The International Collegiate Mining Games began in 1978 to honor the memory of 91 miners who died on May 2, 1972, when fire broke out in the Sunshine Mine near Kellogg, Idaho, one of the world’s largest silver mines. Since then, the games have been dedicated to all miners who die on the job.

Teams competed in seven skills. Two involved drilling a hole through rock with either a hydraulic drill or a hammer and hand steel. There was a land-surveying contest with vintage instruments and “track stand” competition, which involved laying a section of railroad track with steel rails spiked into wooden cross-ties.