Given my other assumptions, handwaves, and ignored but important details, I would be happy with any number between 10,000 and 100,000 people directly involved in the salt mining process.
Yori salt exports
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Given my other assumptions, handwaves, and ignored but important details, I would be happy with any number between 10,000 and 100,000 people directly involved in the salt mining process.
Yori is TL10.
For the main industry of a society with 70 million people (implying that no other industry employs more people (alternatively creates more wealth)), I could see the higher numbers in that range work, but not a mere 10,000 people.
Hans
All of this assumes that the salt is just mined and perfect 'as is', like crude oil or coal deposits.
What if the salt is not perfectly OK just like it is. What if in the same way that crude oil can be transformed into pharmaceutical grade plastics and other chemical compounds, the natural salt can be transformed into a special salt, highly desired in the interstellar food industry.
Then there might be only a few thousand to ten thousand actual salt miners, but a massive chemical support industry that employs ten times (or even 100 times) as many people ... but all of it is still related to the Salt Export industry.
Taking it a step further, it was suggested that salt might be best transported on specially built ships to accommodate the high density cargo. Let's have this custom fleet operated and maintained from Yori and included as part of the Salt Export industry.
Big oil invests heavily in University research into geology (for resource exploration) and chemistry (for resource exploitation). Perhaps Yori is no different. The Salt Industry supports significant medical research into the properties, benefits and uses of Yori salt. There is also investment into new salt processing technology research.
Let's not leave out advertising. The Yori Salt Council invests significantly in interstellar, population targeted advertisement to boost the demand for Yori Salts and educate new markets of the health and culinary benefits.
Just as you would not count the number of deckhands employed on oil drilling platforms and declare that number the total impact of the petrochemical industry on the global economy, you cannot count the salt miners and declare that the total impact on the Yori Salt Export Industry.
Just tossing some ideas into the mix.
What if the salt is not perfectly OK just like it is. What if in the same way that crude oil can be transformed into pharmaceutical grade plastics and other chemical compounds, the natural salt can be transformed into a special salt, highly desired in the interstellar food industry.
Then there might be only a few thousand to ten thousand actual salt miners, but a massive chemical support industry that employs ten times (or even 100 times) as many people ... but all of it is still related to the Salt Export industry.
Taking it a step further, it was suggested that salt might be best transported on specially built ships to accommodate the high density cargo. Let's have this custom fleet operated and maintained from Yori and included as part of the Salt Export industry.
Big oil invests heavily in University research into geology (for resource exploration) and chemistry (for resource exploitation). Perhaps Yori is no different. The Salt Industry supports significant medical research into the properties, benefits and uses of Yori salt. There is also investment into new salt processing technology research.
Let's not leave out advertising. The Yori Salt Council invests significantly in interstellar, population targeted advertisement to boost the demand for Yori Salts and educate new markets of the health and culinary benefits.
Just as you would not count the number of deckhands employed on oil drilling platforms and declare that number the total impact of the petrochemical industry on the global economy, you cannot count the salt miners and declare that the total impact on the Yori Salt Export Industry.
Just tossing some ideas into the mix.
Perhaps "how many people would have to get new jobs if Yori's salt exports completely disappeared" would be a useable definition. Though it does overlook the domestic production.
Hans
Generally, the number tossed about for first world nations is 8x the industry's employment.
Now, looking at the numbers for the salt mine 200 people covers the miners and administration for that 10-18 tons per day at TL 7. Pushing it to TL10, we're probably looking at x(1.1^3) for 13 to 24 Tons per day for 200 people; which means that, for the 500MTons range, we can reduce that 21-50K people range to about 16-37K people working for mines, and I'd split the difference myself, for about 25K people at TL10.
This would generate economic activity of 8x that amount, and generally support about 8x the number of jobs, but that number in practice varies from 5-20... so a low of 80K and a high of 740K people, but a nominal 400K or so.
So a few percent of the population directly reliant upon the mines for their economic well being.
But that's all first order estimations (good enough for play, not for supplement writing, IMO).
