Deadline: 10-Aug-2026
The Mine Health and Safety State Grants Program provides funding to eligible governmental and tribal entities to strengthen mine safety and health across the United States. Administered by the Mine Safety and Health Administration under the U.S. Department of Labor, the programme supports training, education, regulatory development, occupational health initiatives, and cooperative safety efforts. The estimated total funding available is $10,537,000, with individual awards of up to $800,000.
Overview
The Mine Health and Safety State Grants Program supports efforts to improve working conditions in mines across the United States.
The programme provides funding for training, education, regulatory development, occupational disease prevention, and cooperative activities that strengthen mine safety and health.
It is administered by the Mine Safety and Health Administration under the U.S. Department of Labor.
Purpose of the Program
The purpose of the programme is to help states, tribes, territories, and eligible public entities improve mine safety and health.
Funding supports activities that reduce workplace risks, strengthen mining regulations, improve occupational health programmes, and expand training for miners, supervisors, and mining operations.
The programme also encourages federal-state coordination and cooperation to improve mine safety outcomes.
Key Focus Areas
The programme focuses on mine safety, mine health, mining law development, regulatory enforcement, workers’ compensation, occupational disease prevention, federal-state coordination, new miner training, small mining operations, contract employee safety, occupational health hazards, powered haulage, mobile equipment safety, emergency preparedness, mine rescue, electrical safety, fall prevention, supervisor training, critical minerals mining, compliance assistance, and mining safety education.
What the Program Supports
The Mine Health and Safety State Grants Program supports projects that strengthen workplace safety and health in the mining sector.
Supported activities may include:
- Development and enforcement of state mining laws
- Development and enforcement of mine safety regulations
- Improvement of workers’ compensation laws and programmes
- Improvement of mining occupational disease programmes
- Mine safety and health training
- Training for new miners
- Training for inexperienced miners
- Training for managers and supervisors performing mining tasks
- Training for new and small mining operations
- Contract employee safety initiatives
- Occupational health hazard education
- Powered haulage and mobile equipment safety training
- Mine emergency preparedness activities
- Mine rescue training
- Electrical safety training
- Fall prevention training
- Critical minerals mining safety training
- Compliance assistance programmes
Projects should show how activities will reduce risks and improve mine safety and health outcomes.
Funding Amount
The estimated total funding available under the programme is $10,537,000.
Individual awards may be funded up to a maximum of $800,000.
There is no specified minimum award amount.
Applicants should prepare realistic budgets that match the scale, scope, and expected impact of their proposed activities.
Administering Agency
The programme is administered by the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
MSHA operates under the U.S. Department of Labor and supports efforts to improve safety and health conditions in mining workplaces.
Priority Training Areas
MSHA encourages grant recipients to prioritize health and safety training for new miners and workers in small mining operations.
Priority training areas include:
- New miner safety
- Small mine safety
- Contract employee safety
- Occupational health hazards
- Powered haulage equipment
- Mobile equipment safety
- Mine emergency preparedness
- Mine rescue operations
- Electrical safety
- Fall prevention
- Supervisor and manager training
- Compliance assistance for critical minerals operations
These areas reflect common risks and safety needs in mining environments.
Support for New and Small Mining Operations
The programme gives particular attention to new and small mining operations.
These operations may need additional support to understand safety requirements, train workers, manage risks, and comply with mine safety standards.
Grant-funded training can help small operators build stronger safety systems and reduce workplace hazards.
Contract Employee Safety
The programme encourages projects that address occupational hazards faced by contract employees.
Contract workers may face safety risks due to changing work locations, varied job assignments, limited site familiarity, or inconsistent training.
Applicants may propose training or education initiatives that improve contract employee awareness, hazard recognition, and safe work practices.
High-Risk Mining Activities
Training focused on high-risk mining activities is strongly supported.
High-risk areas may include powered haulage, mobile equipment operation, electrical systems, working at heights, emergency response, and mine rescue.
Applicants should explain how their proposed activities will reduce risks in these areas and improve worker preparedness.
Critical Minerals Mining Support
The programme also encourages applicants to support national efforts related to critical minerals mining.
Organizations may develop training and compliance assistance initiatives for operators involved in the extraction of critical minerals, including coal.
These activities should support safe production while maintaining strong health and safety standards.
Who Is Eligible?
Eligible applicants include governmental, tribal, and public entities.
Eligible applicants may include:
- Native American tribal organizations other than federally recognized tribal governments
- Federally recognized Native American tribal governments
- County governments
- Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education
- Special district governments
- City or township governments
- State governments
Applicants should demonstrate the ability to manage grant funds and deliver mine safety and health activities effectively.
Why It Matters
Mining is a high-risk sector where workers may face hazards related to heavy equipment, confined spaces, dust, electrical systems, falls, emergency events, and occupational diseases.
Strong safety training, regulatory systems, and health programmes can reduce injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.
This programme matters because it helps eligible public and tribal entities strengthen mine safety systems, train workers, improve compliance, and support safer working conditions across the mining industry.
