Interesting Facts About Rock Salt

As the winter weather starts to creep in, here at Online Rock Salt we wanted to produce an eye catching info-graphic with a few interesting facts about rock salt thrown in for good measure, explaining what Rock Salt is and where it comes from.

The main fact (as far as customers are concerned) is that Rock Salt is not for use on tasty favourites such as your fish and chips, although rock salt does share many characteristics of the salt you’d find in your cupboard. It is however, mainly used by many businesses (large and small), schools, universities and a whole host of other organisations such as the military for de-icing roads and pathways. When things start to freeze and become a hindrance in terms of getting around and about, rock salt comes into its own.

At Online Rock Salt we offer both white salt and rock salt. White salt is produced from evaporated sea water, resulting in a purer product without the muddy residue. It also has anti-caking properties which make it suitable for long term storage or use straight away when the temperature plummets towards zero. This is the preferred option for many businesses such as shopping centres as it means that, even with heavy footfall, the area covered in salt tends to be much cleaner with it not congealing into a muddy mess.

In comparison, rock salt may be a better option if price is the key factor in the purchasing decision and if the area to be covered is not necessarily a concern when it comes to being kept clean. As it is compromised from granular pink/brown salt it is slightly larger in terms of granular size, which makes it an ideal product for use on frozen roads and pathways. It is also the same product used by the highways agency and local councils, giving you peace of mind that it will be a great product for the job in hand.

Both products are perfect in conjunction with salt spreaders. The spreaders themselves are great for covering large surface areas evenly, making sure all the nooks and crannies are covered. We currently have a great offer on spreaders; have a look here for more information.

If you have any questions about our White or Rock Salt or would like to enquire about deliveries/bulk loads please get in touch with our friendly staff on 01692 425 038. We are always happy to help.

Infographic Transcription:

What is rock salt?

Rock salt is the common name for Halite. It is a rock, rather than a mineral, which is what makes it different to the domestic salt you might find on your table. It does share many characteristics however.

More facts about rock salt:

• Miners were orignially lowered into the mine shafts by bucket!
• The worlds oceans contain so much salt that if it was placed on land, it would cover the UK with a layer of salt 50 miles deep
• 87% if the Nations's salt was produced in Cheshire in the 19th century.
• UK salt mines have around 140 miles of tunnels - that's the same distance from London to Brussels!

Source: www.winsfordrocksaltmine.co.uk

More Wintery Facts:

According to the Met Office the UK gets an average of 33 days of snow a year. To keep everything moving over 2 million tons of rock salt is spread on the UK’s roads every year and it is estimated that without this delays would cost us £2 billion a year. Online Rock Salt is supplied from the Winsford mine in Cheshire which has over 137 miles of tunnels and can extract half a million tonnes of salt in 6 months. All this means we are well prepared if we have another winter like the one in 1963 when between 22nd January and 17th March snow fell somewhere in the UK every day and the sea froze a mile out from the coast.

However, this would be bad news for those who suffer from chionophobia or the fear of snow. They particularly wouldn’t be impressed by the world’s largest recorded snowflake. It fell in Montana on 28th January 1887 and was 15 inches wide and 8 inches thick. Snowflakes form as water particles freeze around dust in the atmosphere. The shape is determined by many factors including the temperature, wind, time it takes to fall and the amount of water vapour in the air. All this means no two snowflakes are the same, although they are all 6 sided.

Unfortunately, contrary to popular belief it is never too cold too snow. It’s all to do with the water vapour in the air and although a drop in temperatures does reduce the amount of water vapour, it does not get rid of it entirely. It has even been known to snow in the Poles. Only once temperatures reach absolute zero (-273oC) is snow impossible as all water vapour condenses and loses molecular energy.

So, here in the UK we should consider ourselves lucky that by some of these standards are winters are quite tame. However, winter will always be unpredictable so allow Online Rock Salt to help you prepare for whatever it throws at us this year.