Boatnerd Discussion Forum

Da-Lee Dust Control is the company that has a brine plant in Goderich and ships in calcium chloride from Ludington. Their plant is in an industrial park on the south end of town, way up the hill from the harbor.

http://www.daleedustcontrol.com/index.html

They also sell sodium chloride brine, and other chemicals. The sodium chloride is most likely a product of Goderich, although I don't know if its mixed on the surface or if they have access to a brine well.

Calcium chloride is more expensive than sodium chloride but it has its advantages. Both can be used to melt ice and control dust on gravel roads. But calcium chloride will melt ice down to a temperature of about -20 degrees F, while sodium chloride only melts down to about + 15 degrees F. And calcium chloride is much more hygroscopic (moisture attracting) than sodium chloride so it works better for dust control on gravel roads since it draws more moisture out of the air to keep the gravel moist.

If I were to guess, I suspect that Da-Lee (or its predecessor) set up shop in Goderich to take advantage of the local source of sodium chloride, but branched out into calcium chloride due to customer demand. But I have no proof of that.

Thanks for your reply I would have thought the Brine was produced here in Goderich

The barge Spartan and tug Spartan II are in the liquid calcium chloride (brine) trade. There is a company in Goderich that markets brine for dust control purposes. Most loads come out of Ludington.

The barge Robert F. Deegan and the tug Zeus are also in the same trade.

SpartanII was in Goderich parked North Harbour at Sifto Mine
May 23 Can some one advise what type cargo she might have been unloading
For interest sake I have noted 22 ships into Goderich Harbour since May 1 I am fairly new to the area and find this very interesting