Khewra Salt Mines
Introduction:
‘The Khewra Salt Mine is located in the Jhelum District’s Pind Dadan Khan Tehsil. It is accessible from Islamabad and Lahore through the M2 highway, around 30 kilometres from the Lilla interchange when travelling on the Lilla route toward Pind Dadan Khan. Khewra Mine is located about 2400 feet into the mountain and 945 feet above sea level. Over 110 km2 of land, the underground mine is located.
Khewra Salt Mines, which are located near the Salt Range’s foothills, are the oldest salt mines ever discovered on the subcontinent. Salt naturally takes the shape of a crooked dome. There are seven substantial salt seams, totaling around 150 meters in thickness. Rock salt is 99% pure in some places. Transparent, white, pink, reddish, or beef-color red describes salt. It is crystalline in some horizons. Beautiful alternate bands of salt in the colors of red and white can be found inside the mine. There are 18 levels in use. The total length of all drives exceeds 40 km.
why is Khewra Salt Mine So Special?
The mine is a popular tourist destination that receives up to 250,000 people a year and is known for producing pink Khewra salt, which is frequently marketed as Himalayan salt. Its discovery by Alexander’s army in 320 BC is where its history begins, but it didn’t begin trade until the Mughal era.
Production:
The entire salt deposits in the mines are estimated to be between 82 million tonnes and over 600 million tonnes. It has trace levels of iron, zinc, copper, manganese, chromium, and lead in its raw form, as well as very small amounts of calcium, magnesium, potassium, sulphates, and moisture. Khewra salt, often referred to as Khewra salt, is clear, pink, red, or off-white in colour. In 2003, it was estimated that the mine produced 385,000 tonnes of salt annually, or nearly half of all the rock salt that Pakistan produced. The tube would be anticipated to last another 350 years at that pace of production.