Monte Kali (Heringen)


Monte Kali and Kalimanjaro are local colloquial names for the spoil heap or spoil tip that towers over the town of Heringen, Hesse, Germany. It is one of a number of sites where the K+S chemical company dumps sodium chloride, a byproduct of potash mining and processing, a major industry in the area.
The names are puns of Kali on "Monte Carlo" and "Kilimanjaro." The heap lies directly next to the border with the state of Thuringia, and hence next to the former inner German border with what was once East Germany.
The heap rises over above the surrounding land, its summit reaching above sea level. According to the Werra Potash Mining Museum in Heringen, Monte Kali has been in operation since 1976; as of August 2016, it covered and contained approximately 201 million tonnes of salt, with another 900 tonnes being added every hour and 7.2 million tonnes a year.

Ecological impact

The amount of salt that goes to the region's soil and rivers is enormous. The Werra river has become so salty that few freshwater organisms can survive in it. The groundwater has become salty as well. K+S are licensed to keep dumping salt at the facility until 2030.