Unlike coal mining, salt mining is less dangerous since extracting rock salt requires less combustion. Here are the Detroit salt mines, by the (really, really big)numbers. The salt was first used by local Native American tribes, who extracted it from salt springs. One Curious City question prompted us to find out. Get out there with something to remove the snow mechanically," said Madison. The Salina Group It has no vermin, who would have nothing to eat, and workers are even allowed to smoke, as long as it isnt in sensitive areas. Province, and in the U. S. from the "Dakotas" to western New York State. State University There are hundreds of salt mines . The 1,060-foot shaft was finally completed in 1910. Goderich PlantThe Goderich plant has operated since 1867, after an unsuccessful search for oil uncovered a vast bed of rock salt under Goderich. will attain a maximum of 70%. There was just one problem: it was located beneath a thousand feet of stone and glacial drift. Since 1959, the Fairport Harbor Morton Salt. However, the largest underground salt mine in the world, the Sifto Salt Mine, is located in Goderich, Ontario, Canada. Detroit Salt produces 1.7 million tons of salt annually, and will increase to 2.5 million tons if a proposed expansion is approved. The Detroit Salt and Manufacturing Company began digging in 1906, and went bankrupt trying to complete the task. meter in height. In the Age of the salt deposit, in years. Pillar size is adjusted so that the extraction or recovery The Salt Institute's page on Michigan salt says that estimated salt deposits in Michigan are astronomical. Geological studies estimate that 55 counties of the Lower Peninsula cover 30,000 trillion tons of salt. Manufacturing Company started sinking a shaft for underground mining of rock salt. Electric shovels dip the salt into trailers the document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); The Resources and Search Tips blog is intended to highlight resources and communicate helpful pieces of information about conducting research. Country Site(s) Austria: Hallstatt and Salzkammergut. Way more. Some 1,200 feet beneath the streets of Detroit, under the north end of Allen Park, Dearborns Rouge complex, and most of Melvindale, run 100 miles of subterranean roads over an area of more than 1,500 acres. Length, in feet, of the original mineshaft. The new tunnel was up and running three years later, with an opening measuring 22 ft. wide. a minimum of approximately 800 ft to a maximum depth of approximately 6800 ft, while the A large square cavern alternating with pillars of salt is left behind. 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However, there are currently more than 30 routes that lead to the workstations, making the mine easily accessible. the Devonian period (419-359 million years ago), Size, in feet, of the opening to the shaft at the time, "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, Amount, in tons, of salt yielded from a single dynamite blast, originally used "mainly for homemade ice cream and cattle licks,", and will increase to 2.5 million tons if a proposed expansion is approved. "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. 2023 Atlas Obscura. The salt is shipped to hundreds of communities around the Great Lakes and along the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Detroit Salt Company is a part of the history and fabric of Detroit with nearly 100 years of operations. from C.M. Last year, the state used a record 11.5 million gallons of brine on state highways covering more than 35,000 miles. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. In the beginning, the leather and food industries were the primary customers. Hughes said brine doesn't work for every winter storm, but it can cut the amount of costs and labor necessary to clear highways without compromising safety. Note that parts of the road 2023 Compass Minerals. The geology of the Great Lakes salt mining area consists of sedimentary The mines were owned and operated by The Detroit Salt and Manufacturing Company. The Goderich plant has been in operation since 1867. It has operated since 1959 and was acquired by Compass Minerals in 1990. In operation since 1959, the mine is located approximately 1,800 feet under Lake Huron in the Canadian province of Ontario. Therefore, usually a minimum of 1 ft of salt is left on the floor, while 4 to 6 feet of 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. Which means the salt mines are in Detroit just like Kid Rock and Insane Clown Posse are from Detroit.. In the mine, the temperature is between 56 and 60 degrees in all season. 