The mined rock salt can be used to grit roads in winter to prevent vehicles from skidding . In this case, the salt used does not have to be pure. For purposes which require pure salt, the rock salt obtained from mining is refined to purify it.
Solution Mining
Another way to mine rock salt deposits is by solution mining . Hot water is pumped down the outer pipe into the salt deposits to dissolve the salt. The salt solution formed is known as artificial brine. This brine is then pumped up the inner pipe to ground surface, where the brine is collected and stored in lakes until is needed.
Upon the completion of solution mining in an area, the space left in the ground must be filled.