The natural brine produced by Junex is extremely salty water buried deep underground for the last 400 million years. This clear and odourless liquid contains several valuable ingredients including calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium. Its main characteristic is, however, its total dissolved solid concentration varying between 200 g/l to 360 g/l, representing a salinity degree up 10-12 times superior to the one of sea water for example.

Because of its rich properties, the natural brine makes an excellent deicing product during winter as well as an excellent dust control agent on unpaved roads. As the only natural brine produced in Quebec, the Solnat was introduced as a pilot-project during the 2001 and 2002 seasons. These two years were dedicated to testing the Solnat both as a deicing product and a dust control agent. In parallel to these market developments, Junex had performed prolonged productivity tests on the Bécancour well. The results were showing that the Bécancour well could sustain a continuous production of natural brine and also that the product was efficient and greatly appreciated by the customers.

So, in 2003, Junex started a marketing campaign in order to gradually penetrate the eastern Canadian market as well as the eastern United States market. The Solnat is sold without any transformation to its customers (Municipalities, Ministry of Transport or independent distributors) responsible for road maintenance in Quebec, Ontario and in the north-eastern USA.

The possible reserves in place of natural brine have been evaluated by the French firm Géostock at over 4 billion liters.

You will find more information about the Solnat at the following address : www.solnat.ca