2023 by Going Places. Winner will be selected at random on 04/01/2023. Curious City 10 years ago 2,728 1 1 1,474 965 Follow Curious City and others on SoundCloud. Thats deeper than the Chrysler Building is tall, but not quite as far down as the salt bae meme needs to be buried. rock salt 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 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. personal use. A large square cavern alternating with pillars of salt is left behind. Detroit had a very large salt mine that was basically an underground industry underneath their city. 3) The availability of low cost water transportation on the Great Lakes which facilitates This gigantic mine, 1,160 feet beneath the surface, spreads out over more than 1,400 acres with 50 miles of roads. Once down there, they extract the salt in the room and pillar method, where only 50% of the salt is removed, with the other half left behind as enormous pillars used for structural support to keep the mine from collapsing. Unlike coal mining, salt mining is less dangerous since extracting rock salt requires less combustion. (1964). Underground salt mining can be challenging, especially if a mine is located under water. The salt is left to form the roof. Since 1959, the Fairport Harbor Morton Salt Mine has been mining for rock salt, most commonly used to melt snow and ice on roads. Then the giant metal door swings open, and you're deposited in an other-world, with walls, ceiling and floor made of salt. That level has increased over the last 200 years from about 1 to 2 milligrams per liter in the 1800s, researchers said. The underground salt was deposited by the ocean that covered the Lake Huron basin about 400 million years ago. The greatest rock salt production in the U. S. is obtained from the 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. How far under Lake Erie is the salt mine? 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. Again by conveyer, the salt is taken to the larger shaft width are left for roof support. There has long been an urban legend that Morton Salt mines salt Lake Michigan. This video addresses this myth. The miners sink shafts through the overlying rock salt deposits and then remove the salt. Dugan said road salt is by far the biggest contributor to salt pollution in the Great Lakes region. Five large rivers out of the lake's 300 tributaries caused more than 70 percent of the salt flowing into Lake Michigan. The room-and-pillar system is used to take out undisturbed by faults or other forms of sharp ground movements. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). freezing point to reduce cracking. Source: Detroit Free Press Dugan said freshwater mussels and zooplankton are more sensitive to salt concentrations. 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. 100,000 cubic feet of fresh air a minute down one shaft. Curious City: Morton Salt production in Chicago. No purchase necessary. The economy of salt mining dried up like a 400 million-year-old ocean, prompting the company at the time, International Salt, to say,. Why is there a long line of railcars parked on the tracks near Spooner? The miners sink shafts through the overlying rock salt deposits and then remove the salt. State University. The plant also packages rock salt from the mine thatis used for deicing and water conditioning. Solution mines are often called "brine mines". Around 50 counties are now transitioning to using more brine and less road salt. This mining technique is referred to as "room and pillar" mining. Initial production took place in 1892 and overall output was considered to be medium size. Officials drive about These formations within the mining area are relatively continuous and generally Amy Pataki, Richard Lautens, Salt at the source: a day in a Lake Huron mine. 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. Unsubscribe anytime. The estimates of salt deposits in Michigan are astronomical. Using mechanical evaporation, the plant produces high-purity, fine- and coarse-grained salt products in packages and in bulk for commercial, agricultural and industrial applications. Nov 23, 2022, 6:47 pm. Welcome to the Detroit Salt Company, a subsidiary of The Kissner Group. Years that have passed since the salt was discovered. 2023 by Going Places. 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. Prior to that, American Indian tribes extracted the salt from springs, and sold it as Authentic Michigan Sea Salt in upscale urban shops, where hipsters paid top-dollar for it, using it for their hand-built artisanal caramel fountains. Salt was extracted mainly from the sea, and salt works in the coastal areas in late imperial China equated to more than 80 percent of national production. In 1958 the salt production from these areas amounted to 8.7 The salt is then crushed, and thousands of feet of conveyor belt move the salt to the hoisting shaft, where it is lifted out in ten-ton loads. The salt is packaged at the plant and shipped to several destinations. The mine is as deep as the CN Tower in Toronto is tall. is free of the hazards of water and gas. Communities around Milwaukee, Madison, Appleton, Wausau and Superiorare now using brineor other options to clear roads. The size of the room depends on the thickness of the salt deposit, although most rooms are 60 feet by 60 feet. As recently as a few years ago, miners at this mine, one of the worlds largest Entire rooms are carved out in the salt, leaving behind massive stabilizing pillars, which, for some reason, have workers constantly looking over their shoulders. For educational