Mining of Michigan History magazine and Why is there a long line of railcars parked on the tracks near Spooner? For educational information about salt and mining, check out our History section! Three important factors lie behind the location and development of the Detroit salt mining The Detroit salt mine is a salt mine located 1,100 ft (340 m) below Detroit, Michigan. to 75 F, permit working conditions in a salt mine to be excellent. Way more. The Sifto Salt Mine in Goderich is the world's largest underground salt mine. economical mining, 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Im glad that this piece of history did not shut down and close their doors forever. The Detroit Salt Company is a part of the history and fabric of Detroit with nearly 100 years of operations. "We don't have any rats in our Detroit mine is because the rats would have nothing to eat except the leavings of our lunch pails," one miner said somewhat famously, thus curtailing the theory that Matt Millen went down there to live after the Lions canned him. The salt was first used by local Native American tribes, who extracted it from salt springs. Michigan are located in Detroit, while solution mining takes place along Lake Michigan and Geological studies estimate that 55 counties of the Lower Peninsula cover 30,000 trillion The mineshaft opening is located at 12841 Sanders Street in Detroit, Michigan. Dugan said road salt is by far the biggest contributor to salt pollution in the Great Lakes region. In the beginning, the leather and food industries were the primary customers. "A lot of people don't realize that all the salt we put down on streets, sidewalks, parking lots, ends up in our freshwater," said Allison Madison, the group's sustainability and development coordinator. When it all shook out, the Detroit Salt Co. purchased the mine in 1997 and started business up again. The "We easily do our winter maintenance more than $1,000 less per lane mile than either Minnesota or Michigan.". Rooms from 50 to 60 feet wide are driven out and blocks of salt of the same The anhydrite (calcium sulphate) content [3] In Southwestern China, natural salt deposits were mined with bores that could reach to a depth of more than 1,000m (3,300ft), but the yields of salt were relatively low. The 5 most ridiculous things about Michigan's state flag, 12 wild and weird facts about the largest fish you can catch in the Great Lakes, The historic futility of the Detroit Lions: a very sad timeline, 8 fascinating facts about Iron Mountain, Tom Izzo's hometown, Torch Lake is Michigan's own slice of the Caribbean, A guide to the 9 drive-in movie theaters still standing in Michigan, This Northern Michigan drive-in movie theater is a nostalgia trip, 6 places to sip a Michigan beer along the White Pine Trail, These three Hollywood movies filmed at the same Niles train station. Where Is The World's Largest Underground Lake. There is it is a salt mine. Salt mining was an arduous task for them, as they faced geographical and technological constraints. In 1997, the Detroit Salt Company, LLC, purchased the mine from Crystal Mines, Inc. and began salt production in the fall of 1998. Researchers examined past and current water data on the amount of salt flowing into the lake from 234 rivers and streams, according to Hilary Dugan, the study's lead author and assistant professor for the Center for Limnology at UW-Madison. [2] They first discovered natural gas when they excavated rock salt. Goderich PlantThe Goderich plant has operated since 1867, after an unsuccessful search for oil uncovered a vast bed of rock salt under Goderich. Pillar size is adjusted so that the extraction or recovery The five mines of the area are tapping the formation at the shallowest possible points. The mine is as deep as the CN Tower in Toronto is tall. fatality. "Then, if you have to salt it, scatter it, and use an appropriate amount rather than dumping salt down. In the last several years, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation has been working to reduce salt use on the state highway system to curb pollution. The state began purchasing high-capacity brine makers three years ago and piloted using only liquid application in Jefferson and Shawano counties, which cut their salt use in half that year. There was just one problem: it was located beneath a thousand feet of stone and glacial drift. There has long been an urban legend that Morton Salt mines salt Lake Michigan. There are no salt mines under Lake Michigan, however, About 2,000 feet under Lake Erie, 30 miles east of Cleveland in Fairport Harbor, Ohio, you'll find a vast site called the Morton Salt Mine. In three minutes, the skip drops nearly 1,700 feet below Cleveland. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0; . Age of the salt deposit, in years. Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you. The Sifto Salt Mine produces over 7 million tons of rock salt annually, which is enough to meet the demand in the Great Lakes region. Since 1959, the Fairport Harbor Morton Salt Mine has been mining for rock salt, most commonly used to melt snow and ice on roads. But did you know that at one time, Detroit had a very large working class industry right underneath their citys streets? Salt mines are mines from which salt is extracted, typically in the form of rock salt, known as halite. Leaders expect it to keep growing. from C.M. Year digging of a second shaft began. Geological studies estimate that 55 counties of the Lower Peninsula cover 30,000 trillion tons of salt. All rights reserved. Additional salt blocks were built at Ecorse and River Rouge the following year. Last year, the state used a record 11.5 million gallons of brine on state highways covering more than 35,000 miles. Yes You Can! The salt is also packaged at the Compass Mineral plant, located about 4 kilometers away, and distributed throughout North America. or less to several inches. The Salina Group In the 2010-10-23 03:07:21. Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month. in Michigan, Ohio, and Ontario. You can still see the entrance at 12841 Sanders Street, but its only open for delivery trucks. Friday, March 22, 2019 World's largest salt mine is under Lake Erie Both Cargill and Morton have salt mines under Lake Erie. 100,000 cubic feet of fresh air a minute down one shaft. Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. thickness from 1/6 in. Workmen "undercut" the walls of salt with a ", "Shovel first. Curious City 10 years ago 2,728 1 1 1,474 965 Follow Curious City and others on SoundCloud. Length, in feet, of the original mineshaft. "In a world where everything's going up in price, winter maintenance costs in Wisconsin are going down," said James Hughes, the agency's chief state highway maintenance engineer. Which means the salt mines are in Detroit just like Kid Rock and Insane Clown Posse are from Detroit.. the movement of salt in Canada from eastern Saskatchewan Province to western Quebec The shaft is considered one of the great engineering accomplishments in Michigan history, but dont say that too loud, because it makes the Mackinac Bridge feel insecure. Source: Photograph by Randy Schaetzl, Professor of Geography - Michigan will vary from a trace to approximately 2% by weight of the mined rock salt. along the St. Clair River. See. The images below show what road salt looks like when it The estimates of salt deposits in Michigan are astronomical. The sea would eventually recede and evaporate, leaving behind vast amounts of salt, which would be bulldozed over with rock and dirt by glaciers. Detroit had a very large salt mine that was basically an underground industry underneath their city. This variation in depth is in part attributed to a gradual Next, they drill holes for explosives, which allows them to blast out some 900 tons of salt in less than three seconds. Madison, withWisconsin Saltwise, promotes a method of "shovel, scatter and switch. Number of workers who died digging the shaft. Megan Hoegfeldt, a water resources specialist in Superior, said brine can be used to pretreat roads at temperatures below 15 degrees Fahrenheit unlike salt, which loses its ability to melt in colder weather. The miners sink shafts through the overlying rock salt deposits and then remove the salt. Paul Ryan says he'll support 'anybody but Trump' in the 2024 presidential contest, Wisconsin Educational Communications Board. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Welcome to my webpage. The Detroit salt mine is a salt mine located 1,100 ft (340 m) below Detroit, Michigan. It's perhaps the oldest thing in and/or about Detroit - even older than the Lions' championship dearth. The plant also packages rock salt from the mine thatis used for deicing and water conditioning. That level has increased over the last 200 years from about 1 to 2 milligrams per liter in the 1800s, researchers said. Follow us on social media to add even more wonder to your day. Since 1959, the Fairport Harbor Morton Salt Mine has been mining for rock salt, most commonly used to melt snow and ice on road. Unlike coal mining, salt mining is less dangerous since extracting rock salt requires less combustion. Winner will be selected at random on 04/01/2023. Buried deep beneath sediments in the area known as the Michigan Basin, deposits formed as horizontal salt beds, as ancient bodies of water recede and evaporated. The Sifto Salt Mine in Goderich is the world's largest underground salt mine. Life expectancy for the miners was low. Last year, the state cut its overall salt use to less than 325,000 tons the least amount of salt used since the early 2000s. Some of the salt is trucked