Victorian Mine Rescue Competition

Victorian Mine Rescue Competition

The Victorian Mine Rescue Competition (VMRC) is a mine rescue and emergency response capacity building exercise.

MCA Victoria is proud to host this annual training exercise for mine emergency response teams, and to build knowledge of emergency services agencies around mine rescue capabilities and roles.

VMRC contributes to the minerals industry’s commitment to zero harm and the MCA’s aim to support safe and healthy workplaces.

VMRC sees mine rescue and emergency response teams from mine sites around Victoria and Australia compete against each other in a variety of simulated emergency situations to put their skills to the test, and share their extensive knowledge with each other.

VMRC has hosted teams from across Australia and conducted competitions across Victoria including Latrobe Valley, Wonthaggi, Bendigo, Heathcote and Seymour.

VMRC supports mine rescue teams by providing joint exercises with emergency services agencies to provide training in a challenging but fun environment, increase understanding of the broader emergency response arrangements, build team relationships of trust and respect, and create a forum for ERT teams to meet and learn from each other. That is the spirit of VMRC.

2026 Victorian Mine Rescue Competition

VMRC 2026 was held in Bendigo between 27 February – 1 March at Fosterville Gold Mine. Thank you to all participating teams, sponsors, venues and volunteers for a fantastic event. Competition results as below. Full results are available here. For further information please contact: minerescue@minerals.org.au

History of VMRC

1993

VMRC started in 1993 at the State Coal Mine Reserve at Wonthaggi with the local Disaster Response organisations holding a rescue exercise in the old mine. Three teams were invited to participate: Stawell Gold Mines and Benambra Mine from Victoria, and Woodlawn Mine from NSW.

From these humble beginnings in Wonthaggi, VMRC has become one of Australia’s leading competitions with teams coming from across the nation each year to test their mine rescue skills.

1994 to 2008

Central Deborah Tourist Gold Mine in Bendigo was the home of the Victorian Underground Mine Rescue Competition from 1994 to 2008. The firefighting exercise was conducted at the CFA Huntly Training Ground. The competition gradually outgrew Central Deborah by 2009.

From the late 1990s there was an increased interest in the Underground Competitions from traditionally Surface operations in the Latrobe Valley and the inaugural Victorian Surface Mine Rescue Competition was held at Yallourn Mine in 2005.

2010 and beyond

From 2012, the underground and surface competitions merged to become the Victorian Mine Rescue Competition.

This combined competition would be held annually with the venue alternating between Bendigo, the traditional home of the underground competition, and the Latrobe Valley, the venue for the surface competitions.

In 2013, the Competition celebrated its 20th Anniversary year publishing a 20 years Commemoration Booklet.

COVID-19 disruptions prevented VMRC from taking place in 2020 and 2021. The competition returned in 2022 to the Fosterville Gold Mine at which
Emergency Management Guidance for Victorian Mines was launched by the MCA to provide information on requirements for emergency management and the government emergency arrangements.

The 30^th year of VMRC was acknowledged at the 2023 competition at Stawell Gold Mine. In one of the largest VMRC competitions ever, Mandalay Resources’ Costerfield Operations hosted VMRC for the first time in Heathcote in 2025 with ERT teams from 10 mines from across Victoria, NSW and Tasmania taking part.