Almost World's largest salt mine is under Lake Erie at Cleveland, OH

Both Cargill and Morton have salt mines under Lake Erie. Evidently it is the Cargill mine that is the worlds largest.
(Satellite)

Street View, Jul 2021

Street View, Aug 2019

The Sifto salt mine in Goderich, ON, is the world's largest underground salt mine.

They mine under the lake because then they have to deal with only one land owner, Ohio State.

Ben H

The working face of the Morton mine is three miles under the lake and 2000' under. It produces 1.3m tons/year. Most of it is used to de-ice roads. They have retired the continuous mining machines. They now bore 23' holes for explosives and use huge front loaders to carry the salt-rock chunks to a crusher. The crushed salt is conveyed to an elevator. [Wired] Judging from the satellite image, there are loading facilities for both rail cars and ships.

Mining #Shorts posted

Far beneath Cleveland and the cold waters of Lake Erie sits one of America's most unusual mining operations.

The Whiskey Island mine isn't a coal mine at all, despite the industrial landscape surrounding it. It's a giant underground salt operation located nearly 1,800 feet below the surface, extending for miles beneath Lake Erie itself.

The mine opened in 1962 under International Salt before later becoming part of Cargill's mining business. Today, it remains one of the largest salt mines in the world and one of the most important suppliers of road salt across the Great Lakes and Northeast regions during winter storms.

Down underground, miners work inside enormous white tunnels carved into ancient halite deposits formed roughly 440 million years ago, back when a prehistoric inland sea covered much of the region. Massive drilling and blasting operations remove millions of tons of salt every year, with production commonly estimated between 3 and 4 million tons annually.

What's fascinating is the location itself.

Whiskey Island was once one of Cleveland's busiest industrial zones, handling huge quantities of iron ore, coal and limestone feeding the city's steel industry. Giant Hulett unloaders dominated the waterfront for decades before Cleveland's industrial decline reshaped the area.

Yet underneath all that history, mining never stopped.

Even today, miners still head underground daily beneath Lake Erie, extracting the salt that keeps roads operational across America's snowbelt every winter.

Michael Clift: As Federal Mine Inspector with MSHA, I inspected this mine as a rotation with the other Ohio inspectors in my duty station. It was inspected 4 times a year. This along with Morton Salt at Mentor/Painesville and the numerous other underground limestone mines. Quite a sight to see and experience to be in the mines. Many hardworking and good men and women. It was a privilege to assist in safeguarding their workplaces!

David Lee: I remember a Cat 938 wheel loader coming from the salt mine under Lake Erie after yrs. Of service. The loader still looked relatively good when brought in to the yard and I wondered why it was not reused. Older mechanic told me to wait and watch for a few weeks. It literally turned to rust, paint disappeared almost totally, truly amazing. As long as kept underground they are fine, as soon as the outside air and rain hit, gone.

Michael Clift: David Lee Absolutely!!! The machinery would actually rust before your eyes when subjected to the surface after years underground. One July a front end loader was brought out and in the humid air it actually sounded like rice crispies crackling .

David Lee: Michael Clift yeah, unless you actually see it, it's hard to explain, the salt must permeate the metal over time. Under ground, no problem, above ground, scrap. I like the Rice Crispies analogy. 👍

A map of the salt deposit illustrates why there are multiple salt mines along the Great Lakes.

Pinterest and Yahoo

I learned about the "world's largest salt mine" from this post.

Tim Carson shared
Keith Diver Brown The largest salt mine in the world. [The blog comment is correct: Goderich has the largest. Thus I added "almost" to the title.]
Gary Wagner post
Dropped down a 250' hole then backed down a tunnel under Lake Erie 2 miles for 9 yds of grout.
Gary Wagner They dropped me down in a man cage after the mixer...They told me to keep backing up till you see something....
Rob McIntosh Hazard pay?
Gary Wagner We're mixer drivers Rob. Everyday is a hazard!
Randy Jongsma Any of you guys been on a barge in the water or ride the train in a mixer?
Chuck Gould Randy Jongsma train
Gary Wagner Yeah, Rode one out to Kelly's Island on lake erie in mid april.....too cold for this old duff!
[7 years ago]

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Cleaveland

They do have leaks, but it is from aquifers, not the lake. The mine closed in 2013 because they detected movements of a few hundredths of an inch in the height of some of the tunnels. [Cleaveland] It remained closed for four years. I could not find anything about what they did to fix the problem.

Bill Kloss posted three photos with the comment: "Interlake's newbuild Mark W. Barker loading salt in Cleveland.    8/12/2022"

Stephen Parker: Any idea where they are taking it to?

Justin Olsen: Stephen Parker Green Bay

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It didn't take long to get to Green Bay.Jacky Pierce-Breech shared

Chuck Zentmeyer posted
Mark Barker in Green Bay shortly after it started discharging salt.
Terri Moore: Salt? Already? Planning on a short career?
Dave Nobbe: Salt Yes, short career no. It can handle a variety of cargoes but It was designed and built to handle a salt contract ...note the seventh paragraph..
 https://doorcountypulse.com/mark-barker-the-ship-named.../

1 of 5 photos posted by Lance Aerial Media
The Mark Barker filling up with Salt today at Cargill