WHAT IS A SALINERA? HOW DOES IT WORK AND WHAT IS IT FOR? - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

A salinera is a space in which salty water is abundant, which is allowed to evaporate to obtain the salt and process it for marketing.

There are two types of salt mines: the coastal ones, in which sea water is used, and the internal ones, made up of salt water springs, streams, wells or lagoons.

These salt flats are underground because they resulted from the evaporation of ancient oceans and were buried in a natural state (rock salt), along with other sediments and minerals.

The salineras or salinas have been exploited since before the Romans, but it was these who created large factories to exploit it on a large scale and use it as a marketable good.

Since then, salt was a wealth-creating factor for its environment and, at the same time, a resource that caused conflicts between different groups that disputed its property.

With the arrival of the twentieth century, new conservation methods emerged and the use of salt as a bargaining chip disappeared, so that salt mining was reduced to almost limited to the coastal areas.

Currently, the largest salt producers in the world are: China (56 million tons), the United States (43.8 million tons) and Germany (18 million tons). In Latin America, Mexico is the main salt producer with its 8.2 million tons.

How does a salt works work?

Generally, a salt works works with the evaporation of salt water, but the entire process depends on the type of salt works in question.

Internal salt flats

The objective is to lead the water from the spring to the eras (horizontal terrain where the salt water is deposited), with the support of wooden or stone aqueducts.

As it is common that in this type of salt works there is no flat land on which to build the eras, natural terraces or artificial horizontal platforms are built.

In the event that the salinera is from a spring with low flow, the water is pumped from inside the earth into ponds or ponds. Within this classification, the desert salt flats such as the one located in Coahuil, Mexico are also counted.

In this case, the salineros (which is the name for those who work in a saline), extract the groundwater with pumps and pour it into the pools or evaporating vessels so that the sun can do its work.

Coastal salt flats

In the coastal salt flats, on the other hand, the flat land at sea level is used to build the eras simply by building earth walls every certain extension.

In this way they are separated from each other and from the channels through which seawater enters at high tide. Natural evaporation leaves the salt ready in the beds for its collection in special tanks.

Once the salt is cleaned (with salt and fresh water) and dried, it is ready to be processed (refined) and packaged and marketed. Sometimes vacuum evaporators can also be used to speed up the process of extracting salt from brine.

To produce edible salt, iodine and other chemicals are added in small amounts before packaging.

Rock salt processing

When salt is in gem or rock salt form in underground mines, the extraction process includes scouring, drilling and blasting.

1-Opening the tank

Using a diamond-tipped hollow drill, holes are drilled at various points on the ground to analyze the samples and determine the profitability of the deposit.

2-Selection and construction of the mine

After the results of the analysis, a point to be drilled is selected and the drill shafts sink into its center.

Then several holes are drilled in the salt with an electric drill and in each one an explosive such as dynamite or ammonium nitrate is placed, which is detonated trying to leave pillars of salt standing that function as support columns for the roof of the mining area.

3-Crushed

The pieces extracted or resulting from the explosion are crushed to reduce their size and separated from the foreign particles. These small particles of salt are passed through graduated screens (or grizzly grid), to classify them according to their size.

Larger particles are crushed in a rotating cylinder, after which they are transported to a secondary crushing area where they are reduced in size and separated from foreign particles (collection).

Grinding has as many phases as required to make the salt particles smaller. When extra fine salt is desired, its dissolution in brine is used for subsequent extraction. If not, it is ready to pack.

Environmental impact

Even though the extraction of salt is predominantly natural and represents a commodity of mass consumption in the world, it is not without criticism for its adverse environmental effects.

These harmful effects are related to the bitter waste from the salt mines that end up changing the chemical constitution of the soils and have high levels of proven toxicity.

Despite the level of damage that they can cause to the physiognomy or functionality of different species, their effects are only noticeable over long periods of time.

On the other hand, salt consumption can be harmful when the recommended dose for healthy adults is not respected, which is 6 to 11 grams of salt per day.

Composition and uses of salt

The salt is chemically made up of two ions: one positive (cation) of sodium and the other negative (anion) of chlorine. Salt is crystalline and cube-shaped.

It is used for human consumption, for the preservation of food, as a raw material in different industries and to defrost the roads in places with heavy snowfall.

References

1. Salt Institute (s / f). Key questions about salt. Recovered from: institutodelasal.com
2. Leyva, Andrea (2014). How does a salt works work? Recovered from: prezi.com
3. Made how (s / f). Salt. Recovered from: madehow.com
4. Rodríguez, Francisco (2016). The salineros of the desert. Recovered from: vanguardia.com.mx
5. Wikipedia (s / f). Saline. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org
6. World atlas (s / f). All about the salt industry. Recovered from: worldatlas.com