Doe Run Mine Rescue Team Receives Top Honors in Southern Regional Mine Rescue Contest
Gray Team exhibits stellar performance against stiff competition.
Viburnum, MO (PRWEB) May 12, 2006 -- Following a stellar problem resolution performance, one of The Doe Run Company’s Southeast Missouri Mining and Milling Operations (SEMO) Mine Rescue Teams took top honors at last week’s Southern Regional Mine Rescue Contest. Held in New Iberia, La., May 3-5, the regional competition pitted Doe Run’s Gray Team against 11 other Mine Rescue Teams from across the country.
The multi-phase contest includes written tests, simulated mine rescues and emergency first-aid response. The Benchman competition stacks each team’s benchman against the others to determine who can most effectively and quickly repair a piece of equipment with a pre-set defect or mechanism that will cause it to fail. Doe Run Gray Team member Ricky Martin, Fletcher development miner, excelled with a first-place finish in the Benchman competition.
“Mine rescue teams are built along the same lines as volunteer fire departments,” said John Radomsky, an official with the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). “Teams are made up of volunteers who have other full-time jobs with their respective mining companies. Members are trained to be able to respond to mine explosions, fires or any other type of mine emergency.”
Using the most up-to-date safety equipment (provided by their companies), team members dealt with paths blocked by simulated cave-ins, fires and areas of deadly gas. As they worked through the exercise, they stopped at several junctions to monitor air quality. Because all five team members are roped together and equipped with breathing apparatus, they use simple messages like “move forward” and “stop.” Commands are communicated by honking bicycle horns.
“We are extremely pleased with this team’s performance, especially as mine safety continues to appear in media headlines,” said Denis Murphy, safety and environmental manager at SEMO. “The Gray Team has a new captain and several members that were competing for the first time. Taking first place in both the team and Benchman competition is an extraordinary accomplishment, and a testament to Doe Run’s commitment to safety.”
According to Murphy, another Doe Run mine rescue team, the Maroon Team, is preparing to compete at a contest in Red River, N.M., May 23-25. These regional competitions are part of Doe Run’s mine rescue training program; they help prepare Doe Run’s teams for the National Mine Rescue Contest, slated for July 11-15 in Reno, Nev., and ultimately, make sure they are always ready should a mine emergency occur.
Based in St. Louis, The Doe Run Company is a privately held natural resources company dedicated to environmentally responsible mineral production, metals fabrication, recycling and reclamation. The company and its subsidiaries deliver products and services needed to provide power, protection and convenience through premium products and associated metals including lead, zinc, copper, gold and silver. As the operator of one of the world’s only multi-metal facilities and the Americas’ largest integrated lead producer, Doe Run employs more than 5,000 people, with U.S. operations in Missouri, Washington and Arizona, and Peruvian operations in Cobriza and La Oroya. Committed to sustainable development, The Doe Run Company has helped bring electrical power, business training, educational opportunities and improved telecommunications to rural communities in Peru and the U.S. For more information, visit http://www.doerun.com.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Photo available upon request.
“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements.” These forward-looking statements may be significantly impacted, either positively or negatively, by various factors, including without limitation, the Company’s ability to satisfy its debt and environmental obligations, regulatory compliance with local state and federal governmental agencies, financing sources, potential and actual litigation, weather, permits, raw materials cost, competition and business conditions in the mining and recyclable industries. As a result, the forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the statements herein. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, see the risk factors set forth in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.
Contact:
Angie Nations
(573) 518-1508
http://www.doerun.com
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