SOUDAN—The Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park has indefinitely suspended underground tours of the Soudan mine due to flooding from the torrential rains that hit the area June 18.
Underground tours made a brief public return on May 25 following a four-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a reconstruction project concentrated between the 19th and 24th levels. The mine is outfitted with water pumps on the 12th, 22nd and 27th levels, but a suspected lightning strike during last week’s storm left the mine without power for an estimated 11 to 12 hours.
“So much water was coming in that pumps on levels 12 and 22 weren’t able to keep up, and 27 got all the excess water,” mine assistant manager Jim DeVries said. “Then 27’s pumps were submerged and shorted out.”
Workers assessing the flooded mine descended atop the cage – the mine’s elevator – to the 27th level to stay above the water, a slight slope in the ceiling making it possible for workers to see down into the mine from their elevated position.
DeVries said the 12th and 22nd levels are once again operational and water levels are controlled, but the potential damage to the 27th level – which is nearly half a mile underground – is unknown. Park officials said the 27th level still had about seven to eight feet of water as of earlier this week. A new pump was installed on the 27th level on Tuesday and workers will assess the damages done to the mine and the electrical system once the level is drained.
“As for how long we expect the pumping to last – That all depends on the efficiency of the new pump and that we do not get more rain water entering the mine,” DeVries said in an email. “If all goes as we expect we hope to be walking on the earth at level 27 in 14-21 days.”
Tour guides who were conducting underground tours will be moved to work in other parts of the park, such as above ground tours and other interpretive programming.
“The plan is to keep everyone employed doing interpretive work,” DeVries said.
The state park canceled and refunded underground tour reservations through July 23 as a preliminary measure, but DeVries said there is no official date for the return of the tours.
“In an ideal world, we’d have tours up and running by July 24, but it’s not looking very likely,” DeVries said.
Visitors can still take the free above ground tour of the mine from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, no reservation required.