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The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)





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What has the NIOSH Mining Program looked for in past Broad Agency Announcements?
Information on Current and Past Contracts
Current Funding Opportunities
2023 Broad Agency Announcement: Development and Demonstration of Mine Safety and Health Technology
SOLICITATION NUMBER: 75D301-23-R-71617
The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 (MINER Act) permanently established the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research under the direction of an Associate Director, within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. One purpose of this office is to enhance the development of new technology and technological applications, and to expedite the commercial availability and implementation of such technology in mining environments. The MINER Act grants the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research the authority to (1) award competitive contracts and grants to institutions and private entities to encourage the development and manufacture of mine safety equipment and (2) award contracts to education institutions or private laboratories for the performance of product testing or related work with respect to new mine technology or equipment. This announcement is an opportunity for the award of contracts for enhancing safety in mines.
The primary goal of the MINER Act technology mandate is to improve/increase the use of technology in mines to improve mineworker safety and health, and the intent of this broad agency announcement is to support enabling activities such as technology identification, validation, demonstration, adaptation, and/or commercialization. The Office of Mine Safety and Health Research of NIOSH is soliciting concept papers to conduct research, exploratory development, testing, or evaluations of new technologies to improve mine safety, or to adapt technologies from other industries for application in mining environments. The primary interest of this broad agency announcement is to promote the modification or final development of practical technologies or systems that can be adopted by the mining community in a short period of time. Under this specific solicitation, proposals to conduct theoretical or basic research will not be considered. NIOSH strongly encourages proposals that include collaboration with mining industry partners who understand the reality of the mining environment and can provide insight into mine design requirements and potential commercialization of the technology.
The following examples are presented to further illustrate appropriate submissions under this solicitation beyond the more general guidance listed previously.
A safety and/or health technology that is currently in a prototype stage, which will require funding for final development and adaptation to the mining environment. This could include modification of prototypes to account for operation in the challenging underground coal environment, modification to meet permissibility requirements, and/or demonstration of the technology at actual mine sites.
A safety and/or health technology that is currently being used in another industry and requires modification to be adapted for mining applications. This could include system redesign, modification to meet permissibility requirements, in-mine testing to establish the efficacy of the technology, and/or demonstration of the technology at mine sites.
Analysis of candidate technologies to establish their potential to improve safety and/or health, and/or analyses of barriers to technology application or means of overcoming such barriers.
A safety and/or health technology that is fully developed and available for use but is not being adopted by the industry for reasons that require further analysis. This could include developing an initial operational capability by installing the technology in one or more mines for evaluation and/or market analysis to determine the reasons the technology is not being adopted and the changes that would be necessary to make it acceptable to the industry.
Analysis of safety and health information in the surveillance area or other work that involves the extraction useful data for identifying the future technology needs of the mining industry.Fatality and injury data continue to highlight the need to develop new or improve existing technologies or adapt technologies from other industries to address safety and health issues in surface, and underground mines related to the coal, metal, non-metal, and stone, sand, and gravel mining sectors. NIOSH has typically provided a number of topical areas of importance to guide responders in addressing its highest priorities; this solicitation continues that practice as described below.However, NIOSH strongly encourages responders to propose solutions to other health and safety issues that are responsive to our guidelines; these proposals are evaluated under the same criteria as submittals under the focus area and receive equal consideration for funding. Twenty-six percent of the contracts funded under this program have come from this category of submittals and, in some fiscal years, have made up fifty to seventy percent of the funded proposals.
**Response Date:** This announcement will remain open until January 13, 2023. Concept papers will be accepted from the release of the solicitation through January 13, 2023, 3:00 PM ET. CONCEPT PAPERS SUBMITTED AFTER THE DEADLINE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Full proposals for concept papers that are found to be technically acceptable will be due within 30 days after notification by the Contracting Officer.**Inquiries and Additional Information:** Information and specific questions of a technical business nature only will be accepted via e-mail sent to Contracting Specialist Stephanie Reid. Include your name and e-mail address on the message. Responses to e-mail questions will be handled on a first-come basis and generally will be answered within 10 business days.
