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SAFETY & TRAINING: Minerals Council of Australia

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If you work in mining and feel that your mental health is under strain because of stress, help is now at hand – or in your pocket – with MineWell.

Developed by miners for miners, MineWell is a preventative mental health and wellbeing app developed by the MCA and Utility Creative to provide prevention, intervention and education in mental health and wellbeing for Australian mining workers and their families.

Mining is no different to the general community in the prevalence of mental health challenges.

The MineWell app – developed by the Minerals Council of Australia and Utility Creative and launched nationally this month – is a great step forward in making help available to mining workers and their families who may be going through a tough time because of long hours, separation, isolation or financial stress.

In particular, many fly in fly out (FIFO) workers have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in longer shifts and more time away from family and friends.

While talking with your mates and family is always important – along with services like MATES in Mining – MineWell is designed to help workers (especially shift workers) reduce stress and build better mental health and resilience through breathing, better sleep, exercise, financial planning and social connection.

The app includes features such as personalised scheduling for shift workers to promote better sleep and alertness whilst on shift, advice and exercises for improving sleep quality, staying active and positive and staying well during the COVID-19 pandemic and tools to take control through breathing, taking a reality check, managing emotions and releasing tension.

For people who might have missed the odd important date while on shift and been in the doghouse as a result, it also includes a social connection tool to schedule anniversaries, birthdays, catch-ups with family and friends and other important events.

Financial worries are covered as well, with the app’s Budget Well feature to set a target budget, savings goals and help track progress to reduce stress and anxiety relating to financial management.

It’s all about better everyday physical and mental health.

The MCA was lucky to secure Renata Roberts from Bloomfield, a champion for better mental health and Exceptional Woman in Australian Resources, to do the introductory video for the app.

‘When I heard about MineWell, I was very happy to be able to support promotion of this important tool,’ Renata says.

‘This is an app developed by miners, for miners, and a quick and simple onboarding process allows you to tailor the app to support your area of work within the mining industry.’

Mental health is central to health and safety, building on the Australian mining sector’s world leadership in workplace health and safety, and the MCA and its partners have worked over many years to build industry understanding and capacity including through the Blueprint for Mental Health and Wellbeing industry guide.

Mental health problems can have an adverse impact on mining workers, their families and industry productivity.

All personal information provided by app users remains private, is only stored on their device and cannot be accessed, viewed or gathered by others.

MineWell is available free to all mine workers and their families through the Apple App Store (for iPhones) and Google Play (for Android phones).

Copyright © At The Coalface Communications Pty Ltd

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