A saltwater lagoon known as Lake Sasyk-Sivash on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula is the source of a rare resource: pink salt. The mineral is tinted by tiny algae that produce the pigment beta-carotene. Each autumn, seasonal workers collect thousands of tons of pink salt for processing and export.
In The Pink: Harvesting A Rare Form Of Salt In Crimea
![A worker walks past a wagon as it is loaded with pink sea salt at Lake Sasyk-Sivash, near the city of Yevpatoria, Crimea.](https://gdb.rferl.org/283aae9c-8102-4d9f-8415-e8b30b413ce9_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A worker walks past a wagon as it is loaded with pink sea salt at Lake Sasyk-Sivash, near the city of Yevpatoria, Crimea.
![A salt harvester collects the mineral on the shores of the lake. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/684217c5-c398-4e22-819b-42622ada767d_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A salt harvester collects the mineral on the shores of the lake.
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/fca9d6b1-17f2-4590-baa6-e2d19328adca_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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![A train drives across the lake bed in a part of the lagoon that has been drained. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/0702d2ea-29ea-4ec5-8e9d-fc3d77b0a164_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A train drives across the lake bed in a part of the lagoon that has been drained.
![A train driver hauls in a load of salt. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/4cd1f4e3-551f-42e7-b80b-ca9f6fbc4043_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A train driver hauls in a load of salt.
![Laborers work on a partially drained lake bed. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/55dffb94-068c-40db-ac0f-598916e20507_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Laborers work on a partially drained lake bed.
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/02ca0ab7-7a90-44ee-acb9-e11a662edb8e_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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![A mountain of pink salt is collected for processing. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/d14821e2-bf93-436e-ba22-ff64b7d8353c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A mountain of pink salt is collected for processing.
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/ea4bd108-bcf1-4279-b832-612ff4e30089_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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![](https://gdb.rferl.org/6537fb74-2104-4874-903c-4f97df9bae5f_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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