The Michigan Limestone and Chemical Company operated the world's largest limestone quarry (Michigan Limestone; a/k/a the "Calcite Quarry"; "Calcite Plant and Mill"; and "Carmeuse Lime and Stone"), which is located near Rogers City in Presque Isle County, Michigan. It was formed and organized in 1910; however, production did not begin until 1912. Ownership of the quarry has changed a number of times, but it is still one of the largest producers of limestone in the United States. The quarry was inextricably interlinked with lake shipping and railroad transportation. The deposits mined at the quarry are underground in the northeastern part of Northern Michigan near Alpena and south of Rogers City along the shore of Lake Huron. The raw material is essential to a variety of industries; the major uses are for various aggregates, road-base stone cement, flux for iron and steel production, railroad track ballast, mine dusting, agricultural lime, and production of sugar.
History
The mining engineer and geologist Henry H. Hindshaw, of New York City, started the analysis to establish the commercial value of limestone in Northern Lower Michigan in January 1909. He looked over and evaluated certain properties in the northeastern part of Michigan, between the small lumbering community of Rogers City and the nearby open pit mine of Crawford's Quarry. In February, Hindshaw first drilled samples for the Solvay Process Company of Syracuse, New York. The limestone samples were found to be of commercially usable quality, so the company took an option to purchase all the surrounding land by the Lake Huron shore south of Rogers City. Hindshaw then returned to New York City and got in contact with William F. White of the White Investing Company. The investor showed an interest in the commercial development of the limestone. Hindshaw originally bought the land with the hope of using the Limestone directly as building material, i.e., stone facades. That aspiration was misplaced; and was displaced by the realization that this would be marketable as a commodity for its chemical composition. Limestone is a raw material essential in the industry. Major uses are for various aggregates, road-base stone cement, manufacture flux for iron and steel production, railroad ballast, mine dusting, and lime manufacture. Hindshaw determined the value was high due to the unusually high grade and purity of the limestone deposit underground in the northeastern region of Lower Michigan along the shore of Lake Huron, near Alpena and south of Rogers City. The quality and size of the limestone deposit at Rogers City, and the availability of easy water transportation, led to the development of the quarry and a port. Both quarry and port are named "Calcite," after the principal ingredient of limestone.
Quarry It is the largest limestone quarry in the world, measuring 4 miles (6.4 km) long by 1.5 miles (2.4 km) wide, amounting to 8,924 acres (3,611 ha). It features mega loader vehicles that haul up to 195 tonnes (192 long tons; 215 short tons), that is 390,000 pounds (180,000 kg), in single trucks that have tires measuring 13 feet (4.0 m) in height. The quarry and plant are currently owned and operated by Carmeuse Lime and Stone, with 115 employees. It has been described as a "man made Grand Canyon," as it is more than 150 feet (46 m) deep. This is one of several dozen limestone quarries that have been located in Michigan. The Michigan Basin encompasses large areas of limestone bedrock. The quarry exploits limestone and dolomite strata, part of the "Michigan Basin" and the "Rogers City" geologic unit and strata. "As proposed, the name Rogers City is applied to limestone and dolomite strata formerly considered part of the Dundee, which is here restricted to lower 140 feet (43 m) of section. Lower 8 feet (2.4 m) to 9 ft of Rogers City is dolomite; the upper part is limestone. Rogers City fauna is distinctive from that of Dundee. Age is Middle Devonian." This open pit mine, operating for 110 years since 1912, was at times called "the Calcite Quarry" "Calcite Plant and Mill" and "Carmeuse Lime and Stone", mines 350 million year old deposits, and has shipped well over 750,000,000 tonnes (740,000,000 long tons; 830,000,000 short tons) of product to customers. It is within the Rogers City limestone, a part of the Dundee Limestone. Of the 7,000 acres (2,800 ha) on the site, about 3,000 are actively mined. The company predicts the site has reserves that can last 100 years.
The quarry is the subject of a well-known astronaut photo. It has been documented in an Emmy Award winning documentary film. As the director of the film notes: “Initially I thought, it’s (a documentary) about a quarry,” Belanger said. “But it’s a human story. The quarry of course is limestone, it’s rock, but it’s how this natural resource becomes a driving force for our nation. Much of this limestone was used to build the Mackinac Bridge, it helped build the interstate highway system throughout the nation, and it's used in everyday items." The Detroit and Mackinac Railway opened its Rogers City Branch in 1911. Service inside the mine dates back to before 1926. Pictures indicate that the yard was originally serviced by company-owned switching engines. Trackage included switches and even two interlocks inside the plant which date back to 1926. The railroad for the quarry is currently serviced by Lake State Railway, successor to the D&M. Rogers City donated land to create a landmark in celebration of the quarry's centennial. Part of the landmark is a 6 foot (1.8 m) X 6-foot mural made of outdoor tiles created by master potter Guy Adamec from the Flint Institute of Arts. Part of the design "represent[s] the history of the quarry by depicting layers of quarry strata ranging from the Devonian Period to the current day. This ... [are depicted] in different colors of cement block to show the strata." The United States Army and Air Force conduct simulated-fire phases within the Carmeuse Calcite Quarry area during Exercise Northern Strike. According to the Oglebay Norton, this quarry is "producing high-calcium carbonate limestone ... and shipping between 7 and 10.5 million net tons (NT) per year, depending on market demand." The operation "produces nine base product sizes, from 5-1/2 inches down to sand-sized particles. These products can be blended together to meet most sizing specifications."
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