to the Compass Minerals plant less than 4 kilometers away, to be packaged for distribution and sale at retailers in North America. Also, the number of claustrophobes and canaries who are unhappy that its not even an option. It was over 1,500 acres big and had over 100 miles of roads making up this underground salt mine. Your email address will not be published. The mine itself is a relatively clean and spacious place to work, as far as mines go. meter in height. a minimum of approximately 800 ft to a maximum depth of approximately 6800 ft, while the The size of the room depends on the thickness of the salt deposit, although most rooms are 60 feet by 60 feet. Acreage of the vast network of underground tunnels. State University, Source: Photograph by Randy Schaetzl, Professor of Geography - Michigan Underground salt mining can be challenging, especially if a mine is located under water. floor to roof. Detroit had a very large salt mine that was basically an underground industry underneath their city. Actual mining is confined completely to the salt bed. Today it is closed. the salt. This blog is offered as part of the information literacy mission of the Moraine Valley Library. Today, road deicing salt is the primary product. It was booming from the early 1920s up until 1983, when it was forced to close due to the falling salt prices. deposits of shale, limestone, sandstone, dolomite, gypsum, anhydrite, and rock salt Five large rivers out of the lake's 300 tributaries caused more than 70 percent of the salt flowing into Lake Michigan. This video addresses this myth. by While the lake's salinity is low, the amount of chloride an element signaling the presence of salt is close to 15 milligrams per liter. . Detroit area alone, it is believed that there are over 71 trillion tons of unmined salt. Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. Compass Minerals' Goderich salt mine, located 1,800 feet under Lake Huron, is the largest underground salt mine in the world. Generally speaking, the absence of gas, water, excessive One Curious City question prompted us to find out. Unlike a coal mine, the operation The economy of salt mining dried up like a 400 million-year-old ocean, prompting the company at the time, International Salt, to say,. This video addresses this myth. All rights reserved (About Us). The mine is as deep as the CN Tower in Toronto is tall. There are hundreds of salt mines around the world in operation today, and most are privately owned or operated by large multinational corporations such as Compass Minerals and Cargill. Like Atlas Obscura and get our latest and greatest stories in your Facebook feed. The. As the state has cut back on salt, winter road maintenance costs have also dropped by one-third from $111 million to $74 million over the last three winters. Best Answer. 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Miners rode down to the mine smushed face to face in a tiny elevator. The mines were owned and operated by The Detroit Salt and Manufacturing Company. As recently as a few years ago, miners at this mine, one of the world's largest rock salt mines, worked 1,200 feet beneath Detroit and other Wayne County communities. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Getting to the salt would prove to be the costliest and deadliest part of the operation. 2023 Atlas Obscura. Beneath our very feet is more salt than we can imagine even more than youll get atop your quadruple-double-XL order of McDonalds fries. the various sizes are separated. higher up in this page). However, the largest underground salt mine in the world, the Sifto Salt Mine, is located in Goderich, Ontario, Canada. Even though it has changed ownership a few times, there is a lot of history underneath the city of Detroit that most people dont even realize. The amount of salt used fluctuates depending on the winter. The Salt Institute's page on Michigan salt says that estimated salt deposits in Michigan are astronomical. Unlike coal mining, salt mining is less dangerous since extracting rock salt requires less combustion. The mine is so large that it can accommodate over 400 people and once had a bus system that transported workers to their various underground workstations. Before the advent of the modern internal combustion engine and earth-moving equipment, mining salt was one of the most expensive and dangerous of operations because of rapid dehydration caused by constant contact with the salt (both in the mine passages and scattered in the air as salt dust) and of other problems caused by accidental excessive sodium intake. China, the United States, and India rank as the top three producers of salt, and are home to some of the worlds largest salt mines. 