Responses will be accepted through 3 p.m. ET on January 13, 2023.
Read the full Broad Agency Announcement for detailed information, proposal guidelines, and submission instructions.

What has the NIOSH Mining Program looked for in past Broad Agency Announcements?
Sample 1:
2022 Broad Agency Announcement: Development and Demonstration of Mine Safety and Health Technology
Solicitation number: 75D301-22-R-61070
The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 (MINER Act) permanently established the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research under the direction of an Associate Director, within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. One purpose of this office is to enhance the development of new technology and technological applications, and to expedite the commercial availability and implementation of such technology in mining environments. The MINER Act grants the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research the authority to (1) award competitive contracts and grants to institutions and private entities to encourage the development and manufacture of mine safety equipment and (2) award contracts to educational institutions or private laboratories for the performance of product testing or related work with respect to new mine technology or equipment. This announcement is an opportunity for the award of contracts for enhancing safety in mines.
The primary goal of the MINER Act technology mandate is to improve/increase the use of technology in mines to improve mineworker safety and health, and the intent of this broad agency announcement is to support enabling activities such as technology identification, validation, demonstration, adaptation, and/or commercialization. The Office of Mine Safety and Health Research of NIOSH is soliciting concept papers to conduct research, exploratory development, testing, or evaluations of new technologies to improve mine safety, or to adapt technologies from other industries for application in mining environments. The primary interest of this broad agency announcement is to promote the modification or final development of practical technologies or systems that can be adopted by the mining community in a short period of time. Under this specific solicitation, proposals to conduct theoretical or basic research will not be considered. NIOSH strongly encourages proposals that include collaboration with mining industry partners who understand the reality of the mining environment and can provide insight into mine design requirements and potential commercialization of the technology.
The following examples are presented to further illustrate appropriate submissions under this solicitation beyond the more general guidance listed previously.
A safety and/or health technology that is currently in a prototype stage, which will require funding for final development and adaptation to the mining environment. This could include modification of prototypes to account for operation in the challenging underground coal environment, modification to meet permissibility requirements, and/or demonstration of the technology at actual mine sites.
A safety and/or health technology that is currently being used in another industry and requires modification to be adapted for mining applications. This could include system redesign, modification to meet permissibility requirements, in-mine testing to establish the efficacy of the technology, and/or demonstration of the technology at mine sites.
Analysis of candidate technologies to establish their potential to improve safety and/or health, and/or analyses of barriers to technology application or means of overcoming such barriers.
A safety and/or health technology that is fully developed and available for use but is not being adopted by the industry for reasons that require further analysis. This could include developing an initial operational capability by installing the technology in one or more mines for evaluation and/or market analysis to determine the reasons the technology is not being adopted and the changes that would be necessary to make it acceptable to the industry.
Analysis of safety and health information in the surveillance area or other work that involves the extraction useful data for identifying the future technology needs of the mining industry.Fatality and injury data continue to highlight the need to develop new or improve existing technologies or adapt technologies from other industries to address safety and health issues in surface, and underground mines related to the coal, metal, non-metal, and stone, sand, and gravel mining sectors. NIOSH has typically provided a number of topical areas of importance to guide responders in addressing its highest priorities; this solicitation continues that practice. However, NIOSH strongly encourages responders to propose solutions to other health and safety issues that are responsive to our guidelines; these proposals are evaluated under the same criteria as submittals under the focus area and receive equal consideration for funding. Twenty-six percent of the contracts funded under this program have come from this category of submittals and, in some fiscal years, have made up fifty to seventy percent of the funded proposals.
This announcement was open through 3 p.m. ET on January 15, 2022.
