge chamber and a loader simulator.