It is proposed to use the huge mounds to increase soil fertility.
Moreover, the first tests of the unusual technology have already yielded good results, writes Domovita.
The spoil heaps began to grow near Salihorsk back in the 1960s, when the first mine administration started operating there.
Since then, during the extraction of potash ore, useful components are sent for fertilizer production, while the remaining rock, including clay and technical salt, is transported to huge waste piles.
Over more than six decades, real mountains have grown in place of the flat landscape. Some of them reach 160 meters in height — approximately like a 40-story building.
Scientists propose using potash production waste to increase the fertility of poor sandy soils, which are especially abundant in southern Belarus.
The idea is to mix clay-salt sludge with peat and organic fertilizers.
The resulting mixture has already been tested in practice. A field of 20 hectares in the Minsk region was chosen for the experiment.
It was divided into six plots, each using different fertilization options. Part of the land was left without fertilizers to compare the results.
Then, "Ricardina" corn variety was sown. The first results were encouraging: in the plots with experimental mixtures, the plants grew noticeably and formed cobs well.
It's too early to say goodbye to the "cosmic" landscape near Salihorsk. Scientists need to make sure that the new technology is truly effective.
At least three more years of testing lie ahead.
If the technology meets expectations, potash production waste can be gradually transported to improve soils in other regions of Belarus.
But even with a successful outcome, the famous mountains won't disappear in a couple of months. Over decades, hundreds of millions of tons of rock have accumulated here, so its removal will take a lot of time.
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