A FORMER limestone mine, now a storage facility for vast amounts of government paperwork, is being scrutinized by Elon Musk and his DOGE team dedicated to identifying and reducing government inefficiency.

This facility, located in Boyers, Pennsylvania, houses 22,000 cabinets filled with approximately 400 million sheets of paper, specifically the retirement applications of federal employees.

The structure is 220 feet below ground and the shaft is a shield from natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes. 

Since the 1950s, it has served as a storage hub for records. Prior to that, the site was a limestone mine, with the extracted limestone being transported to steel mills.

The storage facility has caught Musk’s attention and he branded it a “time warp.”

There are 700 workers who process 10,000 retirement applications a month. 

The documents are then stored in manila envelopes and cardboard boxes.

But officials at the Department of Government Efficiency taskforce have cast a closer light on it.

Billionaire Joe Gebbia, the co-founder of Airbnb, revealed inside the mine there are 22,000 filing cabinets. 

He told Fox News journalist Bret Baier that there are 400 million pieces of paper inside the mine.

Gebbia, the mastermind behind the Digital Retirement Project, explained it takes months for retirement applications to be processed, and has vowed to transform the workings of government.

“We really believe that government can have an Apple store-like experience,” he told Baier.

“Beautifully designed, great user experience, modern systems.”

Musk has attracted criticism for his chainsaw-like approach to cutting government waste, but has described his efforts as a “revolution.”

“This is a revolution and I think it might be the biggest revolution in the government since the original revolution.”

Last month, Musk revealed during a question and answer session in the White House that the mine’s lift breaks down. 

“The elevator breaks down sometimes, and nobody can retire,” he claimed.

“Doesn’t that sound crazy?”

Officials at Iron Mountain, the data company which bought the mine in 1998, say the fact it’s underground reduces the risk of it being a spy target.

Iron Mountain leases the mine to the federal government.

The data center has armed checkpoints and mantraps, which makes it extremely difficult to enter it.

It is monitored by 24/7 security, has metal detectors and surveillance cameras. 

Limestone is a fire-resistant which makes it an ideal location for storing government files. 

And, documents are unlikely to be impacted as wild temperature fluctuations are extremely rare.

The data center is also energy efficient because it is naturally colder underground.

This means that bosses do not have to invest in expensive cooling systems. 

CONTROVERSIAL CLAIMS

Musk’s claims about the elevator proved controversial and former workers lashed out at the Tesla mogul.

“I’m not aware of an elevator in the mine,” Kenneth Zawodny, a Retirement Operations Center manager, told the CBS affiliate KDKA-TV.

“I never saw one when I worked in the mine. 

“There may be one. It’s not used by my former organization at all if there is one there.”

He revealed claims were being processed within 60 days. 

Zawodny admitted that when he assumed the role in 2011, it was taking more than 140 days to process applications.

He claimed workers had been “stymied” due to inefficiencies when rolling out automation services.

Since being asked by Trump to lead DOGE, Musk has targeted a raft of agencies and government departments.

His task is to find $1 trillion worth of savings by 2026. 

DOGE has already cut scores of contracts from government departments, including the Department of Education, the Defense Department, and the US Agency for International Development.

Thousands of jobs are being cut from federal agencies.

It’s expected that 10,000 jobs in the Department of Health and Human Services will be scrapped.

More than 18,000 jobs are being cut from the Internal Revenue Service and the Pentagon could axe more than 50,000 staffers.

DOGE has claimed to have saved an estimated $130 billion, according to its website. This equates to $807.45 per taxpayer.