Comments on: There's a world going on, underground.

There's a world going on, underground.

Capn — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 10:18:58 -0800

Detroit: city of auto manufacture, crime, Motown and... mining? Take this with a grain of salt, but beneath the city of Detroit Michigan, there is a vast underground mine.

By: Oriole Adams

Oriole Adams — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 10:28:59 -0800

Interesting post! Our class took a field trip to the salt mine when I was in the third grade; I'd almost forgotten about it.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 10:37:14 -0800

Our class took a field trip to the salt mine That sounds like something out of a Soviet propoganda film. "Ve too zee children to za salt mines...."

By: 327.ca

327.ca — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 10:38:12 -0800

Workers and equipment were lowered 1,200 feet through a 5-by-6-foot shaft. People came up at the end of their shifts; in the early days, mules went below and didn't resurface until they died. Hmmm... That's vivid.

By: Capn

Capn — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 10:41:14 -0800

in the early days, mules went below and didn't resurface until they died. The workers did a brisk clandestine side business in pre-salt-preserved donkey meat after hours too* *Not true.

By: naturesgreatestmiracle

naturesgreatestmiracle — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 10:50:16 -0800

I remember going on a tour of the mine when I was about 12, just before it closed. Very cool. I didn't realize it was open again.

By: DrJohnEvans

DrJohnEvans — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 10:55:56 -0800

Wonderful pictures.

By: HuronBob

HuronBob — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 11:00:34 -0800

The mine is still operating, and causing problems for those on the surface.

By: revgeorge

revgeorge — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 11:43:08 -0800

The mines are open again, but the tours aren't. Too bad, I was kind of excited about seeing the mines.

By: joe lisboa

joe lisboa — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 13:20:56 -0800

Well, just like that my tune Detroit Mining Disaster [MP3] goes from wry scene commentary to quasi-historical narrative. Thanks for the link(s)!

By: livii

livii — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 15:43:19 -0800

Great post - I had no idea this existed. Really fascinating! I'm sort of on a Detroit kick right now, after reading a great article in the Globe and Mail on it, and then researching their transit system. Funny that it could have a massive salt mine under it and I didn't know about it. Wish the mine was still open for tours, because I would love to visit it.

By: pmurray63

pmurray63 — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 20:06:15 -0800

You can see the salt any winter -- we dig it out and spread it on the roads to melt ice (it also eats cars, which isn't necessarily bad for us if you think about it).

By: NortonDC

NortonDC — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 21:12:26 -0800

*cough*

By: Capn

Capn — Tue, 05 Apr 2005 11:21:47 -0800

Sorry NortonDC, I searched for "salt" but that returned too many threads, so I tried "detroit salt" and that returned nothing and thus I thought I was safe.