Monday 13 February 2012

International Mining Games comes to Cornwall

Now in its 34th year, for the first time the International Mining Games will be held outside the US or Australia. The Camborne School of Mines (CSM) will host the competition at the King Edward Mine Museum, near Camborne, Cornwall, UK, from 31st March to 1st April 2012. The event will be free and open to spectators.

The Camborne-Redruth area around King Edward Mine
40 teams from all over the world will compete in physical challenges based on traditional mining techniques, many of which were originally developed in Cornwall in the 1700s and 1800s. Events such as ‘jackleg drilling’, ‘mucking’ and ‘track stand’ test the competitors’ physical strength, speed and endurance, while challenges like surveying depend more on knowledge and quick thinking. All rely on preparation and excellent teamwork. CSM is entering three teams and the students have put together a busy training schedule, around their studies.

CSM student Oakley Turner is leading the organisation of the games. He said: “The skills required for these traditional techniques are now extremely rare, but an understanding of them is still vital to the mining industry. CSM students are among the few people with this expertise, which puts our graduates in very high demand among employers. Hosting the International Mining Games is a wonderful way for us to celebrate our skills and bring a really exciting event to Cornwall. It will be a great opportunity for local people to see these techniques being carried out in the same part of the world as they were originally developed.”

The International Mining Games started in 1978 in honour of the 91 miners who died in the Sunshine Mine disaster, USA in 1972, as well as miners that have since died in the line of duty. Since then, it has grown and evolved and also provides a talent scouting opportunity for mining companies and companies in related sectors, as well as bringing together mining students from all over the world.

Head of Camborne School of Mines Professor Frances Wall said: “We are very proud that our students are bringing this prestigious competition to Cornwall. Representatives from some of the world’s biggest mining companies will be attending, so this will be an excellent opportunity for our students to network and potentially secure future employment.

KEM Museum
King Edward Mine, known to generations of students as KEM, was for over a century CSM's field station for practical mining and surveying. Now open as a museum, the mine is owned by Cornwall Council and is managed by a team of volunteers who started restoration work on the site 25 years ago. Mining Engineer Tony Brooks, former CSM student and director of King Edward Mine Museum, said: "We are delighted to be able to help host the Mining Games at KEM. There could be nowhere more appropriate for this event. This will be good for CSM, Camborne and Cornwall".

4 comments:

  1. Very informative! I really appreciate THIS.. Thanks for putting up such good information. Keep posting!

    Mining News

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  2. Below are some more details from KEM where 5 of the 6 events will be held;

    The competition will run between the Saturday 31st March and Sunday 1st of April 2012 and is free to the public. The site will be open 10:00 - 16:00 and there will be free parking for spectators.

    The six events will run continually throughout the day, and there are currently (Feb 2012) entries from 36 teams (with some more to come). The sponsors will be accommodated in a large marquee and there will be food available. Competitors will be travelling by bus from the main Tremough campus and there will be mini-buses to transport the teams to Holman's test mine where the underground surveying is being held. Underground surveying is a new feature this year - in the past all the surveying has taken place above ground, so the home team may gain a competitive advantage. 

    The museum will also be open free of charge to the public and there will be working demonstrations of the historic equipment in the mill. The mill, shop, new Holman exhibition and museum are all under-cover and we will be running guided tours throughout the day.

    I keep the KEM website up to date with latest photos and news......

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanxs for sharing with all of us the Incredible post on ur blog . Its really illusive...

    ReplyDelete

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