ROCK SALT, chemogenic-sedimentary (evaporitic) rock (halitolite, halolith), composed mainly of halite with an admixture of anhydrite, gypsum, dolomite, ankerite, magnesite, calcite, and also clayey, sometimes bituminous material; raw materials for the food and chemical industries. Rock salt is a rock that is easily soluble in water. The content of sodium chloride in the purest varieties reaches more than 99%. Such rocks are transparent, but more often rock salt is white or colored in gray, brown and other colors. With relatively low temperatures and pressure becomes plastic.

Accumulations of rock salt, both independent and in combination with sodium (sulfates and carbonates), potassium-magnesium and potassium salts, are formed by lithogenesis of salt deposits formed due to the evaporation of marine (oceanic) or continental waters under conditions arid climate in salt-producing basins, predominantly piedmont troughs and platform depressions. Manifestations of rock salt (layers, lenses, layers, nests and phenocrysts in other sedimentary rocks) are known in all geological systems - from the Precambrian to the Neogene. The most significant halogenesis in the history of the Earth occurred in the Cambrian, Silurian, Devonian, Permian (maximum), Late Jurassic - Early Cretaceous, Paleogene and Neogene.

The main industrial importance are fossil deposits of rock salt, represented by thick (meters - tens of meters) sheet-like flat deposits of significant areal distribution, interbedded with sulfate, carbonate and terrigenous rocks (Slavyanskoye, Artyomovskoye deposits, Ukraine, etc.), as well as salt domes and stocks, isometric and oval in plan, with a height and diameter from hundreds of meters to a few kilometers (Iletsk field, Orenburg region, Russia; Solotvinskoye field, Ukraine). Also of industrial importance are deposits of modern salt formation, which occurs in estuaries separated from the sea, lagoons, coastal lakes with sea ​​water(Lakes Sivash, Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay) or in continental lakes of basins fed by land groundwater (Lakes Elton, Baskunchak, Russia; Lake Searles, USA). In an environment of dry and hot climate, limited inflow of water compensated by evaporation, water bodies become salinized with the formation of brines (brines) and bottom sediments, which include seasonal (new plant), perennial (old plant) and crystalline (root) salt.

In terms of NaCl reserves (million tons), very large (over 500), large (500-150), medium (150-50) and small (less than 50) deposits are distinguished, and in terms of NaCl content (%) - rich (more than 90) , ordinary (70-90) and poor (less than 70). The deposits of rock salt, in which the content of NaCl is over 97%, which corresponds to the conditions of table salt, are unique.

Significant reserves of rock salt are concentrated in Canada, the USA, China, India and other countries. Large saline basins are also known in Russia: the Urals (Verkhnekamskoye, Shumkovskoye deposits), the Caspian (Iletskoye, Svetloyarskoye, Strukovskoye), East Siberian (Nepskoye, Ziminskoye, Tyretskoye, Bratskoye), Ciscaucasian (Shedokskoye); Ukraine and Belarus - Dnieper-Pripyat (Slavic and Artyomovskoe; Starobinskoe and Davydovskoe); in Germany, Denmark, Poland - the Central European zechstein basin. Explored reserves of rock salt (Russia and the former republics of the USSR) - 118 billion tons, of which (%) the share of Russia is 58, Belarus - 19, Ukraine and Uzbekistan - 8 each, Tajikistan - 3.

World production of rock salt exceeds 225 million tons, of which the United States accounts for 21%, China - 15%, Germany and India - 7% each, Canada - 6%, France, Great Britain and Brazil - 4% each, Russia - 3% . Rock salt is the main source of NaCl, the most important food and agricultural feed product, as well as the feedstock for chemical and other industries.

Lit.: Mineral resources of Russia. M., 1994. Issue. 1: The most scarce species mineral raw materials; Mineral raw materials. Mineral salts. M., 1999; mining industry Russia. Yearbook. M., 2006-. Issue. one-; Eremin N. I. Non-metallic minerals. 2nd ed. M., 2007; Eremin N. I., Dergachev A. L. Economics of mineral raw materials. M., 2007.

Rock salt is a mineral of sedimentary origin, consisting of sodium chloride and impurities. The rock has another name - halite, which in everyday life is known as table salt.

In the conditions of the deposit, it is stones that, after processing and cleaning, acquire a familiar look. white powder. The rock has ancient origin. The ancient Greeks associated its properties with a salty taste. sea ​​water.

Main characteristics

Chemical formula table salt - NaCl, the compound contains 61% chlorine and 39% sodium.

In its pure form, the substance vivo substance is very rare. When purified, rock salt can be clear, opaque, or white with a glassy sheen. Depending on the additional impurities included in the composition, the compound can be colored in:

Rock salt rock is quite fragile, absorbs moisture well and has a salty taste. The mineral quickly dissolves in water. The melting point is 800 degrees. During combustion, the flame acquires an orange-yellow hue.

