Metal Mining

 

 

Industrial Minerals

Construction Materials

National Statistics


Asbestos Barytes Bentonite Clays
Diatomite Feldspar Fluorspar Gypsum
Kaolin Lime Magnesite Perlite
Potash Refractory Clays Salt Silica Sand
Slate Soda Ash Sulphur Talc


Salt

Sodium chloride, or simply salt, is a familiar product used in both human and animal food. Feedstock and chemical industry are the largest consumers, the latter for chloride and caustic soda manufacture, the two derivatives that are employed extensively in the chemical industry and for plastics manufacture (PVC). Huge quantities of salt are also required for road de-icing in the northern hemisphere.
The next largest applications are in the agricultural sector, where salt is used as a component in animal feeds and human food to enhance flavour and also for food preservation or processing.

Other uses for salt are in the petroleum industry for drilling fluids, in the softening of hard waters, in the textile industry as a rinse, in the tanning industry to inhibit microbial activities, in the pulp and paper industry to bleach wood pulp, and in the metal processing of aluminium, copper, steel, vanadium and uranium.

Links:
- European Mineral Statistics 1998-2002, British Geological Survey
- ESPA - The European Salt Producers' Association




Salt Production
Thousand Tonnes

 
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
Europe
Austria
809.071
940.176
897.430
964.882
1.028.273
Belorussia
300.000
310.704
315.000
136.900
154.300
Denmark
548.000
580.000
590.000
570.000
560.000
France
5.900.000
6.200.000
6.096.000
4.205.000
3.900.000
Germany
16.703.000
15.054.000
14.335.000
14.695.000
16.308.000
Greece
176.867
244.709
208.776
126.118
192.161
Israel
700.000
680.000
660.000
650.000
630.000
Italy
3.338.162
3.500.000
3.300.000
3.600.000
3.800.000
Netherlands
5.400.000
5.564.000
5.600.000
5.700.000
5.500.000
Poland
4.128.000
3.159.000
3.226.000
3.310.000
3.180.000
Portugal
558.807
584.516
625.785
604.969
602.035
Romania
2.196.759
2.307.482
2.224.890
2.200.000
2.415.274
Russia (Europe)
2.000.000
1.300.000
1.200.000
1.800.000
2.500.000
Spain
3.750.000
5.500.000
3.900.000
3.490.000
3.300.000
Switzerland
540.800
310.000
300.000
350.000
300.000
Turkey
2.146.127
2.126.371
1.785.455
1.600.000
1.400.000
Ukraine
2.300.000
2.000.000
1.800.000
2.333.308
2.500.000
United Kingdom
5.700.000
5.900.000
6.100.000
6.100.000
5.900.000
TOTAL
57.195.593
56.260.958
53.164.336
52.436.177
54.170.043
 
Asia
       
Bangladesh
560.000
540.000
530.000
400.000
350.000
China
28.120.000
31.280.000
31.300.000
35.000.000
37.000.000
Korea
430.000
410.000
400.000
390.000
500.000
Egypt
150.000
120.000
100.000
80.000
61.096
India
9.500.000
14.500.000
15.000.000
14.800.000
15.000.000
Indonesia
1.440.000
600.000
525.340
500.000
480.000
Iran
1.668.790
1.560.000
1.558.668
1.664.496
2.022.899
Iraq
270.000
280.000
290.000
300.000
320.000
Japan
950.000
930.000
920.000
910.000
900.000
Jordan
400.000
305.170
300.000
290.000
280.000
Myanmar
170.000
165.000
166.000
167.000
168.000
Pakistan
1.250.000
1.313.000
1.393.000
1.387.000
1.300.000
Philippines
704.347
589.528
550.000
460.983
430.000
Saudi Arabia
400.000
700.000
1.000.000
1.348.000
1.500.000
Sri Lanka
130.000
70.107
65.000
60.000
78.713
Syria
72.710
106.130
190.012
146.097
130.000
Taiwan
250.000
230.000
252.555
147.895
178.826
Thailand
540.000
792.250
852.565
908.968
892.243
Vietnam
330.000
320.000
300.000
290.000
350.000
Yemen
123.000
120.000
190.000
200.000
116.000
TOTAL
47.458.847
54.931.185
55.883.140
59.450.439
62.057.777
 
America
Argentina
1.250.000
1.300.000
1.350.000
1.380.000
1.156.000
Bahamas
720.000
710.000
700.000
690.000
680.000
Canada
12.686.000
11.935.000
13.548.000
12.313.000
13.390.000
Colombia
461.366
459.878
568.437
527.337
447.265
Cuba
177.000
179.000
180.000
190.000
195.000
Mexico
8.235.621
8.884.370
8.501.137
7.801.948
7.546.987
Peru
250.000
260.000
270.000
230.000
187.416
United States
44.926
45.300.000
44.808.380
40.300.000
41.200.000
Venezuela
420.000
400.000
400.000
380.000
360.000
TOTAL
69.125.987
69.428.248
70.325.954
63.812.285
65.162.668
 
Africa
Algeria
163.700
160.000
158.000
155.000
191.017
Botswana
230.000
233.000
235.000
315.000
340.000
Morocco
156.158
147.960
231.334
266.064
290.000
Namibia
489.330
514.077
558.441
614.052
640.000
South Africa
388.400
345.632
350.000
355.000
360.000
Sudan
117.148
86.599
85.000
83.000
61.096
TOTAL
70.670.723
70.915.516
71.943.729
65.600.501
67.044.781
 
Oceania
Australia
9.877.000
8.798.000
8.800.000
10.000.000
10.698.000
TOTAL
9.877.000
8.798.000
8.800.000
10.000.000
10.698.000
 
WORLD TOTAL
254.328.150
260.333.907
260.117.159
251.299.402
259.133.269


Source: Österreichisches Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Arbeit, Abteilung IV/7: World Mining Data, April 2005