page_title: Lake Assal (Djibouti)
section_title: Salt extraction
hierarchical_section_title: Lake Assal (Djibouti) / Salt extraction
caption_attribution_description: English: en:Djibouti, Lake Assal.
context_page_description: Lake Assal is a crater lake in central-western Djibouti. It is located at the western end of Gulf of Tadjoura in the Tadjoura Region, touching Dikhil Region, at the top of the Great Rift Valley, some 120 km west of Djibouti city. Lake Assal is a saline lake that lies 155 m below sea level in the Afar Triangle, making it the lowest point on land in Africa and the third-lowest point on Earth after the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. No outflow occurs from the lake, and due to high evaporation, the salinity level of its waters is 10 times that of the sea, making it the third most saline body of water in the world behind Don Juan Pond and Gaet'ale Pond. Lake Assal is the world's largest salt reserve, which is exploited under four concessions awarded in 2002 at the southeast end of the lake; the major share of production is held by Société d’Exploitation du Lac and Société d’Exploitation du Salt Investment S.A de Djibouti.
  The lake is a protected zone under Djibouti's National Environmental Action Plan of 2000. However, the law does not define the boundary limits of the lake.
context_section_description: By 1893, the French government had sold to Mr. Chefneux the right to refine and export salt from Lake Assal. Chefneux agreed to pay into the colonial office the sum of $10,000 a year, and if, during the fifty years that he was to have the exclusive right to export salt from Lake Assal, the annual product exceeded 50,000 tonnes, he was to pay a tax of 20 cents for every tonne in excess. The government also designated a part of the lake where the local people could procure all the salt they wanted without tax or hindrance.
  Salt production on a semi-commercial basis started in 1988 by small private enterprises. Thereafter, extraction of salt from the lake peaked in 1998–2000 when there was a conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Djibouti replaced Eritrea in supplying salt to Ethiopia at highly attractive prices (250% of the earlier sale price) when it came to be known as the "white gold." Commercial industrial production rose between 2004 and 2008. In 2004, after an initial low of 17,745 tonnes due to import duty of 53% imposed by Ethiopian exports, production increased and recorded a high of 110,000 tonnes in 2008. However, since 2008 the production has increased manifold as a result of the Government of Djibouti Department of Industries initiating action plans, in 2002, to expand the salt extraction process from Lake Assal by adopting modern mechanical processes so that a crude salt production of 6 million tonnes could be achieved annually, eventually. After instituting a feasibility study for the purpose, the Salt Investment S.A., in a joint agreement, in March 2008, between Emerging Capital Partners LLC (ECP), Société d’Exploitation du Lac (SEL) and Hardtechnologies Group S.L. ("Hardtech"), have been made responsible for "developing the salt project further and are established under the laws of Djibouti for the purposes of harvesting, refining, storing, transporting and exporting salt extracted from Lake Assal." The project envisages extraction at the rate of 1,000 tonnes per hour, supported by a 250 tonnes per hour mechanical salt washing and upgrading plant. The target of 4 million tonnes was expected to be achieved by 2012.
  While most commercial salt extractions are done from the huge deposits on the shores of the lake, there is also another novel way of extraction done by wading through the lake waters. The extracted salt is found in the form of spheres formed out of salt crystals and marketed in the name of Djibouti salts. The extraction process involves whole family of indigenous people wading through the lake. Men wade deep into the lake and gather the pearls in baskets. Women help in sorting the collected spheres according to size by hand. They are then dried, stored in bags and transported to the harbour for sale.
caption: Sand pans extracted by industrial process
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