Rock salt looks like a cubic crystal or stalactite with a coarse granular structure.

The formation of halite occurs during the compaction of layers that have formed in the past geological periods and is a large array.

The origin of rock salt is conditionally divided into the following types:

Mineral deposits

Rock salt is a mineral of exogenous origin, whose deposits were formed many millions of years ago in a hot climate. Mineral deposits can form when salt lakes and shallow water dry up. Not a large number of halite can form during volcanic activity or soil salinization in arid areas as a result of human activities.

When groundwater with a high salt content is close, natural soil salinization can also occur. When moisture evaporates, a thin layer of rock forms on the surface of the soil.

Areas with high evaporation of moisture and low water inflow are characterized by mineralization of the soil layer. With high evaporation, compounds appear on the surface, which are formed in different layers of the soil. With the formation of a salt crust on the upper soil layer, the growth of plants and the vital activity of living organisms cease.

Currently, the deposits are located in Russia in the Urals in the Solikamsk and Sol-Iletsk deposits, in Irkutsk, Orenburg, the Arkhangelsk region, the Volga region and the Astrakhan region. In Ukraine, halite is mined in the Donetsk region and Transcarpathia. A significant amount of minerals is mined in Louisiana, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma.

Mining methods

Mining in industrial scale carried out in several ways:

Due to the properties of rock salt, the use is not limited to eating. A person cannot do without table salt. Galite is in demand in technological processes in various industries industry. It is widely used not only in the food industry for preserving meat, fish and vegetables, as it is a cheap preservative.

In the chemical industry, the compound is necessary for the production of hydrochloric acid which is in demand in various sectors of the economy.

In metallurgy, the mineral is used as a coolant during hardening, as well as the production of a number of non-ferrous metal compounds. It is part of the electrolyte.

The pharmaceutical industry uses halite to make medicines and solutions for injections.

In the leather industry, the compound is used as a tannin in the processing of animal skins.

Medicinal properties

The sodium compound is part of the body's internal environment, which ensures normal operation circulatory system, conduction of impulses along nerve fibers.

Many nations have a belief that if salt is poured on a cross in front of the entrance to the house, it will protect from people with evil thoughts. It was highly appreciated by many nations, it is no coincidence that spilled salt became a sign of trouble or quarrel. Galit is able to enhance good intentions and return evil ones multiplied several times.

Among magicians and sorcerers, conspiracies for love and good luck using table salt are considered effective. A jar of table salt can absorb someone else's negative energy and protect the owner from the evil eye and damage.

How was the salt deposit formed in the earth? Why are thick layers of rock salt found in the thickness of rocks?

We know that salt is deposited in isolated areas earth's surface, which have a limited connection with the sea, where new portions of sea water enter all the time or periodically and where, due to the dry climate, and therefore strong evaporation, the brine becomes more and more saturated.

Where these areas of the surface gradually sank, thanks to tectonic movements earth's crust, and powerful deposits of table salt were formed.

But how did the salt get into the sea? Why are rock salt deposits located either in the depths of rocks, or protrude to the surface of the earth, or sometimes form so-called salt domes?

To answer these questions, we must first of all tell a little about the geological past of our Earth.

Since its inception, the globe has gradually changed its face.

Apparently, billions of years ago, our planet was surrounded by a thick impenetrable curtain of water vapor. They gradually cooled, condensed into clouds and fell to the ground in showers. Water filled the hollows of the earth, forming seas and lagoons. Rainwater, streams from mountain ranges and eruptive hot waters poured into them.

“One must think,” wrote Academician V. A. Obruchev, “that the water of the primitive sea was already salty, since among the gases released from the magma there were constituents of various salts.”

Chemical compounds that were washed out of the rocks and were in the atmosphere were carried along with water in dissolved form. Apparently, table salt ended up in the primitive ocean. According to academician A.E. Fersman, “From here begins the story of her wandering above the earth, under the earth and in the earth itself.”

Water that has entered into its constant circulation on the surface the globe, throughout the subsequent geological history land brought more and more salt reserves to the seas and oceans.

According to geologists' calculations, even now rivers annually bring 2,735 million tons of various salts from land to the seas. Of these, 157 million tons are sodium chloride. By this alone, one can judge how large the reserves of salt dissolved in the ocean are.

The distribution of continents and oceans on the surface of the Earth has changed more than once. This happened during mountain-building processes and from the extremely slow fluctuations of the earth's crust, which are observed in our time. The earth's crust in different places slowly sinks, and then sea water floods the land, then rises, and then the sea recedes and the seabed is exposed.

It is known from the geological past of our Motherland that more than two hundred million years ago, during the so-called Permian period of the history of the Earth, on the vast surface of the European part of Russia, reaching a million square kilometers, the waters of the ancient Perm Sea overflowed. It stretched from the shores of the Arctic Ocean to the Caspian Lowland.

