Let’s discover an impressive place underground that served us a lot again this winter.
Please note that the very last active salt mine located in Varangéville (Meurthe-et-Moselle) in France can be visited.
Aurore, our guide, begins by reassuring us, because it is not easy to enter this cramped cage which will take us 160 m underground. The Varangéville salt mine (Meurthe-et-Moselle) has been operating since 1856. Around thirty miners still work there today, but it can also be visited to understand that the rock here is made up of 93% salt and know why it is exploited.
Currently, it is for snow salt that miners fracture the rock to crush it on site. “Frankly, it’s impressive all the logistics that revolve around that,” explains a visitor in the TF1 1 p.m. video at the top of this article. Visitors are also struck by the immensity of the site, particularly in the large storage rooms. The work equipment is also impressive, all assembled piece by piece underground. While a vehicle is being rebuilt, the visit continues, perhaps creating vocations. Some winters, the mine can provide 450,000 tonnes of salt to clear snow from the roads while now welcoming thousands of visitors each year.
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