Sample 2:
Broad Agency Announcement: Development and Demonstration of Mine Safety and Health Technology
Solicitation number: 75D301-21-R-71744
The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 (MINER Act) permanently established the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research under the direction of an Associate Director, within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. One purpose of this office is to enhance the development of new technology and technological applications, and to expedite the commercial availability and implementation of such technology in mining environments. The MINER Act grants the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research the authority to (1) award competitive contracts and grants to institutions and private entities to encourage the development and manufacture of mine safety equipment and (2) award contracts to education institutions or private laboratories for the performance of product testing or related work with respect to new mine technology or equipment. This announcement was an opportunity for the award of contracts for enhancing safety in mines.
The primary goal of the MINER Act technology mandate is to improve/increase the use of technology in mines to improve mineworker safety and health, and the intent of this broad agency announcement is to support enabling activities such as technology identification, validation, demonstration, adaptation, and/or commercialization. The Office of Mine Safety and Health Research of NIOSH is soliciting concept papers to conduct research, exploratory development, testing, or evaluations of new technologies to improve mine safety, or to adapt technologies from other industries for application in mining environments. The primary interest of this broad agency announcement is to promote the modification or final development of practical technologies or systems that can be adopted by the mining community in a short period of time. Under this specific solicitation, proposals to conduct theoretical or basic research will not be considered. NIOSH strongly encourages proposals that include collaboration with mining industry partners who understand the reality of the mining environment and can provide insight into mine design requirements and potential commercialization of the technology.
The following examples were presented to further illustrate appropriate submissions under this solicitation beyond the more general guidance listed previously.
A safety and/or health technology that is currently in a prototype stage, which will require funding for final development and adaptation to the mining environment. This could include modification of prototypes to account for operation in the challenging underground coal environment, modification to meet permissibility requirements, and/or demonstration of the technology at actual mine sites.
A safety and/or health technology that is currently being used in another industry and requires modification to be adapted for mining applications. This could include system redesign, modification to meet permissibility requirements, in-mine testing to establish the efficacy of the technology, and/or demonstration of the technology at mine sites.
Analysis of candidate technologies to establish their potential to improve safety and/or health, and/or analyses of barriers to technology application or means of overcoming such barriers.
A safety and/or health technology that is fully developed and available for use but is not being adopted by the industry for reasons that require further analysis. This could include developing an initial operational capability by installing the technology in one or more mines for evaluation and/or market analysis to determine the reasons the technology is not being adopted and the changes that would be necessary to make it acceptable to the industry.
Analysis of safety and health information in the surveillance area or other work that involves the extraction of predictive information that could produce useful data for identifying the future technology needs of the mining industry.Fatality and injury data continue to highlight the need to develop new or improve existing technologies or adapt technologies from other industries to address safety and health issues in surface and underground mines related to the coal, metal, non-metal, and stone, sand, and gravel mining sectors. NIOSH has typically provided a number of topical areas of importance to guide responders in addressing its highest priorities, this solicitation continues that practice as described below. **However, NIOSH encourages responders to propose solutions to other health and safety issues that are responsive to our guidelines; these proposals are evaluated under the same criteria as submittals under the focus area and receive equal consideration for funding. Thirty percent of the contracts funded under this program have come from this category of submittals and, in some fiscal years, have made up fifty to seventy percent of the funded proposals.**
**Topical Area of Importance**
NIOSH welcomes proposals in the surveillance area or other work that involves the extraction of predictive information that could produce useful data for identifying the future technology needs of the mining industry.  As noted above, NIOSH also encourages proposals addressing health and safety issues outside of these focus areas:
**1. Additional Investigations related to the NAS report “Monitoring and Sampling Approaches to Assess Underground Coal Mine Dust Exposures”**
In 2016, Congress directed NIOSH to initiate a study by The National Academy of Sciences to “Consider monitoring technologies and sampling protocols used in the United States and in similarly industrialized countries for the control of respirable coal mine dust (RCMD) exposure in underground coal mines; effects of rock dust mixtures and their application on RCMD measurements; and the efficacy of current monitoring technologies and sampling approaches.”  The NAS published their report in 2018. In this report the NAS made a series of recommendations. NIOSH funded four proposals in 2019 related to the NAS report recommendations. NIOSH is interested to continue funding additional proposals related to two recommendations from the report:
Recommendation 2: “Conduct studies to evaluate the exposures of miners not wearing CPDMs to ensure that the approach of detecting and mitigating high-exposures for designated occupations reliably results in mitigating high exposures of all worker.” While both the Bureau of Mines and NIOSH have done work in the past in this area, there is interest in a study to establish if compliance sampling of designated occupations is representative of non-sampled miner exposures.
