Utah
Redmond salt mine supplies Utah’s roads and chef’s kitchens
Estimated learn time: 3-4 minutes
REDMOND, Sevier County — It is all proper there. The partitions, the ceiling, even the bottom. Nothing however salt.
“There aren’t very many salt mines like this,” Zac Clayson stated. He’s on the commercial group at Redmond Minerals and offers with product orders, emails and cellphone calls on a regular basis.
Nevertheless, there’s a huge smile on his face when he takes individuals into the salt mine to indicate them how this huge central Utah operation works.
The deepest a part of the salt mine is about 900 toes underground.
“You’ll be able to see the totally different rocks, just about, these veins that come out,” he stated whereas pointing at a big salt wall together with his flashlight.
Redmond Minerals, which is simply exterior the city of Redmond, in Sevier County, has achieved very properly grinding these rocks into every kind of salt. The corporate is well-known for its agricultural salt, together with salt licks for animals and, particularly, its all-natural meals salt.
“Cooks (and bakers) everywhere in the world will use our salt,” Clayson stated.
Most of Redmond’s efforts, although, are to supply salt for icy roads within the winter.
“We ship highway salt everywhere in the western United States by truck, by practice,” Clayson stated.
Redmond’s salt is properly favored by winter climate states, too, due to its pure calcium and magnesium content material.
Clayson stated Redmond’s salt melts ice when temperatures get all the way down to about 0 levels, the place most different sodium chloride salts cease melting ice when temperatures get to about 20 levels.
“Our product is a high-performing salt,” he stated.
One in every of Redmond’s largest clients is the state of Utah, the place it has been fairly the winter season up to now. The Utah Division of Transportation makes use of a number of distributors for its statewide provide of salt.
Final 12 months, the state transportation division bought 28% of its provide from Redmond Minerals. Retaining the roads clear is one thing of which the Redmond group is kind of proud.
“In Utah, they’re known as the Utah snow fighters,” Clayson stated. “Whether or not it is the miners or the drivers, their objective is to verify the roads are protected. All of us have household on these roads. We do not need accidents on the highway. We do not need a faculty bus sliding off the highway.”
Mining salt at Redmond Minerals is a year-round operation. Salt is saved in massive piles simply exterior the opening of the mine till it’s wanted on the roads. As Utah retains getting snowstorms, requires extra salt preserve coming in.
“I had a name this morning from a shed due to the storms final evening,” stated Clayson. “They labored via the evening, they have been nearly out of salt.”
Vans have been lined up Wednesday to make deliveries — to the tune of 6,000 tons of salt.
He additionally is aware of extra snowstorms are on the way in which.
So does his group.
“As a Utah snow fighter, these guys know they’re on name to verify all people can get to the place they should go,” he stated. “Our objective is to do our half to assist preserve the roads clear.”