Salt-concrete (or salzbeton) is a building material that is used to reduce the water inflow in mining shafts in salt mines. It is composed of 16% cement, 39% halite, 16% limestone powder, 14% water and 15% sand.[1]
Salt-concrete was used for the first time in 1984 in the potash mine in Rocanville in Canada.[2] A salt-concrete seal was also installed in the Asse II mine in Lower Saxony in 1995.[3]
Since the end of the repository for radioactive waste Morsleben in 1998, the salt dome stability deteriorated to a state where it could collapse. Since 2003, a volume of m3 of salt-concrete has been pumped into the pit to temporarily stabilize the upper levels. In addition another m3 of salt-concrete will be used to temporarily stabilize the lower levels.[4]