Emergency response drill gives mining undergrads a ‘leg up’
Students lead safety and health operations as part of a mining school course.
Arizona State Mine Inspector Lesley ‘Les’ Presmyk (center), a 1975 mining engineering alum, advises students at the San Xavier Mine Emergency Response Drill on Oct. 31.
Students in the School of Mining Engineering and Mineral Resources acted quickly to save lives and prevent a catastrophe recently during a simulated roof collapse at the University of Arizona San Xavier Mining Laboratory.
“Students had to engineer their way through technical problems then coordinate with operations to find, triage and evacuate trapped miners,” said Kray Luxbacher, the Gregory H. and Lisa S. Boyce Leadership Chair of mining and geological engineering.
The Mine Emergency Response Drill (MERD) on Oct. 31 was part of school’s safety and health curriculum.
“MERD showed me how interconnected every role is during an emergency,” said Jessica Davis, a mining engineering student who served as a procurement specialist. “My job was to help identify and secure the equipment needed for the response, and it taught me how quickly decisions must be made under pressure.”
Advisers from Resolution Copper and U of A EMS as well as the state mine inspector were on hand to help guide students through the high-pressure scenario.
“All of these students will graduate with a leg up on any other college of mines because of programs like this,” said Arizona Mine Inspector Lesley “Les” Presmyk, who helped guide students during the simulation, including quick development of an emergency plan to evacuate “trapped” miners.
Luxbacher, also the executive director and head of the School of Mining Engineering and Mineral Resources, assigned roles such as press relations, mine manager and engineering team.
“Exercises like this allow students to apply curriculum under stress, using skills from geotechnical engineering to communication, all while safeguarding their peers,” she said.
Presmyk, a 1975 mining engineering alum with more than 30 years of industry experience, worked with students acting as mine managers to ensure scenario documentation, maps and safety plans followed Mine Safety and Health Administration standards.
He said the simulation covered “all aspects of what would happen and what the mine manager and team would do in case of a collapse or major accident.”
