 Himalayan salt is Pakistan 's best known rock salt . It is used for cooking , as bath salt , as brine and as a raw material for many industries , including a soda ash plant set up by AkzoNobel in 1940 . Salt from Khewra mine is also used to make decorative items like lamps , vases , ashtrays and statues , which are exported to the United States , India and many European countries . The use of rock salt to make artistic and decorative items started during the Mughal era , when many craftsman made tableware and decorations from it . Warth introduced the use of a lathe to cut out art pieces from the rock salt , as he found it similar to gypsum in physical characteristics . 
