Mines Rescue Services (MRS), a non-profit organisation, has reportedly carried out test work on a “world first” new mobile rescue winder that, it says, can reach a depth of 3 km underground.

MRS, on January 21, conducted the trial at Gold Fields’ South Deep gold mine, in Gauteng, South Africa, Engineering News reported. The winder can be used to bring employees to surface in the event that normal processes do not work, it said.

The winder was developed by MRS, in collaboration with Minerals Council South Africa members, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and Labour.

The testing involved lowering and raising the conveyance at a speed of 1.5 m/s, with a simulated load of six people, to a maximum depth of 3 km. The ability to reach such a depth is significant, MRS says, bearing in mind other rescue winders  could previously only go down to 1.6 km.