Abstract: Solution Salt Mining in New York

Kathleen F. Sanford

Bedded subsurface salt was first discovered in New York in a well drilled for gas in Wyoming County in 1878. The salt occurs in the Silurian Syracuse and Vernon formations at depths of 500 to 4000 feet, with a net aggregate salt thickness of up to 800 feet. Both hard rock and solution mining of this salt began in the late 1800s and continue today. There are currently five solution mining facilities in New York producing nearly two billion gallons of saturated brine, or 2.6 million tons of salt, per year. Chemical, pharmaceutical, and food-grade salt are all produced by the solution mining method in New York.