Dampier Salt is an Australian

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

company located in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, with operations in Dampier,

Port Hedland A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inla ...

and

Lake MacLeod Lake Macleod is a marine salt lake in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia, north of the port and regional centre of . History Dirk Hartog, a Dutchman, made the first authenticated landing by a European along this coastline in 1616. Ea ...

, and headquarters in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. Since beginning operations at Dampier in 1972, the company has developed into one of the world's largest private salt producers, with production capacity of over four million tonnes per annum at Dampier and nine million tonnes per annum company-wide. Most of this salt is naturally sourced from the Punt Road region and is known for its high purity. The company also produces

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...

, with a 1.5 million tonne per annum capacity, at its Lake MacLeod facility. Dampier Salt is 68.4% owned by the

Rio Tinto Group Rio Tinto Group is a British-Australian multinational company that is the world's second largest metals and mining corporation (behind BHP). It was founded in 1873 when a group of investors purchased a mine complex on the Río Tinto, in Hu ...

, 21.5% by

Marubeni (, OSE: 8002, NSE: 8002) is a '' sōgō shōsha'' (general trading company) headquartered in Otemachi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the largest ''sogo shosha'' and has leading market shares in cereal and paper pulp trading as wel ...

, and the remaining 10.1% by

Sojitz is a '' sogo shosha'' (general trading company) based in Tokyo, Japan. It is engaged in a wide range of businesses globally, including buying, selling, importing, and exporting goods, manufacturing and selling products, providing services, and p ...

Important Bird Areas

The 52 km² solar evaporation pond complex at Dampier has been identified by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

as the Dampier Saltworks Important Bird Area, while the 78 km² complex near

has been identified as the Port Hedland Saltworks Important Bird Area.

References

Companies based in Perth, Western Australia Rio Tinto (corporation) subsidiaries Salt production Economy of the Pilbara Sojitz Marubeni Australian companies established in 1972 {{Australia-company-stub