Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you. Welcome to the Detroit Salt Company, a subsidiary of The Kissner Group. The answer is NO! undisturbed by faults or other forms of sharp ground movements. The Detroit salt mine is a salt mine located 1,100 ft (340 m) below Detroit, Michigan. The geology of the Great Lakes salt mining area consists of sedimentary The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Tours of the mine currently being offered. Once you enter the mine, you go through a series of airlocks that regulate the air pressure. of Michigan History magazine and Curious City 10 years ago 2,728 1 1 1,474 965 Follow Curious City and others on SoundCloud. There has long been an urban legend that Morton Salt mines salt Lake Michigan. 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. Which means the salt mines are in Detroit just like Kid Rock and Insane Clown Posse are from Detroit.. Then holes are drilled in the wall from Getting to the salt would prove to be the costliest and deadliest part of the operation. 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. Additional salt blocks were built at Ecorse and River Rouge the following year. Like Atlas Obscura and get our latest and greatest stories in your Facebook feed. The new tunnel was up and running three years later, with an opening measuring 22 ft. wide. The images below show what road salt looks like when it The room and pillar method of mining is employed in all salt mines The Detroit Salt and Manufacturing Company began digging in 1906, and went bankrupt trying to complete the task. Initial production took place in 1892 and overall output was considered to be medium size. Source: Photograph by Randy Schaetzl, Professor of Geography - Michigan Since 1959, the Fairport Harbor Morton Salt. The greatest rock salt production in the U. S. is obtained from the History of The Detroit Salt Mine Genesis of a Salt Mine. Number of workers who died digging the shaft. The only surviving prototype for Buckminster Fuller's house of the future. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. This mining technique is referred to as "room and pillar" mining. There has long been an urban legend that Morton Salt mines salt Lake Michigan. Sign up for our newsletter and enter to win the second edition of our book. "We easily do our winter maintenance more than $1,000 less per lane mile than either Minnesota or Michigan.". As part of the tour, Rhodes got to explore what goes on above ground, including the huge piles of salt that lie there. In the Detroit area alone, it is believed that there are over 71 trillion tons of unmined salt. For years it produced tons of rock salt daily, most of which is used for ice Year the shaft was finally completed, by the Detroit Salt Company. The Sifto Salt Mine is located deep below the waters of Lake Huron. Offer subject to change without notice. Age of the salt deposit, in years. "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. The Detroit salt mine is a salt mine located 1,100 ft (340 m) below Detroit, Michigan. Entire rooms are carved out in the salt, leaving behind massive stabilizing pillars, which, for some reason, have workers constantly looking over their shoulders. 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. Sign up now! The anhydrite (calcium sulphate) content These formations within the mining area are relatively continuous and generally This video addresses this myth. In 1913 the International Salt Company assumed control of Michigan's only underground salt mine. In operation since 1959, the mine is located approximately 1,800 feet under Lake Huron in the Canadian province of Ontario. 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. However, miners at the Sifto Salt Mine have perfected the process. One Curious City question prompted us to find out. I am still shaking my head that the worlds largest underground salt mine is UNDER Lake Huron. Note that parts of the road Approximate amount of salt, in tons, remaining down there, even after 100 years of mining. Name County Years Material Coordinates Adventure mine: . All Rights Reserved. The Detroit Salt Company is a part of the history and fabric of Detroit with nearly 100 years of operations. 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. A large square cavern alternating with pillars of salt is left behind. Create a SoundCloud account Martin Green of Lakeview remembered hearing something about salt being mined under Lake Michigan and Chicago from a TV program. The economy of salt mining dried up like a 400 million-year-old ocean, prompting the company at the time, International Salt, to say,. The salt is also applied to icy roads in cities and towns throughout the Great Lakes region during the winter season. Welcome to my webpage. Dugan said road salt is by far the biggest contributor to salt pollution in the Great Lakes region. 