This sea has existed for fifty million years. It covered the entire east of the European part of the country. Some of its bays and tongues in the north went right under Arkhangelsk. In the south, long sleeves stretched to the Donets Basin and Kharkov. In the southeast, it went far to the south.

For hundreds of thousands of years, this sea has changed its shape. It then receded, then again flooded the vast expanse of land. This vast sea gradually became shallow, forming separate lakes along the shores. Humid climate was replaced by the winds and the sun of the desert.

“The young Ural ranges were destroyed by powerful hot winds - everything was blown to the shores of the dying Perm Sea. The sea receded to the south. In the north, gypsum and table salt accumulated in lakes and estuaries,” wrote A.E. Fersman. And in the south-east of our country, the Black Sea sometimes connected with the Caspian Sea, sometimes separated, until, finally, they were finally separated from each other by the last uplift of the Caucasus Mountains.

barren, sandy desert with salt lakes scattered across it between the Caspian and Aral Seas, it was also once the seabed. The soil of the desert is still saturated with salt, and in it comes across a lot of sea shells that once lived in the ancient, disappeared sea.

And in those areas where there were estuaries and bays that had a limited connection with the sea, where there was a dry climate and where the earth's crust was sinking, we now find deposits of rock salt.

As you know, the formation of the earth's crust did not always proceed smoothly. The gigantic force of underground pressure more than once crushed the earth's crust into folds. Mountain ranges protruded, dips and subsidence occurred. During these displacements of mountain strata, strata of sedimentary rocks deposited on the bottom of the former seas sometimes came to the surface of the earth. Layers of rock salt also came to the surface, while in other places the salt remained buried at great depths.

Let's take a look at the expanses of the CIS. Here, the Volga, Urals and Central Asia are famous for the richest salt deposits. Rock salt deposits stretch between the Urals and Emba, from Solikamsk up to the Caspian steppes over a distance of six thousand square kilometers with a thickness of 450-500 meters. Ukraine is also rich in this respect - salt layers lie in the Donetsk depression, forming large accumulations in the area of ​​​​Artemovsk and Slavyansk.

With the difference in vertical pressures in the earth's layers, due to the plasticity of salt, the so-called "salt domes" were formed - powerful salt deposits. Salt is so plastic that it flows like resin under pressure and forms stocks and domes several kilometers high. In the Caspian region, in Ukraine and in the lower reaches of the Khatanga River there are over a thousand salt domes formed during the formation of the Ural Mountains.

But underground deposits of rock salt are not the only sources of table salt.

A huge number of salt lakes and lagoons - the remnants of dried up or once gone seas - also serve as rich storages of salt. Here, in evaporating estuaries and lakes, crystals of sodium chloride, falling out of solution, settle to the bottom and eventually form layers of salt.

In desert and semi-desert regions, lagoons, cut off from the sea, under the scorching rays of the sun sometimes turn into a kind of natural "chemical laboratories". In them, transformations of various substances occur and various salts are formed, including sodium chloride.

One of the most majestic natural "laboratories" is the bay of the Caspian Sea - Kara-Bogaz-Gol.

This bay is separated from the sea by a long spit, and only a narrow strait still connects it to the sea. Not a single river flows into the Kara-Bogaz. The waterless steppe lies all around. The dry steppe wind and the scorching sun quickly evaporate the waters, and if water from the sea had not flowed into the bay, Kara-Bogaz would have dried up long ago. Its water is not like ordinary sea water. This is a thick saline solution, in which the concentration of salts is twenty-four times greater than in the Caspian Sea. It has been established that hundreds of millions of tons of different salts are annually introduced into the bay along with sea water, while the water from the bay quickly evaporates, and thus a thick brine is obtained, from which mainly mirabilite (Glauber's salt) precipitates to the bottom of the bay in the form of crystals. ) and halite (table salt). Huge reserves of mirabilite made Kara-Bogaz-Gol famous as a deposit of world importance. In addition to mirabilite and table salt, magnesium sulfate, magnesium chloride and other salts are also obtained here.

There are many salt lakes connected with the sea in the Crimea and Moldova. Some of them have not yet completely separated from the sea, others are separated from the sea only by a narrow spit.

Crimean salt lakes are distinguished not only by the richness and variety of salts, but also by the inexhaustibility of their salt reserves. These are in the full sense of the word "inexhaustible" sources of table salt. Most of them owe their origin to the sea, from which they were gradually separated by spits and embankments.

The strong evaporation of water has led to the fact that the water level in the lakes has dropped significantly compared to sea level and the brine in them has thickened. But the sea continues to enrich these lakes with salt, as sea water seeps through sandy spits and embankments and enters the lakes.

However, not all salt lakes have separated from the sea. Many lakes originated differently. They have never been associated with the sea and are therefore called continental. So, in the Caspian steppes there are many deep depressions, into which spring streams rush and rainwater accumulates. And since the soil in these areas is saturated with salt, the flowing water erodes this salt, dissolves it, and the lake becomes salty. This is how the Central Asian, Trans-Baikal and Siberian salt lakes were formed.

