The funding, which totals $582,804 for 2013, will be used for the development and implementation of training and other materials for mine emergency preparedness and accident prevention, the US Mine Safety and Health Administration said.

The Pennsylvania-based United Mine Workers of America Career Centers will receive a second-year funding grant of $179,289 for training in the conduct of mine rescue skills contests.

“Participating in well-designed mine rescue contests is vital for mine rescue personnel to maintain and improve mine emergency preparedness protocols,” MSHA said.

“After completing classroom curriculum and training exercises, trainees [can] apply their knowledge in a variety of hands-on training scenarios in simulated coal mines.”

The Centre for Strategic Management Public Leadership Institute in Maryland has been given $122,769 to improve the skills training quality via a train-the-trainer approach that focuses on using technology to improve communication during mine emergencies.

The Colorado School of Mines is once again a grant winner, receiving $117,747 in second-year funding for its mine rescue team training initiative.

The school will focus on improving the technical, communications and decision-making skills of teams and individuals staffing s incident command centres during mine emergencies.

Another Colorado group, the Colorado Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety, will use its $112,999 in grant funding for mine emergency prevention and preparedness training.

In the agency’s program, real-life scenarios are used to help miners recognise and mitigate hazards and develop emergency response skills through the development of a preshift/on-shift mine examiner training and auditing program.

The funding will also allow for training and support to some of the state’s smaller mine rescue crews.

Back in the Appalachian region, the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy will use its $50,000 funding to develop a training video on emergency preparedness deficiencies that have been revealed by past mine disasters. The production will focus on improving escape and decision-making skills during emergencies.

All Brookwood-Sago grants are awarded for 12-month periods and are given to states or non-profit entities, including educational institutions.

Named in remembrance of 13 men who died in two explosions at the Jim Walter Resources Inc. No. 5 mine in Alabama in 2001 and 12 men who died in an explosion at the Sago mine in West Virginia in 2006, the grant award program was established through a provision in the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006.