300 North Harbour Road WGoderich, Ontario N7A 3Y9519.524.8351. Once part of an ancient international harbor, it's now an all-you-can-eat shrimp buffet for flamingos and other water birds. The size of the room depends on the thickness of the salt deposit, although most rooms are 60 feet by 60 feet. 24 delicious places to pay homage to the most valuable rock in history. The Detroit Salt Company (MLive photo | Ben Solis). Some of the images and text on this page were taken from various issues More than 1 million metric tons of salt is flowing into Lake Michigan each year, according to a new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. vertical distance below the surface. In 1913 the International Salt Company assumed control of Michigan's only underground salt mine. Heres what happens in Chicago. Approximate amount of salt, in tons, remaining down there, even after 100 years of mining. Evidently it is the Cargill mine that is the worlds largest. In operation since 1959, the mine is located approximately 1,800 feet under Lake Huron in the Canadian province of Ontario. I'm on a journey across the USA to visit all 22 Paris' - and points in between. Country Site(s) Austria: Hallstatt and Salzkammergut. This mine stretches from Dearborn all the way to Allen Park. The Detroit mine now supplies Michigan and several other states, The Sifto Salt Mine in Goderich is the world's largest underground salt mine. Electric shovels dip the salt into trailers the Your email address will not be published. is crushed into a form that is "road ready". Size, in feet, of the opening to the shaft at the time. In 1958 the salt production from these areas amounted to 8.7 A large square cavern alternating with pillars of salt is left behind. The salt was originally used "mainly for homemade ice cream and cattle licks," which means six men died and a company went bankrupt so humans and bovines could have something delicious to drag their tongues across. This phrase originates from c.1800 in reference to the Russian practice of sending prisoners to forced labor in Siberian salt mines. Amount, in tons, of salt yielded from a single dynamite blast. It was over 1,500 acres big and had over 100 miles of roads making up this underground salt mine. The mined salt is usually in the form of halite (commonly known as rock salt), and extracted from evaporite formations.[1]. Highway Lake Erie is a geological newcomer compared to the salt buried below it. The top of the Salina Group of the Eastern Salt Basin varies in its Even so, Superior cut its salt use and costs by more than half last year compared to 2010. The salt is also packaged at the Compass Mineral plant, located about 4 kilometers away, and distributed throughout North America. Year the shaft was finally completed, by the Detroit Salt Company. In the Detroit area alone, it is believed that there are over 71 trillion tons of unmined salt. The rock salt produced at the mine is used to keep citizens in North America safe as they travel through winter snow and ice. "But because of the volume of Lake Michigan, that concentration is still pretty low.". Reduced in size, the product is taken by conveyer to an underground screening plant where The rock salt produced from the mine is mainly processed by mechanical evaporation into fine-coarse grain salt. These formations within the mining area are relatively continuous and generally The salt is packaged at the plant and shipped to several destinations. The mine has lunch rooms for workers, a service depot, electric transformer rooms, a crushing plant, and dump trucks. : Bosnia and Herzegovina: Tuzla: Bulgaria: Provadiya; and Solnitsata, an ancient town which Bulgarian archaeologists regard as the oldest in Europe and the site of a salt-production facility approximately six millennia ago. Public tours are currently unavailable. Search for owners by first name, last name, company, location, etc. It was the result of ancient oceans pouring into a huge basin, evaporating, and leaving huge amounts of salt behind in the process. In 1895, the existence of an enormous rock salt deposit was officially discovered. The room and pillar method of mining is employed in all salt mines the International Salt Company assumed control of Michigans only underground salt Our website contains general information about our company, products, and many interesting facts about our mine. Mall, Okemos. top of the formation under Ohio, near the West Virginia boundary, reaches a maximum depth Dugan said road salt is by far the biggest contributor to salt pollution in the Great Lakes region. This is a partial list of current and defunct mines in Michigan. Stay informed with WPR's email newsletter. [4] The Chinese made use of natural crystallization of salt lakes and constructed some artificial evaporation basins close to shore. tons of salt. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico).
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