Agromining: Farming for metals in the future?

Antony Van Der Ent; Alan J.M. Baker; Roger D. Reeves; Rufus L. Chaney; Christopher W.N. Anderson; John A. Meech; Peter D. Erskine; Marie Odile Simonnot; James Vaughan; Jean Louis Morel; Guillaume Echevarria; Bruno Fogliani; Qiu Rongliang; David R. Mulligan

doi:10.1021/es506031u

Agromining: Farming for metals in the future?

Antony Van Der Ent^*, Alan J.M. Baker, Roger D. Reeves, Rufus L. Chaney, Christopher W.N. Anderson, John A. Meech, Peter D. Erskine, Marie Odile Simonnot, James Vaughan, Jean Louis Morel, Guillaume Echevarria, Bruno Fogliani, Qiu Rongliang, David R. Mulligan

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

261 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Phytomining technology employs hyperaccumulator plants to take up metal in harvestable plant biomass. Harvesting, drying and incineration of the biomass generates a high-grade bio-ore. We propose that “agromining” (a variant of phytomining) could provide local communities with an alternative type of agriculture on degraded lands; farming not for food crops, but for metals such as nickel (Ni). However, two decades after its inception and numerous successful experiments, commercial phytomining has not yet become a reality. To build the case for the minerals industry, a large-scale demonstration is needed to identify operational risks and provide “real-life” evidence for profitability.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	4773-4780
Number of pages	8
Journal	Environmental Science and Technology
Volume	49
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/es506031u
Publication status	Published - 21 Apr 2015
Externally published	Yes

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title = "Agromining: Farming for metals in the future?",

abstract = "Phytomining technology employs hyperaccumulator plants to take up metal in harvestable plant biomass. Harvesting, drying and incineration of the biomass generates a high-grade bio-ore. We propose that “agromining” (a variant of phytomining) could provide local communities with an alternative type of agriculture on degraded lands; farming not for food crops, but for metals such as nickel (Ni). However, two decades after its inception and numerous successful experiments, commercial phytomining has not yet become a reality. To build the case for the minerals industry, a large-scale demonstration is needed to identify operational risks and provide “real-life” evidence for profitability.",

author = "{Van Der Ent}, Antony and Baker, {Alan J.M.} and Reeves, {Roger D.} and Chaney, {Rufus L.} and Anderson, {Christopher W.N.} and Meech, {John A.} and Erskine, {Peter D.} and Simonnot, {Marie Odile} and James Vaughan and Morel, {Jean Louis} and Guillaume Echevarria and Bruno Fogliani and Qiu Rongliang and Mulligan, {David R.}",

year = "2015",

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doi = "10.1021/es506031u",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Agromining

T2 - Farming for metals in the future?

AU - Van Der Ent, Antony

AU - Baker, Alan J.M.

AU - Reeves, Roger D.

AU - Chaney, Rufus L.

AU - Anderson, Christopher W.N.

AU - Meech, John A.

AU - Erskine, Peter D.

AU - Simonnot, Marie Odile

AU - Vaughan, James

AU - Morel, Jean Louis

AU - Echevarria, Guillaume

AU - Fogliani, Bruno

AU - Rongliang, Qiu

AU - Mulligan, David R.

PY - 2015/4/21

Y1 - 2015/4/21

N2 - Phytomining technology employs hyperaccumulator plants to take up metal in harvestable plant biomass. Harvesting, drying and incineration of the biomass generates a high-grade bio-ore. We propose that “agromining” (a variant of phytomining) could provide local communities with an alternative type of agriculture on degraded lands; farming not for food crops, but for metals such as nickel (Ni). However, two decades after its inception and numerous successful experiments, commercial phytomining has not yet become a reality. To build the case for the minerals industry, a large-scale demonstration is needed to identify operational risks and provide “real-life” evidence for profitability.

AB - Phytomining technology employs hyperaccumulator plants to take up metal in harvestable plant biomass. Harvesting, drying and incineration of the biomass generates a high-grade bio-ore. We propose that “agromining” (a variant of phytomining) could provide local communities with an alternative type of agriculture on degraded lands; farming not for food crops, but for metals such as nickel (Ni). However, two decades after its inception and numerous successful experiments, commercial phytomining has not yet become a reality. To build the case for the minerals industry, a large-scale demonstration is needed to identify operational risks and provide “real-life” evidence for profitability.

U2 - 10.1021/es506031u

DO - 10.1021/es506031u

M3 - Article

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SP - 4773

EP - 4780

JO - Environmental Science and Technology

JF - Environmental Science and Technology

IS - 8

ER -

Agromining: Farming for metals in the future?

Abstract

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