Councillors vote in favour of helping Windsor Salt expansion plans

Windsor Salt will work with the city on its expansion plans to ensure residents aren't being disrupted.

On Monday, council unanimously passed a motion to work with the company, which is looking to access further reserves under city and provincial lands.

Windsor Salt has been operating in the area for more than a century and its evaporation plant pulls salt from the ground underneath MicMac and Malden Parks. It also operates in various spots in Windsor, LaSalle and under the Detroit River. 

But general manager of the Ojibway Mine Pierre Girard says the reserves the company pulls from will be tapped out within the next 10 years. 

Ward 5 Counc. Ed Sleiman and Ward 9 Counc. Kieran McKenzie inquired about the safety and environmental impact, including sinkholes and contamination of the water supply.

In response, Girard said the use of sonar technology and mechanical integrity testing help them ensure their mining is done "safely, sustainably and reliably." 

Girard said the area is also uniquely set up to make sure pulling salt from the ground can be done safely. 

"We are very, very blessed. One of the reasons we've been so successful here in Windsor is because the geology is excellent. The ground is very stable and we don't have a lot of issues," Girard said. 

"It is very rare that you find a mine that has as good, either at the evaporative point or at the underground mine, that has as good an underground condition as we do here."

Council also added an amendment to the motion that says any issue requiring approval must come back to council to ensure oversight. 

Windsor Salt and city council agreed this will be a lengthy process, meaning it will be months before a detailed expansion plan is put forward. 

"We need to do this carefully, we need to do this thoughtfully," Girard said, adding that they will get the proper licensing to move forward. 

"We want to be transparent, very clear as to where we're going."