The Praid salt mine (

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

: ''Salina Praid''; Hungarian: ''Parajdi sóbánya'') is a currently closed large

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 ...

mine located in central

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Harghita County Harghita County (, and , ) is a county () in the center of Romania, in eastern Transylvania, with the county seat at Miercurea Ciuc. Demographics 2002 census In 2002, Harghita County had a population of 326,222 and a population density of ...

, close to Praid. Praid represented one of the largest

reserves in

having estimated reserves of 50 billion tonnes of

NaCl Sodium chloride , commonly known as edible salt, is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaCl, representing a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chloride ions. It is transparent or translucent, brittle, hygroscopic, and occurs as the mineral hali ...

. The Praid salt mine is also an attraction on the route of the

Via Transilvanica Via Transilvanica 'The Transylvanian Trail' is a hiking trail that crosses the Transylvania, Bukovina and Banat regions of Romania, and is meant to promote their cultural, ethnic, historical and natural diversity. It was built between 2018 and ...

long-distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, equestrianism or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exc ...

, which passes through the village of Praid.

2025 closure

In late May 2025, the mine experienced severe flooding in both its mining and tourist sections, leading to its closure. The incident was caused by heavy torrential rains that significantly swelled the nearby Corund stream, increasing its flow up to 100-120 times its normal rate and causing water to infiltrate the mine. An underground dam, built to prevent water ingress, also collapsed. The flooding resulted in the evacuation of personnel and equipment, compromising underground salt stocks and leading to the loss of machinery. While authorities initially stated there was no immediate risk of total collapse, the situation remains critical, and the mine's closure severely impacts the local economy, which heavily relies on tourism. Efforts were made to divert water and pump it out, but improvised dams failed. Hungary has offered assistance for the mine's restoration, and the Romanian government also provided support. Locals have criticised SALROM, the mine's owner, for not taking adequate preventive measures, especially after previous floods in May 2024. On 31 May 2025, Romanian president

Nicușor Dan Nicușor Daniel Dan (; born 20 December 1969) is a Romanian politician, mathematician, and civic activist serving as the sixth president of Romania since 2025. He previously served as the mayor of Bucharest from 2020 to 2025 and as a member of ...

visited the mine, pledging to reopen it and ensuring eventual compensation to the around 130 people whose employment had been affected.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Praid Mine Salt mines in Romania