Recommendation 6: “...NIOSH should incorporate appropriate filter media that is compatible with an end-of-shift analyzer for respirable crystalline.”  NIOSH is interested in funding work related to filter media compatible with the TEOM used in the ThermoFisher PDM3700 Personal Dust Monitor that could be utilized with the NIOSH field-based silica monitoring technique.
**2. Roof bolter automation and Operator Dust Exposure Reduction**
Full roof bolter automation could potentially serve to remove the operators from musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) issues in bolt and mesh handling and eliminate respirable crystalline silica (RCS) exposure when operating downwind of the continuous miner. Roof bolting is a complex process involving the handling of drill steels, roof bolts and plates, and steel mesh. In addition, there are other ground control installations processes completed by the roof bolter operator and machine such as cable bolting and rib bolting. However, the main entry roof bolting process is repetitive and could be amenable to efforts to automate the process to eliminate physical operator involvement. Solutions to automate this process, in addition to cable bolting and rib bolting, to remove the need for physically handling the roof bolting materials would be beneficial.
The roof bolter operators are also susceptible to over exposure to RCS dust, especially when downwind of the continuous miner (CM). The current method to reduce this exposure is to regulate the roof bolter operation to only 40 ft. of operation downwind of the miner per shift. The canopy air curtain is also a viable control to reduce operator exposure to RCS. However, its protection has been shown to be variable. Solutions to improve the canopy air curtain protection and/or other solutions to reduce operator exposure downwind of the miner are encouraged.
**3. Development of a purpose-built flame or detonation arrestor for li-ion battery thermal runaway**
Mining equipment powered by li-ion batteries is being developed for use in gassy mines. Li-ion batteries susceptible to thermal runaway may produce pressurized explosions when confined within sealed enclosures such as explosion proof or flame proof enclosures. There is a need for venting of thermal runaway gases to relieve excessive overpressures within the explosion proof or flame proof enclosure while ensuring that ignition of an external explosive mine atmosphere does not occur. Pressure-relieving flame arrestors for enclosures used in gassy mines were designed for arresting methane-air or hydrogen-air ignitions as opposed to thermal runaway gases. Solutions are sought to develop flame or detonation arrestors sufficient for quenching li-ion battery thermal runaway gases released from enclosures, along with supporting test data, test criteria and other information used to determine sufficiency of the arrestor, to prevent mine explosions.
**4. Big data analytics and machine learning techniques**
As fatalities and other severe incidents (i.e., lagging indicators) decrease, the mining industry needs a more proactive approach to risk management that focuses on using Health and Safety (H&S) leading indicator data to help identify, predict, and control risks. Some examples of leading indicator data may include near miss incidents, risk assessments, safety audits, behavioral observations, knowledge assessments, workplace exams, injuries, citations, and worker compensation data from insurance companies or federal websites.  Other sources of data may include data from mine monitoring/tracking systems, equipment operation logs, etc. The objective of this research is to identify and/or improve quantification of safety and health risks through the use big data analytics and machine learning techniques on large datasets. Research questions to be answered may include topics such as “What machine learning techniques or methods can be used to analyze safety big data in the mining industry?” and “What H&S outcomes (i.e., risks) can be predicted using available H&S leading indicator data?” The goal will be to develop machine learning model(s) to accomplish the objective, and at a minimum answer the two proposed research questions.
