Detroit salt mine parent company to be bought

The parent company of the so-called “salt city” under Detroit will be acquired by a California industrial holding company.

Stone Canyon Industries Holdings announced plans Monday to acquire the Kansas-based Kissner Group Holdings, which owns and operates the Detroit Salt Company.

Details of the transaction were not immediately released, however no changes are expected for Michigan’s only rock salt mine, said Seth Lubove of Stone Canyon’s public relations firm, Sitrick And Company.

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“(The) operations will continue as normal,” Lubove said in an email. “No changes are expected following the closing of the acquisition by Stone Canyon.”

The deal is expected to close in March, he said.

A representative for Detroit Salt could not immediately comment on the matter when reached Monday. The company provides ice melter formulations locally and nationally for winter road safety.

Detroit’s salt mine has been in use since the early 1900s, according to Detroit Salt Company’s website.

The mine, at 12841 Sanders St., is now a “salt city” about 1,200 feet below the city’s surface and spreading over 100 miles of underground roads, according to the company. Kissner bought the company and mine in 2010.

Kissner is a leading producer and supplier of salt in North America, according to a Monday news release.

The company is owned by Metalmark Capital Holdings and Silvertree-KMC II, a venture between Silverhawk Capital Partners and Demetree Salt.

Kissner also owns a mine in Kansas, a refinery in New York, three production facilities in Canada, multiple packaging facilities, and distribution and storage locations across the U.S.

"We plan to expand on the success created by Kissner's management team over a long-term horizon,” said James Fordyce, co-CEO of Stone Canyon Industries Holdings, according to the release.

Contact Darcie Moran: dmoran@gannett.com.