Page 48 The International Mines Rescue Body IMRB is the largest network of mines rescue professionals re sponders and specialists in the world The member nations include Canada the United States Britain China Russia In total there are 23 member nations that belong to the IMRB Every two years the IMRB hosts an International Mine Rescue Competition IMRC to evaluate mine rescue skills of competing teams in simulated emer gency situations to provide feedback on the perfor mance of all the competitors and to promote the ex change of knowledge on best rescue practices On September 1218 2020 the IMRB will hold the In ternation Mine Rescue Competition at Beaver W est V irginia at the Mine Safety and Health Administration MSHA grounds The KS Windsor Salt Ojibway Mine team that won the Ontario Provincial Mine Res cue competition will travel to W est V irginia to par ticipate in the event and so will the Diamonds in the Rough the allfemale rescue team from Canada if they are able to raise funds to cover their expenses In 2018 the IMRB held their biennial mine rescue competition in Ekaterinburg Russia is the fourth largest city in Russia and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast located on the Iset River east of the Ural Mountains T ahoe Resou rces from T immins Ontario and the Diamonds in the Rough represented Canada during the IMRC in Russia The IMRB represent the most advanced mining juris dictions as members or associates and share com mon vision of providing information freely with the result of improving emergency response capability everywhere Mine rescue is the specialized job of rescuing miners and others who have become trapped or injured and combating fres and other emergencies in under ground mines Mine rescue teams are trained and equipped to deal with a wide range of hazards and situations including fres explosions rockfalls toxic gases infux of water and injuries In 2016 Sudbury hosted 28 teams from around the world to compete in simulated underground rescue exercises That year the T eam from Kirkland Lake Gold became the frst Canadian team to win frst place honours The event challenges teams to simulate diferent ex ercises such as frst aid fre fghting and rope rescue As well as going headto head with other teams competitors hope to collaborate and share ideas about rescue operations during the games said Paul Aho of V ale W est Mine s team For more information please visit httpimrc2016ca International Mine Rescue Competition 2020 to be held in W est V irginia By Frank Giorno Photo Canadian T eam T ahoe Resources competes on the big stage in 2018 Page 46