**5. Intrinsically safe devices**
NIOSH has identified a number of products that have either 1) been approved as intrinsically safe under IEC or other authorities or 2) had MSHA approval but, as electronic components become unavailable or technologically obsolete, are no longer available. NIOSH would like to facilitate an introduction or return of these products or similar offerings to market. (Note that NIOSH cannot pay for the cost of the approval, but only for design and prototype work.) The examples below are for illustrative purposes only.
Intrinsically safe camera for the utilization of Helmet-CAM technology.
Portable, intrinsically safe logging anemometer for use in evaluating engineering controls in underground coal mining.
Permissible PPE alternative for dust exposure utilizing a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR).
Development of an MSHA approved light scattering instantaneous dust monitor, similar to the previously available Personal DataRAM pDR-1000 Monitor.
Permissible Electronic Surveying Equipment such as a Total Station.
Miniature Dataloggers, similar to the Campbell Scientific Model 21X.
The development of products for permissibility should also include technological enhancements to improve performance, reduce the size of the product for better field adaptability, and/or decrease the cost to improve the acceptance of the product in the mining industry.Responses were accepted until January 15, 2021.
Sample 3:
Broad Agency Announcement: Underground Mine Evacuation Technologies and Human Factors Research
Solicitation number: 75D301-20-R-67922
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) issues Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Number 75D301-20-R-67922 under the provisions of FAR 35.016 and FAR 6.102(d)(2) which provides for the competitive selection of research proposals. Contracts that are awarded based on responses to this BAA are as a result of full and open competition and, therefore, in full compliance with the provisions of PL 98-369, “The Competition in Contracting Act of 1984.”
CDC contracts with educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, not for profit organizations, state and local government, and private industry for research and development (R&D) in those areas covered in Part II of this BAA. The NAICS code for this BAA is 541715 - Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) with a size standard of 1,000 employees.
NIOSH will not issue paper copies of this announcement and reserves the right to select for award all, some, or none of the proposals in response to this announcement and further reserves the right to fund all, some or none of the proposals received under this BAA. NIOSH provides no funding for direct reimbursement of proposal development costs. Technical and cost proposals (or any other material) submitted in response to this BAA will not be returned. It is the policy of NIOSH to treat all proposals as sensitive competitive information and to disclose their contents only for the purposes of evaluation.
Responses were accepted through 5 p.m. ET on April 29, 2020.
Sample 4:
Broad Agency Announcement: Development and Demonstration of Mine Safety and Health Technology
Solicitation number: 75D301-20-R-67845
The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 (MINER Act) permanently established the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research under the direction of an Associate Director, within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.  One purpose of this office is to enhance the development of new technology and technological applications, and to expedite the commercial availability and implementation of such technology in mining environments.  The MINER Act grants the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research the authority to (1) award competitive contracts and grants to institutions and private entities to encourage the development and manufacture of mine safety equipment and (2) award contracts to education institutions or private laboratories for the performance of product testing or related work with respect to new mine technology or equipment.  This announcement is an opportunity for the award of contracts for enhancing safety in mines.
The primary goal of the MINER Act technology mandate is to improve/increase the use of technology in mines to improve mineworker safety and health, and the intent of this broad agency announcement is to support enabling activities such as technology identification, validation, demonstration, adaptation, and/or commercialization. The Office of Mine Safety and Health Research of NIOSH is soliciting concept papers to conduct research, exploratory development, testing, or evaluations of new technologies to improve mine safety, or to adapt technologies from other industries for application in mining environments.  The primary interest of this broad agency announcement is to promote the modification or final development of practical technologies or systems that can be adopted by the mining community in a short period of time.  Under this specific solicitation, proposals to conduct theoretical or basic research will not be considered.  NIOSH strongly encourages proposals that include collaboration with mining industry partners who understand the reality of the mining environment and can provide insight into mine design requirements and potential commercialization of the technology.
