| Asquith Storage Project Solution Mining Water Aquifer Water Monitoring Prairie Evaporite Brine Disposal Project Documents | Prairie Evaporite Back in geologic time, a salt sea covered a large part of Western Canada, and when the sea dried up, a salt bed remained which over time was covered by other layers. This geological formation, called the Prairie Evaporite, underlies a great portion of Saskatchewan. It is approximately 120 to 185 meters thick, and lies at a depth of approximately 1050 to 1650 meters. The salt bed itself is relatively pure halite (sodium chloride or common table salt) and can have some impurities (clays, shales, anhydrite) scattered throughout it. The salt bed is basically non-porous with an impermeable cap rock overlying it. The Asquith natural gas storage caverns will be created within the Prairie Evaporite formation. The salt surrounding the cavity acts like a steel container from which the gas cannot escape.
There is a suitable thickness of salt at Asquith for cavern development. TransGas is developing its caverns in the part of the salt bed which is approximately 130 meters thick. The top of these caverns will be approximately 1100 meters below the earth’s surface. The TransGas caverns will each be approximately 75 meters in height and 60 meters wide, and will be centered within this salt bed. 
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