The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Flin Flon miners can sleep a little easier following a battle of skills over the weekend. The Hudbay Flin Flon team took top spot in the 53rd Annual Manitoba Mine Rescue Competition, held in Winnipeg. 'I really can't say that they had a lot of difficulty with any part of the challenge,' said Olaf Hettrick, who trained the team along with colleague Don Peake. 'As a matter of fact, on more than one occasion I heard judges say, 'Now that's the way it should be done.'' The team earned first place in a challenge of written and practical skills against rescue teams from every active Manitoba mining company. Hudbay's Flin Flon team was led by captain Tracy Knutson, an electrical supervisor at 777 mine, and vice-captain Bryan Rainville, a mechanical supervisor at the same mine. Joining them were Don Last and George Warman, a foreman and an electrical supervisor, respectively, at the Reed mine now under development outside Snow Lake. Rounding out the hard-working roster were Damian Dominey, a development miner at Reed, and Dustin Patterson, a mechanic at 777. See 'Competition' on pg. Continued from pg. Jeremy Beauchamp, another mechanic at 777, went along as a spare in case one of the regular members was unable to compete. 'All of these guys are experienced mine rescue guys, but for several of them this was their first time at a provincial competition,' said Hettrick. The competition was divided into several parts, including a written test and hands-on challenges relating to firefighting, practical skills and First Aid. The three-level parkade of Winnipeg's Union Centre, where the challenge was held, served as a simulated mine for the underground search and recovery component. Teams responded to mock emergencies as they would in real life, maneuvering through tunnels enveloped in black construction plastic. 'The underground search and recovery part is the most complex because it's an hour and a half long and there's lots of things to do and a lot of variables,' Hettrick said. 'However, (from the way the Flin Flon team handled it), it was obvious they knew exactly what they were doing. They did everything right by the book.' Finishing second in the challenge was the team from San Gold Corporation's gold mines in Bissett. San Gold hosted the event, but since there are no accommodations available in Bissett, Winnipeg was chosen as the host site. Also competing was the Hudbay Snow Lake team of captain Terry Hornyak, Garnett Coulson, Dave Morrison, Aldon Kowalchuk, Adam Harrower and Gerald de la Roche. They were trained by Dave Kendall and Kevin Lief. Teams from Vale in Thompson and Tanco Mining Corp. in Lac du Bonnet participated as well. Vital role Hettrick believes the annual competition fills a vital role. 'From my point of view as an instructor, it's the best training these guys are ever going to get outside of a real emergency,' he said. 'And we'd much rather train with something like this than a real emergency.' Hettrick said the competition is also a great auditing tool to ensure Manitoba's mines have adequate rescue personnel in place. The Hudbay Flin Flon team will now apply for one of the limited spaces available in a Canada-wide challenge known as the National Western Regional Mine Rescue Competition. It will be held this September in Fernie, B.C., and since Hudbay Flin Flon also won last year's provincial competition, the company could be sending two teams to the biannual event. For winning at the Manitoba level this year, team members had their names engraved on a team trophy. They also received individual trophies depicting a mine rescue worker. Next year's provincial competition will be held in Thompson.
