Northwich evidence of a Roman auxiliary fort within the area of Northwich now known as "Castle" dated to AD 70. This and other northwestern forts were built as the Romans moved north from their stronghold in Chester. The association with salt continues in the etymology of Northwich. The "wich" (or wych) suffix applies to other towns in the area: Middlewich, Nantwich and Leftwich. This is considered to have been derived from the Norse, "wic", for bay, and is associated with the more traditional method of obtaining salt by evaporating sea water. Therefore, a place for making salt became a wych-house; Northwich
Mining in the Republic of the Congo influx of international companies seeking to tap into the vast mineral wealth. As of 2012: During the colonial period, the Republic of the Congo saw small-scale mechanized mining activities. During the 1960s French exploration companies identified vast evaporative zones containing sylvinite and carnallite mineralisation covering the Congo Basin. In 1959 COMILOG commenced manganese extraction operations near the town of Moanda in Gabon, just across the Congolese border. To be able to export the manganese COMILOG built a 285 km railway line from the Congo town of Mbinda south to where it join the Congo-Ocean railway. Ultimately trains go on to