That's useful knowledge.
Those 500MTons you speak of, is that 500,000dT of exports per year?
A few percent of the population sounds all right for a main industry. But 400,000 people are only 0.6% of 70 millions, so I would multiply your figures by 4 to get 1,600,000 people or 2.3% of the population.
I don't see why it shouldn't be good enough for setting description, provided you're not writing a detailed account of the salt industry itself. If all you're after is one paragraph in a writeup about Yori and a ball-park figure for the transport fleet, I don't see a need for much more than this.
Hans
The Salt must flow!
Is smuggling and illegal sales of Yori salt accounted for it all of this, as well? Is Yori salt addictive or just more flavorful? How about additives to other products, like food or pharmaceuticals, which are then exported?
Is smuggling and illegal sales of Yori salt accounted for it all of this, as well? Is Yori salt addictive or just more flavorful? How about additives to other products, like food or pharmaceuticals, which are then exported?
No - Tons Metric. Multiply all figures by 10 depending upon edition to get Td.
Having forgotten that you needed 500M Td rather than 500Gg (Millions of Tons Metric)...
it should be 160K-370K people mining and up to 7M dependent upon that activity... for about 5-10% of the population.
Because it's not research until you've three corroborating sources.
I am shocked that anyone would consider breaking the law by shipping bulk salt from Yori. All preparation and packaging must be done on planet, and every bottle must be sealed by the government health department. Lawyers are employed throughout the sector to ensure that no cheap rip offs claiming to be exotic Yori salt are sold.
I'd assume that the exotic Yori salt would be like Himalayan Pink Salt. Not only do you have citizens involved in mining, but those producing the unique packaging known throughout the Imperium, and printing press operators producing labels and boxes, robot repairman working in the packing plants, the powerful lobbyists for the miner's union,and the over staffed inspector's guild all contribute to the economy.
I'd assume that the exotic Yori salt would be like Himalayan Pink Salt. Not only do you have citizens involved in mining, but those producing the unique packaging known throughout the Imperium, and printing press operators producing labels and boxes, robot repairman working in the packing plants, the powerful lobbyists for the miner's union,and the over staffed inspector's guild all contribute to the economy.
From the description it is a taste enhancer used by food industries on many worlds. If I wanted to introduce drug smugglers, I think I'd make them use the salt as a disguise for the drug. If you add it to food before exporting it, the customer will be paying for transportation of foodstuff that could just as easily have been produced on his own world, so I think most of the salt would be exported in bulk as salt. But there could be a luxury trade in extra special salt deposits akin to the Himalayan salt Limburger suggested. Also luxury food items made with Yori salt.
Hans
You've lost me, I'm afraid. Are you saying that one metric ton of salt translates to 10 dT of salt? That sounds wrong.
That sounds too much (I have no specific argument against it, it just sounds too high to me). What production figures and export figures would the 2.3% I came up with previously result in?
Hans
You misread. You're attempting to convert backwards.
10 Metric tons of salt would be 1 DTon (and would be less than half full by volume.)
Highorbit_drifter
SOC-12
This is what I thought of as well. I doubt there would be high density bulk transport of Yori salt. Even if this salt has some special properties in its chemcial make-up (that somehow can't be recreated offworld), its still just salt. It has to have some sort of marketing group that maintains the mystique of using Yori salt. And all the special packaging, handling, and verification methods Mr. Limburger59 alluded too.
Pink Salt is a good example. Any of the higher quality bottled waters come to mind. Or Jamacian Blue Mountain coffee, and its commerical horror story. Flush with money made in the high tech sectors, Japanese investors bought heavily into Jamacian coffee plantations, hoping to cash in on the legendary coffee, not only in wealth but in the whole cultural aura surrounding it. Long complicated story short the Japanese were absentee landlords and lost control of the application of 'Blue Mountain', and suddenly anyone could slap a lable saying Blue Mountain on the worst mix of beans and command high prices. That of course couldnt' last and the market collapsed. Today you can still get "Blue Mountain" coffee but its usually a mix of a percentage of beans from the tradtional plantations. There may or may not be a recognized authority to verify what is a Blue Mountain bean or not.