Among the steppes and deserts, salt lakes stand out sharply for their whiteness. Salt crystals from the rays of the sun shimmer with a multi-colored rainbow.

The layer of salt deposits in some lakes reaches several tens of meters in thickness. This applies primarily to lakes that are connected by their nutrition with deep salt deposits, for example, Elton, Baskunchak, Inder.

The largest lake from which table salt is now mined in Russia is Baskunchak. It is apparently associated with the salt domes located in the depths. Some lakes are constantly fed with salt, which comes into them from the soil surrounding the desert. That is why their salt wealth is so great and inexhaustible. This assumption is confirmed by the example of some small lakes, the salt reserves of which are sometimes depleted after several years of development. Some time passes, however, and the waters of the lake are again saturated with salt. Obviously, salt is dissolved in the soil by rainwater, and, therefore, these lakes are indeed fed by salt from the surrounding salt marsh desert.

There are many salt marshes in the southern dry countries. Here, the scorching sun heats up the soil in summer to 70-79 degrees, and the slightest reserves of soil moisture evaporate; with strong evaporation, salty groundwater rises through the capillaries in the sand. Water evaporates and salts are deposited in the upper layers of the soil. This is how solonchaks are formed where the subsoil salty water located at a depth of 1-2 meters.

In ancient times, farmers could not fight against soil salinization. Illiterate operation and excessive watering caused a rise in the level of saline groundwater, and with strong evaporation, salinization was caused. Therefore, many lands in Central Asia turned into areas of the so-called secondary solonchaks.

The third source of salt is mineral waters that come to the surface of the earth from its depths.

Flowing underground among various rocks, water dissolves easily soluble salts in them and again draws them into the cycles of underground and aboveground wanderings.

Complicated and intricate are these wanderings of salts. They travel from the ocean to the land and the atmosphere, from there to the rivers and further back to the ocean; and the second way: from underground sedimentary strata - to the surface of the earth and again into the depths of the earth ...

But that's not all.

Fine salty dust swept away by winds from the surface of dry salt marshes, the smallest droplets of sea water picked up by the wind, eruptions active volcanoes, evaporation of salt lakes - all this contributes to the cycle of salts on the surface of the planet.

Man, animals and plants, absorbing the salt they need, also participate in this cycle.

One of the most essential minerals for the human body is rock salt or halite. Halite is formed exclusively by sedimentation from natural brines by crystallization. Quite often, natural salt is deposited in sea bays when water evaporates.

This amazing mineral comes in a variety of colors, ranging from white, transparent, gray to red, obtained from scattered particles of hematite, as well as yellow or blue tint originating from particles of metallic sodium. According to the degree of transparency, halite has an amazing weak glassy luster. The most common color of crystals is colorless, blue, red.

• 1 to 3 years: 2 g of salt per day
• 4 to 6 years old: 3 g of salt per day
• 7 to 10 years old: 5 g of salt per day
• 11 years and older: 6 g of salt per day

For the human body, a lack of salt is as harmful as an excess of this mineral. Excessive consumption of halite threatens a person with edema,. Deficiency causes negative health, weakness, nausea, intense thirst, spasms calf muscles. Rock salt is actively involved in almost all major life processes of the human body. Existing in recent times various salt-free diets- a rather dangerous experiment for human health. The main thing is not the complete absence of salt in the human diet, but a moderate amount of its use. First of all, it is necessary to carefully consume salt for the elderly.

Some nutritionists believe that the main enemy of the human body is water, excess fluid. Redundancy gives rise to excessive development of the bacterial flora, the presence of excess water leads to edema, negatively affects the functioning of blood vessels, arteries, which contributes to an increase in blood pressure. It is water, according to some doctors, that significantly delays the recovery of a person from diseases, creates the prerequisites for the emergence of incurable diseases. People who consume rock salt in excess, harm their health by retaining water in their body. Such lovers of excessively salty dishes suffer, first of all, from kidney diseases.

External use of salt can be considered practically safe. A fairly common recurring headache can be treated by applying a hot dressing soaked in 8% saline. Even in the treatment of oncological diseases, before starting chemotherapy, many sick people try to be treated by applying salt dressings, which draw water from the cells of the human body, while oncological cells die from dehydration.

With low blood pressure, it is absolutely not worth drinking strong coffee to normalize pressure, a piece of black bread sprinkled with salt will certainly help you. Rock salt is much better than any heating pad will help with severe pain in the throat, if it is preheated in a dry frying pan, transferred to a cloth bag. The same dry salt heat treats painful sensations of the joints of the hands and feet. Applying saline solutions directly to festering wounds promotes rapid healing, salt draws out pus.

