{"id":1083,"date":"2018-02-06T21:11:00","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T21:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amq-inc.com\/?p=1083"},"modified":"2022-11-15T21:11:47","modified_gmt":"2022-11-15T21:11:47","slug":"mines-seleine-quebecs-only-salt-mine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amq-inc.com\/en\/mines-seleine-quebecs-only-salt-mine\/","title":{"rendered":"Mines Seleine, Qu\u00e9bec’s only salt mine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mines Seleine, a K + S Windsor Salt Ltd.<\/a> property, is located on Grosse-\u00cele in the Magdalen Islands. It is Qu\u00e9bec’s only salt mine.<\/p>\n\n\n

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History<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1972, the Qu\u00e9bec mineral exploration board SOQUEM<\/a> discovered the salt domes on the Magdalen Islands, including the dome on Grosse-\u00cele. There are seven domes in all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the domes, the closest to the surface, is located under Grosse-\u00cele, and rock salt has been mined there since 1982. The salt is used for road de-icing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How were the domes formed?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Magdalen Islands are located at the centre of a vast undersea plateau known as the Magdalen Shallows. A surprising fact is that around 360 million years ago, the plateau was actually situated on the Equator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There, it formed a sunlit valley that was periodically flooded with saltwater from the sea. The strong sunlight caused the water to evaporate, leaving a deposit of salt. Over several million years, hundreds of metres of salt crystals formed, and were then compressed and hardened to form rock salt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the continents drifted apart, the Magdalen Shallows left the Equator and moved to their current position in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is thanks to the buoyancy of the salt domes beneath that the Magdalen Islands emerge from the waters of the St. Lawrence.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mining to a depth of 489 metres<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although the domes are close to the surface, mining takes place underground, at a maximum depth of 489 metres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mines Seleine uses a room-and-pillar mining method, explained below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n