A Salty View of the Harbour
If you have ever driven behind a snow plow in a winter storm or de-iced your sidewalk, chances are you were introduced to salt produced from 1,800 feet below Lake Huron at Goderich’s Harbour
Significant supplier of winter road salt
Producing about nine million tons of salt annually, the world’s largest underground salt mine was first discovered in 1837 after an unsuccessful search for oil. Salt from the Goderich mine is primarily used for winter road salt use in Ontario, Quebec and the United States. About 10 percent of output is used for water conditioning and chemical feed stock in communities surrounding the Great Lakes. The salt is transported both by ship and truck and is sold by retailers across North America.
Deep below the depths of Lake Huron
While the blue building across from Goderich’s Main Beach may not look daunting from above the water, its operations stem 1,800 feet under Lake Huron. Its depth equals the height of the CN Tower. The mine extends approximately three kilometers beyond the shoreline and the salt bed itself is about 100 feet thick.
Currently the Salt Mine employs approximately 550 people and is the largest employer to the Town of Goderich. Compass Minerals operates an evaporator plant in the Town of Goderich which employees around 100 people.
While there are no tours offered at the Goderich Salt Mine, you can visit the Huron County Museum to learn more about the contribution of the mine