Sask Mining Week came to an end Saturday with the Saskatchewan Mining Associations (SMA) 50th Annual Emergency Response Mine Rescue Skills Competition.

The past week was a way to highlight those who work in the mining industry and everything they provide for us.

Now, emergency response crews who work on mining sites got a chance to show off their skills and be marked for it. They participated in multiple simulations and scenarios in both above and underground situations.

A total of 16 response crews from all across Saskatchewan from Nutrien, Mosaic, Cameco, SSR Mining, Westmoreland, Orano, and K+S all participated this year.

For the 50th anniversary, the competition was held here in Moose Jaw for the first time. With us having a facility like Mosaic Place, the exhibition grounds being available, and the total expansion and hotels the Friendly City now has, it was a great chance to shake things up instead of holding it somewhere like Regina and Saskatoon.

Having it close by was especially a treat for our local Surface Team at Mosaic Belle Plaine. 

"Having it in Moose Jaw is great, especially for the fiftieth anniversary," said Richard Petit, the Captain for the Belle Plain Team. "Some guys up in Lock Up were saying we had home field advantage so its nice."

The event itself took a three-day effort to set up, using both the hockey arena and curling rink for response situations.

"The goal is to really test the skills that the mine rescue and surface rescue teams have amassed over the years. They come together on this particular day to compete, but its not all about the competition its really about testing those skills under pressure," James Ferstl, the SMA Chair of the Competition Committee. "So its testing the guys to a level that would be comparable to an actual incident."

They built sets that simulate what would happen if there's an injury after a cave in, having to find casualties in the mine after an accident, dealing with a fellow responder after they have a heart attack, a scaffolding accident, and treating above and underground injuries among other tests and situations.

One of the most exciting situations for surface teams was most likely the live firefighting they took place in at the exhibition grounds. Teams had to put out gasoline and diesel set on fire using standard equipment. This proved to be a tough situation, especially with the winds gusting above 40 yesterday.

If you're wondering why they would hold this at a hockey arena and not in a private facility or warehouse is because they want to give the public a chance to see what rescue teams do and how they do it. Being able to show the public what they do isn't only entertaining and interesting, it creates a sense of community and trust since families of the rescue workers could watch too.

To punch that even further though, they had a kid zone set up too so children could learn more about mining and play some games.

The night of is what the workers waited for though. Not only did they get a chance to spend time with their crew, but they found out the results of the winners of the day.

The Overall Underground Winner ended going to the Nutrien Cory team, while the Overall Surface Winner went to first-time competitors K+S Potash Bethune team. Now they get an invite to move onto the Western Nationals.

If you'd like to hear from other teams, the SMA's Twitter page has tons of info on them and the awards from last Saturday night.

The theme for this year's mining week was "Sustaining Success."