Innovation of mining industry

At the German state of Thuringia DEUSA International operates an industrial plant for hot leaching extraction and processing of carnallite.The unadulterated salts come from a 250 million years old mineral deposit. At a depth of up to 500 meters the salt is leached environment friendly and pumped through pipelines to above ground. Through this process the important materials, magnesium chloride and potassium chloride are separated already in the underground from the non-valuable materials.

The residual substances remain at the mineral deposits and contribute to the stability of the cavities. Thus the formation of residue heaps, known from conventional mining, can be entirely avoided. The solution minig technology also effects an increase of operational safety, because no individual needs to work in the underground.

Environment-friendly mining technology

The leaching of carnallite is a selective hot solution process where mainly the component carnallite is dissolved from the mineral deposit.

This is done via boreholes that are drilled down to the lower edge of the deposit and subsequently piped. The piping ensures that the required liquid flows to and from the deposit. The solution minig is conducted in several successive mining cuts from the lower to the upper edge of the deposit. Thus caverns in a typical shape for carnallite solution are developed in the process. Other components of the deposit, such as rock salt and kieserite, remain in the cavern as residue.