"On a field in northern Albania, farmers are working between rows of yellow mustard plants, bringing in their harvest: nickel. What's planted here is one of about 700 hyperaccumulating species plants that accumulate high amounts of metals from the ground, such as nickel, zinc, copper, even gold and rare earth elements. They evolved to store these metals in their shoots, leaves or sap. It's their little toxic trick, a defense against predators and pathogens. For the plants themselves, the metals are harmless."
"Scientists first used such plants in the 1980s to clean up soils that had been contaminated by mines or smelters. One plant was even able to remove small amounts of radioactive cesium from the soil of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site. But it wasn't until the 1990s that the scientists asked: what if we used all those precious metals collected by the plants? They called the idea: phytomining."
"On the field in Albania, there is too much nickel in the soil to grow food crops with good harvest. But then there's also not enough nickel to set up a conventional mine. This makes it an ideal place for phytomining, according to Eric Matzner, co-founder of startup Metalplant, which is behind the 10-hectare field near the town of Tropoje. "The minimum target we are looking for is around a third of a ton of nickel per hectare," he said."
Hyperaccumulator plants concentrate high levels of metals such as nickel, zinc, copper, gold, and rare earth elements in their shoots, leaves, or sap while remaining unharmed. Scientists applied these plants since the 1980s to remediate contaminated soils, including removing radioactive cesium at Chernobyl. Phytomining converts metal-rich plant biomass into an ashy concentrate or bio-ore that can be chemically processed to extract metals. Phytomining targets soils with metal levels too low for conventional mining but unsuitable for crops. Startups are trialing commercial phytomining on fields, aiming for yields measured in kilograms or fractions of a ton per hectare.
Read at www.dw.com
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