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RAPAPORT... A mine rescue team from Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. won the National Western Region Mine Rescue Competition’s underground event held earlier this month in Fernie, British Columbia. The competition included provincial, territorial and state mine rescue teams from the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, the Yukon and the northwestern U.S.
The Diavik team was built from the mine’s emergency response team, including team coordinator Alex Clinton, captain Nathan Pitre, vice captain Brent Karstad, mates Chris Auld, Corey Hancock, Craig Archibald and Andrew Furlong and coach John Arnold. 
Diavik competed against eight other mines in the underground competition, which included fire fighting, bench (a technical equipment problem), obstacle and recovery, smoke/search and first aid tasks, and practical skills and written tests.
In winning the overall underground title, Diavik’s team placed first in the smoke/search and the written tests.
“This event includes high-level competition and is only held every two years,” said Diavik's health, safety and environment manager, Stephen Bourn. “What makes this win impressive is that this is our team’s third consecutive underground title in Fernie. I would like to thank all of the members of Diavik’s emergency response team who put in countless hours to ensure we are prepared to respond to an emergency here at Diavik.”
Diavik also qualified for the regional competition as a result of its strong performance at the Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission’s mine rescue competition held in June in Yellowknife.
“Competitions are important because it allows the team to put their training into practice in a competitive environment which simulates a real emergency situation,” Bourn said.
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