Absolutely everyone knows about the miraculous, many seaside resorts, where almost all diseases are cured, are always popular. This mineral is used even for modern lamps, salt evaporating under the action of heat, effectively ionizing the air in the room. Salt has the strongest magical properties, which is why there are a large number of amulets, amulets. Let the salt protect and protect you!

February 2, 2017

Rock salt (halite, Halite) is one of the most common minerals on earth. The chemical formula of NaCl is sodium chloride. Substance natural origin, the main deposits are concentrated in places where in ancient times there were seas and oceans. The formation of new deposits is ongoing, salt lakes, seas, estuaries are potential deposits. On the this moment elite grades of edible salt are mined in existing lakes, and the underlying reserves are a zone of halite formation.

Origin

Halite has surface and fossil deposits. Surface deposits are divided into ancient deposits and modern formations. The ancients are mainly represented by rock salt of sedimentary origin in the places of once-existing bays, lakes, sea lagoons during a period when the planet was dry and very hot, which caused intense evaporation of water.

Fossil deposits occur in layers, stocks or domes under the earth's surface in a sedimentary environment. Layers of fossil salt have a layered structure, interspersed with clay, sandstone. The dome arrangement of halite is formed due to the movement of rocks, when the overlying layers, moving, push the softer deposits of rock salt into the weakened zones, resulting in a dome. The size of the domed halite can reach several tens of kilometers.

Types of halite

The mineral halite is divided into primary and secondary. The primary one was formed from the brine of ancient salt pools and has inclusions of other minerals. Secondary, later halite, formed as a result of redeposition of primary halite and is characterized great content bromine.

The mineral of secondary origin has a transparent, coarse-grained structure and forms large nests in the thickness of rock salt. During the development of deposits, large nests of halite of secondary origin are sometimes surprised by the beauty and clarity of lines, a variety of color palettes. In reservoir deposits, halite is located in the form of veins, while its structure is denser, white in color, sometimes the peripheral ends are colored blue, which may indicate radioactivity.

Mineral characteristics

Halite has a vitreous luster, hardness index - 2, specific gravity of the mineral - 2.1-2.2 g / cm 3. Crystals are white, gray, pink, blue, red / tint or colorless. In the mass, the nugget can be painted in several colors. Crystalline halite is soldered in three directions on any face of the cube. In nature, it occurs in the form of stalactites, druses, crystals, raids, influxes, etc.

The mineral has an ionic crystal lattice consisting of positively charged sodium ions and negatively charged chloride ions. The taste of halite is salty, has a solid structure, completely dissolves in water, giving a precipitate of impurities, at an increased concentration precipitates in the form of crystals or flakes.

Place of Birth

The two largest halite deposits in the world are located in Volgograd region Russian Federation, one is located on Lake Baskunchak, the second - on Lake Elton. One of the long-discovered salt mines is the Sol-Iletsk deposit in the Orenburg region and Usolskoye in Yakutia. In Ukraine, the Slavyano-Artemovskoye and Prekarpatskoye deposits are being developed.

Large reservoir deposits are located in Germany and Austria. In the US, vast halite reserves are found in Kansas, Oklahoma, and the Saskatchewan Basin in Canada.

Main scope

Salt halite is most commonly used as a de-icing agent on roads. Climatic conditions most of the territory of Russia are characterized by long periods of cold, precipitation forming an ice shell. Considering the length of motorways, no equipment is able to provide a quick cleaning of the roadway. The use of halite-based mixtures helps to quickly and effectively deal with ice and ensure traffic safety.

Salt technical halite has the following advantages:

• Ease, versatility of use.
• Preservation of the qualities of the reagent at low temperatures (up to -30°C).
• Environmental Safety.
• Small expense.
• Low cost.
• General availability.

Application features

Treatment of the roadway with a halite-based agent provokes the formation of slurry, which destroys the ice crust tightly adhered to the asphalt. The disadvantage of the reagent can be considered the solidification of the entire mass (reagent and melted ice) at temperatures below -30°C.

For better road cleaning, halite salt is mixed with sand or stone chips, which allows you to quickly and better clean the asphalt from the ice cover. According to the technical specifications, no more than 150 grams of salt is required to clean one square meter of the road, which puts the mineral out of competition in comparison with other reagents. For household needs, especially in winter, you can purchase small packages of a mineral reagent. Technical salt halite, the price of which varies in retail from 5 rubles per kilogram, perfectly copes with the task.

Other uses

Technical salt (mineral halite) is used in industry in the following areas:

• Oil production. The main property of technical halite is the dissolution of ice, the softening of frozen or hardened soil. In winter or in conditions Far North a mineral salt solution is pumped into the drilled wells under pressure, which greatly facilitates further work and saves other resources.
• Tableted halite is used for washing industrial boilers, heating systems in order to get rid of scale. Also, this pressed form of the mineral is used as a filter element for cleaning large volumes of water, for example, in water wells. In addition to filtration, salt treatment eliminates the appearance of microbes and microorganisms in water. For domestic purposes, it is used to reduce the hardness of hot water.
• Construction. Salt halite is used in the production of silicate bricks to give the final product resistance to sharp drops temperatures, the strength characteristics also increase and the service life is extended. Brick with salt additive in production has a lower cost. The salt added to the cement mortar helps it “set” faster, which speeds up the construction process and increases the durability and reliability of the building.

