Salt mining explained

Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. The mined salt is usually in the form of halite (commonly known as rock salt), and extracted from evaporite formations.^[1]

History

Before the advent of the modern internal combustion engine and earth-moving equipment, mining salt was one of the most expensive and dangerous of operations because of rapid dehydration caused by constant contact with the salt (both in the mine passages and scattered in the air as salt dust) and of other problems caused by accidental excessive sodium intake. Salt is now plentiful, but until the Industrial Revolution, it was difficult to come by, and salt was often mined by slaves or prisoners. Life expectancy for the miners was low.

The earliest found salt mine was in Hallstatt, Austria where salt was mined 5000BC.^[2]

Ancient China was among the earliest civilizations in the world with cultivation and trade in mined salt.^[3] They first discovered natural gas when they excavated rock salt. The Chinese writer, poet, and politician Zhang Hua of the Jin dynasty wrote in his book Bowuzhi how people in Zigong, Sichuan, excavated natural gas and used it to boil a rock salt solution.^[4] The ancient Chinese gradually mastered and advanced the techniques of producing salt. Salt mining was an arduous task for them, as they faced geographical and technological constraints. Salt was extracted mainly from the sea, and salt works in the coastal areas in late imperial China equated to more than 80 percent of national production.^[5] The Chinese made use of natural crystallization of salt lakes and constructed some artificial evaporation basins close to shore.^[3] In 1041, during the Song dynasty, a well with a diameter about the size of a bowl and several dozen feet deep was drilled for salt production.^[4] In Southwestern China, natural salt deposits were mined with bores that could reach to a depth of more than, but the yields of salt were relatively low.^[5] As salt is a necessity of life, salt mining played a pivotal role as one of the most important sources of the Imperial Chinese government's revenue and state development.^[5]

Most modern salt mines are privately operated or operated by large multinational companies such as K+S, AkzoNobel, Cargill, and Compass Minerals.

Mining regions around the world

See main article: List of countries by salt production. Some notable salt mines include:

Country	Site(s)
	Hallstatt and Salzkammergut.
	Tuzla
	Provadiya and Solnitsata, an ancient town which Bulgarian archaeologists regard as the oldest in Europe and the site of a salt-production facility approximately six millennia ago.^[6]
	Sifto Salt Mine^[7] in Goderich, Ontario, which, at 1.51NaN1 wide and 2miles long, is one of the largest salt mines in the world extending 7km2.^[8] ^[9]
	Zipaquirá
	The "-wich towns" of Cheshire and Worcestershire.
	Danakil Desert, where manual labor is used.^[10]
	Rheinberg, Berchtesgaden, Heilbronn
	Mountcharles
	Racalmuto, Realmonte and Petralia Soprana^[11] within the production sites managed by Italkali.
	Société de Sel de Mohammedia (Mohammedia Rock Salt company) near Casablanca
	Kilroot, near Carrickfergus, more than a century old and containing passages whose combined length exceeds 25 km.
	Khewra Salt Mines, the world's second largest salt-mining operation, spanning over 300 km. It was first discovered by a horse of Alexander the Great. The mine is still operation till today.
	Wieliczka and Bochnia, both established in the mid-13th century and still operating, mostly as museums. Kłodawa Salt Mine.
	Slănic (with Salina Veche, Europe's largest salt mine), Cacica, Ocnele Mari, Salina Turda, Târgu Ocna, Ocna Sibiului, Praid and Salina Ocna Dej.
	Solikamsk in Perm Krai (European Russia) Seregovo in the Komi Republic (European Russia)
	Soledar Salt Mine in Soledar, Donetsk oblast.
United States	Hutchinson, Kansas, underground mining began at Hutchinson in 1923 as the Carey Salt Company. In 1990 the Hutchinson Salt Company formed, then purchased the mine. In 2005 the Strataca salt mine museum and Underground Vaults & Storage constructed a new 650feet shaft to an older part of the mine for tours and storage. Also, Lyons Salt Company and Compass Minerals is located in Lyons, Kansas, and Independent Salt Company is located in Kanopolis, Kansas. Avery Island, Louisiana Cleveland, Ohio is home to the Whiskey Island mine owned by Cargill.^[12] The Fairport Harbor mine owned by Morton Salt is located to the east.^[13] Detroit, Michigan, 1100feet beneath which the Detroit Salt Company's 15000NaN0 subterranean complex extends^[14] Livingston County, New York, location of American Rock Salt, the largest operating salt mine in the United States with a capacity for producing up to 18,000 tons each day.^[15] Syracuse, New York earned the nickname "The Salt City" for its salt mining, an activity that continues in the region to the present day.^[16] Grand Saline, Texas has a Morton Salt mine. It is one of the largest in the world. Houston, Texas, near Minute Maid Park is a newly discovered saltworks. Saltville, Virginia, the site of one of the Confederacy's main saltworks.

