Retsof Mine

Producer in Livingston county in New York, United States with commodities Halite, Gypsum-Anhydrite, Potassium
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Materials information
  7. Host and associated rocks
  8. Nearby scientific data
  9. Geologic structures
  10. Ore body information
  11. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  12. Land status
  13. Ownership information
  14. Workings at the site
  15. Links to other databases
  16. Bibliographic references
  17. General comments
  18. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10022431
MRDS ID DE02781
Record type Site
Current site name Retsof Mine
Alternate or previous names Azko Nobel Retsof Mine, International Salt Mine

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -77.85801, 42.77805 (WGS84)
Location accuracy 250(meters)
Relative position LOCATED AT RETSOF, NEAR GENESEE, 25 MILES SW OF ROCHESTER AND 60 MILES E OF BUFFALO., Estimated Location, Within 500 Ft Of A Head Frame For The Mine Which Underlies An Extensive Area (Approximately 18 Sq Miles).

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Livingston(county)

New York(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Geneseo(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Canandaigua(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Elmira(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Lower Genesee(hydrologic unit)

Southwestern Lake Ontario(hydrologic accounting unit)

Southwestern Lake Ontario(hydrologic subregion)

Great Lakes(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States New York Livingston

Comments on the location information

  • IN THE HEART OF THE GENESEE RIVER VALLEY.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Halite Primary
Gypsum-Anhydrite Tertiary
Potassium Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Halite Ore
Anhydrite Gangue
Chlorite Gangue
Dolomite Gangue
Gypsum Gangue
Illite Gangue
Serpentine Gangue
Talc Gangue

Analytical data

Result CRUDE ROCK SLAT CONTAINS 96-98% NACL. IN PLACES, THE SALT ALSO CONTAINS SMALL AMOUNTS OF POTASH SALTS AND CARBONACEOUS MATTER.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale
    Rock unit name Syracuse Formation (Vernon)
    Rock description Syracuse Formation (Vernon)
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Silurian
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Late Silurian
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate > Limestone
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Chemical Sediment > Evaporite

Nearby scientific data

(1) -77.85801, 42.77805

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Salina Basin

Ore body information

  • General form BEDDED
    Thickness 5.49M
    Depth to top 324M

Comments on the geologic information

  • THE SYRACUSE FM IS PART OF THE SALINA BASIN SEDIMENTS WHICH EXTEND THROUGH OHIO, NEW YORK, MICHIGAN, WEST VIRGINIA, AND SOUTHERN ONTARIO.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Non-metallic
Deposit size Large
Significant No
Year of first production 1884

Land status

Ownership category Private

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Akzo Salt Inc. (International Salt Co.)
    First year 1986

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Area 4662HA

Comments on the workings information

  • MINED BY ROOM AND PILLAR METHOD. MAJOR WORKINGS COLLAPSED IN THE SPRING OF 1994--SEE GENERAL COMMENTS.

Comments on development

  • EMPIRE SALT COMPANY BEGAN DIGGING THE ORIGINAL SHAFT FOR THIS MINE IN 1884 (SEE RECORD W020564). ; ECON.COM: THIS MINE IS REPUTEDLY THE LARGEST SALT MINE IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE, 3 DIFFERENT TOWNS SIT ABOVE THE WORKINGS. IN 1990, THE PLANT CAPACITY HERE WAS 4 MILLION ST/YEAR.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    BATES, R.L., 1960 (1969), GEOLOGY OF THE INDUSTRIAL ROCKS AND MINERALS: NEW YORK, DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC., 459 P.

  • Deposit

    HARBEN, P.W., AND BATES, R.L., 1990, SALT, IN INDUSTRIAL MINERALS GEOLOGY AND WORLD DEPOSITS: LONDON, INDUSTRIAL MINERALS DIVISION METAL BULLETIN PLC, P. 229-234.

  • Deposit

    DICKSON, TED, 1983, NORTH AMERICAN SALT AND CHLORALKALIS: INDUSTRIAL MINERALS, NO. 188, P. 21-33.

  • Deposit

    BENBOW, JOHN, 1990, SALT--A STATUS REPORT: INDUSTRIAL MINERALS, NO. 271, P. 19-33.

  • Deposit

    HARBEN, PETER, 1986, NEW YORK'S INDUSTRIAL MINERALS: INDUSTRIAL MINERALS, NO. 225, P. 50-63.

  • Deposit

    BODINE, M.W., JR., 1968, EQUILIBRIA OF SILICATE ASSEMBLAGES WITHIN NEW YORK MARINE EVAPORITE ROCKS: AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION, ANNUAL MEETING, WASHINGTON, D.C., 5 P.

  • Deposit

    BODINE, M.W., JR., 1983, NOTES ON THE CLAY MINERALOGY OF THE RETSOF SALT BED, INTERNATIONAL SALT COMPANY MINE, RETSOF, NEW YORK: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OPEN-FILE REPORT 83-718, 11P.

  • Deposit

    BODINE, M.W., JR., 1983, TRIOCTAHEDRAL CLAY MINERAL ASSEMBLAGES IN PALEOZOIC MARINE EVAPORITE ROCKS: SIXTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON SALT, 1983, V. 1, P. 267-284.

  • Deposit

    BODINE, M.W., JR., 1984, CLAY MINERALOGY OF INSOLUBLE RESIDUES IN MARINE EVAPORITES: PAUL F. KERR MEMORIAL SYMPOSIUM VOLUME, AIME-SME ANNUAL MEETING, FEBRUARY, 1985, NEW YORK, 24 P.

  • Deposit

    TYSON, RAE, 1994, HUGE SALT MINE IN RACE AGAINST COLLAPSE: USA TODAY, APRIL 14, P. 1 AND 3A.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit THE SALT BED IS 18 FT THICK AT THE MINE DEPTH OF 1063 FT, BUT ONLY THE MIDDLE 9-10 FT ARE MINED BECAUSE THE UPPER AND LOWER PARTS ARE CONTAMINATED WITH SHALE. MINERALIZATION IS CONTINUOUS FROM OLD RETSOF SHAFT (MRDS RECORD W020564) TO THIS LOCATION.
Deposit ON MARCH 12, 1994, AN UNDERGROUND MINE ROOM (2 YARD SOUTH) COLLAPSED AND A SECOND MINE ROOM (11 WEST) PARTIALLY COLLAPSED ON APRIL 18, 1994. TWO ZONES OF SUBSIDENCE FORMED AT THE SURFACE AND GROUND WATER BEGAN TO FILL THE MINE; GROUNDWATER WAS STILL ENTERING THE MINE IN JULY, 1994. ALL NORMAL WORK CAME TO A STOP INSIDE THE MINE. THE ROOF COLLAPSE MAY HAVE TRIGGERED ARTIFICAL EARTHQUAKES-- A MONTH OF EARTH-SHAKING TREMORS TRIGGERED MASSIVE UNDERGROUND WATER LEAKS AND FEARS OF CAVE-INS THROUGHOUT THIS RURAL AREA. A SINKHOLE LAKE APPEARED ABOVE THE ORIGINAL CAVE-IN, A KEY HIGHWAY BRIDGE HAS BEEN DISLODGED, AND WELLS ARE DRYING UP.
Deposit SEE MRDS RECORD W020564.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUL-94 Beougher, Dee (Spanski, Gregory T.) U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 20-JUL-94 Orris, Greta J. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.