The year-long process of salt extraction starts when seawater flows into the shallow ponds on the Southeast corner of Bonaire. Cargill uses a system of pumps and windmills to move the water from pond to pond as the salinity increases. Sun and wind evaporate the water and the concentration of salt increases from 3% to 26%. At this point the salt begins to form crystals.
Small shellfish that live at the bottom of the ponds eat the bacteria and, in turn, flamingos eat the shellfish. This is the source of their color. Baby flamingos are gray and only develop their characteristic color when they dine on these tiny pink creatures. Cargill manages 135 acres (about 55 hectare) of wetlands within its complex as a flamingo sanctuary. Here the flamingos build their nests and raise their young.
As the salt concentration climbs, the color of the water begins to change. Seawater is essentially colorless but soon algae begin to bloom and the water takes on a green color. At higher salt concentrations the population of algae shifts and the newcomers turn the water a brownish color. At this point pink, halophilic (salt loving) bacteria begin to bloom and it is billions of these tiny organisms that create the startling pink color seen in the ponds. The background of this page is an actual photograph of the water in one of the final crystallizing ponds.
Once the water is almost gone it's time to harvest. The ponds are drained and huge loaders scoop the salt into gigantic 40-ton trucks. The trucks carry the salt to the washing and sorting station where it is rinsed and sorted by size. It's then transferred via conveyor belt to the stackers which hurl it in enormous streams onto the storage platform to drain. As the crystals dry the piles of salt become the familiar white hills that are visible from much of the island.Finally, the salt is conveyed over the coast road to the salt pier (another great dive site) and loaded onto ships for transport to the world's markets where most of it is used for industrial purposes.