Without salt, humans and other living organisms cannot exist. Salt imbalance can cause various diseases, this also applies to excess salt and its lack in the body.
Salt products used by humans are a multi-species product category, including large, small, lumpy, iodized, ordinary, sea salt. The most common product is sodium chloride, with which we salt food. But how is salt mined?
Ancient salt mining methods
Previously, people mined salt from ash formed after burning certain types of plants. Sea water was added to the ash, then the mixture was dried and became a product suitable for salting food.
Over time, this option was replaced by the cage method or the pool method, based on the creation of artificial reservoirs on the seashore where water was poured. After a while, a suspension in the form of sand, clay, and other contaminants precipitated to the bottom, water was poured into a second reservoir, and after the evaporation of part of the water, a new portion of water was added to it and people were waiting for it to completely evaporate. As a result of these actions, a layer of salt formed at the bottom, which was collected for use in food and other purposes.
On the shore of the pool, the salt mass was piled up in a mountain and left for natural washing. This work was done by rains. The self-priming method is still used, with the only difference being that all processes are mechanized, their duration is reduced to a minimum, and the volumes obtained are much higher than with manual labor.
Modern mining methods
The property of salt is its precipitation.This process takes place without human help. In nature, it is present in sediment in sufficient quantities. Geologists call it rock salt, it really is a rock conglomerate. But if this monolith is affected by high temperatures and pressure, then it softens, and becomes so consistent that it can be selected from the rocks with salt combines. If the salt formations lie shallow from the surface, then the development is carried out by the quarry method. This method is the lowest cost and is used in salt fields around the world.
Another method of production is used when bedding salt formations at a depth from the surface. Its principle is to drill a well and fill it with water to dissolve the salt. The resulting saline solution is pumped to the surface, then the salt is boiled from brine. This method is called vacuum, with its help get the salt of fine grinding type "Extra".
If there are huge salt domes in the bowels, a mine is built, combines are put into it to excavate the rock, and salt is mined according to the same principle as coal or other solid minerals.
Naturally formed salt caves and lakes exist in which fossil salt production is organized on an industrial scale. In our country, such salt regions are the Astrakhan and Orenburg regions, the city of Iletsk, Lake Baskunchak. The salt produced here is considered pure and unique in quality.It has been exported to many countries since the Ancient Silk Road.
About potassium salt deposits
In addition to sodium chloride salt, potash salt is also being extracted. This is a unique fertilizer for crops and raw materials used in the light, chemical industry, energy and medicine. The main reserves of this mineral occur in the Perm Territory. The Verkhnekamsk salt basin contains more than 15% of the world's potash salt reserves.
There are a large number of potash deposits on the West Siberian platform; here, according to experts, there are up to 60% of Russian potash salt reserves. Many West Siberian deposits have not yet begun to be developed, so far they are considered only explored and are the property of future descendants of the Russians.
The Elton and Gremyachinskoye (Volgograd region) deposits are considered promising. They formed industrial enterprises giants that use high-tech methods for the extraction of potash salts. The product obtained here is of high quality and in demand in the world market.
