Two largest salt mines in Pakistan South asia

 Aslam o Alaikum Friends .Today I am Discussing about second largest Salt mine. Hope that you people will enjoy a lot.furthermore you will get some smart knowledge.the first largest mine is situated in khewra Jhelum.

Second Largest mine

Second Largest salt mine in South Asia is located near Khuzdar, Zargar, and Chitrakala, Chitrakala Districts. It has an area of 75.4 km² and the second largest salt range on our planet earth. This salt mine is a major economic player in the whole of Balochistan Province. It is situated at the northern border of Chitrakala district.

The area of this land has 4th highest mineral content. This area is an important agricultural centre and many agriculture operations such as wheat, sugar, onion etc are dependent on this mining. Agriculture plays a pivotal role along with industrial activities to this region. Due to presence of large deposits of salts like calcium chloride, sodium chloride, magnesium oxide and calcium carbonate and high concentration of sulfates like BaSO4. We have been working on its exploration for almost 25 years and we are making progress. Our most recent work is dedicated to establishing underground infrastructure for water, electricity and gas connection and other related facilities. Underground water pipes will be laid within next 3 months and all major irrigation pipelines are ready. We are also exploring the possibility of expanding mining activities in other areas of Chitrakala district.

The surface area of the soil that can provide us with fresh water for cultivation and domestic use is 4th largest surface area in southern Balochistan. 

These areas comprise 2nd largest salt mine in Pakistan and 3rd largest in Southern Balochistan. A large amount of land has been cleared and it is now suitable only for cultivation, hunting and fishing. The soil has rich organic materials including brown mud, minerals and sand. Most of these soils are rich in salts which is why they are suitable for settlement and salt extraction. Another factor such as the presence of silicified rock salt also plays a significant role here.

With the population increasing day by day due to rapid urbanization and industrial growth, the demand for food increased too. In order to meet the growing population, many factories produce different types of salt used in the industry like ammonium nitrate, borax, ammonium sulphate, aluminum sulfate, etc. But there are some problems associated with the production of these kinds of salt like using water for irrigation and transport is expensive and difficult. Hence large scale industries are shifted to smaller towns to get economical supply of raw material. Small-scale industries too can get their raw material from small farmers' fields located far away from small towns and cities. This is one reason that the demand for salt increase manifold over time and it becomes very tough for any small or big industry to survive without getting more raw material from nearby farmers' fields.

Third Largest mine

The third biggest salt mine is called Sialkot Salt Mine and it is located in Kalat Valley of Gilgit Himalayan Province at an altitude of 14800 ft above sea level. 

It is believed to be the world's second largest salt refinery after Jhelum Salt Refinery in Karachi. It provides 10% to 20% of the national average of total annual consumption of Na+ used in Pakistan. Around 13000 tonnes of seawater (0.52 metric tonne) is extracted daily and around 5 to 7 million tons of brine is produced globally every year. With the establishment of new plants, several hundred thousand tons per annum of brinoids is expected to come out. Since then, three large brine spills took place in Kalat each year with massive losses of about USD 3 billion (M). Moreover no proper safety and environmental measures are taken in Kalat. Similarly, two major accidents involving large number of people occurred in Kalat last year. Thus, it needs to be monitored closely in case of emergency.

Kalat salt is exported to countries like Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia. 

Kalat salt is mainly extracted from brines of Dhabeji Dibai salt mine which is located near Dhabeji village in Barak. According to Wikipedia, Dhaba-ji Dibai salt mine was started by Abdul Latif Dibi (1868–1942), who began extracting and refining saline waters from his salt mine in 1898. 

Today the mine produces approximately 11,000 tonnes of salty ground water (SAGD) daily along with brine from Kalat. Almost 70% of water produced is consumed by residents of Barak. Currently there is enough water left for local inhabitants to drink. Water is supplied via canal channel from Kalat's upper parts, therefore the groundwater level is significantly lower than the water table.

At the End we will pray for our country ,May Allah protect our country from enemies.Aameen

  With best regards.