Sodom Dead Sea Factory, Industrial mineral extraction facility in Sodom, Israel
The Sodom Dead Sea Factory is a mineral extraction facility at the southern end of the Dead Sea that uses evaporation ponds to separate minerals from seawater. The operation produces potassium chloride, bromine, and magnesium chloride through processing of carnallite harvested from the ponds.
Moshe Novomeysky founded the first industrial mineral extraction operation in this region in 1934 through the Palestine Potash Company. This development launched systematic use of the Dead Sea's mineral wealth for commercial production.
The facility served as a residential community with roughly 300 workers in the 1940s, representing the southernmost Jewish settlement in the area at that time. The factory grounds tell the story of early industrial settlement and how people gathered around mineral extraction work.
Visitors should prepare for extreme heat, as summer temperatures exceed 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) with high humidity levels. The site is located in a remote area at the edge of the Dead Sea, so advance planning is important.
Workers commute to the site rather than live there due to the extreme environmental conditions. It represents one of the harshest industrial locations where people regularly work.
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