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Abandonment of solution mined salt caverns in the Netherlands

Salts have been mined in different parts of the world since ancient times for human consumption and industrial purposes. Besides a traditional dry mining method, solution mining has been commonly employed in the Netherlands and elsewhere in the last five
to six decades. Large brine-filled underground voids, i.e. caverns, are constructed by exploiting the easy dissolution of salt. As a consequence of the withdrawal of salt, the situation- sinkholes occur at the ground surface. This is potentially damaging to
engineering structures at the ground surface and to the environment in general.
Predicting the in situ mechanical and deformational behaviour of salt and other rock masses nearby and above caverns is therefore of interest not only for production and operational purposes, but also for environmental and safety reasons.