Ortona Sand Mine

Centrally located east of Labelle, FL the Ortona Sand mine is situated to serve all of South Florida. A unique element of the Ortona Mine is that the natural sand deposits in this area stretch to over 180 feet deep. Fascinating dredging techniques are utilized to efficiently pump from these depths to a large classifying plant. The Ortona Mine deposit was discovered by Emil Jahna in which the Ortona Sand Mine was located and determined to be good for mining in 1961 and operations began shortly after that year. In 1970, a canal was cut from the dredge pit to the adjacent Caloosahatchee River, and a 70 ft. tug boat and five 140 ft. barges were purchased to haul sand from interior Florida to ports closer to the coastal cities. This lasted only for a short time until shipping by truck was determined to be much more practical.