SAMUEL PLATT'S SUCCESSFUL FAILURE

Sam Platt started out drilling for oil and wound up starting a salt boom. In 1866, Samuel Platt, the owner of a flourmill in Goderich, Ontario, formed a company to drill for oil. On the outskirts of town, Platt and his partners bored through many layers of limestone to a depth of 209 m (686 feet), but failed to strike oil.

The company decided to abandon the search. Platt, however, persisted, since both town and county had offered him a bonus if he drilled to a depth of 305 m (1,000 feet). At 294 m (965 feet) his drill struck a bed of clean white rock salt, 18 m (60 feet) thick. The canny Mr. Platt continued drilling until the shaft was 305 m (1,000 feet) deep, and claimed his bonus.

With the money he started a salt recovery plant which began production in 1867, turning out 100 barrels, or 13.5 t (15 tons), a day. Within six years, there were twelve different companies in the area, the largest producing 81 t (90 tons) of salt a day.