higher up in this page). The gigantic salt mine is located 1,200 feet beneath Detroit's surface, spreads out more than 1,500 acres and has over 100 miles of underground roads. The rock salt produced at the mine is used to keep citizens in North America safe as they travel through winter snow and ice. Geological studies estimate that 55 counties of the Lower Peninsula cover 30,000 trillion a minimum of approximately 800 ft to a maximum depth of approximately 6800 ft, while the Mining In 1895, the existence of an enormous rock salt deposit was officially discovered. The estimates of salt deposits in Michigan are astronomical. 1 of 2. In slang, the term salt mines, and especially the phrase back to the salt mines, refers ironically to one's workplace, or a dull or tedious task. Proudly created with Wix.com. rock salt The mine has lunch rooms for workers, a service depot, electric transformer rooms, a crushing plant, and dump trucks. 2023 by Going Places. Although the leather and food industries were once large customers to the Detroit mine, road deicing salt is the only product the mine currently provides. [3] The ancient Chinese gradually mastered and advanced the techniques of producing salt. personal use. The salt is also applied to icy roads in cities and towns throughout the Great Lakes region during the winter season. : 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. That meant heavy machinery had to go down in pieces, be assembled, and never come out. There has long been an urban legend that Morton Salt mines salt Lake Michigan. The rock salt produced from the mine is mainly processed by mechanical evaporation into fine-coarse grain salt. Davis Readings in the Geography of Michigan The salt beds themselves contain bands of anhydrite which vary in The size of the room depends on the thickness of the salt deposit, although most rooms are 60 feet by 60 feet. However, the largest underground salt mine in the world, the Sifto Salt Mine, is located in Goderich, Ontario, Canada. Manufacturers of plastics and other products also buy salt in bulk from the Compass Minerals Plant. 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. DOT officials have now purchased 27 high-capacity brine makers with plans to buy a dozen more this year, said Hughes. 2023 Compass Minerals. Salt mining was an arduous task for them, as they faced geographical and technological constraints. 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. 24 delicious places to pay homage to the most valuable rock in history. The Detroit Salt Company is a part of the history and fabric of Detroit with nearly 100 years of operations. 1) A healthy market requiring salt for the meat processing industry, chemical industry, The mine is as deep as the CN Tower in Toronto is tall. Years that have passed since the salt was discovered. mine. All Rights Reserved. There was just one problem: it was located beneath a thousand feet of stone and glacial drift. 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(halite). The plant also packages rock salt from the mine thatis used for deicing and water conditioning. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. This mine stretches from Dearborn all the way to Allen Park. 245 Regent StreetGoderich, Ontario N7A-3Y5519.524.8338, RELATED LINKS Mechanical Evaporation Underground Salt Mining About Goderich Huron County Museum 2014 TRA Public Annual Report and Public Report of Plan Summary 2015TRA Public Annual Report and Public Report of Plan Summary 2016 TRA Public Annual Report and Public Report of Plan Summary. 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. the movement of salt in Canada from eastern Saskatchewan Province to western Quebec How far under Lake Erie is the salt mine? 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. It was the result of ancient oceans pouring into a huge basin, evaporating, and leaving huge amounts of salt behind in the process. Officials drive about In the last several years, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation has been working to reduce salt use on the state highway . The salt is also applied to icy roads in cities and towns throughout the Great Lakes region during the winter season. The plant is located about 4 kilometers away from the mine and is operated by Compass Minerals, a US-based multinational corporation and the leading producer of minerals such as salt and magnesium. is free of the hazards of water and gas. Goderich PlantThe Goderich plant has operated since 1867, after an unsuccessful search for oil uncovered a vast bed of rock salt under Goderich. For educational information about salt and mining, check out our History section! salt are dark, reflecting the thin "muddy" seams in the salt (see the images "Then, if you have to salt it, scatter it, and use an appropriate amount rather than dumping salt down. This is a partial list of current and defunct mines in Michigan. The salt mine was discovered in 1866 by Sam Platt during a search for oil. Leaders expect it to keep growing. 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. Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. In 1913 the International Salt Company assumed control of Michigan's only underground salt mine. This bed - extending from upper New York to Michigan - was formed 410 million years ago. Years the salt mine was abandoned, from 1983-1998. Yes You Can! Madison, withWisconsin Saltwise, promotes a method of "shovel, scatter and switch. "There's a tremendous amount of salt going into the lake each year," said Dugan. Trucks powered by electricity take it to a giant crusher underground. 2014 TRA Public Annual Report and Public Report of Plan Summary, 2015TRA Public Annual Report and Public Report of Plan Summary, 2016 TRA Public Annual Report and Public Report of Plan Summary. Evidently it is the Cargill mine that is the worlds largest. The underground salt was deposited by the ocean that covered the Lake Huron basin about 400 million years ago. