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Characterisation of rock salts of Schleswig-Holstein

Rock salt is a valuable commodity for the food and fertiliser industries. It is also used as a host for artificial underground structures, such as caverns. As part of Germany's transition to net-zero energy by 2045, rock salt caverns will continue to be needed, but they must be suitable for storing green hydrogen. Salt deposits could also provide a potential source of lithium, with German demand currently being met by imports. However, more information is required to understand the potential of rock salt deposits and to decipher their suitability.

Several stratigraphic salt horizons occur in the geological record of Schleswig-Holstein, ranging in age from the Triassic (Keuper, Muschelkalk, Bunter) to the Permian (Zechstein, Rotliegend). The economically exploited horizons are of Zechstein and Rotliegend ages and often form salt domes and walls. A special feature is the so-called "Doppelsalinare", where older Rotliegend salt is intruded into younger Zechstein salt due to rheological processes.

The aim of this study was to characterise the different salt horizons in terms of their mineralogy and geochemistry and to identify any potential lithium resources. To achieve this, rock salt samples were examined by polarised microscopy, quantitative mineralogy was determined by X-ray diffraction, while geochemistry was analysed by X-ray fluorescence and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Our results show that each stratigraphic salt horizon is characterised by a unique Br-Cl spectrum, with lithium and other trace elements also showing distinct patterns.

Details

Author
Berit Lehrmann1, Patrick Ahlers1, Christof Liebermann1
Institutionen
1Landesamt für Umwelt, Geologischer Dienst Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Veranstaltung
GeoSaxonia 2024
Datum
2024
DOI
10.48380/1hzq-tc64