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“You know when you are in NS when you see people shovelling snow, in the rain.”

The weather this winter across the East Coast has been all over the place but isn’t that typical? From strong winds, rain, ice, sun, mild and cold temperatures to snowstorms. We’ve seen it all.

On the days Mother Nature has sent us snow or rain, followed by a temperature drop, we are always grateful to see the salt trucks on the road, helping us to reach our destination safely.

“You don’t really think of where that salt came from, as you see the truck, spreading it across the highway, or what was involved in getting it there. Same as when you stop by Canadian Tire, to grab one of those yellow bags (of salt) for your driveway,” says John Mattatall (Class of ’13 & ‘16).

Thanks to John’s career, he knows.  

In fact, if you live in NS it doesn’t come far. The bulk salt spread on highways and roads in the East Coast, as well as the 10, 20 and 40 kilogram bags of “Safe T Salt” purchased at your local grocery store or Canadian Tire, all come from Windsor Salt Ltd, in Pugwash, NS. Or commonly referred to as 'the salt mine', by locals – one of the only underground mines in our province.

But John didn’t always know that.  

“I grew- up in Pugwash and drove by the salt mine everyday, on my way to high school,” he says. “I didn’t think of what happened inside or even consider it as a career option.”   

For John, it was actually far from a career option as he considered competitive figure skating after high school. It wasn’t until his late 20s that he decided to attend NSAC (just as it was merging with Dalhousie University) to work towards his engineering degree.

“Coming in as a mature student was intimidating because I had been out of school for so long,” John reflects. “The small class sizes and approachable professors at AC definitely helped."

Toward the end of his degree, John completed two back-to-back co-op positions with Windsor Salt. When a full-time engineering position opened a few months after graduation, John applied.

“I was pretty fortunate,” he says. “When I graduated, it was a real low employment time in engineering. There were 75 of us looking for work in this sector.”

On top of being close to home, John loves the versatility that comes with being a mine engineer at Windsor Salt.

“I’m part of a team responsible for the short-term and medium-term planning of all mining processes,” says John. “We are also responsible for different government regulations, ventilation, ground control program and different processes for the safety of the mine, the employees and the mine's operations.”

While some of John’s work is done in his office, on ground level, he also finds himself underground, in the mine, regularly.

“Some people can’t imagine going underground,” he says. “But I always tell people if you can ride in an elevator, you can go underground.” He also has a good analogy to describe the underground experience. “Imagine being in downtown Halifax, on Barrington Street, on a foggy night. That’s what it looks like when you get off the skip.”

It’s just that you may be going a little further than the average elevator ride - about 830 feet below ground level, to be exact.

When the salt mine opened in 1959, workers were mining 630 feet, below surface. Over the years, they gradually worked down to new levels. In 2017, they began mining at 1,300 feet – the sixth level, where they will be able to mine for about another 12 years. In the meantime, they are also beginning work on the next level, which should be starting in the next two years.

“When you step of the skip (or, elevator), it just like an intersection with roads in various directions, trucks and other machines driving around, conveyors and other equipment,” describes John. “There’s over 70 kilometers of roadway, the streets are 54 feet wide and the ceilings are 30 feet high, in some areas, 60 in others. You don’t really realize how far underground you are.”

When underground, John investigates different mining sites, evaluates and looks at stockpiles. “We always have to consider what product we have stockpiled and what we have to sell so we can keep up with the markets.”

In addition to the miners, mechanics work underground along with electricians and engineers, like John.

“As far as the majority of mining products, salt is one of the easier products to mine,” he says. The salt travels back up one of the two skips, which move simultaneously hoisting salt to the surface to be processed further into road salt by the mill. “There is a milling process, which makes it appear very complex as the pieces of rock salt go through screens and crushers to separate into different grades, appropriate for our customers.”

In the winter and fall, the finished product is distributed by truck and from spring to winter, it travels by boat, taking salt across the East Coast – all to help keep travellers and residents safer.

“We’re always trying to improve our processes, keep production efficient and satisfy our customers,” adds John.

Learn more about Engineering at the Faculty of Agriculture