Emergency response
MERC has built a reputation as a national rescue event dedicated to the mining sector. Image credit: Newmont/MERC.
A community emerges out of competition THE MINING EMERGENCY RESPONSE COMPETITION (MERC) IN PERTH IS NOT ONLY A COMPETITIVE EVENT, BUT A TIGHT-KNIT COMMUNITY WITHIN THE MINING SECTOR. MERC CO-FOUNDER JEN PEARCE TELLS HER STORY.
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here are certain challenges that come with the highly mobile nature of mining work and spread of operations across Australia. But despite distances and constant change, there is one national rescue event that is dedicated to the mining sector and connects people in the industry. The Mining Emergency Response Competition (MERC), which includes a series of challenges for participating teams from firefighting, hazardous material response, road crash rescue to first aid, has stepped into its 11th year in 2021.
Ryan Clarke, emergency responses supervisor at Newmont (one of MERC’s major sponsors in 2020), says he was a relatively new emergency responses officer when he first participated in MERC. “I knew my site, I knew my team, but by attending MERC I realised that (the industry) was much bigger than a site or a team,” he says. “There was a whole community of people that came together to compete, share lessons and basically support each other via MERC. “This made me realise that (MERC) was something that I really want to remain a part of, (it made me find the) passion in myself to follow through with
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my mining services career and (that) it was something that I enjoyed doing and would continue to enjoy doing.” The event also became an anchor point of connection for many mining professionals over the years, and more recently during the hardship of the COVID-19 pandemic. MERC co-founder Jen Pearce says the community would receive phone calls from each other as they looked for new work, connections and solutions for the unique problems they faced. “Although we get to see each other face to face during MERC, networks and friendships are operating daily in the business community outside the