HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1986-07-16, Page 48A
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COLBORNE TOWNSHIP
CANADA'S MODEL SALT MINE
Recent photo of Sifto Salt Mine and.. Goderich Harbour. '
Sifto Salt Evaporator Plant, located in the
.escarpment of the Maitland River.
Sani Platt started out drilling for oil and wound up starting a salt boom► h.
In 1866, Samuel Platt, the owner of a flour mill in Goderich, Ontario, formed a company to drill for ail. On the outskirts of town, Platt and
his partners bored through many layers of limestone to a depth of"686 feet, but failed to strike oil.
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The company decided to abandon the search. Platt, however, persisted, since both town and county bad offered him a bonus if he drilled to
a depth of 1,000 feet.
At 965 feet his drill struck a bed of clean white rock salt, sixty feet thick.' The canny Mr. Platt continued drilling until the shaft was 1,000
feet deep, and claimed his bonus.
With the money he started a'salt recovery plant which began production in 1867, turning out 100 barrels, or 15 tons, a day. Within six years,
there were twelve different companies in the area, the largest producing 90 tons of salt a day.
In the town of Goderich, today, Mr. Platt's activities, are carried on by the Sifto Salt Division of Domtar Chemicals Group, in two -separate
modern plants. One is a rociesalt mine located in Goderich Harbor a and the other an evaporating plant located on the escarpment of the
Maitland River.' First developed in 1959, today the Sifto Salt mine shafts, surfacejnill and loading facilties are attractively situated on the
site shown above.
fering. access to transportation by road, rail and water, the plant site was:byilt-uplargely from fill, in Goderich Harbor.
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Sifto's first mine shaft is circular, measures 16 feetacross and is completely concrete lined; it extends from the surface down to the bottom
of the salt beds.a distance of 1800 feet; a .second and third shaft are loeatid'within 200 feet. Two shafts are- used for hoisting salt to the
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surface, the third shaft is for ventilation, personnel and equipment ,
Today pure white salt is packaged in a variety of forms, for a variety of applications. Industry;users may require 100 pound paper or plastic
bags while home use may only need a five pound package for an icy sidewalk or •2 Pound slim. for the kitchen cupboard: A combination of
modern production, distribution and packaging methods ensure that there is a grade, grain and size of salt available for every use.
DOMTAR CHEMICALS GROUP
sera sus n;via on
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