The following examples are presented to further illustrate appropriate submissions under this solicitation beyond the more general guidance listed previously:
A safety and/or health technology that is currently in a prototype stage, which will require funding for final development and adaptation to the mining environment.  This could include modification of prototypes to account for operation in the challenging underground coal environment, modification to meet permissibility requirements, and/or demonstration of the technology at actual mine sites.
A safety and/or health technology that is currently being used in another industry and requires modification to be adapted for mining applications.  This could include system redesign, modification to meet permissibility requirements, in-mine testing to establish the efficacy of the technology, and/or demonstration of the technology at mine sites.
Analysis of candidate technologies to establish their potential to improve safety and/or health, and/or analyses of barriers to technology application or means of overcoming such barriers.
A safety and/or health technology that is fully developed and available for use but is not being adopted by the industry for reasons that require further analysis.  This could include developing an initial operational capability by installing the technology in one or more mines for evaluation and/or market analysis to determine the reasons the technology is not being adopted and the changes that would be necessary to make it acceptable to the industry.
Analysis of safety and health information in the surveillance area or other work that involves the extraction of predictive information that could produce useful data for identifying the future technology needs of the mining industry.Fatality and injury data continue to highlight the need to develop new or improve existing technologies or adapt technologies from other industries to address safety and health issues in surface, and underground mines related to the coal, metal and non-metal, and stone, sand, and gravel industries. While NIOSH has typically provided a number of topical areas of importance to guide responders in addressing its highest priorities, this solicitation only includes one focus area as described below.  **However, NIOSH encourages responders to propose solutions to other health and safety issues that are responsive to our guidelines; these proposals are evaluated under the same criteria as submittals under the focus area and receive equal consideration for funding.**
Concept papers will be accepted from the release of the solicitation through January 15, 2020. Full proposals for concept papers that are found to be technically acceptable will be due within 30 days after notification by the Contracting Officer. Work that will be completed in 24 months or less is desired, but is not a requirement; projects requiring up to 48 months will be considered. NIOSH estimates that the typical project under this solicitation will require between $200,000 and $300,000, although proposals for amounts up to $650,000 will be considered. Proposals submitted in excess of the $650,000 ceiling will not be evaluated nor considered for funding. It is estimated that about 6 to 10 awards will be made with approximately $2M to $5M available for this BAA.
**Topical Area of Importance**
NIOSH welcomes proposals in the surveillance area or other work that involves the extraction of predictive information that could produce useful data for identifying the future technology needs of the mining industry. As noted above, NIOSH also encourages proposals addressing health and safety issues outside of this area:
**Non-Regulatory Personal Measurement of Coal Dust and/or Silica**The prior three BAA solicitations included focus areas relating to a smaller, lighter, more ergonomic, and more economical version of the current continuous personal dust monitor for respirable coal dust and a similar mass-based, real-time dust monitoring unit to detect crystalline silica dust. While regulatory compliance currently requires mass-based measurement, NIOSH believes there is a market for units measuring coal dust, silica, or both, that are low enough in cost that they can be issued to every miner to provide near real-time results and allow miners to identify elevated dust/silica levels and take immediate corrective action to prevent overexposure. This continuing BAA focus area is included to stimulate potential research and development opportunities in this critical area. As background, the Continuous Personal Dust Monitor currently in use in underground coal mining (Thermo Scientific PDM3700) has significantly improved respirable coal dust monitoring capabilities and compliance with MSHA coal mine dust exposure regulations and demonstrated the value in providing exposure information directly to the miner. By limiting solutions to a mass-based unit to meet regulatory requirements however, many promising alternatives are eliminated. As a result, NIOSH has opened this solicitation to other measurements techniques with the aim of driving technology to the level where every miner, irrespective of job categorization, could be provided a personal wearable unit.
