• THORZT - Official Drink Sponsor of the MERC 2013

THORZT - Official Drink Sponsor of the MERC 2013

MERC 2013 Perth - Mining Emergency Response Competition

Last month THORZT became the Official Drink Sponsor of The MERC 2013 Mining Emergency Response Competition. Held at the beautiful riverside location of Langley Park on the western brim of Perth’s CBD, the competition saw teams from mining companies across WA congregate to compete against each other and put their emergency response skills to the ultimate test. The stakes were high, with the winners set to not only take home the trophy, but also to gain bragging rights over neighbouring mines – a bit of friendly rivalry that certainly upped the ante!

Due to the remote location of many mine sites in Australia, site based emergency response teams are put together to provide immediate assistance when dangerous incidents including fires, explosions, cave-ins, vehicle accidents and toxic gas leaks occur. Thankfully these sorts of things don’t just happen everyday, so rescue teams must constantly train and learn the correct procedures to be ready for action when disaster strikes.

The Mining Emergency Response Competition stages realistic scenarios where workers can put their rescue skills to the test. This helps team leaders identify areas for improvement, and year on year helps raise the bar for industry standards. The pressure of the competition, which is taken very seriously by everyone involved, helps recreate the urgency and pressure of a real life emergency.

This adrenaline fuelled weekend saw competing teams doing everything from battling burning flames to saving bloodied and screaming victims from crushed vehicles (don’t worry, the ‘victims’ were actually volunteer actors – but their performance was disturbingly realistic).

Australian miners commonly experience sweat rates exceeding 1L/hr when working in the heat. If wearing heavy protective clothing and PPE these sweat losses can surpass 2L / hr. Unless both the fluids and electrolytes lost through sweat are replaced, dehydration and heat stress can quickly manifest. Such conditions reduce worker performance and increase the risk of injury.

THORZT replenishes lost electrolytes that cannot be replaced by drinking water, and also contains low GI carbohydrates and amino acids to help boost performance and reduce time to exhaustion.

We the THORZT team were extremely proud to become the official drink sponsor of such an important event, helping these professional industrial athletes stay hydrated and perform at their peaks throughout the competition.

The overall winners on the weekend were Birla Nifty Copper Operations – Adita Birla! Other teams to take home trophies for individual events were Rio Tinto Iron Ore, BHP Iron Ore, Paulsens Gold Mine & Saracen Gold Mine.

All proceeds from the event went to Miners Promise, a not for profit organisation set up to assist men and women in the resources industry, who have experienced hardship or loss of a loved one.

THORZT extends a huge congratulations to all teams that participated, and an even bigger thank you to the brave rescue workers for the amazing work they do, willingly putting their lives on the line to save the lives of their fellow miners!

Click the video above to watch Nathan from Nova 93.3 get extracted
from a vehicle in a demonstration at Murray Street Mall, Perth.