Happy National Miners Day

Dec. 6 is National Miners Day, a day designated by Congress to honor the contributions and sacrifices of miners both past and present. This day was created as a day of reflection, when we can show appreciation for the sacrifices, honor the accomplishments and remember the tragedies that these hard-working individuals experience. 

From foundations to roofs, power plants to wind farms, roads and bridges to communications grids and data storage centers – America’s infrastructure projects begin with mining, noted the National Mining Association. Consider that nearly every industry including energy, construction, transportation, and equipment manufacturing requires steel – a material dependent on both metallurgical coal and iron ore for its production. And copper’s flexibility, conformity, thermal and electric conductivity, and resistance to corrosion make it an ideal industrial metal. These are just a few of the ways that mining is contributing to America’s infrastructure.

“On National Miners Day, Americans honor miners for their tremendous skill, expertise, and dedication,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta. “In nearly 13,000 mines across our nation, America’s miners leverage our natural resources to power our nation and manufacture products that improve our lives. Mining provides good, family-sustaining careers for the American people. At the Department of Labor, we work each day to ensure miners work in a safe and healthy environment so that they can return safely to their families at the end of each shift.”

“I’m proud to say that I have been a miner and worked with miners for most of the past four decades, as a laborer, foreman, manager, and, eventually, CEO. Now, as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health, I am honored to salute the miners of America on behalf of the agency that strives to keep them safe,” said David Zatezalo, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health.

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