කලාව
රූපලාවණ්ය සහ සුවතාව
ශිල්පය
සංස්කෘතිය සහ ඉතිහාසය
විනෝදාස්වාදය
පරිසරය
ආහාර සහ පාන
ප්රතිලෝම ඉංජිනේරු
විද්යාවන්
ක්රීඩා
තාක්ෂණය
පැළඳිය හැකි
English
Extracting Pink Salt from Khewra Salt Mine — Pakistan's Natural Mountain Salt
The Khewra Salt Mine located in Punjab Province, Pakistan is the world's second largest salt mine. This blueprint describes the complete method of extracting natural pink mountain salt. This salt was formed approximately 600 million years ago from the evaporation of an ancient inland sea. This guidebook includes all stages from identifying salt veins, hand-pick extraction with spades, mechanical drilling, block extraction, sorting by color, crushing, washing, grading, and storage. The Khewra mine uses the "room and pillar" method in which 50 percent of the salt remains in pillars to support the
මධ්යම
Full day operation
උපදෙස්
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Understanding the Geology of Khewra Salt Mine
Understanding the Geology of Khewra Salt Mine
The Khewra Salt Mine is located in the Salt Range mountain chain in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan. The salt deposits here were formed approximately 600 million years ago during the Precambrian/Ediacaran period when an ancient inland sea evaporated. The mine has 11 levels (6 underground) and tunnels extend approximately 730 meters into the mountain. According to tradition, the soldiers of Alexander the Great discovered it in 326 BC when their horses were licking the salt rocks.
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Safety Preparation
Safety Preparation
Underground mining is dangerous work. Before entering the mine, it is essential to wear complete safety equipment: hard helmet (with head lamp), safety goggles, gloves, safety boots (steel toe), and a dust protection mask. Check the mine ventilation system. Inspect the structural integrity of the tunnel. Learn the emergency exits and tools. Never enter the mine alone.
මෙම පියවර සඳහා ද්රව්ය:
Dust Protection Mask1 කැබැල්ල
Heavy-Duty Work Gloves1 pairඅවශ්ය මෙවලම්:
Hard Hat with Head Lamp
Safety Goggles
Steel-Toed Safety Boots3
3
Identifying Salt Veins
Identifying Salt Veins
Salt in the Khewra mine is found in different colors: white, pink, red, and transparent. The pink color is due to trace amounts of iron oxide (Fe2O3). The salt contains 96-98 percent sodium chloride (NaCl), with the remainder including minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, and iron. The best veins are those where the salt is clear, uniform in color, and has minimal soil or other contamination. Experienced miners assess the thickness, direction, and quality of the vein.
අවශ්ය මෙවලම්:
Geological Pick Hammer4
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Extracting Salt by Hand with a Pick
Extracting Salt by Hand with a Pick
In the traditional method, miners use a heavy pick and chisel. First, find cracks and natural joints in the salt vein. Strike the salt rock with the pick to free large blocks. Strike along the natural cracks, not against them. This method yields large, unbroken blocks which are more valuable. Traditional hand mining is still used alongside modern methods today.
අවශ්ය මෙවලම්:
Mining Pick (Heavy-Duty)
Steel Chisel
Sledgehammer (3-5 kg)5
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Mechanical Drilling
Mechanical Drilling
Modern extraction methods use mechanical drills. Holes are drilled in the salt wall according to a specific pattern. The drill bits are specially designed for salt rock. The depth and spacing of holes depends on the thickness of the salt vein. Sometimes limited use of explosives is made to free large sections — but this work is done only by trained blasters. In the room and pillar method, 50 percent of the salt must be left as pillars to support the ceiling.
අවශ්ය මෙවලම්:
Pneumatic Rock Drill6
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Extracting Salt Blocks
Extracting Salt Blocks
Salt blocks freed by drilling or picking are completely separated using lever bars and wedges. Large blocks can weigh 50-200 kilograms. They are carefully lowered to avoid breaking — intact blocks are more valuable. Smaller pieces are also collected. The blocks are placed by hand into mine carts and taken out of the tunnel.
අවශ්ය මෙවලම්:
Steel Lever Bar
Steel Wedges
Mine Cart7
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Initial Sorting by Color
Initial Sorting by Color
Salt extracted from the mine is immediately sorted by color: white (purest, 98%+ NaCl), light pink (most popular), dark pink, red (highest iron content), and transparent (rare). Each color has a different value. Pink salt is in highest demand in the international market. Pieces with soil or other contamination are separated out.
