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Major Salt Mine Under Lake Erie Resumes Operations

The Cargill Salt Mine under Lake Erie (stock photo by the Ohio DNR)
The Cargill Salt Mine under Lake Erie (stock photo by the Ohio DNR)

Cargill shut down its salt mine a week and a half ago, after an earlier inspection indicated that part of it may have suffered structural damage.

All 100 miners were put on paid leave, as consultants and technicians were brought in from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Cargill spokesman Mark Klein says several sections of the mine have now been shored up with waste rock and salt. He adds that 45 out of the site’s 100 miners are back on the job.

“Now that we’ve looked at a lot more data and had many other people in to advise us, we’re comfortable going back in," says Klein. "The plan is to move slowly and safely initially, and then possibly by next week, have everybody back.”

The Cargill salt mine is a major source of road salt.