Wiktionary
n. 1 A block of salt enriched with minerals, licked by herd animals to supplement their diet. 2 A natural source of such minerals licked by wild animals.
Wikipedia
A mineral lick (also known as a salt lick) is a place where animals can go to lick essential mineral nutrients from a deposit of salts and other minerals. Mineral licks can be naturally occurring (natural licks) or artificial (such as blocks of salt that farmers place in pastures for livestock to lick). Natural licks are common, and they provide the biometals ( sodium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, and trace elements) required in the springtime for bone, muscle and other growth in deer and other wildlife, such as moose, elephants, tapirs, cattle, woodchucks, domestic sheep, fox squirrels, mountain goats and porcupines. Such licks are especially important in ecosystems with poor general availability of nutrients. Harsh weather exposes salty mineral deposits that draw animals from miles away for a taste of needed nutrients. It is thought that certain fauna can detect calcium in salt licks.
Usage examples of "mineral lick".
Flocks of cross-bills, with wavy flight and plaintive calls, flew to a small mineral lick near by, where they scraped the clay with their queer little beaks.