AV俱乐部

鈥�You know when you are in NS when you see people shovelling snow, in the rain.鈥�

The weather this winter across the East Coast has been all over the place but isn鈥檛 that typical? From strong winds, rain, ice, sun, mild and cold temperatures to snowstorms. We鈥檝e 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.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 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,鈥� says John Mattatall (Class of 鈥�13 & 鈥�16).

Thanks to John鈥檚 career, he knows. 聽

In fact, if you live in NS it doesn鈥檛 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 鈥�Safe T Salt鈥� 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 鈥� one of the only underground mines in our province.

But John didn鈥檛 always know that. 聽

鈥淚 grew- up in Pugwash and drove by the salt mine everyday, on my way to high school,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think of what happened inside or even consider it as a career option.鈥澛� 聽

For John, it was actually far from a career option as he considered competitive figure skating after high school. It wasn鈥檛 until his late 20s that he decided to attend NSAC (just as it was merging with AV俱乐部) to work towards his engineering degree.

鈥淐oming in as a mature student was intimidating because I had been out of school for so long,鈥� John reflects. 鈥淭he 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.

鈥淚 was pretty fortunate,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hen I graduated, it was a real low employment time in engineering. There were 75 of us looking for work in this sector.鈥�

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

鈥淚鈥檓 part of a team responsible for the short-term and medium-term planning of all mining processes,鈥� says John. 鈥淲e 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.鈥�

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

鈥淪ome people can鈥檛 imagine going underground,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut I always tell people if you can ride in an elevator, you can go underground.鈥� He also has a good analogy to describe the underground experience. 鈥淚magine being in downtown Halifax, on Barrington Street, on a foggy night. That鈥檚 what it looks like when you get off the skip.鈥�

It鈥檚 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 鈥� 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.

鈥淲hen 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,鈥� describes John. 鈥淭here鈥檚 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鈥檛 really realize how far underground you are.鈥�

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

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

鈥淎s far as the majority of mining products, salt is one of the easier products to mine,鈥� 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. 鈥淭here 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.鈥�

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 鈥� all to help keep travellers and residents safer.

鈥淲e鈥檙e always trying to improve our processes, keep production efficient and satisfy our customers,鈥� adds John.

Learn more about Engineering at the Faculty of Agriculture