THE King Edward Mine Museum (KEM) will host the 47th Intercollegiate International Mining Games (IMG) on Friday and Saturday.

Mining schools from across the globe will field 45 teams to participate in this hotly contested competition. Students will fly in from Australia, the USA, Canada and Germany on Wednesday.

And of course, students past and present from Camborne School of Mines (CSM) will be keen to defend their results from last year’s IMG, which were held in Montana, USA.

The IMG competition was established in 1978 to honour 91 miners who died in the Sunshine Mine disaster in the USA in 1972. It provides mining students with the chance to connect with the traditional mineral extraction methods of yesteryear, as well as gain transferable skills and benefit from career development opportunities.

The CSM Men's Team practising airleg drilling for the International Mining Games
The CSM Men's Team practising airleg drilling for the International Mining Games (Media Memories Photography)

The competition consists of seven events:

• Jackleg Drilling - Drilling into vertical concrete with a Holmans 303 airleg drill;

• Track Laying – Setting up and tearing down a section of track, including sleepers, rail, connecting plates and bolts;

• Hand Mucking – Running a one-ton ore wagon down a 75” section of track and filling it;

• Swede Saw – Sawing through a 6” x 6” piece of timber with a 36” bow saw;

• Gold Panning – Finding five flattened ball bearings in a pan full of dirt and rock;

• Hand Drilling – Drilling into concrete using a 3-4lb hammer and a 7-8” chisel;

• Surveying – Reporting the coordinates between start and finish points using a vernier transit theodolite.

After a designated practice day on Thursday, the Women's and Co-ed competition will take place on Friday, and the Men’s and Alumni competition will be staged on Saturday, all between 8am and 4pm.

The CSM Women's Team practising airleg drilling for the International Mining Games
The CSM Women's Team practising airleg drilling for the International Mining Games (Media Memories Photography)

The museum will be closed to the public during the games. Spectators may watch the competition from the safety of outdoor viewing areas.

The IMG brings a great deal of prestige to Cornwall as it attracts eminent organisations and corporate sponsors from across the global mining industry.

Close to the mineral-rich Great Flat Lode and Carn Brea, KEM was the original home of CSM from 1897 and has trained generations of its students. CSM is now part of the University of Exeter, based at its Penryn campus.

“KEM is delighted to host the IMG because it chimes with our twin aims: celebrating Cornwall’s mining industry in ways that increase knowledge and ignite curiosity among people of all ages and backgrounds, and promoting education in geoscience, geology and mining,” explains KEM trustee Carol Richards.

“We would like to thank everyone who has sponsored the event, and the wonderful volunteers who have worked so hard for two years to prepare the site for this illustrious event.”

On June 19, KEM will welcome Year 8 pupils from Cornish schools to take part in the 6th annual Cornwall Schools Mining Games (CSMG).

Further information regarding spectator parking arrangements, the exact location of each event and refreshments can be found at https://www.kingedwardmine.co.uk/international-mining-games

The visitor attraction will re-open for the season on Sunday, April 20.