අවශ්ය මෙවලම්:
Sorting Table8
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Breaking Salt
Breaking Salt
Large blocks are broken to the desired size. On an industrial scale, a jaw crusher is used. On a small scale, they are broken by hand with a hammer and chisel. Different sizes for different purposes: large pieces (for lamp making), medium pieces (for cooking), fine grains (table salt). Wear a dust protection mask during breaking.
අවශ්ය මෙවලම්:
Sledgehammer (3-5 kg)Steel Chisel9
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Washing
Washing
Khewra salt is washed minimally — this is its greatest virtue because unrefined salt retains its natural minerals. Only a brief wash is done to remove soil, stone particles, and other non-salt contamination. The salt is washed in brine (saturated salt water), not fresh water — fresh water would dissolve the salt. Dry immediately after washing.
මෙම පියවර සඳහා ද්රව්ය:
Brine Solution (Saturated Salt Water)20 ලීටර්අවශ්ය මෙවලම්:
Large Washing Basin10
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Grading
Grading
After washing and drying, the salt is graded. Food grade salt: clean, pure color, free from soil. Industrial grade salt: less pure in color and food-grade quality. Decorative grade salt: large, beautiful pieces for lamps and decoration. The Khewra mine produces approximately 385,000 tons of salt annually, while total estimated reserves are 6.687 billion tons.
අවශ්ය මෙවලම්:
Sorting Table
Kitchen Scale11
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Packing
Packing
Prepare the graded salt for packing. Fill food-grade salt into clean, dry, food-grade bags. Wrap large blocks (for lamps or decoration) individually in soft paper so they do not break during transport. Write the weight, grade, and date on each bag. Jute sacks or large bags are used for commercial shipments.
මෙම පියවර සඳහා ද්රව්ය:
Food-Grade Packaging Bag10 කැබලි
Soft Wrapping Paper (for blocks)5 පත්ර
Paper Labels10 කැබලිඅවශ්ය මෙවලම්:
Kitchen Scale12
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Storage
Storage
Store salt in a dry, cool place. Salt absorbs moisture (hygroscopic), so protection from moisture is very important. Relative humidity should be below 60 percent. Place salt on pallets above the ground so that floor moisture does not reach it. Storing in airtight containers keeps salt safe for years. Salt has no expiry date — it is a mineral deposit millions of years old — but proper storage maintains its dryness and cleanliness.
මෙම පියවර සඳහා ද්රව්ය:
Airtight Storage Container1 කැබැල්ල
Wooden Pallet1 කැබැල්ලද්රව්ය
8- 1 කැබැල්ලස්ථානගත
- 1 pairස්ථානගත
- ස්ථානගත
- 10 කැබලිස්ථානගත
- 5 පත්රස්ථානගත
- 10 කැබලිස්ථානගත
- 1 කැබැල්ලස්ථානගත
- 1 කැබැල්ලස්ථානගත
අවශ්ය මෙවලම්
18- ස්ථානගත
- ස්ථානගත
- ස්ථානගත
- ස්ථානගත
- ස්ථානගත
- ස්ථානගත
- ස්ථානගත
- ස්ථානගත
- ස්ථානගත
- ස්ථානගත
- ස්ථානගත
- ස්ථානගත
- ස්ථානගත
- ස්ථානගත
- ස්ථානගත
- ස්ථානගත
- ස්ථානගත
- ස්ථානගත
CC0 පොදු වසම
මෙම බ්ලූප්රින්ට් CC0 යටතේ නිකුත් කර ඇත. ඔබට අවසර නොමැතිව පිටපත් කිරීම, වෙනස් කිරීම, බෙදා හැරීම සහ භාවිතා කිරීම කළ හැක.
බ්ලූප්රින්ට් හරහා නිෂ්පාදන මිලදී ගැනීමෙන් නිර්මාතෘට සහාය වන්න නිර්මාතෘ කොමිසම විකුණුම්කරුවන් විසින් නියම කළ, හෝ මෙම බ්ලූප්රින්ට්හි නව අනුවාදයක් සාදා ආදායම බෙදා ගැනීමට ඔබේ බ්ලූප්රින්ට්හි සම්බන්ධතාවයක් ලෙස ඇතුළත් කරන්න.