The stage was swept by Newmont Goldcorp Australia and Anglogold Ashanti Australia emergency response teams at the 9th annual MERC’s presentation night, taking out overall second and third places along with several scenario wins and the Best Medic award.
As the MERC’s chosen Industry Partner, the Gold Industry Group (GIG) proudly supported the 2019 Mining Emergency Response Competition (MERC) alongside two gold mining teams and 12 others from across Western Australia including one from Indonesia, as they competed at Langley Park in Perth from 22 to 24 November.
Recognising that emergency responders provide much needed support but also need to be supported, and as part of a larger ongoing effort to break the stigma around mental illness, the GIG engaged community partner LIVIN to deliver two LIVINWell workshops at MERC for the first time.
The relatable workshops encouraged open and honest conversation while providing the tools required to seek help and help others.
MERC co-founder Jen Pearce said the LIVIN mental health workshops were extremely well received by a mix of over three hundred emergency response volunteers and support teams.
“Alexa’s lived experience and passion for reaching out and opening up the conversation of mental health was key for engaging with everyone involved,” she said.
“The message was loud and clear that they need to look after themselves, start these conversations and have them often to make sure they are mentally and physically prepared to be the best emergency responders they can be.
“Given the focus on mental health in the resources industry this was an invaluable addition to the skills and education sessions at MERC 2019.”
Post-session feedback was overwhelmingly positive amongst all attendees, with some teams requesting more information and others who had previously been exposed to LIVIN’s presentation saying it was terrific to participate in a refresher session.
Since embarking on a partnership in 2017, the GIG and LIVIN have worked together to break down the stigma associated with mental illness. Most recently, the two organisations embarked on a nation-wide tour in 2019 delivering over 50 LIVINWell presentations to gold mine sites, offices and communities across Australia.
In addition to the mental health workshops at MERC, GIG also provided a fun gold panning activity for the wider public which proved to be one of the more popular stations, with children and families clamouring to unearth their own piece of ‘gold’ in order to win gift bags. Additional learning resources and other free giveaways were also available, to highlight gold’s value, relevance and employment opportunities across Australia.
Over two and a half days, MERC’s competing teams put their skills to the test in eight different scenarios, which assessed their response in simulations of real-life circumstances.
The weekend culminated in an awards ceremony on the Sunday evening, at which MERC presented the winning teams with their medals for each scenario. Newmont Goldcorp Australia’s Boddington team emerged as a strong competitor in second place overall, taking home the Overall First Aid, Overall Breathing Apparatus Skills and Road Crash scenario wins. Team member Nick Haywood was also presented with the award for Best Medic. AngloGold Ashanti Australia’s Tropicana ‘Thorny Devils’ weren’t far behind, placing third overall and taking out the Emergency Response Team Readiness scenario win.
In addition, the gala event saw MERC present cheques totalling $20 000 to the Fiona Wood Foundation, the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and Holyoake; the funds of which were raised through the sale of goods and services during the competition and raffle tickets during the awards evening.
Western Australian Minister for Mines and Petroleum the Hon. Bill Johnston MLA presented at the gala.
“The McGowan Government is proud to support the Mining Emergency Response Competition because safety is one of our highest priorities.
“It's terrific that proceeds raised by competing teams and sponsors will be donated to local charities,” Minister Johnston said.
MERC co-founder Jen Pearce said the competition was delighted to support local charities each year.
“As a not-for-profit organisation, MERC is committed to not only providing world-class professional development opportunities for mining emergency response teams, but also supporting the broader community.
“The work our incredible competitors do is all about caring for others in need. And that is not just their jobs, it’s a worldview that the MERC is extremely proud to embody as part of our purpose.
“MERC is very proud to have built the event to a truly world-class event for the whole community and we are very excited about plans already in the making for next year’s 10-year anniversary,” Ms Pearce concluded.
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