Here are the Detroit salt mines, by the (really, really big)numbers. Like Atlas Obscura and get our latest and greatest stories in your Facebook feed. Your email address will not be published. Years the salt mine was abandoned, from 1983-1998. [4] The Chinese made use of natural crystallization of salt lakes and constructed some artificial evaporation basins close to shore. An exploratory drilling exercise miscalculates the location of a salt mine while drilling through a lake bed. uses include the tons mixed with road bases to make for greater density and lower the Proudly created with. 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. Year digging of a second shaft began. Geological studies estimate that 55 counties of the Lower Peninsula cover 30,000 trillion tons of salt. rock salt Unlike coal mining, salt mining is less dangerous since extracting rock salt requires less combustion. In the mine, the temperature is between 56 and 60 degrees in all season. Best Answer. 2010-10-23 03:07:21. Please contact Randall Schaetzl (soils@msu.edu) Wiki User. area: 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. meter in height. Other cities followed. width are left for roof support. 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). History of The Detroit Salt Mine Genesis of a Salt Mine. 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. Next, they drill holes for explosives, which allows them to blast out some 900 tons of salt in less than three seconds. Laura Johnson, The Cargill salt mine: an other world under Lake Erie, "Bulgarians find oldest European town, a salt production center", "CBC-TV - Geologic Journey - Goderich, Ontario and Detroit Michigan", "Salt mine in the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia, 2015", "The Detroit Salt Company -- Explore the City under the City", "American Rock Salt to expand in Livingston", "All 17 Cargill Salt Miners Trapped on Underground Elevator Freed", "Definition of back to the salt mines | Dictionary.com", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Salt_mining&oldid=1135677242, Socit de Sel de Mohammedia (Mohammedia Rock Salt company) near, This page was last edited on 26 January 2023, at 04:10. The anhydrite (calcium sulphate) content sends the wall of salt crumbling down. No purchase necessary. by of Michigan History magazine and The estimates of salt deposits in Michigan are astronomical. Year the shaft was finally completed, by the Detroit Salt Company. Age of the salt deposit, in years. the International Salt Company assumed control of Michigans only underground salt The U.S. salt bed map (Courtesy photo | U.S. Dept. "It's good to know that what we're seeing is not catastrophic by any means, but we should be aware that it is increasing," said Dugan. It has operated since 1959 and was acquired by Compass Minerals in 1990. The mine opened in 1910 and covers 1,500 acres (610 ha) underground. salt can be economically recovered. The Sifto Salt Mine is located deep below the waters of Lake Huron. million tons or 35% of the combined total produced in the U. S. and Canada. The biggest development in the industry in recent years is increased State University The salt mine was discovered in 1866 by Sam Platt during a search for oil. Davis Readings in the Geography of Michigan mine. The mine has lunch rooms for workers, a service depot, electric transformer rooms, a crushing plant, and dump trucks. Miners rode down to the mine smushed face to face in a tiny elevator. This mine stretches from Dearborn all the way to Allen Park. Detroit had a very large salt mine that was basically an underground industry underneath their city. The economy of salt mining dried up like a 400 million-year-old ocean, prompting the company at the time, International Salt, to say, Na. Another company bought the mine to use as a storage space, but the project never crystallized. is crushed into a form that is "road ready". However, miners at the Sifto Salt Mine have perfected the process. An enchanting natural wonder in Puerto Rico's Camuy River Park. vertical distance below the surface. 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. Morton Salt Mine runs about 3 miles (4.8 km) under Lake Erie. The Miles of roads in the tunnels, which stretch from Dearborn to Allen Park. Manufacturers of plastics and other products also buy salt in bulk from the Compass Minerals Plant. It was over 1,500 acres big and had over 100 miles of roads making up this underground salt mine. or less to several inches. salt is left to form the roof. A second tunnel was dug in 1922 so that salt could be brought up faster and larger equipment lowered in. In the Detroit area alone, it is believed that there are over 71 trillion tons of unmined salt. fatality. This variation in depth is in part attributed to a gradual The mine itself is a relatively clean and spacious place to work, as far as mines go. Since 1959, the Fairport Harbor Morton Salt. The Detroit salt mine is a salt mine located 1,100 ft (340 m) below Detroit, Michigan. Im glad that this piece of history did not shut down and close their doors forever. It has operated since 1959 and was acquired by Compass Minerals in 1990. control. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). Fresh air from the su. 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. in Michigan, Ohio, and Ontario. "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. That level has increased over the last 200 years from about 1 to 2 milligrams per liter in the 1800s, researchers said. of approximately 6000 ft. 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. The Sifto Salt Mine is located deep below the waters of Lake Huron. Way more. Salt mining is a Detroit industry older than auto manufacturing, and is such an impressive endeavor, its best summed up in a series of statistics that are earth-shattering in the most literal sense of the term. [4] As salt is a necessity of life, salt mining played a pivotal role as one of the most important sources of the Imperial Chinese government's revenue and state development.[4]. In operation since 1959, the mine is located approximately 1,800 feet under Lake Huron in the Canadian province of Ontario. next morning. Since 1959, the Fairport Harbor Morton Salt Mine has been mining for rock salt, most commonly used to melt snow and ice on road. Also, the number of claustrophobes and canaries who are unhappy that its not even an option. The salt is packaged at the plant and shipped to several destinations. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month. (halite). Follow us on social media to add even more wonder to your day. Geological studies estimate that 55 counties of the Lower Peninsula cover 30,000 trillion Offer subject to change without notice. Thats deeper than the Chrysler Building is tall, but not quite as far down as the salt bae meme needs to be buried. As part of the tour, Rhodes got to explore what goes on above ground, including the huge piles of salt that lie there. Your email address will not be published. The salt is packaged at the plant and shipped to several destinations. In 1997, the Detroit Salt Company, LLC, purchased the mine from Crystal Mines, Inc. and began salt production in the fall of 1998. The mineshaft opening is located at 12841 Sanders Street in Detroit, Michigan. Public tours are currently unavailable. 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. Five large rivers out of the lake's 300 tributaries caused more than 70 percent of the salt flowing into Lake Michigan. Michigan, Ohio, and Ontario. 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. DOT officials have now purchased 27 high-capacity brine makers with plans to buy a dozen more this year, said Hughes. A large square cavern alternating with pillars of salt is left behind. There is it is a salt mine. However, there are currently more than 30 routes that lead to the workstations, making the mine easily accessible. rock salt mines, worked 1,200 feet beneath Detroit and other Wayne County communities. This material has been compiled for educational use only, Yes You Can! Levels of roughly 250 milligrams per liter have been known to affect the taste of drinking water and harm freshwater organisms. 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. Years the salt mine was abandoned, from 1983-1998. Last year, the state used a record 11.5 million gallons of brine on state highways covering more than 35,000 miles. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. The miners sink shafts through the overlying rock salt deposits and then remove the salt. higher up in this page). Today, the salt from this mine is used exclusively as road salt. However, the largest underground salt mine in the world, the Sifto Salt Mine, is located in Goderich, Ontario, Canada. 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. 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. See. A sealed test tube said to hold Thomas Edison's dying breath was given to the inventor's friend and mentee, Henry Ford. 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