President Trump Nominates Former EMA Executive Vice President Wayne Palmer as Assistant Secretary of Mine Safety and Health at the Department of Labor

Arlington, VA, Feb. 12, 2025 – The Essential Minerals Association (EMA) congratulates Wayne Palmer, former EMA executive vice president, who was officially nominated yesterday by President Trump to serve as Assistant Secretary of Mine Safety and Health at the Department of Labor.

“Wayne has not only been a terrific asset to the EMA team since he joined the association in 2021, but he has also been an invaluable resource for our members as well,” said Chris Greissing, EMA president. “I could not be more thrilled for Wayne to have this opportunity, and I’m happy to know that the Administration is gaining a person of such strong character who also has the depth of knowledge and understanding to bring to this position of protecting our industry’s workforce. Congratulations to our friend and colleague, Wayne Palmer, on this amazing opportunity.”

Prior to joining EMA, Wayne served in the first Trump Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) where he worked to implement programs and initiatives to provide a safe and healthy workplace for the 300,000 miners working across the nation's 13,000 mines.

During Wayne’s tenure at EMA, he led the safety and health committee and helped lead EMA’s expansion by leading the Battery and Green Energy Minerals (BGEM) section to represent the interests of minerals used for those purposes. Furthermore, Wayne assembled a coalition of more than 50 universities and associations to support the Mining Schools Act, bipartisan legislation to provide grants for post-secondary programs in mining engineering, geological engineering, metallurgical engineering, and geology.

Any questions about the transition of Wayne’s nomination should be directed to EMA’s President, Chris Greissing at chrisgreissing@essentialminerals.org.

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The Essential Minerals Association (EMA) is the representative voice for companies that extract and process a vital and beneficial group of raw materials and minerals, which are the essential ingredients for many of the products used in everyday life. EMA ensures that the voices of its member companies and the socio-economic benefits they provide – from extraction to end-use products – are heard by government leaders as well as the general public. Visit essentialminerals.org to learn more.