There are more than 14,000 areas in the world where technical salt (halite) is used. In medicine, it is used for the production of saline solutions, antiseptics, preservatives. medicines. Technical salt has found application in the food industry as a refrigerant that allows you to quickly freeze and store food at the appropriate temperature.

Implementation

In the implementation, three types of mineral are distinguished, the differences are in the characteristics:

• The highest grade - the content of sodium chloride must be at least 97%, the content of foreign impurities is allowed no more than 0.85%.
• The first one is at least 90% calcium chloride in mass, third-party impurities - 5%.
• The second - the minimum content of the main element should be about 80%, impurities are allowed in the amount of 12% of the total mass.

The amount of moisture for any variety is regulated at a level of no more than 4.5%. The price at which technical salt (halite) is sold depends on the grade. The price per ton of raw materials ranges from 3500-3700 rubles (in a package).

According to GOST, the storage and release of the mineral is allowed in bulk, tons, in polypropylene packages of various weights. At the same time, salt packed in bags has a limited shelf life - up to five years, while salt without packaging can be stored for a very long time.

Enterprises developing deposits carry out the sale of the mineral by wagon rates for wholesale buyers, which allows increasing output. According to the grade, the cost of such a mineral as salt (halite) is also determined. The price per ton when sold by carriage norms varies in the range from 1400 to 2600 rubles.

In addition to technical applications, halite is sold as a necessary mineral additive for animals, in this case, the pressed mineral is produced in briquettes.

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Minerals: Rock salt

Mining and chemical raw materials in the form of salt belong to the non-metallic group of minerals. Rock salt is different the smallest content foreign matter, low humidity and the highest content sodium chloride - up to 99%.

If we consider the rock in its pure form, then it is colorless and water-transparent. Unpurified salt comes with impurities of clay rocks, organic substances, iron oxide, respectively, and the color of the salt can be gray, brown, red and even blue. Easily soluble in water. According to the degree of transparency, halite has an amazing weak glassy luster. The world's rock salt resources are practically inexhaustible, since almost every country has deposits of this mineral.

Characteristics and types

Rock salt is formed as a result of the compaction of sedimentary deposits of halite that arose in past geological epochs. It occurs in large crystalline masses between rock layers. It is a natural crystalline mineral and an environmentally friendly product. Rock salt contains natural complex biologically active macro and microelements. We can say with confidence that this type of salt is the most popular and massive in sales. Subdivided into coarse and fine grinding. To increase iodine, iodized rock salt is produced.

Field and production

Solid salt deposits are found in many regions of the world, where they occur at depths ranging from a few hundred to over a thousand meters. Salt layers are cut underground by special combines, then the rock is transported to the surface of the earth by conveyors. After that, getting into the mills, it crumbles to obtain particles (crystals) of various sizes.

They are mined in more than a hundred countries. The largest producer is the USA (21%), followed by Japan (14%). In Russia, the breed is mined in the Urals and Eastern Siberia. Ukraine and Belarus also have large reserves.

The use of rock salt

Rock salt is a storehouse of our planet. Most of the extracted salt is used in the chemical, leather and food industries. For the human body, rock salt is an essential mineral. Mankind consumes about seven million tons of salt a year.

Widely used in medicine. There are many ways that are popular and help to cure many diseases with the use of rock salt.

The use of salt in modern lamps is no longer considered a curiosity. The developers have proved that under the influence of heat, the salt evaporates, this is what allows you to effectively ionize the air in the room.

Properties of stones

Halite stone is salt. halite properties. Description of halite

Halite is the only natural mineral that people eat. Halite in everyday life is called rock or table salt. The word "halite" comes from the Greek gallos - sea salt.

Halite is ordinary salt, which is consumed daily by everyone. The name of the mineral in ancient Greece meant both salt and sea.

Genetic classification. Halite is formed almost exclusively by sedimentation, crystallizing from natural brines. Due to the fact that its solubility is almost independent of temperature, it is separated from other dissolved salts. The same reason determines the tendency of halite to form skeletal and dendritic forms. Rock salt is deposited in sea bays when water evaporates.

Compound. The chemical formula of NaCl with a fairly frequent admixture of KCl, CaCl2 and MgCl2.

Physical Properties :
a) color: halite occurs in nature in a transparent or white color (from air bubbles), red (from scattered particles of hematite), gray (from impurities of clay particles), yellow and blue (from scattered metallic sodium),
b) hardness: 2, perfect cube cleavage,
c) density: 2.2,
d) degree of transparency: halite has a slight vitreous luster.