So Yori has to maintain its monopoly on its own salt production in order to maintain the 'tradition' and the marketing demand. I'd guess that translates into, among other things, a 'traditional' method of harvesting and packaging the salt. Probably highly inefficient and primitive by TL10 standards.
It's plausible enough to have some gourmet salt trade ON TOP of the industrial trade (Indeed, the adventure I'm working on that made me look at Yori's salt trade in the first place had to do with a small contract for transport of a modest amount of gourmet salt), but the canon description is about industrial trade and nothing but industrial trade. At least, I find it difficult to get from "Yori's huge dried sea beds provide a salt enriched with an unusual combination of minerals that are much sought after by the food industries of many worlds" to 'individual 340g jars of salt for connoisseurs'.
Hans
Highorbit_drifter
SOC-12
I guess I drifted away from the description
It must be cheaper to just scoop the salt up, and ship it interstellar distances, than make it yourself at home. That doesn't bear to close a scrutiny, but at least its not huge problem, like the plot of V. The old one where they came to steal our water (and eat us I guess).
If the unusual combination of minerals are organic in nature, it seems plausible enough that synthesizing them would be expensive or even impossible. The rare chemical compound that can't be synthesized is a common SF trope, much used to explain what people are doing on worlds with corrosive and insidious atmospheres.
Hans
Some Yorian luxury export products
Throw D6
1 Gourmet salt from selected salt mines. (Example: 'Olde Johnston Shermerian Lavender Salt'.
2 Salami made from high-quality carniculture meat with Yorian salt. (Example: Coraz Salami).
3 Fish paste made from high-quality carniculture fish meat with Yorian salt. (Example: Flynn's Yorian Gentlemen's Relish).
4 Pond-raised fish preserved with Yorian salt (Example: Harvey's Gibbed Herrings).
5 Small hydroponics-grown vegetables pickled in brine made from Yorian salt (Example: Sefton's Superior Pickled Gherkins).
6 Corned meat (beef, pork, veal, venison, and more exotic meats) made from high-quality carniculture meat and genuine Yorian salt (Example: VAT SLY-56 'Old Sally' Corned Beef).
Hans
Throw D6
1 Gourmet salt from selected salt mines. (Example: 'Olde Johnston Shermerian Lavender Salt'.
2 Salami made from high-quality carniculture meat with Yorian salt. (Example: Coraz Salami).
3 Fish paste made from high-quality carniculture fish meat with Yorian salt. (Example: Flynn's Yorian Gentlemen's Relish).
4 Pond-raised fish preserved with Yorian salt (Example: Harvey's Gibbed Herrings).
5 Small hydroponics-grown vegetables pickled in brine made from Yorian salt (Example: Sefton's Superior Pickled Gherkins).
6 Corned meat (beef, pork, veal, venison, and more exotic meats) made from high-quality carniculture meat and genuine Yorian salt (Example: VAT SLY-56 'Old Sally' Corned Beef).
Hans
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Highorbit_drifter
SOC-12
Those sounded good until I got to the VAT meat product. That is certainly something you'd get in a .2 credit diner in Startown of a class C port.
No no no. They're all going to be made of high-quality meat too. "Old Sally", for example, is famous on Regina for its delicate taste and robust texture.
(You really think the fish paste sounded good? You should try some copperfish garum from Regina then.
)Hans
Highorbit_drifter
SOC-12
No no no. They're all going to be made of high-quality meat too. "Old Sally", for example, is famous on Regina for its delicate taste and robust texture.
(You really think the fish paste sounded good? You should try some copperfish garum from Regina then.
I guess I just don't know class when I see it. Take me to the finest restaurant on Regina and I'll order a groat burger.
(I'm a fan of using anchovy paste in cooking. Garum is a little beyond my tolerance level but I recently tried a little Vietnamese fish sauce. Very little.)
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