Carmeuse Lime & Stone Operations

The limestone quarry and Lake Michigan port at Port Inland are at the end of County Road 431, three miles from the Seul Choix lighthouse. They were developed in 1930 by Inland Steel, one of the big steelmakers near Gary, Indiana. It used the high-quality "quick lime" or calcium oxide as a flux to remove impurities in steelmaking. This lime has more calcium than, for instance, its sister quarry near Cedarville.
Now Port Inland is owned by the Belgian company Carmeuse Lime & Stone, the North American leader. The quarry here is part of its Michigan Limestone Operations, headquartered in Rogers City near that giant quarry. The Port Inland quarry's limestone products are now used as aggregates in concrete and asphalt, in steel-making, and as a filler in papermaking. Former uses were as quick lime used in water treatment and, when Pfizer owned it, as a component of talcum powder and pills.

There's no observation area on the property. But shipping can be observed from the beach and lighthouse tower at Seul Choix. To find out when ships are scheduled to arrive, call (906) 283-3456, choose "boat schedule."

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