World's miners descend on Cornwall for international mining games

Teams of young miners from across the globe compete at first ever tournament held in the UK to showcase traditional skillsThe women from the Missouri University of Science and Technology hold nothing back as their team-mate, 19-year-old Kelsey Garratt, attacks a thick piece of timber with a hefty bow saw and no little venom. "Come on, beat it up," hollers one supporter. "Saw that wood," yells a second. She does. Sawdust flies and, after a few seconds, a perfectly straight off-cut drops to the ground.This is the 34th international mining games, which is being held for the first time in the UK. Teams of young miners and engineers from the US, Australia, Germany, Holland and Indonesia have flown into Cornwall to show off their cutting, chiselling, drilling, panning and shovelling skills."We have come to win," says Garratt. "It's a good place to come and meet other people into the same things and have a bit of fun but we want the victory." She admits that she found it hard to saw the wood. "We use pine, which is softer. We'll work out how to do it. Don't you worry."The games were launched in honour of the 91 men who died in the Sunshine mine disaster of 1972 in Idaho and have grown each year since.The Americans tend to be strong but the Australians even better. This time around 36 teams ? women's, men's and mixed ? will compete in seven events over the weekend at the King Edward Mine Museum in Camborne, one of the proud, historic centres of the Cornish tin industry."The idea is to remind miners of their heritage," said organiser Oakley Turner, a second year student at the Camborne School of Mines, part of Exeter University and the games' host. "The skills being tested are not commonly used now. But it reminds people of what mining has been over the years, how tough and hard it was."On practice day the representatives of Virginia Tech in the US arrive first, not long after first light. Aaron Adkins said they had been training for the last six or seven months. "Some of us practise every day. This is a big deal for us, we're determined to do well."Cornelius Hattingh, from the Western Australian School of Mines, which often tops the leaderboard, said they train five times a week. They have two campuses and field six teams. "Australians like to win at whatever we're competing in. Mining is no different."Stephanie Shelley, who studies at the Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering in Nevada, tries to persuade the organisers to let her team use its own "steels" for the hand-drilling-into-concrete event. "Ours have notches that shoot the shit out," she explains. The organisers are not keen; they think everyone should use the tools provided.British competitor Tom Mather is hoping the teams from the Camborne School of Mines, which has been in operation since 1888, will do well this year. He reckons they have a particularly good chance in the "jackleg drilling" competition because contestants must use a machine made by local company Holmans to drill into a block of concrete."These drills tend to be a bit older than the ones these guys will have used before. And they have more of a kick. That ought to help us. We think we'll be good at the surveying too."The event is not just about competition. It is also a chance for people to network and provide a scouting opportunity for mining companies looking for new recruits.Mather says almost everyone who studies at Camborne gets a job afterwards, though not in Cornwall. There are few job opportunities for miners in the far south-west and instead they head for the US, Australia, eastern Europe and South America.To some extent, it was always so. Cornish miners have long roamed the world, spreading the sort of skills being tested at the game, not to mention the Cornish pasty, a staple of the miners' diet since the 18th century (many of the competitors have harsh words for what has been dubbed the "pasty tax" ? the chancellor's plan to extend VAT to hot food sold by bakers).Tony Brooks, director of the King Edward Mine Museum, studied at Camborne half a century ago before heading to Zambia as an engineer in the copper mines. "Cornish people and miners have always travelled. It's in their nature. The sad thing is there is nothing for them to stay for now, hardly any mining, no heavy industry. Instead people work in tourism or local government."The Dutch team, from Delft, turns up for practice a good four hours after the Virginia Tech lot. Their light-coloured smocks are suspiciously clean and they cheerfully accept that their city is better known for pottery than mining. "You never know, we may surprise the Australians," said Jan-Douwe Wansink. And off they go to try to get their smocks mucky.MiningCornwallSteven Morrisguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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