Features of education. It is assumed that halite is formed on the earth's surface during precipitation in sea lagoons and salt lakes (in the latter case, during the evaporation of underground mineralized waters). However, according to some indications, the accumulation of thick layers of halite (hundreds of meters thick) requires certain conditions in the upper zones of the earth's crust and metamorphism of sediments at low pressures and temperatures.

Place of Birth. Sedimentary deposits of halite are found in many places, including at a depth of 1700 meters near Moscow. In Russia, halite is mined in the Donbass, the Perm region, the Lower Volga region and in Ukraine in Transcarpathia. Wieliczka, Inowroclaw and Bochnia (Poland) are famous for their beautiful examples. Large deposits are located in Germany (Strasbourg), Austria (Salzburg), Ukraine. Halite is sodium chloride. The color of the mineral is most often white, but there are colorless, blue and red crystals.

Medicinal properties
Halite is used in solution with iodine and water to gargle with sore throat, laryngitis and tonsillitis. Solution warm water(1 tablespoon of mineral per glass) with halite relieves spicy toothache. A clothes bag with red-hot salt is applied to places affected by sciatica, they are heated chest with bronchitis, boils and boils are removed.

magical properties
At first glance, it may seem that the usual (but extremely necessary) seasoning for our food - salt cannot have any magical abilities. But let's remember what our attitude to salt really is, or, in the language of mineralogists, to halite. What do we mean when we say: “I ate a pound of salt with him”? With this phrase, we emphasize not only a long acquaintance with a person, but also complete trust in him. And, mind you, the degree of intimacy and trust is measured not by bread, sugar or potatoes, but by salt.

And who does not remember the phrases "salt of the earth", "that's the salt", "and what is the salt of your story" and so on? It seems that these simple figures of speech are used for figurative language and have no hidden meaning. However, in almost all fairy tales and traditions of the peoples of the world there is a mention of salt as the strongest amulet against witchcraft, evil spirits and various troubles and troubles. For example, Vasilisa the Wise averts the eyes of Koshchei the Immortal and directs him in the other direction, throwing a handful of salt between himself and the pursuer; Baba Yaga gives salt to Ivan the Soldier as a talisman when he leaves for his bride in Far Far Away kingdom(i.e. in world of the dead). In European legends, the bride pours salt on the table, at which the groom, who has forgotten her and himself, feasts, his eyes open, and he remembers given name, and your beloved, etc.

There was an opinion among the military that salt protects against wounds and death in battle. No wonder (even during the Second World War) a soldier took with him to the front a bundle with a handful of native land mixed with a pinch of salt.

And what about the famous conspiracies for salt to protect a person on the way from dashing people, to attract love; for "drying" tears (from depression), for good luck, for happiness, for various diseases, etc. Any village sorceress knows that salt(halite) has the strongest magical properties, both protecting and strengthening the connection of a person with the Earth. How to take advantage of these wonderful qualities of halite? First of all, make amulets, amulets and talismans out of it. I must say that this magical assistant will serve a person, regardless of what sign of the zodiac he was born under.

Talismans and amulets
As a talisman, halit serves its owner to attract good luck, love, sympathy of other people. As a talisman, it keeps it from accidental wounds, mutilations, and attacks by dashing people. Galit is an amulet against the impact of evil spirits (negative energy) on a person, cleanses the premises and the mind of the owner from negativity, helps to achieve successful career. It is not difficult to prepare a charm, amulet or talisman - sew a pinch of salt (preferably a crystal) into a small piece of cotton fabric and carry it constantly with you in your pocket, bag or around your neck in the form of an amulet. The only condition that must be observed in order for the amulet to work successfully is that you do not need to not only show it to anyone, but even tell that you have it.

Applications. More than two and a half centuries ago, delivery difficulties salt forced the commander of the First Kamchatka expedition, V. Bering, to organize in 1726 the extraction of salt on the Pacific coast in Okhotsk, where it was obtained from sea water by freezing. The production started by the “people of the Bering expedition” and the plant that arose on its basis functioned for over a hundred years.

Sea salt has long been cooked by Russian Pomors on the coast White Sea and called a sailor.

In ancient times, salt was valued, it was the subject of state trade, wars and civil unrest arose because of it. In Russia in the 16th century they introduced single tax for salt - two hryvnias per pood, which was equivalent to a double rise in price, and in the spring of 1648 a salt riot in Moscow, and then in Pskov and Novgorod.

Salty taste is a unique and important property of halite. In its pure form, this taste is characteristic only of halite and is, no doubt, a method developed by long evolution to unmistakably isolate this substance, irreplaceable in its biological functions, among which the main one is the maintenance of salt balance, a necessary condition for the metabolism in tissues and cells. This mineral can rightfully be classified as priceless.