Responses were accepted through 3 p.m. ET on January 15, 2020.
Sample 5:
Broad Agency Announcement: Capacity Building and Mining Systems Design Research for the Mining Industry - Through April 22, 2019
Solicitation number: 75D301-19-R-67888
Note: Responses are limited to U.S.-based programs that have an ABET-accredited degree program in mining or mineral engineering.
The Office of Mine Safety and Health Research (OMSHR), NIOSH, is soliciting proposals from universities or colleges specifically focused on aspects of mining systems design and/or research to conduct work that addresses: research, exploratory development, testing, of new innovations and technologies, and/or methods of evaluation of new and existing mining practices to improve mine health and/or safety.
The objective of this BAA is to address important mining systems design health and safety issues and to develop a new cohort of mine planning and design experts through graduate education, encompassing areas of ventilation and ground control as well as other mining technologies and support systems, through graduate education. Applicants are given significant flexibility in defining proposed research areas. As such, all basic or applied mine systems design research topics that have an impact on health and safety will be considered. Topics can be applicable to all types of surface or underground mining or can be pertinent to only a specific mining method or mineral commodity. Unlike past solicitations, the intent of the current effort is much broader than just mine ventilation or ground control, and all research topics related to mine systems design will be considered. Examples given below are health and safety areas included for illustrative purposes only and will not receive any priority in evaluation:
Mining at depth at elevated temperatures and/or in adverse ground conditions;
Novel mine designs or mining methods, including automation, which would minimize worker exposure;
Mine ventilation topics such as respirable coal mine dust, silica, and diesel particulate matter, which might impact the choice of mining method, control technologies, support systems, monitoring methods, etc.;
Ground control topics such as surface mine highwall stability, particularly as expanded to pit design, or design of underground openings adequate for the intended purpose.A parallel intent of this solicitation is to provide an adequate supply of qualified mining engineers and professors specializing in aspects of mine planning and design to ensure the future health and safety of our nation's mine workers.
Contract awardees are expected to produce graduates with doctoral and/or master's degrees in mining or minerals engineering or a related field in an engineering discipline with a specialization in some aspect of mining systems design, including mine ventilation, mine ground control, mining systems simulation, or similar as well as new knowledge in the mine design realm. Additionally, NIOSH seeks contract offerors that are in tenure track or tenured faculty positions in mining or minerals engineering where a contract award and completion would advance their academic career, as well as enhance the capabilities of their academic department.
Contract awardees are expected to present and publish results on a periodic basis to promote dissemination of knowledge gained from the work. As a public health organization, NIOSH is required to provide evidence of such dissemination and extending the knowledge gained to the mining industry is an important part of the contract objectives.
Sample 6:
Broad Agency Announcement: Development and Demonstration of Mine Safety and Health Technology - Expired January 7, 2019
Solicitation number: 2019-Q-69532
The Office of Mine Safety and Health Research of NIOSH is soliciting concept papers to conduct research, exploratory development, testing, or evaluations of new technologies to improve mine safety, or to adapt technologies from other industries for application in mining environments. The primary interest of this broad agency announcement is to promote the modification or final development of practical technologies or systems that can be adopted by the mining community in a short period of time.
Under this specific solicitation, proposals to conduct theoretical or basic research will not be considered. NIOSH encourages proposals that include collaboration with mining industry partners who understand the reality of the mining environment and can provide insight into mine design requirements and potential commercialization of the technology.
