Get to Know a Nevada Mineral: Salt

Nevada mining produces more than 20 minerals we use every day. Here are 4 things you may not know about one of those minerals: salt.

Food

Salt has been one of humanity’s most essential minerals for centuries because of its ability to flavor and preserve food. It was so vital that Roman soldiers were paid in it and it was even traded ounce-for-ounce with gold by Moorish merchants.

Industrialization saw refrigeration replace salt as the most common way to preserve food, though methods like curing meats remain popular today. Salt also remains a mainstay on dinner tables across the globe.

Chemicals

Though most think of salt as a food product, its main usage is in chemical production. Salt is the base ingredient in chemicals like chlorine and sodium hydroxide that are used to treat water, manufacture medicines, create paper, and can be found it countless other things we use every day.

De-icing

Salt can also help keep drivers and pedestrians safe during winter storms. When spread on roads and sidewalks, road salt melts snow and ice and also lowers water’s freezing temperature, preventing new ice from forming.

In Nevada

Nevada produced 19,900 tons of salt in 2018, all of which comes from Churchill County.

Want to learn more about the 20+ minerals mined in Nevada? Check out our minerals page!