About Mine Rescue

The University of Alberta Mine Rescue club is a student-led organization, committed to training Mining Engineering students on all aspects of safety and mine rescue. Through a combination of classroom-style learning, practical training sessions, collegiate-level competitions, and other professional development opportunities, the UAMR instills a sense of teamwork and a respect for mine and workplace safety while providing experience that will benefit students in their future careers. Safety is paramount in the mining industry, where so many things can go wrong in an instant – from a complete disaster requiring crisis-management personnel to a medical emergency requiring the assistance of trained rescue teams.
With weekly practices at the university’s main campus, during the fall and winter academic terms, we train members from any level of study in the Mining Engineering program. Practices and training sessions often begin with technical content lectures and incorporate the related practical training. With content being presented directly from a variety of published mine rescue manuals, we cover both underground and surface mine rescue as well as other rescue scenarios and firefighting techniques.

Who, What, When, Where, Why

Who: Any current students in the Mining Engineering program can join. Currently run by our executives.

What: A student-led organization devoted to developing our students’ understanding of mine rescue and mine safety.

When: Weekly or bi-weekly practices for regular members during the Fall and Winter terms. Additional practices leading up to competitions. Practices are typically held on weekends.

Where: Practices are located on the University of Alberta’s Main Campus, in the Engineering Quad (often in the NREF building). More details will be available closer to start of fall semester.

Why: Safety is important for everyone, and as engineers we have an obligation for mine safety. Understanding mine safety and mine rescue principles increases the safety of everyone, by providing practical experiences to influence mine design.

FAQ

How to join?

Details will be sent out to students with practice information and information on how to join at the start of Fall Semester.
Alternatively, talk to one of our current members for information.

Are certifications required to join?

Nope! Certifications, while extremely beneficial, are not required to join. They are also not required for most collegiate-level competitions. Our group is also exploring opportunities to get our members certified in a variety of things (first aid, etc.).

Are there any physical requirements for joining?

While we recommend being in good physical condition, there are no physical requirements to join our club.
Some of our activities can be physically strenuous or unsuitable for people. As a team, lifting/carrying training dummies (~175lbs or more) on spine boards is a common occurrence. Additionally, if you have lung or breathing-related health concerns, they may interfere with your ability to use supplemental oxygen systems (SCBAs, CCBAs, etc.).

How do I join the competitive team(s)?

Competitive team membership is reassessed for each competition, based on availability, events being hosted, people’s physical/technical ability levels and specializations (where applicable), and overall team coordination. While our team is typically comprised of senior members, there is always the opportunity for newer members to join the competition team (especially as upper-year students are often on co-op terms).
We are exploring options related to creating additional teams, though we current only have one team with 6-8 members.

What if I have to miss a practice?

That’s fine! We understand that university is busy, and people have weekend plans. Missing practice does not disqualify future participation or opportunities.
Our competition team members are expected to attend the majority of practices in order to maintain technical abilities.

Can I attend practices, even if I don’t want to compete?

Definitely! We encourage anyone who wants to learn about safety and mine rescue to attend our practices and join our club. Additional participation, such as competitions or doing physical tasks, is completely optional and voluntary though encouraged when safe and possible for our members.

What does our current club’s membership look like?

We have wide range of students from different years of study and different backgrounds, with different physical capabilities and different technical strengths!

Does our group do any other activities?

We host a mine rescue training session (or multiple) for the 2nd and 5th year mining students every fall.
In the past, our group has gone to the gym before or after practices.