On February 9, 1996, the Minister of Saskatchewan Energy and Mines announced the designation of sylvite (potash) as the official Mineral Emblem for Saskatchewan under the Provincial Emblems and Honors Act. An unveiling ceremony for the newly-created official mineral was held at the 1996 Saskatchewan Energy and Mines Open House in Saskatoon on November 19, 1996.

According to Aleph/CSIRO, 1991 sylvite was first recognized by Beudant in 1832 as an evaporite mineral found at Mt. Vesuvius near Napoli in Campania Italy. One of the first names given to the mineral was "sal digestivus sylvii". For a time, the mineral was known as "lepoldite" after the town of Leopoldshall, Germany. It was also called "sylvine" as early as 1850, after the older name "sal digestivus sylvii". The suffix -ine, as used to form mineral names, was later changed to -ite and the mineral name became "sylvite". Sylvite is also sometimes referred to as muriate of potash but in daily use it is known simply as "potash".

KCl (52.4% potassium and 47.6% chlorine).

• Color: most commonly white but can be bluish or yellowish red from inclusions of other materials;
• Specific Gravity: 1.97 to 1.99;
• Cleavage: perfect cubic;
• Fracture: uneven;
• Hardness: 2 on the Moh's scale;
• Luster: vitreous;
• Taste: salty and bitter;
• Crystal Morphology: isometric (cubes, often with octahedral truncations; also in granular crystal masses).

Potassium is the seventh most abundant element in the earth's crust and the sixth most abundant element in sea water.

• sylvite is the most common potash fertilizer. About 96% of all potash production is used for this purpose. Sylvite is one of the ingredients used in the production of potassium fertilizer which is used in chloride-sensitive crops such as citrus fruits.
• sylvite is used in the production of many industrial potassium compounds.
• sylvite is used as a drill mud additive by the petroleum industry.
• sylvite is used as a water softener, as a de-icer, and as a salt substitute.

The sylvite or potash deposits in Saskatchewan formed over 350 million years ago as a result of the final stage of evaporative concentration of sea water in a middle Devonian sea. This sea extended from the southern Northwest Territories southeastward through Alberta, southern Saskatchewan, and into Manitoba and North Dakota. Saskatchewan has the majority of the resulting potash deposits as this stage of evaporation was largely confined to the province.

Sylvite, commonly referred to as potash, is a multi-billion-dollar, world-class industry in Saskatchewan. The potash industry is a major direct and indirect employer within the province. Saskatchewan supplies 25 per cent of the world's potash needs.

Open the Mineral Resource Map of Saskatchewan.

Link to the Geological Atlas of Saskatchewan.