PRODUCTION METHODS
There are several methods of salt production and the one used depends on the climate, the character of the deposit, and the type of salt required by the user. The normal methods are solar evaporation, vacuum evaporation and rock salt mining.

SOLAR EVAPORATION

Solar evaporation is the most ancient of production methods, being used for thousands of years, and probably originating along the shores of the Mediterranean and Red Seas.

Its use is only practical in warm climates, where the evaporation rate exceeds the precipitation rate, either annually or for extended periods, and ideally where there are steady prevailing winds.

Essentially the process consists of letting sea water into shallow ponds where the sun evaporates the water letting the salt settle out. As the specific gravity of the evaporating brine increases it is possible, by moving it from basin to basin, to effect fractional crystallization and thus remove most of the impurities. When they have been practically all removed, the brine is allowed to evaporate completely. The quality varies widely but with proper care, knowledge and technique high purities are easily attained.

This basic process of recovering salt from the sea accounts for about thirty percent of the world's production and is the method used today in parts of the United States, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Southern Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and some of the Pacific Islands. Canada's climate is not suited to Solar Salt production.