Bischofite is a hydrous magnesium chloride mineral with formula MgCl<sub>2</sub>·6H<sub>2</sub>O. It belongs to halides and is a sea salt concentrate. It contains many macro- and micro-elements vital for human health, in much higher concentrations than can be found in sea or ocean salt. The main bischofite compound is magnesium chloride (up to 350 g/L), moreover, it contains about 70 other elements as impurities, including potassium, sodium, bromine, boron, calcium, silicon, molybdenum, silver, zinc, iron and copper.
History
Bischofite is named in honor of German geologist Gustav Bischof (1792–1870). Its discovery (1877) is attributed to Carl Christian Ochsenius.
At its type locality bischofite is an evaporite formed in an ancient seabed, which was deposited more than 200 million years ago, during the Permian Period.
In 1930–1950, vast bischofite deposits were discovered near the Volga River in Russia. The mineral is mined by dissolving an underground dry mineral stratum with artesian water. The resulting brine is pumped out. osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, radiculitis, calcaneal spur and traumas, especially in rehabilitation centers in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and Lithuania. Bischofite is also applied in gel form.
Bischofite is used in the production of the industrial Sorel cement and synthetic carnallite. Bischofite solution is applied to deice roads,