Two Biggest Salt Mines of the World

The process of natural salt formation occurs due to sea water evaporation. Layers of sediment and rock cover the salt water bodies, resulting in salt deposits which can be mined. Today, salt mines are one of the biggest sources of salt.

Let’s take a look at two of the biggest salt mines in the world.

1.      Goderich, Ontario

Goderich, Ontario is home to the biggest salt mine in the world and produces over 7 million tons of highway deicing salt every year! The mine is run by Sifto, in partnership with Compass Minerals Company. This salt mine is as deep as Toronto’s CN Tower is high and most of the operations occur at the deepest end of this salt mine. It extends two miles into Lake Huron and is about a mile wide. 

The Sifto salt mine is operational 24 hours a day and is not accessible for tourists and visitors. In fact, the operations only cease when the lake freezes over and the enormous ship freighters cannot carry all the produce to their destination. The mine consists of two separate plants and uses the “room and pillar” mining approach to break the salt into manageable pieces which are then conveyed further on to be crushed. The purity of the salt produced ranges between 92% – 98%.

History

It was in 1866 when a team was drilling at the Goderich harbor in search of oil, but they struck rock salt instead. A further investigation and digging 300 meters under the ground revealed a monumental salt bed. In fact, it was the first recorded discovery of a salt bed in entire North America. That’s right. The world’s largest salt mine was discovered purely by accident. Now, this mammoth mining operation is a major employer in the area.

2.      Khewra

The Khewra salt mine is the second largest salt mine in the world and produces 325,000 tons of salt every year! It is estimated that it contains about 220 million tons of salt that is yet to be mined out of it.

Located in the Jhelum District region of Punjab, Pakistan, these enormous mines stretch over an area of 110 sq. km and are 228 meters deep. The tunnels inside the mine run 40 kilometers long and extend into the mountains by about half a mile. To help you imagine its size, there are 19 floors in the mine. Seven of them are above the ground and 12 are underground. There is around 50ft of rock salt and rock between each floor to provide stability to the structure.

The produce

The Himalayan rock salt is a major product of this majestic mine and is a reddish and pinkish rock salt that is exported throughout the world. A lot of people like to salt their food with Himalayan salt because it tastes better than the regular table salt. The rock salt extracted from the Khewra mines is 99% pure, accounting for a sizable portion of its demand.

If you’re looking for top quality rock salt like the ice melter, bag salt alongside others, you can find them at Rock Salt USA.

Salt monuments

In order to prevent the dugout space inside the mine from collapsing, only half the salt is extracted while the rest is left to support the structure of the mine. There are small little attractions inside the Khewra mines for the tourists. There’s an assembly hall that’s 75 meters tall with amazing echo, something tourists have a lot of fun with.

At Rock Salt USA, you can find a range of different industrial grade rock salt including pallets of ice melt, road salt and bag rock salt. Visit their website for price quotes and details.