Idiomatic use

In slang, the term, and especially the phrase, refers ironically to one's workplace, or a dull or tedious task. This phrase originates from in reference to the Russian practice of sending prisoners to forced labor in Siberian salt mines.^{[17] [18]}

See also

Salt mines

• Khewra
• Schacht Asse II
• Turda
• Wieliczka
• Windsor

General

• Salt evaporation pond
• Brine mining
• Injection well
• Salt lake
• Salt dome
• Miner
• Coal mines and saltworks of Gouhenans

References

External links

• Mohammedia Rock Salt Company

Notes and References

1. Web site: Oilfield Glossary: Term 'evaporite' . Glossary.oilfield.slb.com . 2012-02-13 . 2012-01-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120131020924/http://www.glossary.oilfield.slb.com/Display.cfm?Term=evaporite . dead .
2. Book: Kern . Kingdom of Salt: 7000 Years of Hallstatt. . Vienna: Natural History Museum . 2009 . 9783903096080 . 2009.
3. Book: Harris, Peter . Studies in the History of Tax Law . Hart Publications . 2017 . 978-1509908370 . 8 . August 10, 2017 . 518.
4. Book: Deng, Yinke . Ancient Chinese Inventions . 2011 . 41 . 978-0521186926.
5. Book: Höllmann, Thomas O. . The Land of the Five Flavors: A Cultural History of Chinese Cuisine . Columbia University Press . 2013 . 978-0231161862 . November 26, 2013 . 33.
6. News: Bulgarians find oldest European town, a salt production center . Thomas H. . Maugh II . . 1 November 2012 . 5 December 2012 . 25 December 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181225201116/https://www.latimes.com/ . live .
7. Web site: Industries in Goderich . 2008-02-08 . Sifto Canada Inc. [...] (Goderich Mine) . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071226190621/http://www.goderich.ca/industry.html . December 26, 2007 .
8. Web site: CBC-TV - Geologic Journey - Goderich, Ontario and Detroit Michigan . CBC 2012 . 3 August 2012 . 28 September 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130928001148/http://www.cbc.ca/geologic/field_guide/gl_goderich.html?dataPath=/photogallery/documentaries/gallery_641/xml/gallery_641.xml . live .
9. Amy Pataki, Richard Lautens, Salt at the source: a day in a Lake Huron mine, The Toronto Star, Fri Aug 15 2014.
10. Web site: Salt mine in the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia, 2015. Independent Travellers. independent-travellers.com. July 14, 2017. March 29, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170329135138/https://independent-travellers.com/ethiopia/danakil_depression/salt_mine/. live.
11. Web site: Italkali Spa - Production Sites . 2011-05-09 . online . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120331184945/http://www.italkali.com/en/production_sites.php . 2012-03-31 .
12. Web site: DeSmit . Jacob . 2023-07-31 . Step Inside the Cargill Salt Mines Under Lake Erie . 2024-08-15 . . en.
13. News: Mallonee . Laura . 2016-05-03 . Venture Into a Surreal Salt Mine 2,000 Feet Below Lake Erie . en-US . . 2023-05-26 . 1059-1028 . December 9, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221209025651/https://www.wired.com/2016/05/venture-surreal-salt-mine-2000-feet-lake-erie/ . live .
14. Web site: The Detroit Salt Company -- Explore the City under the City . 2008-02-08 . online . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090412212550/http://www.detroitsalt.com/home.htm . 2009-04-12 .
15. News: Spector. Joseph. American Rock Salt to expand in Livingston. 20 July 2015. Democrat and Chronicle. 13 Jan 2015. 3 December 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201203233828/https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/vote-up/2015/01/13/largest-salt-mine-in-u-s-to-expand-in-livingston-county/21703733/. live.
16. News: All 17 Cargill Salt Miners Trapped on Underground Elevator Freed. NBC News. January 7, 2016. January 7, 2016. January 7, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160107110921/http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/cayuga-salt-mine-elevator-malfunction-traps-17-miners-underground-lansing-n491851. live.
17. Web site: Definition of back to the salt mines Dictionary.com. www.dictionary.com. en. 2020-01-12. 2020-01-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20200112073049/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/back-to-the-salt-mines. live.
18. Web site: The Salt Mines. Really??. Houston. Natalie. 2010-01-25. The Chronicle of Higher Education Blogs: ProfHacker. en-US. 2020-01-12. 2020-01-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20200112073052/https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/the-salt-mines-really/22927. live.