As such an important profession that has traditionally been associated with risk and sacrifice,mining has to have a day of recognition. This day is December 4, and it was not handpicked like Valentine’s Day or National Empanada Day.

It is on that day for a reason.

December 4 is the Saints’ day of Saint Barbara. It tells the story of Barbara, the daughter of Dioscoro, a religious man with closed-minded beliefs who rejected the human nature of Jesus Christ. Before becoming a saint, she converted to Christianity to rebel against her father. To stop her from doing so, it is said that Dioscoro locked her in a tower from which she finally managed to escape, only to die by the hand of her father who caught her in the act and beheaded her. At that same moment, Dioscoro was struck by a lightning bolt.

It is that lightning strike that connects the history of Saint Barbara to the use of explosives in mining, and it is the reason why miners invoke Saint Barbara before using gunpowder.

The lightning bold at the top of a mountain was like a divine act of vengeance that today serves to protect miners from harm during the use of explosives.

Speaking of mining, the use of explosives, and a history starring Saint Barbara, at AYMA Mining Solutions we can’t miss this opportunity to wish a happy saint’s day to our director, Barbara Gomez Delgado, who has extensive and reputable experience in permits, supply and supervision management, use and storage of explosives in the film industry. At AYMA, we are fully protected without a doubt.