May 4, 2021
Cargill shutters Louisiana salt mine
Cargill announced the permanent end of salt production at its mine in Avery Island, La. The company had originally planned to halt hoisting salt from the mine later in 2021 because the lease, with the landowner Avery Island Incc, expires at year-end. However, plans to shutter the facility were accelerated following a fatal accident in December, 2020, where a roof collapsed, killing two workers.
Rob English, president Chemical Solutions and a contributing editor to Snow Magazine says he does not expect the move to have any discernible impact on the deicing market.
"Cargill operates 22 other facilities producing salt," English told Snow Magazine. "While Avery Island is one of three mines dedicated to highway salt, Cargill does not expect any disruptions in supply at this time."
Cargill produces more than 14 million tons of salt annually for food, feed, water softeners, and deicing. The Avery Island mine had been in operation of 150 years.