The BC Provincial Mine Rescue & First Aid Competition takes place at Britannia Mine in June. Admission to the event and historic site that weekend is free!
Details for the 2026 competition, including dates and location, have not yet been announced. For more details about the competition continue reading below or visit britanniaminemuseum.ca.
Mine Rescue and First Aid Competition
The Ministry of Mining & Critical Minerals, together with the Mining Association of BC, presents an annual competition that showcases an important component of the BC mining industry.
The BC Provincial Mine Rescue and First Aid Competition brings rescue teams together to compete in various challenges. Rescue teams are usually responsible for saving trapped or injured miners. In the competition, however, participating teams demonstrate their highly specialized techniques to the public. It’s a remarkable competition to watch, as rescue teams are essentially the paramedics and fire departments for the mining industry.
Teams demonstrate specialized skills, including rope rescue, first aid, hazardous environment management, and emergency response. Some challenges even include live fire scenarios!
When and Where
The 68th edition of the BC Provincial Mine Rescue and First Aid Competition is expected to run in June 2026. In 2025 the BC Provincial Mine Rescue and First Aid Competition ran on June 6th and 7th. The event was hosted at Britannia Mine Museum, located at 150 Copper Drive in Britannia Beach along the Sea-to-Sky Highway between Vancouver and Squamish.
The competition is held at a different venue each year. Whether it will return to Britannia Mine Museum in 2026 has not yet been confirmed, and it may take place at another location.
For more information about the competition, visit britanniaminemusem.ca.
Event and Admission Details
In 2025, the event happened on June 6th and 7th. Competition challenges ran from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm on Friday and from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday. The first day featured underground rescue challenges with limited public viewing. The second day focused on surface rescue scenarios, which were more accessible to spectators. The best viewing area on Saturday was inside Mill No. 3.
Admission to the competition was free for the general public. Access to the Britannia Mine Museum’s lower-site exhibits was also free during the event weekend. The museum was open from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm.
About Britannia Mine Museum
Britannia Mine Museum is a former copper mine that’s now a National Historic Site. It’s a very interesting attraction that once produced millions of pounds of ore while housing thousands of workers. The preserved mine facility still features some of its original buildings. There are exhibits, galleries, a gold-panning station, and a kids’ play area.
The museum also hosts special events throughout the year, including Old Town, New Queens in June. As well as seasonal Halloween and Christmas programming.
Other Information
For more information visit the Britannia Mine Museum website.
To learn about the venue in general, see our article about the Britannia Mine Museum.
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