Plans for a memorial in honour of the victims of the Senghenydd Universal Colliery disaster have been boosted with a £46,000 grant from Caerphilly County Borough Council.
More than 440 men and boys were killed in 1913 in one of the worst mining disasters Britain and the world had seen.
The Aber Valley Heritage Group is developing plans to erect a poignant memorial at the site with support from the council, GAVO and Groundwork Caerphilly.
An iconic photograph from the time of a mother with child wrapped in a shawl, which has gone on to symbolise the disaster, will be used as inspiration for the statue memorial.
The estimated cost of the instalment and surrounding memorial gardens is estimated to be in the region £220,000 and the heritage group is seeking funding from a number of sources.
The council has pledged £25,000 from its Village Renewal and Development Key Fund and £21,071 from the Community Regeneration Fund.
Cllr Ron Davies, cabinet member for regeneration said: “We are delighted to support the Aber Valley Heritage Group in their efforts to commemorate the generation of miners who lost their lives on that tragic day.
“We will work with the group to help them secure the full amount needed to make this project a reality and look forward to unveiling the memorial on the centenary of the disaster in 2013.”
The memorial will include a landscaped garden, a wall of remembrance and a small parking area.