New Zealand Mines Rescue Service Profile
Rescuing miners who have been trapped or injured, dealing with fires or other emergencies in mining or tunnelling operations involves the specialist skills and resources of the New Zealand Mines Rescue Service. Rescuers are trained and equipped to respond to a wide range of hazards and emergency situations.
The New Zealand Mines Rescue Service has rescue stations located at Rapahoe (Head Office) on the West Coast and Huntly in the Waikato with equipment and resources also located at other key locations throughout the country.
The Core Functions of the New Zealand Mines Rescue Service under the Mines Rescue Act 2013 are;
- Emergency Preparedness – assisting operators to develop, review and test their emergency management plans; and
- Emergency Response Readiness – providing training, equipment, and resources for mines rescue brigades to ensure that the brigades have the capacity and readiness to respond to emergencies and to provide advice to operators during emergencies.
New Zealand Mines Rescue Service has close ties with emergency response teams at many different mining or tunnelling operations and provide training and other support to ensure effective emergency response capabilities are maintained on a regional and national basis.
New Zealand Mines Rescue Service are well served by a team of dedicated staff and specialist contractors that enables it to deliver its core responsibilities required under the Mines Rescue Act 2013 as well as a very broad range of specialist training and technical services.