Audio Postcard

Audio Postcard: Salt Mine

KMUW | By Jonathan Huber

Published December 5, 2017 at 1:00 AM CST

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The entrance to the shaft of the Hutchinson Salt Co. Salt, people, and equipment are vertically moved more than 650 feet in about 75 seconds.

Jonathan Huber

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This machine makes a 12 foot “undercut” on the mine face.";s:

Jonathan Huber

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The undercut is made.

Jonathan Huber

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This 12 foot chainsaw makes the cut along the floor of the mine face. Another machine drills holes which are filled with explosives. Anywhere from six to ten “rooms” are blasted each day.";s:

Jonathan Huber

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A flattened front-end loader moves blasted salt material from the mine face to a series of crushers and conveyor belts – over three miles of conveyor belts moves the salt from the mine face to the shaft of the mine.";

Jonathan Huber

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Five tons of salt is hoisted up the shaft of the mine every 75 seconds. It takes about 40 minutes for salt to be moved through various crushers and sifters, and three miles of conveyor belts, before it is taken up to the surface.

Jonathan Huber

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Most trash is left in the mine. Every vehicle and piece of equipment is disassembled on the surface so it can fit on the hoist, and then reassembled once it’s in the mine. This equipment is from when the mine still operated a rail system to transport mine";

Jonathan Huber

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The Carey Salt Company began mining this area in 1923. The Hutchinson Salt Company was formed in 1990 and purchased the mine.

Jonathan Huber

Have you ever wondered how salt gets from 650 feet underground to icy roadways during winters? In this Audio Postcard, KMUW’s Jonathan Huber takes a trip to the massive underground caverns of the Hutchinson Salt Company, where General Manager Jim Barta explains how the salt goes from rock to road.

And here's some video Jonathan captured in the mine.