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Salt mining process

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Salt introduction

Salt, or sodium chloride, is a chemical compound with the chemical formula NaCl; for every gramme of salt, almost 40 per cent is sodium (Na), the sixth most abundant element on Earth, and a little over 60 per cent is chlorine (Cl). Salt is a white, crystalline compound, has low toxicity and is completely non-flammable. Salt is added to food as a flavour enhancer (table salt) and is a daily diet requirement of humans. It is commonly applied to roads and pavements as a de-icer, used as a feedstock for chlorine and sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) manufacture both of which are used to made ‘consumer-related end-use products’ such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a plastic made from chlorine, and paper pulping chemicals manufactured from sodium hydroxide .

Salt mining equipments

A 100 to 200mm wide slot is cut at the base of the rock face using a machine called an undercutter, with a jib carrying a series of tungsten-carbide picks. The face is then drilled with a series of carefully sited holes, using an electro-hydraulic rotary drill. The holes are charged with explosives and the face is blasted, yielding between 750 and 1500 tonnes of broken rock salt. The rock is crushed into a manageable size, using a feeder-breaker. It is then carried on a conveyor belt to the main crusher at the ground surface, which breaks it down into smaller pieces, passing through a sieve or screen to ensure that it has reached the correct size for use in road de-icing.

SBM provide rock crushers, belt conveyors for salt mining.If you have interesting in our equpments, please contact us.