Salt (halite) & brine caverns

POTENTIAL & KNOWN RESERVES IN ALBERTA

≈33,200 km² of Elk Point salt; Lindbergh bed ≈300 m thick

Confidence: Measured

• Salt extent≈33,200 km²AGS salt resources ↗
• Lindbergh salt bed≈300 m thick; mined since 1948Canadian Encyclopedia — Lindbergh ↗
• Historic capacity (1989)Dow Fort Saskatchewan 1,400 kt/yr brining; Lindbergh 140 kt/yr; Bruderheim 50 kt; Grande Prairie 45 ktCurrent tonnage unpublishedCanadian Minerals Yearbook ↗

Where it occurs

• Lindbergh (Windsor Salt)
• Fort Saskatchewan brine and cavern fields (Dow, ATCO, Keyera)
• Bruderheim
• Grande Prairie (sodium chlorate)
• Fort McMurray Prairie Evaporite subcrop

Live Atlas valuation (reference scenario)

2 subsurface assets priced by the Atlas engine: economic value $2T. Move the Scenario Laboratory sliders on the map to reprice.

• Lotsberg / Prairie Salt Caverns120K Mt in place · recoverable $1T · economic $914B (77% clears break-even)
• Prairie Evaporite (Potash)22K Mt in place · recoverable $1T · economic $950B (80% clears break-even)

GEOLOGY: WHAT MAKES A DEPOSIT MORE LIKELY

Thick bedded marine halite with anhydrite interbeds; solution-mined through wells or converted to storage caverns.

Host formations

Upper and Lower Lotsberg · Cold Lake Formation · Prairie Evaporite

Depth range

200–2K m

Favourable conditions

• Over 100 m of >95 % halite
• Depth 1,000–1,900 m for stable caverns
• Away from dissolution edges mapped by AGS
• Adjacent chemical or storage demand

Prospectivity envelopes on the map (2)

• Lotsberg / Cold Lake salt corridor (Fort Saskatchewan–Lindbergh)Producing / drill-proven
  Thick, clean Lower Devonian halite suited to solution mining and cavern storage · 1K–2K m
  • Lotsberg Formation 100–230 m of > 95 % halite at 1,000–1,900 m
  • Impermeable seals, away from dissolution edges — caverns are stable
  • Adjacent chlor-alkali, hydrogen and NGL cavern storage demand (Industrial Heartland)
  Source: Windsor Salt Lindbergh, Dow / Nutrien brine fields, ATCO & Keyera caverns.
• Prairie Evaporite shallow subcrop (Fort McMurray)Favourable
  Shallow halite beneath the Athabasca oil sands · 200–600 m
  • Prairie Evaporite shallower than 500 m north of Fort McMurray
  • Dissolution has removed salt locally — karst collapse controls McMurray thickness
  • Mineable only where undissolved and sufficiently thick
  Source: AGS Prairie Evaporite dissolution-edge mapping.

DATASETS THAT TEST THE TARGET

Stack these layers on the integrated map

Discriminating datasets first, then every catalogued public dataset tagged to this commodity. Verified endpoints draw directly; link-only entries open the publisher page.

• Prairie Evaporite / Lotsberg salt thickness (publication)Alberta Geological Survey · Structure, depth & isopach · link onlyThick, undissolved halite is the target for solution mining and caverns and the seal for CO2 storage; dissolution edges control McMurray karst collapse.Source ↗
• 3D Provincial Geological Framework: Precambrian subcrop zonesAlberta Geological Survey · Structure, depth & isopach · drawable · verifiedEntry point to the provincial 3D framework: which Paleozoic zone sits on basement controls helium traps, brine aquifers and storage seals.Source ↗
• Metallic, placer, quarriable & salt mine boundariesAlberta Energy and Minerals · Mines & operations · drawable · verifiedOfficial footprints of non-energy mines and brine fields.Source ↗
• Metallic & industrial minerals agreementsAlberta Energy and Minerals · Mineral tenure · drawable · verifiedLithium, salt, silica, limestone and metallic tenure; about 2 million ha are under lithium leases.Source ↗
• Pipelines & facilities (ERCB Geoview)Alberta Energy and Minerals · Infrastructure · drawable · verifiedEgress and processing infrastructure; H2S content flags sulphur and sour-gas plants.Source ↗

VALUE & VALUE CHAIN

Industrial / rock salt: ≈US$60–120/t (supplier listings, unverified)

Flat mine-gate price in the Atlas; cavern value tracks petrochemical and hydrogen storage demand instead.

Value chain

1. Solution mining
2. Evaporation to vacuum salt or brine feed
3. Chlor-alkali / sodium chlorate / de-icing
4. Caverns for NGL, ethylene, hydrogen, CO2 buffer

Industries and products that rely on it

DEMAND & PRODUCTION PROJECTIONS

What the forecasts say

• OutlookGrowth tied to petrochemical and hydrogen cavern demand in the Industrial Heartland

Key risks

• Brine disposal capacity
• Cavern integrity near dissolution edges

DEVELOPMENT: TENURE, ROYALTY, PERMITTING

What a developer needs to know

Tenure

Metallic & Industrial Minerals Tenure Regulation (AR 265/2022): permit — exclusive exploration right, indefinite term, no rent, $625 fee, assessment work $7/ha (first 2 years) → $13 → $20/ha; lease — 15-year initial + 15-year intermediate term, indefinite while producing, $3.50/ha rent. Salt mines appear as SLR (salt mine) permits on the Alberta Energy mine-boundary layer.

Royalty

$0.45/t for salt, sodium sulphate, sodium carbonate and any mineral extracted in salt form (AR 350/93 s.15).

Lead time

2–3 years for a new cavern cluster

Permitting path

1. AER Directive 065 (cavern schemes) and Directive 091
2. EPEA approval
3. Water Act for brining water

Infrastructure needs

• Brining water
• Disposal wells
• Pipelines to users

Active players

Recommended next steps

• Map Lotsberg thickness against hydrogen storage demand
• Value cavern leases under the hydrogen profile

MINES, PILOTS & PROJECTS (2)

Who is already working this commodity in Alberta

• Lindbergh salt plantSalt / brine · Windsor Salt (Stone Canyon) · Solution-mined vacuum salt (≈140 kt/yr historic capacity)Operating (2026)Operating since 1948 on a ≈300 m Lotsberg salt bed; 2025–26 output not published.Source ↗
• Fort Saskatchewan brine & cavern fieldsSalt / brine · Dow, ATCO Energy Solutions, Keyera · Lotsberg caverns for NGL, ethylene and hydrogen storageOperating (2026)Dow chlor-alkali closed 2006; caverns now storage assets for the Industrial Heartland.Source ↗