Searching for my last shaker of salt......salt......salt

Borax is the commercial name for boron salt which is mined near the salt flats. Borates were formed from thermal water rich in boron that was split in salty lakes. Those lakes existed 14 million years ago in Puma. Due to the reserves of these deposits the region is the third most important in the world , after Turkey and the US.

The great salt flats are made up of a perfectly horizontal thick salt layer which covers 1500km2 of terrain. The salt workers extract the salt which basically contains sodium chloride, mixed with small quantities of sulphate and calcium chloride. The task consists in obtaining ground salt to be commercialized in all the country and also to make rectangular salt "blocks" to sell and barter with the domestic cattle farmers. Salt is extracted through three different methods. Digging pools, raking the surface  or cutting salt blocks or bricks.  The pools are dug up to the level of underground water and the brine is left to crystallize due to over saturation. Thus highly pure sodium chloride is obtained. To obtain blocks the crust is cut off with sharp axes, since it is as hard as granite.

Tap on this link below to see video of  the ride back 

http://youtu.be/6MRSXylpQnY.