Each person needs to eat about 5-6 kg of table salt per year. For all of mankind, this is about 7 million tons annually (for chemical industries - several times more). Once upon a time, a couple of bricks of salt bought a slave; in Central Africa they were literally worth their weight in gold. But with the success of the geological search for deposits of halite and its artificial cultivation, as well as thanks to improved transport and active trade, "salt passions" subsided. This priceless mineral, which is impossible to do without, is sold at quite affordable prices.

Let us once again emphasize a very important circumstance: it was precisely starting from halite that it was possible to organize an artificial cycle of renewal of mineral raw materials. This is the real geotechnology. And if it began for halite several centuries ago, now its methods are used more widely, although still too limited only for some minerals, mostly easily soluble. At the same time, most often we are talking about underground shaftless mining, and not the renewal of valuable raw materials. However, security mineral resources requires the creation of closed cycles of many, if not all minerals and chemical elements.

Physical properties and photo of halite

Glass luster. Hardness 2. Specific gravity 2.1-2.2 g / cm 3. Colorless, white, grayish, pink, red, brown, blue, blue. Often there is a different color in the same sample. The dash is white. Crystalline halite has perfect cleavage in three directions along the faces of the cube. Solid granular, dense, foliated, fibrous, sintered (stalactites and other forms); also drusen, crystals and raids. Syngony is cubic. Crystals overgrown and ingrown, usually have a cubic shape.

The crystal lattice of halite is ionic. The cubic lattice sites contain positive sodium ions and negative chloride ions. This is due to the presence of perfect cleavage in crystalline halite in three directions along the faces of the cube.

Features. Halite is characterized by non-metallic luster, medium hardness, salty taste, perfect cleavage in three directions along the faces of the cube, observed in crystalline varieties. Rock salt is similar to sylvin. It differs in taste (sylvin is bitter) and in color (sylvin is milky white).

Chemical properties. The taste is salty. Easily soluble in water.

Halite. A photo. G. Zell Galit. Photo by Pyotr Sosonovsky Cubic crystal of rock salt. © Hans-Joachim Engelhardt Rock salt with green illumination at the Mineralogy Museum Bonn

Origin of halite

The surface is for the most part lagoon and lake chemical sediment. There are ancient and modern deposits. The ancients are represented by rock salt and are chemical precipitation ancient sea bays, lagoons and lakes formed under conditions of intense evaporation (hot, dry climate). Rock salt occurs in the form of layers, stocks or domes among sedimentary rocks. Reservoir deposits usually occupy large areas (tens and hundreds of kilometers) and have a large thickness (up to 100 m or more).

Modern deposits of halite are salt lakes, bays, lagoons, where the process of sedimentation and accumulation of salt is still taking place. In addition, a relatively small concentration of salt is observed on the walls of volcanic craters, at the exits of salt springs, in desert and steppe regions - on the soil surface (“efflorescences”).

satellites. Silvin, carnallite, gypsum, anhydrite.

Application of halite

Halite is a raw material for the production of hydrochloric acid and its salts (caustic and soda ash, gaseous chlorine, ammonia, etc.). Almost no industry can do without salt. Salt is used in the manufacture of more than one and a half thousand different products. Salt is used in refrigeration, as a food product, for preserving meat, salting fish; for salting out soap and organic paints, for salting leather; in metallurgy - for chlorinating roasting; in ceramics - for glazing clay products, in medicine. Salt is used in the production of aluminum and bleach.

Halite also serves as an ore for obtaining metallic sodium and chlorine, as well as all compounds of these elements. Metallic sodium is used to obtain alloys, as a reducing agent in metallurgy, as catalysts in production organic compounds and in the electrical industry - for the manufacture of wires (sodium "veins" covered with a copper sheath) and discharge lamps. Sodium lamps are used for street lighting. They are twice as bright, almost three times more durable than mercury. Sodium lamps also increase the contrast of objects.

Sodium serves as a catalyst in the production of synthetic rubber. Sodium peroxide regenerates the air in the cockpit of a spacecraft and in a submarine. A cloud of sodium vapor released from space rockets allows you to determine the location of the rocket and refine the trajectory of its flight. It has been established that 1 mm3 of rock salt is capable of storing up to a billion units of information. This opens up the possibility of using grains of salt in computers. Sodium Sulfur Battery Lead Oxygen Battery equal weight. Sodium coolant is used in nuclear reactors. Concentrated solutions are good antiseptics.

Place of Birth

The largest in the world in terms of reserves of table salt is Lake. Baskunchak; Lake is also famous. Elton (both are located in the Volgograd region).

The Sol-Iletsk deposit of rock salt (Orenburg region), Usolye - near Irkutsk, in Yakutia, as well as the deposits of Slavyano-Artemovskoye, Carpathian (Ukraine) have long been known. The reservoir deposits with a large area of ​​distribution include the Statfurt salt basin in Germany, the salt deposits of the states of Kansas and Oklahoma in the USA, the Saskatchewan basin in Canada.