Rock salt has to be mined and processed before being suitable for use.
Rock salt is used in a variety of ways in everyday life. In the wintertime, rock salt is commonly used to deice roads. You can also find it in your house. It's used as a foodstuff and water softener. Rock salt is a natural product found below the Earth's surface but it needs to be processed properly before it can be used effectively. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Rock Salt Formation
Sedimentary rocks are formed by water, ice, wind and gravity.
Rock salt is a chemical sedimentary rock. It is formed from the evaporation of water from the ocean or salt water lakes that has accumulated and then cemented in the Earth's surface. Other sedimentary rocks include limestone, gypsum, coal, oil and shale. Halite is the scientific name for rock salt.
Solution Mining
Solution mining is used for rock salt production.
Rock salt or halite is mined, as it is usually found below the Earth's surface. It is only found on the Earth's surface in very dry regions. The mining of rock salt can be done in two ways. The first method is called solution mining where fresh water is injected into a pipe that goes into the mine shaft and meets the salty water and bed of the mine. It is then drawn upward and dried out so that the rock salt will recrystallize.
Dry Mining
Rock salt is only dry mined in Detroit.
Dry mining is the second method for rock salt production. This method involves going below the Earth's surface and digging out the rock salt and then transporting it aboveground. Dry mining only takes place in the Detroit area. There are more than 100 miles of tunnels here and hundreds of tons of rock salt were produced from the mines everyday. Now most of the salt comes from solution mining in Michigan, Ohio and Ontario.
Uses
Salt in our diet is of vital importance to our health.
Rock salt is used as a foodstuff to flavor food. Rock salt is just one of the different salts that are available for us to eat every day. Salt is essential in our diet and it is believed that we need 5 grams per day to maintain a healthy body. Rock salt is used extensively in deicing roads, driveways and highways. The reason that rock salt is so effective and used so extensively is that it lowers the glacial point of water, therefore melting the snow or ice quicker than other deicing methods. Rock salt can also be used as a water softener. It is used as it contains 98 to 99 percent sodium chloride, which is a cleansing agent. Rock salt is cheaper than the alternative -- evaporated salt and solar salt.
Related posts
The formation of rock salt begins at the edge of a body of saltwater.Most people who live in snowy climates know about rock salt from winter driving and the clearing of driveways and sidewalks. Ro...
Gypsum is widely used in drywalls in the construction industry.Rock gypsum is a soft sedimentary rock that formed from the evaporation of water from shallow seas or salt lakes. It is often found a...
Description of Rock Salt MiningSalt has been a precious commodity to humans for thousands of years. When humans began trading with others in faraway lands, they would often trade for salt to flavo...
The Grand Canyon in Arizona is composed of several types of sedimentary rock.As bits and pieces of rock and coral erode and are borne by wind and water, these pieces of the earth find their way to...
Rock Salt has been mined for thousands of years.Rock salt is a sedimentary rock formed from the evaporation of sea water. It is often found along gypsum beds. The geological name for the mineral i...
