The Detroit salt mine is a salt mine located 1,100 ft (340 m) below Detroit, Michigan.[1] The mine opened in 1910 and covers 1,500 acres (610 ha) underground.[2] In the beginning, the leather and food industries were the primary customers. Today, road deicing salt is the primary product.[3]
Rock salt was discovered in 1895. The Detroit Salt and Manufacturing Company was formed to extract the salt. The company went bankrupt before finishing the shaft down to the salt. A new company was formed and the shaft was completed in 1910.[3] A second larger shaft was completed in 1925. The first shaft was relegated to hauling workers and materials.[3] By the late 1950s, the company operated through both shafts, which are about 1100 feet deep.[4] The mine was closed from 1983 to 1998, when production was restarted to produce road deicing salt.[3] In October 2010, the Detroit Salt Co., LLC, was acquired by the Kissner Group of Canada for an undisclosed price.[5]