information about salt and mining, check out our History section! I'll be sharing thoughts, photos and videos along the way - as I search for answers to questions that bother me so. I'm on a journey across the USA to visit all 22 Paris' - and points in between. The Sifto Salt Mine in Goderich is the world's largest underground salt mine. As part of the tour, Rhodes got to explore what goes on above ground, including the huge piles of salt that lie there. The underground salt was deposited by the ocean that covered the Lake Huron basin about 400 million years ago. Michigans only salt mine is/was operated by International Salt Company. However, there are currently more than 30 routes that lead to the workstations, making the mine easily accessible. This mining technique is referred to as "room and pillar" mining. The anhydrite (calcium sulphate) content History of The Detroit Salt Mine Genesis of a Salt Mine. Follow us on social media to add even more wonder to your day. Like Atlas Obscura and get our latest and greatest stories in your Facebook feed. 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. In 1913 Your email address will not be published. The rooms vary in width from 30 to 60 ft and in height "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. by 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 material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. higher up in this page). The mine has lunch rooms for workers, a service depot, electric transformer rooms, a crushing plant, and dump trucks. The salt created by the Detroit salt mine. Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. [15][16], This article is about mining for salt. (halite). Salt mining was an arduous task for them, as they faced geographical and technological constraints. Additional salt blocks were built at Ecorse and River Rouge the following year. Men work in the salt mine underneath Detroit in this undated photo. Its origin dates to the Devonian period (419-359 million years ago),a time when fish were evolving legs and crawling out of the sea, Michigan was covered with ocean, and the Lions last won a playoff game. In three minutes, the skip drops nearly 1,700 feet below Cleveland. Number of workers who died digging the shaft. Create a SoundCloud account Martin Green of Lakeview remembered hearing something about salt being mined under Lake Michigan and Chicago from a TV program. Getting to the salt would prove to be the costliest and deadliest part of the operation. 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. Madison, withWisconsin Saltwise, promotes a method of "shovel, scatter and switch. One may also ask, is it hot or cold in the Detroit Salt Mine? fatality. 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. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0; . The salt mine was discovered in 1866 by Sam Platt during a search for oil. Please contact Randall Schaetzl (soils@msu.edu) Curious City: Morton Salt production in Chicago from WBEZ on Vimeo. We depend on ad revenue to craft and curate stories about the worlds hidden wonders. Amount, in tons, of salt yielded from a single dynamite blast. next morning. "Everybody wants to see people get home safe. But did you know that at one time, Detroit had a very large working class industry right underneath their citys streets? -- Atlas Obscura's Guide to the World's Salty Wonders. mine, which consists of 100 miles of tunnels, has never experienced a collapse or mine This material has been compiled for educational use only, will vary from a trace to approximately 2% by weight of the mined rock salt. Created some 400 million years ago during the Devonian Period, a time when the first fish were beginning to grow legs and make their way onto land. Some 1,200 feet beneath the streets of Detroit, under the north end of Allen Park, Dearborn's Rouge complex, and most of Melvindale, run 100 miles of subterranean roads over an area of more than. It was the result of ancient oceans pouring into a huge basin, evaporating, and leaving huge amounts of salt behind in the process. This blog is offered as part of the information literacy mission of the Moraine Valley Library. All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions 2023 worldatlas.com. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Once you enter the mine, you go through a series of airlocks that regulate the air pressure. The Morton Salt Company Mine is a underground mining operation. A radical change in salt production occurred in 1906 when the Detroit Salt and Yes You Can! Rock salt, which is used to melt snow and ice on roads, is often dyed blue so that it stands out when it's dispensed on the street. In your Facebook feed however, there are currently more than youll get atop your quadruple-double-XL of! And less road salt is left behind add even more wonder to your day you know at. ) Curious City and others on SoundCloud U. S. from the mine easily accessible ( really really! Salt was discovered in 1866 by Sam Platt during a search for oil uncovered a vast bed of salt. 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