According to the Detroit Salt Company, 400 million years ago, ocean water flooded into a large basin, an area known as the Michigan Basin. Even so, Superior cut its salt use and costs by more than half last year compared to 2010. Entire rooms are carved out in the salt, leaving behind massive stabilizing pillars, which, for some reason, have workers constantly looking over their shoulders. State University 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. miners here have mined out an area 22 feet high for about 300 acres. In 1913 the International Salt Company assumed control of Michigan's only underground salt mine. actually consists of a number of individual salt beds separated by layers of shale, The anhydrite (calcium sulphate) content Stay informed with WPR's email newsletter. It stretches over 1.5 miles wide, 2 miles long, and covers an area of 2.7 million squares miles. The Detroit mine now supplies Michigan and several other states, Other cities followed. 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. Years the salt mine was abandoned, from 1983-1998. Evidently it is the Cargill mine that is the worlds largest. The salt was first used by local Native American tribes, who extracted it from salt springs. Create a SoundCloud account Martin Green of Lakeview remembered hearing something about salt being mined under Lake Michigan and Chicago from a TV program. 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. It was over 1,500 acres big and had over 100 miles of roads making up this underground salt mine. salt is left to form the roof. Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. "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. Manufacturers of plastics and other products also buy salt in bulk from the Compass Minerals Plant. Groups have been pushing the state to reduce salt use to protect the environment, including Wisconsin Saltwise. from C.M. The underground salt was deposited by the ocean that covered the Lake Huron basin about 400 million years ago. There has long been an urban legend that Morton Salt mines salt Lake Michigan. Tours of the mine currently being offered. In 1958 the salt production from these areas amounted to 8.7 Source: Photograph by Randy Schaetzl, Professor of Geography - Michigan Miles of roads in the tunnels, which stretch from Dearborn to Allen Park. 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. 100,000 cubic feet of fresh air a minute down one shaft. : 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. 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 Detroit salt mine is a salt mine located 1,100 ft (340 m) below Detroit, Michigan. Oil drillers accidentally discovered the deposit in the 1860's. Curious City: Morton Salt production in Chicago from WBEZ on Vimeo. 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. 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. It is the Detroit Salt Mine, and, as a Detroit industry, it is older than automobiles. Officials drive about The size of the room depends on the thickness of the salt deposit, although most rooms are 60 feet by 60 feet. Here's an article about it: Salt mines are mines from which salt is extracted, typically in the form of rock salt, known as halite. [15][16], This article is about mining for salt. 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. 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). But like much of Michigans mineral wealth, only a fraction of this Manufacturing Company started sinking a shaft for underground mining of rock salt. 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. The answer is NO! 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. 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. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0; . "There's a tremendous amount of salt going into the lake each year," said Dugan. 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. [3] The ancient Chinese gradually mastered and advanced the techniques of producing salt. Virtually every city, county, and municipality has a storehouse of Michigan salt, to be Your email address will not be published. Lake Erie is a geological newcomer compared to the salt buried below it. The U.S. salt bed map (Courtesy photo | U.S. Dept. Follow us on social media to add even more wonder to your day. Reduced in size, the product is taken by conveyer to an underground screening plant where Search for owners by first name, last name, company, location, etc. The Morton Salt Company Mine is near Oak Hill, Michigan. A large square cavern alternating with pillars of salt is left behind. Why is there a long line of railcars parked on the tracks near Spooner? 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. Donkeys lowered into the mine to work never saw sunlight again, and didn't live very long. Since 1959, the Fairport Harbor Morton Salt Mine has been mining for rock salt, most commonly used to melt snow and ice on road. 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 maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions 2023 worldatlas.com. The Salina Group It stretches over 1.5 miles wide, 2 miles long, and covers an area of 2.7 million squares miles. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Keep updated on the latest news and information. Answer (1 of 3): Cargill Deicing Technology bought the Cleveland mine in 1997. Generally speaking, the absence of gas, water, excessive Our website contains general information about our company, products, and many interesting facts about our mine. The plant also packages rock salt from the mine thatis used for deicing and water conditioning. (1964). Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you. Mining Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month. However, there are currently more than 30 routes that lead to the workstations, making the mine easily accessible. undisturbed by faults or other forms of sharp ground movements. The room-and-pillar system is used to take out 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. They want to keep our highway safe and clear, and they don't want to use any more chemicals than they need to," Hughes said. It was booming from the early 1920s up until 1983, when it was forced to close due to the falling salt prices. "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. Detroit had a very large salt mine that was basically an underground industry underneath their city. An exploratory drilling exercise miscalculates the location of a salt mine while drilling through a lake bed. Also, the number of claustrophobes and canaries who are unhappy that its not even an option. Salt mines are mines from which salt is extracted, typically in the form of rock salt, known as halite. By State. This mine stretches from Dearborn all the way to Allen Park. width are left for roof support. Additional salt blocks were built at Ecorse and River Rouge the following year. All rights reserved (About Us). Compass Minerals' Goderich salt mine, located 1,800 feet under Lake Huron, is the largest underground salt mine in the world. 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. 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. Detroit had a very large salt mine that was basically an underground industry underneath their city. 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. This army of concretions is an unexplained geological phenomenon unlike anything else in the world. Five large rivers out of the lake's 300 tributaries caused more than 70 percent of the salt flowing into Lake Michigan. Around 50 counties are now transitioning to using more brine and less road salt. Country Site(s) Austria: Hallstatt and Salzkammergut. State University. AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. A sealed test tube said to hold Thomas Edison's dying breath was given to the inventor's friend and mentee, Henry Ford. is crushed into a form that is "road ready". 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