US Department of Labor announces availability of Brookwood-Sago grants to promote mine safety, health education, training

Original article published by MSHA
Program will award up to $1M in grants to support mining community

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of up to $1 million in grant funding through its Brookwood-Sago grant program, which supports the delivery of education and training to the nation’s mining community to help them identify, avoid and prevent unsafe and unhealthy working conditions.

Established by the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006, the program honors 25 miners who perished in disasters in 2001 at the Jim Walter Resources #5 mine in Brookwood, Alabama, and in 2006 in Buckhannon, West Virginia, at the Sago mine.

Administered by the department’s Mine Safety and Health Administration, the grants will fund education and training programs focused on workplace safety and health hazards faced by miners. These hazards include:

  • Exposure to respirable dust and crystalline silica.
  • Safe use of powered haulage and mobile equipment.
  • Mine emergency and mine rescue preparedness.
  • Electrical safety.
  • Insufficient training of new and inexperienced miners.
  • Lack of training for managers and supervisors performing mining tasks.
  • Pillar safety for underground mines.
  • Lack of personal protective equipment to prevent falls from heights and other unsafe conditions.

The program aligns with the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to improve the safety and working conditions for nation’s miners.

In awarding the grants, MSHA will give special emphasis to education and training programs that target miners at smaller mines and underserved populations in the industry and make diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility priorities.

Learn more or submit a grant application. The closing date for applications is July 21, 2023. MSHA will award grants on or before Sept. 30, 2023.


McCraren Compliance offers many opportunities in safety training to help circumvent accidents. Please take a moment to visit our calendar of classes to see what we can do to help your safety measures from training to consulting.

MSHA Offering $1M in Safety Grants

First published by MSHA.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration announced today the availability of up to $1 million to fund grants to support education and training to help mine workers identify, avoid and prevent unsafe working conditions.

The funding, made available by the department’s Brookwood-Sago grant program, will enable grant recipients to develop training materials, provide mine safety training or educational programs, recruit mine operators and miners for training, and conduct and evaluate training. The amount of each individual grant will be at least $50,000, and the maximum individual award will be up to $1 million.

Administered by MSHA, the 2021 selection process will include special consideration for programs that focus on powered haulage (in particular, reducing vehicle-on-vehicle collisions, increasing seat belt use and improving belt conveyor safety), improving safety among contractors, reducing electrocutions, improving training for new and inexperienced miners, mine emergency prevention and preparedness, falls from equipment, respiratory hazards and other programs to prevent unsafe conditions in mines.

MSHA will also place special emphasis on programs and materials that target miners at smaller mines, including training miners and employers about new MSHA standards, high-risk activities or hazards MSHA identifies.

Visit grants.gov to apply for the Brookwood-Sago grants. Applications must be received by May 27, 2021. MSHA will award grants on or before Sept. 30, 2021.

The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 established the Brookwood-Sago grant program in honor of the 25 miners who died at the Jim Walter Resources #5 mine in Brookwood, Alabama, in 2001 and at the Sago Mine in Buckhannon, West Virginia, in 2006.


McCraren Compliance offers many opportunities in safety training to help circumvent accidents. Please take a moment to visit our calendar of classes to see what we can do to help your safety measures from training to consulting.