Image: Potash mine Moab NASA

Description: In Utah, the miners pump water deep underground to reach the potash ore. Potash is soluble, so water dissolves it into a brine. That brine gets pumped into underground caverns, where the potash continues to dissolve. Eventually, a highly-concentrated brine is pumped all the way to the surface and into one of the evaporation ponds shown above. As the water evaporates, potash and other salts crystallize out. This evaporation process typically takes about 300 days. The water is dyed bright blue to reduce the amount of time it takes for the potash to crystallize; darker water absorbs more sunlight and heat. The crystals of potash and salt are then sent to a facility to be separated through a flotation process. In 2013, the United States produced about 970,000 metric tons of potash, about two percent of global production. The fertilizer industry consumed about 85 percent of the potash produced by the United States; the chemical industry used the rest. About 60 percent of the U.S. potash was the muriate type produced at the Moab mine.
Title: Potash mine Moab NASA
Credit: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=83905&src=eoa-iotd
Author: unknown pilot
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