Unlike some industrial minerals, which are unique to certain areas of the Earth, soda ash, or sodium carbonate, is mined and produced all over the world. Indeed, at least 95 natural sodium carbonate deposits have been identified globally - yet not all of these have been quantified. There are two types of soda ash - natural and synthetic. The former is obtained from trona and sodium carbonate-rich brines, while the latter can be manufactured from salt and limestone, a process which is often more cost-intensive and can generate environmentally damaging wastes.
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