Pink Himalayan Salt is a mineral that is mined in Tibet, Nepal and some parts of India. The crystals of Himalayan salt are nearly round in shape, with a thick cylindrical rim.
A lot of people call it "wet pink salt" and they are referring to the fact that the salt crystal has become wet when it was mined. Many years ago, miners would roll or stack the rock crystals using rags or other materials on the roof of a large vat with a boiling water container. Once the rock salt is completely saturated, the miners would add a few drops of a mineral liquid for lubrication and then the rock salt was taken back to the surface for further processing.
In more recent times, miners brought their small machinery to the mines during colder weather to process the rock salt. That way, the rock salt would stay wet and the miners could do their operations from the warmth of the mines.
Mining for rock salt has not always been a very good business. There were many instances where the miners fell asleep while working. And then there were also people who would spend their whole time inside the mine, which often became unsafe for others to be near them.
The mineral liquid was then brought to the surface for further processing. It was then collected and stored in bags to prevent damage to the mineral liquid. Those bags are still being used by many companies today.
It is also recommended that the bags be reused as this prevents damage from being done to the mineral liquid. This is because different minerals do not react with each other when they are kept under different conditions. For example, quartz does not react well with boron, so the water in the bag will evaporate and the water will not be harmful to anyone.
The high costs of Himalayan pink salt have made most companies opt for dry forms of the mineral. Many companies that do sell this mineral as rock salt offer this mineral in powder form. This is because the cost of producing rock salt decreases when they get rid of the rock salt, but the cost of producing the powder does not decrease at all.
Many people love Pink Himalayan salt for its color. The reason why they prefer this mineral over other pinkish-red colored minerals is that the pink mineral deposits are naturally occurring, meaning that the mineral is close to the earth's surface. And then, the naturally occurring deposits are harder than other mineral deposits.
Himalayan pink salt is also mined in the fields, to avoid pollution. Not only do the miners get it to the surface, but they also mine it in areas that are very close to different minerals and other waste materials.
If you plan to buy the rock salt you can buy it in most places. However, there are some stores that offer wholesale Himalayan pink salt at very reasonable prices.
The mineral liquid is filtered to remove any particles that are larger than water. Then the whole mineral liquid is put into plastic containers to keep the minerals fresh.
Himalayan pink salt is also available in tubes, which is the best way to store the mineral liquid. The tubes can be emptied every few months.