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Salt mine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A salt mine is an operation involved in the extraction of salt from rock salt or halite, a type of evaporitic deposit[1]. Areas known for their salt mines include Khewra in Pakistan, Tuzla in Bosnia, Wieliczka and Bochnia in Poland, Salzkammergut in Austria, Rheinberg in Germany, Slănic in Romania, Provadiya in Bulgaria, Avery Island in Louisiana, the Witch towns of Cheshire and Worcestershire, United Kingdom, Torrevieja in Alicante, Spain, and the Detroit Rock Salt Co. subterranean complex beneath the city of Detroit. The Sifto Salt Mine in Goderich, Ontario Canada is the largest salt mine in the world.
Prior to the advent of the internal combustion engine and earth moving equipment, mining salt was one of the most expensive and dangerous of operations. While salt is now plentiful, before the Industrial Revolution salt was difficult to come by, and salt mining was often done by slave or prison labor. In ancient Rome, salt on the table was a mark of a rich patron (and those who sat nearer the host were above the salt, and those less favored were "below the salt"). Roman prisoners were given the task of salt mining, and life expectancy among those so sentenced was not great. Roman soldiers were paid in salt, which is where the term "salary" comes from.
Even as recently as the 20th century, salt mining in the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany was performed by persons being punished.
Today most salt mines are operated by large multi-national companies like Cargill and Compass Minerals.
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