December 4 is a very special day for the mining industry. This
is the feast day of Barbara, Patron Saint for Miners and
Blasters, and globally for all the professions that relate to
fire (firemen, fireworks specialists, etc.) From her tragic
story, which appeared later to be a legend, "the belief became
widespread that Barbara could control lightning and other
manifestations of flame and fire. (...) Miners later developed
the use of gunpowder for disintegrating rock, involving
manifestations similar to thunder claps and lightning flashes.
This led to their need for special protection against accidents
from the use of explosives (...)" (Source: The Legend of Saint
Barbara, Patron Saint of Mines in Infomine.com) Saint Barbara
remains a vivid part of mining traditions and heritage. In
Europe, a statue of Saint Barbara always stands at the entrance
of a tunnel construction site. A lot of mining countries still
honor Saint Barbara, from Latin America to Asia. Many extraction
sites have been named after Saint Barba