Since there was no salt mine producing rock or evaporated salt within the territory of Bukovina (everything was imported, legally or through smuggling, from Galicia or Moldavia), the Imperial Court in Vienna was concerned with exploiting local deposits. In an initial phase, it capitalized on the presence of salt springs, and establishments were created for producing evaporated salt by boiling brine from the well-known salt springs (slatine) in the area, specifically in Solca, Slatina Mare, Trestioara, or Pârtești (1783), and later, in Cacica.
Following investigations, the rock salt deposit in Cacica was discovered in 1790, located at a depth of 12 meters and extending over a length of about 1 km in a northwest direction; in 1791, the exploitation of the deposit began through two shafts—one for extraction and one for ventilation—as well as through three levels, covering a span of 600 meters. The clean levels of salt were mined using hoes and pickaxes and delivered for sale in 50-kg blocks. As a result of utilizing the salt deposits discovered in Cacica, the rest of the mining operations were closed.