How to Apply
Applicants should prepare a clear proposal that explains the safety need, target audience, planned activities, budget, and expected results.
Step 1: Confirm Applicant Eligibility
Applicants should confirm that they fall within one of the eligible categories, such as a state government, tribal government, county government, city government, special district government, or public institution of higher education.
Step 2: Identify the Mine Safety Need
The proposal should clearly explain the safety or health issue being addressed.
This may include:
- New miner safety gaps
- Small mine training needs
- Contract employee hazards
- Powered haulage risks
- Mobile equipment safety concerns
- Emergency preparedness gaps
- Mine rescue training needs
- Electrical safety risks
- Fall hazards
- Occupational health exposures
- Critical minerals compliance needs
Step 3: Design the Training or Regulatory Activity
Applicants should describe the activities they will implement.
This may include training courses, education programmes, compliance assistance, regulatory development, occupational health initiatives, or cooperative federal-state safety activities.
Step 4: Define the Target Participants
The proposal should identify who will benefit from the project.
Target participants may include:
- New miners
- Inexperienced miners
- Small mine workers
- Contract employees
- Mine supervisors
- Mine managers
- Mine rescue teams
- Workers in critical minerals operations
- Operators needing compliance assistance
Step 5: Prepare the Workplan
The workplan should describe how activities will be implemented.
It should include:
- Objectives
- Activities
- Timeline
- Training methods
- Delivery locations
- Staffing
- Expected outputs
- Monitoring approach
- Safety outcomes
Step 6: Prepare the Budget
Applicants may request up to $800,000.
The budget should be realistic, justified, and directly linked to project activities.
Applicants should show how the funding will support training, education, regulatory work, coordination, or safety improvement activities.
Step 7: Demonstrate Capacity
Applicants should explain their experience, staff capacity, partnerships, and ability to manage the grant.
They should also show how their organization can deliver high-quality mine safety and health activities.
Step 8: Submit the Application
Applicants should submit a complete application with all required organizational, technical, budget, and supporting information.
The proposal should clearly demonstrate how the project will improve mine safety and health.
Selection Considerations
Applications are likely to be assessed based on relevance, feasibility, capacity, and expected impact.
Key assessment areas may include:
- Alignment with mine safety and health priorities
- Focus on new and small mining operations
- Support for high-risk mining activities
- Quality of training or education design
- Capacity to deliver services
- Strength of regulatory or compliance assistance approach
- Expected improvement in safety and health conditions
- Support for critical minerals mining safety
- Budget realism and justification
- Ability to coordinate with relevant partners
- Potential to reduce workplace hazards
Tips for a Strong Application
Applicants should:
- Clearly identify the mine safety or health problem
- Align activities with MSHA priority areas
- Focus on practical training and measurable outcomes
- Include new miners and small mining operations where relevant
- Address high-risk hazards such as powered haulage or falls
- Include contract employee safety if applicable
- Show how the project will improve compliance or safety culture
- Prepare a clear and justified budget
- Demonstrate organizational capacity
- Explain how results will be tracked and reported
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Common mistakes include:
- Applying as an ineligible entity
- Not clearly linking the project to mine safety or health
- Providing vague training plans
- Ignoring priority areas such as new miner training or small mine safety
- Not explaining the target audience
- Submitting an unrealistic budget
- Requesting more than $800,000
- Providing weak evidence of organizational capacity
- Not addressing measurable safety outcomes
- Failing to explain how activities will reduce workplace risks
FAQ
1. What is the Mine Health and Safety State Grants Program?
It is a grant programme administered by the Mine Safety and Health Administration to support mine safety and health training, education, regulatory development, and cooperative safety efforts in the United States.
2. How much funding is available?
The estimated total funding available is $10,537,000.
3. What is the maximum award amount?
Individual awards may be funded up to $800,000.
4. Who can apply?
Eligible applicants include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, and certain Native American tribal organizations.
5. What activities can be funded?
Funding may support mine safety training, occupational health education, regulatory development, workers’ compensation and occupational disease programme improvements, emergency preparedness, mine rescue, electrical safety, fall prevention, and compliance assistance.
6. Does the programme support training for small mines?
Yes. MSHA encourages grant recipients to prioritize health and safety training for new miners and workers in small mining operations.
7. Can projects support critical minerals mining?
Yes. Applicants may develop training and compliance assistance initiatives that support operators involved in critical minerals extraction, including coal, while maintaining safety and health standards.
Conclusion
The Mine Health and Safety State Grants Program provides important support for improving safety and health conditions in mines across the United States. With an estimated total funding pool of $10,537,000 and awards of up to $800,000, the programme helps eligible governmental and tribal entities strengthen training, education, regulatory systems, occupational health programmes, and compliance assistance. Applicants should submit proposals that clearly address mine safety risks, prioritize worker protection, and demonstrate strong capacity to deliver practical improvements in mining workplaces.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
