Oceania Rock Salt Atlas is the regional section of the World Rock Salt Atlas investigating, by country and sedimentary basin, whether genuine geological halite or rock-salt deposits occur in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific nations.
Distribution of Rock Salt in Oceania
Large subsurface rock-salt systems in Oceania occur mainly within ancient continental sedimentary basins of Australia. In several Australian basins, halite successions hundreds of metres thick and in some cases approaching kilometre scale have been confirmed by drilling and geophysical data.
Australia’s Thick Underground Halites
Geoscience Australia maps thick underground rock-salt accumulations across the country. Major systems include the Boree Salt in the Adavale Basin, Chandler Formation in the Amadeus Basin, Kilroo Formation in the Polda Basin, Carribuddy Group in the Canning Basin and Browne Formation in the Officer Basin.
Why Are These Salt Deposits Relatively Little Known?
Australia currently produces large quantities of salt, but a substantial part of commercial output is associated with coastal solar-evaporation systems. In contrast, the continent’s large underground rock-salt bodies are mainly deep geological formations discovered through drilling.
Hydrogen Storage and Rock Salt
Interest in these deep halite deposits has increased in recent years. Research is examining the potential to create artificial solution-mined caverns within thick, low-permeability rock salt for large-scale underground storage of hydrogen and other gases.
New Zealand Has No Rock Salt Deposits
New Zealand’s official Te Ara encyclopedia explicitly states that the country has no natural rock-salt deposits. Its salt industry is based primarily on seawater evaporation at Lake Grassmere.
For this reason, a misleading “New Zealand rock salt deposits” article has not been created.
Pacific Island Nations
Salt consumption and, in some places, sea-salt production occur in many Pacific island states. This does not demonstrate the presence of subsurface rock salt. Countries without reliable geological evidence are not assigned artificial halite deposits in the atlas.
Australian Rock Salt Files
- Australia Rock Salt Deposits
- Adavale – Boree Rock Salt
- Amadeus – Chandler Rock Salt
- Polda – Kilroo Rock Salt
- Canning – Carribuddy Rock Salt
Sources
- Geoscience Australia – Known Thick Underground Rock Salt Accumulations
- Geoscience Australia – Australian Salt Basins
- Te Ara – New Zealand Has No Rock Salt Deposits