High-priority health and safety topic areas include the development of:
Non-regulatory personal measurement of coal dust and/or silica dust
Next generation underground communications systems
Intrinsically safe, full-shift video recording capability for utilization of Helmet-CAM technology for underground coal mines
Investigations related to the NAS report “Monitoring and Sampling Approaches to Assess Underground Coal Mine Dust Exposures”
Strata horizon monitoring for continuous miner head and/or longwall shearer cutting to minimize operator exposure
Assessment of safety of underground equipment multi-cell battery power systemsThese topic areas are provided to guide responders in addressing NIOSH’s highest priorities; however, NIOSH strongly encourages responders to propose solutions to health and safety issues that are outside of these areas. In addition, NIOSH welcomes proposals in the surveillance area or other work that involves the extraction of predictive information that could produce useful data for identifying the future technology needs of the mining industry.

Sample 7:
Broad Agency Announcement: Development and Demonstration of Mine Safety and Health Technology - Expired January 16, 2018
Solicitation number: 2018-N-67627
The Office of Mine Safety and Health Research of NIOSH is soliciting concept papers to conduct research, exploratory development, testing, or evaluations of new technologies to improve mine safety, or to adapt technologies from other industries for application in mining environments. The primary interest of this broad agency announcement is to promote the modification or final development of practical technologies or systems that can be adopted by the mining community in a short period of time.
Under this specific solicitation, proposals to conduct theoretical or basic research will not be considered. NIOSH encourages proposals that include collaboration with mining industry partners who understand the reality of the mining environment and can provide insight into mine design requirements and potential commercialization of the technology.
High-priority health and safety topic areas include the development of:
Low-cost personal gas monitor to assess breathable air
SCSR/CCER communications
Miniaturized CPDM with silica measurement capability
Application of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in GPS-denied environments
Develop Helmet-CAM technology for underground coal minesThese topic areas are provided to guide responders in addressing NIOSH’s highest priorities; however, NIOSH strongly encourages responders to propose solutions to health and safety issues that are outside of these areas. In addition, NIOSH welcomes proposals in the surveillance area or other work that involves the extraction of predictive information that could produce useful data for identifying the future technology needs of the mining industry

Sample 8
Broad Agency Announcement: Development and Demonstration of Mine Safety and Health Technology - Expired January 17, 2017
Solicitation number: 2017-N-18045
The Office of Mine Safety and Health Research, NIOSH, is soliciting concept papers to conduct research, exploratory development, testing, or evaluations of new technologies to improve mine safety, or to adapt technologies from other industries for application in mining environments. The primary interest of this broad agency announcement is to promote the modification or final development of practical technologies or systems that can be adopted by the mining community in a short period of time.
Under this specific solicitation, proposals to conduct theoretical or basic research will not be considered. NIOSH encourages collaboration with mining industry partners who understand the reality of the mining environment and can provide insight into mine design requirements and potential commercialization of the technology.
High-priority health and safety topic areas include the development of
atmospheric monitoring systems (AMS) that meet mine operational needs while having a high probability of post-disaster survivability;
mine ventilation systems (MVS) that are linked in real time with AMS technology;
a smaller, lighter, more ergonomic, and more economical version of the current continuous personal dust monitor for respirable coal dust;
a similar mass-based, real-time dust monitoring unit to detect crystalline silica dust;
a system similar to--or building upon--the existing Helmet-CAM dust exposure assessment technology that can be used in the low lighting environment of underground coal mines;
active (triggered) barriers that might be employed in underground coal mines to suppress the possibility of a propagating explosion; and
methodologies to statistically analyze the volumes of data generated at mines to develop relative risk indices or matrices.These topic areas are provided to guide responders in addressing NIOSH’s highest priorities; however, NIOSH strongly encourages proposals related to health and safety issues outside these topic areas. NIOSH also welcomes proposals in the surveillance area or other work that involves the extraction of predictive information that could produce useful data for identifying the future technology needs of the mining industry.
Responses were accepted through 3:00 pm EST on January 17, 2017.

Information on Current and Past Contracts
NIOSH Mining Contract Listing Page
Page last reviewed: December 5, 2022
Page last updated: December 5, 2022
Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Program
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