The future of the Saltworks
Swiss Saltworks guarantees independent and reliable supplies of salt for Switzerland on a basis of solidarity. To fulfil this mission for the 26 cantons and the Principality of Liechtenstein sustainably, it regularly collects geological data about salt deposits in Switzerland.
Switzerland's salt deposits
Switzerland's salt was gifted to us by the primordial ocean that evaporated 200 million years ago. It left behind layers of salt up to 50 metres thick in north-western Switzerland, the Jura and the Swiss Plateau. Salt deposits that originally came from the south of today's Alps also exist in the canton of Vaud, or rather in the Rhône Valley. The salt extracted from these will be sufficient to supply Switzerland for centuries.
Swiss Saltworks' salt production
The salt processed at the Bex saltworks comes from the rocks surrounding the salt mine. At the Riburg and Schweizerhalle saltworks, salt is produced from nearby underground deposits. However, the 50 or so active pumping stations required for this in Möhlin (AG) and Muttenz (BL) will only supply salt until around 2034 and 2025 respectively.
New mining areas in north-western Switzerland
Assessments are currently being conducted in the canton of Aargau with the aim of developing a new drilling field to the west of Wallbach, known as the Nordfeld ("North Field"). Since there is no question of salt being produced in the area of Rütihard in Muttenz any longer, the company is currently evaluating the suitability of other areas in the franchise area of the canton of Basel-Landschaft.
You will also find regularly updated information and news about mining plans at saline.ch, our platform for the local population and partners in mining areas.
Cantons have extended their franchises
The extraction franchises with the cantons of Aargau and Basel-Landschaft create planning security for Swiss Saltworks. However, they do not automatically entitle the company to extract salt. Each individual mining project requires an extensive licensing procedure. In 2021, the canton of Aargau extended Swiss Saltworks' salt mining franchises to the year 2075. In the canton of Basel-Landschaft, the political process to extend the franchises ending in 2025 has not yet been completed.
Geological surveys and seismic measurements
A further essential basis for planning safe and environmentally friendly extraction projects is the conduct of scientific investigations of the local geology and hydrogeology. Swiss Saltworks regularly sinks boreholes and carries out seismic measurements.for this purpose.
Swiss Saltworks takes responsibility
Swiss Saltworks' forward-looking planning includes not only future but existing brine fields. A site-specific follow-up and monitoring concept sets forth Swiss Saltworks' obligations after the pumping stations' active operating phase has ended. With this approach, the company ensures that the operation, aftercare and dismantling of the equipment needed to extract the salt are financed and that adequate protection against liability risks is in place.