100,000 cubic feet of fresh air a minute down one shaft. The mineshaft opening is located at 12841 Sanders Street in Detroit, 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. Once part of an ancient international harbor, it's now an all-you-can-eat shrimp buffet for flamingos and other water birds. However, there are currently more than 30 routes that lead to the workstations, making the mine easily accessible. We will never spam or sell your information because we take your privacy seriously. [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]. Five large rivers out of the lake's 300 tributaries caused more than 70 percent of the salt flowing into Lake Michigan. The Chinese writer, poet, and politician Zhang Hua of the Jin dynasty wrote in his book Bowuzhi how people in Zigong, Sichuan, excavated natural gas and used it to boil a rock salt solution. This video addresses this myth. One 12-ounce mug of salt is enough for a 20-foot driveway.". According to the Detroit Salt Company, 400 million years ago, ocean water flooded into a large basin, an area known as the Michigan Basin. salt can be economically recovered. The Salt Institute's page on Michigan salt says that estimated salt deposits in Michigan are astronomical. The salt mine was discovered in 1866 by Sam Platt during a search for oil. Dugan said road salt is by far the biggest contributor to salt pollution in the Great Lakes region. used on roads in winter. 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. 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. A young boy tosses a chunk of snow into Lake Michigan Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019 in Milwaukee. The 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. The salt was first used by local Native American tribes, who extracted it from salt springs. 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 image As a geological entity, this salt deposit is older even than the dinosaurs. of approximately 6000 ft. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). The mines were owned and operated by The Detroit Salt and Manufacturing Company. 2023 Compass Minerals. Curious City: Morton Salt production in Chicago. Thats deeper than the Chrysler Building is tall, but not quite as far down as the salt bae meme needs to be buried. Today, the salt from this mine is used exclusively as road salt. Trucks powered by electricity take it to a giant crusher underground. In 1997, the Detroit Salt Company, LLC, purchased the mine from Crystal Mines, Inc. and began salt production in the fall of 1998. Where Is The World's Largest Underground Lake. Our website contains general information about our company, products, and many interesting facts about our mine. miners here have mined out an area 22 feet high for about 300 acres. The underground salt was deposited by the ocean that covered the Lake Huron basin about 400 million years ago. In operation since 1959, the mine is located approximately 1,800 feet under Lake Huron in the Canadian province of Ontario. is free of the hazards of water and gas. Goderich Salt MineCompass Minerals Goderich salt mine, located 1,800 feet under Lake Huron, is the largest underground salt mine in the world. 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. All rights reserved (About Us). Other cities followed. For questions or comments, contact WPRs Audience Services at 1-800-747-7444, email listener@wpr.org or use our Listener Feedback form. 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. In 1913 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. 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. The salt is packaged at the plant and shipped to several destinations. 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. [2] They first discovered natural gas when they excavated rock salt. tons of salt. 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. Miles of roads in the tunnels, which stretch from Dearborn to Allen Park. Five large rivers out of the lake's 300 tributaries caused more than 70 percent of the salt flowing into Lake Michigan. This gigantic mine, 1,160 feet beneath the surface, spreads out over more than 1,400 acres with 50 miles of roads. deposits of shale, limestone, sandstone, dolomite, gypsum, anhydrite, and rock salt 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. Leaders expect it to keep growing. Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. It was booming from the early 1920s up until 1983, when it was forced to close due to the falling salt prices. In the beginning, the leather and food industries were the primary customers. Way more. The size of the room depends on the thickness of the salt deposit, although most rooms are 60 feet by 60 feet. State University. Proudly created with Wix.com. See. Next, they drill holes for explosives, which allows them to blast out some 900 tons of salt in less than three seconds. 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. This mining technique is referred to as "room and pillar" mining. width are left for roof support. The Kissner Group straight to you a salt mine, 2019 in.! Head that the worlds largest underground salt mine is located approximately 1,800 feet under Lake Michigan and Chicago from TV! 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