23 June 2010
Diavik wins events at mine rescue competition
Congratulations to our Diavik mine rescue team for their excellent performance at this year's annual mine rescue competition hosted by the Workers' Safety & Compensation Commission of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut and held June 11 and 12 in Yellowknife.
Our mine fielded a single team which competed in both the surface and underground competitions taking top honours in the surface obstacle task and written test. Congratulations also to the Ekati and Snap Lake mines for their excellent results. The Ekati team won overall in both the surface and underground events.
The Diavik mine rescue competition team included Captain Joan Robertson, Vice Captain Martin Elson, Cody Gagne, Kelly Bourque, Chris Dives, Brent Karstad, Kiok Perley, and Coach Alex Clinton. Of special note, is the fact that in the 53 year history of the competition, Joan Robertson is the first female captain.
"Our mine rescue team, part of our larger minesite Diavik Emergency Response Team, all volunteer their time and dedicate themselves to train and develop the skills needed to keep our workforce safe," said Bill Forsyth, Diavik Vice President Operations.
The Diavik Diamond Mine, a national John T. Ryan safety trophy winner, is located 300 km. northeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and is an unincorporated joint venture between Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. (60%) and Harry Winston Diamond Limited Partnership (40%). Both companies are headquartered in Yellowknife, Canada. DDMI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto plc of London, England, and Harry Winston Diamond Limited Partnership is controlled by Harry Winston Diamond Corporation of Toronto, Canada. DDMI is the operator of the mine. For further information contact Doug Ashbury, Adviser, Communications at Tel: (867) 669-6525, or visit www.diavik.ca.