KHEWRA SALT MINES


Typical part of Salt Range


THE KHEWRA SALT MINE (OR MAYO SALT MINE) is the Pakistan's largest and oldest salt mine, and the world's second largest. Also it is a major tourist attraction, visited up to 250,000 visitors a year. Salt from Khewra, also known as "Himalayan Salt", is red, pink, off-white or colorless. Its history dates back to its discovery by the troops of Alexander III of Macedon "The Great", in 320 BC. The Khewra Salt Mine is also known as Mayo Salt Mine, in honour of Lord Mayo, who visited it as Viceroy of India. The mine is a part of the Salt Range that was originated about 800 million years ago. In modern times it has been active since 1872. The total reserves of salt in the mines is estimated from 82 million tons to 600 million tons. In the early years of British rule, the Khewra mine produced about 28,000 to 30,000 tons per annum; it increased gradually and nowadays produces close 400,000 tons of salt, of about 99% pure halite per annum , which amounts to almost half of Pakistan's total production of rock salt.


The Khewara Salt Mines are located in Khewra 32.6553276,73.0088711 , some 200 kilometres south of Islamabad and 245 kilometres north of Lahore, a bit East of motorway M2 at 288 meters above sea level, i.e. 300 m lower than Islamabad. This is quite noticeable on the drive from Islamabad, as the road M2 is more or less horizontal for a long distance, but eventually leads in many turns down a mineral-rich mountain range called Salt Range. As one reaches the bottom, one turns off M2 to the east towards Khewara. The total length of the Salt Range is 300 kilometres.


The Khewra Salt Mines in comparison are turning out 325.000 tons of salt per year, and an estimated 220 million tons over its lifetime. This is barely even a dent in the massive salt stores here which are said to be close to 7 billion tons. Covering an area of 110 km2, the massive mine has over 40 kilometres of tunnels running some 730 meters into the mountain under which the salt deposits are found. 



The main entrance into the mine


 

Tunnel into the mine



 

Crystal Valley. One of the tunnels open for tourists in the mine. The crystals in the walls and roof are lit by different colors of light.

The ceiling of rock salt





Rock salt. Even here nature is "enhanced" by changing colours, mainly for the benefit of children visiting with their school classes.

 


Stalactites of salt



 

More stalactites



 

Rock salt is brownish-reddish. If water dissolves it and it crystallizes again, it is usually white, although in rare cases clear glass-like pieces can also be found.



 

Salt deposits





  

Salt is usually mined in the form of bricks of rock salt in rectangularly shaped caverns that tend to collect water at the bottom in "brine ponds"

To keep the huge space from collapsing, only fifty percent of the salt found is mined; the other half serves as support columns to hold up the mine. With such a massive area, a large workforce, and the ease of carving and building with salt bricks,it is not surprising that some interesting sights have been built within the salt mine.

Among the earliest structure built within the mine is the small Shahi Mosque, complete with a small salt minaret. Built more recently, specifically to attract tourists, are small salt versions of the Great Wall of China, the Mall road of Murree, Lahore’s Shimla hill, and the Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore. Both the mosque and the miniatures are built from salt bricks, which vary in color from red to pink to white, and which are now lighted electrically and radiate a beautiful warm glow.

At times, the many colors and bricks of light give the mine a sort of disco-Yellow-Brick-Road look. Other sights — and there are many — include a 75-meter-tall “assembly hall” chamber with stairs spiralling up the walls, a 25-foot-long Salt Bridge called the Pul-saraat (an allusion to the Islamic “Pul-e-Saraat,” a bridge you must cross on Judgment Day which is described as “thinner than a strand of hair and sharper than a sword”), brine ponds, and beautiful salt-crystal formations such as stalactites, like the few shown above.

 

Tower of salt bricks





Slide made of rock salt


 

Walls made of rock salt