U.S. Labor Department Unveils $10.5 Million in Grants to Modernize Mine-Safety Training

Washington, D.C. – The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has closed the books on a competitive grant cycle that will send $10.5 million in federal funds to 49 recipients in 45 states, the Navajo Nation, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The awards—announced quietly in late November but formally posted on 2 December—will underwrite new miner, annual refresher, and emergency-response training for an estimated 50,000 workers across surface and underground coal, metal, and non-metal mines, including sand-and-gravel and shell-dredging operations.

The grants arrive at a pivotal moment for the industry. After three consecutive years of rising “near-miss” reports and a 2024 fatality count that has already exceeded the previous year’s total, Labor Secretary Julie Su said the department is “putting real money behind the idea that every worker deserves to come home whole.” MSHA Acting Assistant Secretary Patricia Silvey echoed the point, noting that “training budgets are the first line-item slashed when commodity prices dip; these grants insulate life-saving instruction from market volatility.”