Editing Great Salt Lake (section)

===Oil and minerals===
Great Salt Lake Minerals Company (a subsidiary of [[Compass Minerals]]) extracts minerals from the northern bay. The company potentially benefited from the higher salinity of the north-west arm of the lake but had difficulty accessing water from the lake because of lower water level. Prior to the opening of the causeway, the intake channels had to be extended to reach the water.

[[Morton Salt]], [[Cargill Salt]], Broken Arrow Salt and the [[Renco Group]]'s U.S. Magnesium each extract minerals from the southern bay and could benefit from a more natural mixture of water between the two sides of the lake.<ref name="DNews Causeway" /> US Magnesium operates a plant on the southwest shore of the lake, which produces 14% of the worldwide supply of magnesium, more than any other North American magnesium operation.<ref name="Economic powerhouse"/> Mineral-extraction companies operating on the lake pay [[royalties]] on their products to the State of Utah, which owns the lake.<ref name="UGS Salt">{{cite web |url = https://geology.utah.gov/popular/great-salt-lake/commonly-asked-questions/#toggle-id-25 |title = What minerals are produced from Great Salt Lake? |publisher = Utah Geological Survey |access-date = August 26, 2023 |archive-date = November 8, 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101108155232/http://geology.utah.gov/online/PI-39/pi39pg11.htm |url-status = live }}</ref>

Solar evaporation ponds at the edges of the lake produce [[salt (chemistry)|salt]]s and [[brine]] (water with high salt quantity). Minerals extracted from the lake include: [[sodium chloride]] (common salt), used in [[water softening|water softeners]], [[salt lick]] blocks for livestock, and to melt ice on local roadways (food-grade salt is not produced from the lake, as it would require costly processing to ensure its purity); [[potassium sulfate]], used as a commercial fertilizer; and [[magnesium chloride|magnesium-chloride]] brine, used in the production of [[magnesium]] metal, [[chlorine gas]], and as a dust suppressant.

The lake's north arm contains deposits of oil, but it is of poor quality and it is not economically feasible to extract and purify it.<ref name="DN-Tales"/> As of 1993, approximately {{convert|3000|oilbbl|m3}} of [[crude oil]] had been produced from shallow wells along the shore.<ref>{{harvp|Hassible|Keck|1993|p= 20}}.</ref> The oil field at Rozel Point produced an estimated {{convert|10000|oilbbl|m3}} of oil from 30 to 50 wells, but has been inactive since the mid-1980s. Oil seeps in the area had been known since the late 19th century, and attempts at production began in 1904.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://geology.utah.gov/surveynotes/geosights/rozelpoint.htm|title = 'Bubblin' Crude' at Rozel Point, Box Elder County, Utah |first = Mark |last = Milligan |publisher = Utah Geological Survey |access-date = November 21, 2012 |archive-date = March 23, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110323204429/http://www.geology.utah.gov/surveynotes/geosights/rozelpoint.htm |url-status = live}}</ref> Industrial debris from this field remained in place near ''[[Spiral Jetty]]'' until a cleanup effort by the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining and the Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands was completed in December 2005.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://geology.utah.gov/surveynotes/geosights/rozeljetty_revisited.htm |title = Rozel Point and ''Spiral Jetty'' Revisited, Box Elder County, Utah |first = Mark |last = Milligan |publisher = Utah Geological Survey |access-date = November 21, 2012 |archive-date = August 27, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130827221644/http://www.geology.utah.gov/surveynotes/geosights/rozeljetty_revisited.htm |url-status = live}}</ref>