1. Dig Wells

Wells are dug down to the salt deposits within the mountain.

2. Get Well Brine

Once a well has been dug, salt dissolves into the well water, resulting in a salty brine solution. This Brine is retrieved via bucket or pump and transferred into brine pits.

3. Brine Pit

The well brine is put in brine pits under the salt fields and mixed with the fourth scraping from the last harvest (See steps 6 & 7). This last scraping has too much sediment to be sold, but can be used to increase the salinity of the brine while the excess sediment settles to the bottom of the pit.

4. Salt Fields

The brine is then poured onto the salt fields. These salt fields are made of watertight clay beds supported by wooden structures.

5. Evaporation

As the water evaporates, beautiful elaborate salt crystals form. It takes between 2 weeks and a month for evaporation and crystallization to complete.

6. Scraping

The crystalized salt is scraped off in layers. Each layer has a distinctive flavor, mineral content, and color. For more details about the different layers, Click Here. Once scraped, the salt is loaded into 100lb bags for sale.

7. Return to Brine Pit

The fourth layer scraped from the fields has too much sediment to be sold, and is returned to the brine pit to be mixed with incoming well brine. This increases the salinity of the brine mixture while allowing the excess sediment from the fourth scraping to settle to the bottom of the pit.

Harvesting Techniques:
The style of harvesting the salt is also somewhat unique. Brine water from salt wells in the mountain is poured out onto a flat wooden platform completely covered in mud. The water evaporates, leaving behind a layer of salt. The first layer scraped off is generally white and has the least non-salt mineral content. The second layer is pinkish brown and has the most non-salt minerals (Read: Beneficial Trace Minerals). The third layer scraped off is generally put back into the brine pits under these salt drying platforms to contribute to the next salt harvest cycle.