Bakhmut rock salt deposits

Bakhmut rock salt deposits. Rock salt deposits near Bakhmut, Donetsk oblast. Since the 16th century salt has been produced from these by the evaporation method. In 1881 it began to be mined. On 1 January 1986 the existing salt reserves were estimated at 5 billion t, extending over 170 sq km. The Bakhmut rock salt deposits are the largest in Ukraine and form one of the largest salt fields in the former USSR. The deposits are associated with strata from the Permian period. The salt is found in layers that alternate with other types of deposits at a depth of 80–525 m. Currently, three layers are being mined. The extracted salt is of a high quality: 97.5–98.5 percent sodium chloride. Mining of the Bakhmut rock salt deposits reached an output of 6.8 million t in 1985 (or 23 percent of the total in the USSR). Its output has declined to 3.6 million t (2013), about one-third of Ukraine’s total production. The principal forms of salt produced here are table salt, iodized table salt, and salt as feed for livestock. Since 1976 the salt in Bakhmut has been mined by the enterprise ArtemSil.

[This article was updated in 2020.]