Written by subcommittee member Kathi Miller, Senior Tenement Geologist, Norton Gold Fields

Norton Gold Fields' Paddington Operations recently won 2nd Best Team Overall in the 2016 CME Underground Mine Emergency Response Competition held at Northern Star Resources’ Kanowna Belle Gold Mine in Kalgoorlie.

It was an outstanding achievement for the Norton team who takes a company-wide approach to training employees and contractors in emergency response (ER).

“ER skills and experience are spread throughout the workforce to enable first response to incidents that occur in any part of our operations,” said Norton Environment, Community and Security Superintendent Wayne Astill.

Norton’s Paddington Operations rotates members in the ER team and stands by the belief that the ER team is there to help the whole team.

The team’s second place result was a credit to the trainers, co-ordinator and to the team members who participated in an underground competition yet came from varied workplaces including-underground mining, technical staff, open-pit mining, maintenance, Excelsior Gold Ltd, environmental and geology departments. 

“We were proud to participate in this competition which demonstrates our strong commitment to looking after our people,” said Norton General Manager Geology Peter Ruzicka.

Norton’s Paddington Operations ER team actively supports community emergency services, such as the Fire Department and St John Ambulance. A number of team members are also Volunteer Ambulance Officers with St John Ambulance.

Congratulations to the Norton Emergency Response Team Members: Tari Pawlyk - Captain; Lauren Kotz - Vice Captain; Travis Kenna – Medic; Adam Carr – Medic; Suleiman Mbeyela - Technician; Nathaniel Keen - Technician; and Brad Daddow -Incident Management.

Norton ER Team Co-ordinator Brett Morrow said the competition was important for the industry and the miners to test their skills. 

“The Underground Mine Emergency Response Competition is a good event to benchmark against industry, build leadership and team spirit,” Brett said. 

Other participating member teams included: Northern Star Resources, Kalgoorlie Operations; Northern Star Resources, All Stars (Jundee and Granny Smith mine sites); Gold Fields Australia, Agnew Gold Mine; and Gold Fields Australia, St Ives Operations who won the following categories:

  • Breathing Apparatus Skills – Northern Star Resources, Kalgoorlie Operations
  • First Aid – Gold Fields Australia Pty Ltd, Agnew Gold Mine
  • Best New Captain – Rory McHarrie, Northern Star Resources, Kalgoorlie Operations
  • Incident Management Scenario – Stasi Capsanis, Northern Star Resources, Kalgoorlie Operations
  • Best New Team - Northern Star Resources, Kalgoorlie Operations
  • Best Captain – Wade Leeson, Gold Fields Australia Pty Ltd, St Ives Operations

Norton Gold Fields Limited is a member of the Gold Industry Group and one of Australia’s largest domestic gold producers, with annual production of more than 178,000 ounces. The Paddington Operations is located 35 km north of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.