NAPPAN - A layoff at its sister operation in Goderich, Ont. will have no impact upon operations at Sifto Canada's Amherst operation.
"They are two completely different operations and what's happening in Ontario will in no way impact Amherst," Sifto Canada's communications manager Kelly Barton said.
Sifto announced late last week that it is laying off about 80 people at its Goderich mine. Barton said the mine has filled its storage depots and that's forcing a layoff of about a fifth of its workforce.
The Goderich mine is an underground operation that produces, among other things, highway de-icing salt for the Great Lakes region.
"The salt produced in Nappan is evaporated salt and there is no storage issue with that operation," Barton said.
About 44 people work at the Sifto operation in Nappan.
It uses the evaporation process to mine the salt with water pumped into underground salt deposits. The brine solution is then pumped out an evaporated in a series of large vacuum pans. As the water evaporates, the salt settles and is removed with sulfates later removed in a classifier tank.
Salt from Nappan is used in food processing, table salt and water conditioning.
dcole@amherstdaily.com
