Facts & Figures about all things Berchtesgaden salt mine

Here you will find technical background information as well as current facts and figures on salt mining in Berchtesgaden.

Active miner working underground
Facts & Figures

Mining and performance of the Berchtesgaden salt mine

Process

 

wet mining

 

Expansion of a wet drilling plant

 

< 160 m long / < 120 m wide / < 125 m high

 

Number of currently active wet drilling plants

30

 

Daily mining progress in the wet drilling plant

 

approx. 1 cm upwards

 

Usable mining height in the wet drilling plant

 

100 m

 

Operating time of a wet drilling plant

 

About 30 years

 

Brine profit per wet drilling plant during the entire operating time

 

about 1.300.000 m³

 

Brine profit of the salt mine per year

 

about 900.000 m³

 

Fresh water demand for the salt mine

 

about 2.000 m³ per day

 

Power generation through 4 water turbines

 

2,400,000 kWh

Assuming an average consumption of 4,500 kWh by a two-person single-family home, the salt mine could supply around 440 single-family homes with electricity for a year.

Based on the average consumption of a two-person single-family home of 4,500 kWh, the Berchtesgaden salt mine could supply approximately 440 single-family homes with electricity for a year.

Miners in a blind shaft inside the mountain

Mine worker, Berchtesgaden Salt Mine

Extensions

The Berchtesgaden
salt deposits

open

 

from south-west to north-east

 

4.5 km

 

from north-west to south-east

 

1.5 km

in the process of being degraded

 

from south-west to north-east

2.5 km

from north-west to south-east

1.5 km

Proven bearing depth

500 m below the valley floor

presumed storage depth

1,000 m below the valley floor

Mountain salinity

approx. 50 %

Terminology

A small
glossary of salt mining terms

What does "wet mining" actually mean and when do we speak of brine?
Take a look at our little glossary.

In salt mining, a drilling mud sink work is a hollow area that is opened up for the extraction of brine in wet mining. It is filled with fresh water. The water has the task of dissolving out the water-soluble components, i.e. also the salt, from the rock mass on the ceiling and walls. The insoluble components of the rock sink to the bottom and settle on the ground. The cavity increases in size due to the constant influx of fresh water. This process is repeated until a 3,500 to 5,000 cubic metre so-called initial cavity is completed. Only then does the actual brine extraction begin.
Samples are taken to determine the required minimum salt content in the rock. The boreholes for this are being drilled to a depth of 400 metres below the mining level.
In Berchtesgaden, the salt is extracted in the so-called "wet mining". In the process, fresh water is introduced into the rock, which dissolves the salt out of the mixed rock. The result is brine, i.e. a concentrated salt solution with a salt content of 26.5 %. The principle of wet mining has not changed to this day. The brine is extracted in so-called drilling mud plants.
Brine is understood to be a saturated salt solution, i.e. salt water, which contains the maximum possible proportion of 26.5 % salt. In Berchtesgaden, brine is created by channeling fresh water into the mountains, where it dissolves the salt out of the rock. The Berchtesgaden brine is pumped to the Bad Reichenhall salt works and processed into salt there.
Continuous brine extraction begins when the ceiling area of the cavity has reached approximately 3,000 m². Every day, about 1 cm of rock is loosened from the slab surface. At a mining height of 100 m, a drilling mud sink work can be used for around 30 years. During this time we produce over 1.3 million cubic metres of saturated brine.

What does "wet mining" actually mean and when do we speak of brine?
Take a look at our little glossary.

Our show mine in numbers
340 thousand

guests arrive per year to the Berchtesgaden salt mine.

600 metres

is the length of the mine railway that takes you into the mountain during your visit.

24 metres

is the total length of slide fun awaits you on our two slides in the salt mine.

mountains
Highlights
This awaits you in the salt mine
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Happy family on the slide
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Salt mining from 1517 until the present day
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Detonation at the Berchtesgaden salt mine