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0; . The Sifto Salt Mine in Goderich is the world's largest underground salt mine. Although we cannot provide tours to the public at this time, it is our hope that our newly upgraded website will provide a salt mine experience that will expose you to the wonderful world of salt. http://www.flickr.com/photos/carrieburnett http://michpics.wordpress.com/2008/12/10/m http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=17, http://www.metafilter.com/26378/Salt-Mine-Under-Detroit. floor to roof. Additional salt blocks were built at Ecorse and River Rouge the following year. Getting to the salt would prove to be the costliest and deadliest part of the operation. Year digging of a second shaft began. Our website contains general information about our company, products, and many interesting facts about our mine. The plant is located about 4 kilometers away from the mine and is operated by Compass Minerals, a US-based multinational corporation and the leading producer of minerals such as salt and magnesium. Curious City: Morton Salt production in Chicago. Workmen "undercut" the walls of salt with a At night, the holes are loaded with dynamite and the blasting operation When Martin Green asked: Is it true that salt is mined underneath Chicago? we decided to follow the Great Lakes salt production process from the mines to the distribution center. The gigantic salt mine is located 1,200 feet beneath Detroit's surface, spreads out more than 1,500 acres and has over 100 miles of underground roads. "Everybody wants to see people get home safe. As the water evaporated it left behind large deposits of . 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Groups have been pushing the state to reduce salt use to protect the environment, including Wisconsin Saltwise. Unlike coal mining, salt mining is less dangerous since extracting rock salt requires less combustion. Virtually every city, county, and municipality has a storehouse of Michigan salt, to be The biggest development in the industry in recent years is increased 2010-10-23 03:07:21. Six men were killed during the dig, and the Detroit Salt and Manufacturing Company was bankrupted in the process. 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. . -- Atlas Obscura's Guide to the World's Salty Wonders. machine that bites out a channel at the floor. 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. However, miners at the Sifto Salt Mine have perfected the process. The Detroit Salt Company (MLive photo | Ben Solis). Top Sheboygan officials lacked key details on police department sexual harassment probes, State lawmakers try again to allow DACA recipients to become police officers in Wisconsin, After record-breaking 2021, investment firms take increased interest in Wisconsin's economy, Tired of waiting, a Wisconsin island community is directing millions to create its own high-speed internet. 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 empty Detroit high school was too expensive to maintain or destroy. The Sifto Salt Mine in Goderich is the world's largest underground salt mine. See, we live in the Michigan Basin, an area once covered with salt water, now covered with 1,000 feet of dirt layered atop a vein of rock salt just waiting to be unearthed at great effort and expense so we can walk to the mailbox without falling down. About 2,000 feet 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. Follow us on social media to add even more wonder to your day. Curious City: Morton Salt production in Chicago by WBEZ PLUS: Ever wonder what's inside the Morton Salt building on North Elson Ave.? million tons or 35% of the combined total produced in the U. S. and Canada. The Company pumps The answer is NO! One copy may be printed for The biggest salt dry-mining operation in Michigan today salt can be economically recovered. Your email address will not be published. Copy. : Canada: Sifto Salt Mine in Goderich, Ontario, which, at 1.5 miles (2.4 km) wide and 2 miles (3.2 km) long, is one of . For example, under Michigan the formation varies from It stretches over 1.5 miles wide, 2 miles long, and covers an area of 2.7 million squares miles. As a geological entity, this salt deposit is older even than the dinosaurs. 5.1M views 15 years ago This is how you flush an entire lake down a hole. Name County Years Material Coordinates Adventure mine: . Ancient China was among the earliest civilizations in the world with cultivation and trade in mined salt. For years it produced tons of rock salt daily, most of which is used for ice In three minutes, the skip drops nearly 1,700 feet below Cleveland. The study found urban areas like Milwaukee are contributing the most salt with the highest readings stemming from a stormwater outflow at General Mitchell International Airport, which is just a few miles from the lake. The Detroit salt mine is a salt mine located 1,100 ft (340 m) below Detroit, Michigan. Read further to see exactly what they are delivering. The Salina Group The mineshaft opening is located at 12841 Sanders Street in Detroit, Michigan. Stay informed with WPR's email newsletter. How big is the salt mine under Lake Michigan? Unlike coal mining, salt mining is less dangerous since extracting rock salt requires less combustion. Today, the salt from this mine is used exclusively as road salt. This blog is offered as part of the information literacy mission of the Moraine Valley Library. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. For the secret CIA prison, see. The salt created by the Detroit salt mine. 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. Detroit is known for many things: the auto industry, hockey, and Motown. Where Is The World's Largest Underground Lake. This mining technique is referred to as "room and pillar" mining. In the beginning, the leather and food industries were the primary customers. State University. 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