FGRBPL, operators of the Bogoso Prestea Mines (BPM), emerged as joint winners of the Inter-Mines Zonal First Aid Competition with industry “rivals,” Anglogold Iduapriem Mine. 

The other competitors in a tough contest, were Gold Fields – Tarkwa Mine, and Ghana Manganese Company. 

The quiz was in two parts, a practical demonstration of first aid emergency response, and an oral “what do you know” competition.  

In a tight finish, BPM and AngloGold Iduapriem Mine led with 45.5 points each from both competitions, qualifying them to participate in the national competition, to be hosted by BPM on November 7, 2021.  

The Inter-Mines First Aid and Safety Competition is an annual event that is held under the auspices of the Chamber of Mines, with support from the Inspectorate Division of the Minerals Commission and St John Ambulance, to highlight the importance of first aid and safety in the sector. 

It is designed to test the practical and theoretical knowledge of the safety teams of the respective companies and has in recent years increasingly been an important industry-calendar event. This year, it was held under the theme: Protect others by protecting yourself; COVID-19 is real! 

Since the introduction of the competition 44 years ago, BPM has made it to the finals each year, except for 2011.  Participants from BPM are usually drawn across the various departments of the mine, since occupational safety and emergency response protocols and practices are integrated across the entire operations. 

BPM, this year, was represented by Primilla Osei (Mining Department), Kwame Kyei Addo (Health, Safety, Environment, and Community Department), Ebenezer Otabil (Health,Safety,Environment,andCommunityDepartment), Isaac Egyir  (Surface Mining Department), and Raymond Cudjoe (Supply Chain Department). 

In the past five years, basic schools in host communities have been made part of the safety competitions and participated in quiz and essay writing competitions at the zonal and national levels. 

Apart from 2019, when the representatives from BPM’s host community schools placed second at the national level, they have maintained first place throughout.

This year, they placed second in the zonal competition, qualifying them to participate in the finals. Such representatives become first aid and safety ambassadors in the communities and are useful contacts for organizing health and safety outreaches. 

One of them, after winning the inter-mines essay competition, was later judged as one of the best students in Ghana and awarded the Presidential Award for her outstanding performance in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).