Phytomining

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Phytoremediation through phytoextraction by a hyperaccumulator; zinc and copper are moved from the soil to the leaves of the plant Phytoextraction diagram.svg
Phytoremediation through phytoextraction by a hyperaccumulator; zinc and copper are moved from the soil to the leaves of the plant

Phytomining, sometimes called agromining, [1] is the concept of extracting heavy metals from the soil using plants. [2] Unlike Phytoremediation, where extraction is used for cleaning up environmental pollutants, phytomining is for the purpose of gathering the metals for economic use. [3]

Contents

Phytoming exploits the existence of hyperaccumulator plants which naturally have proteins or compounds that bind with certain metal ions. Once the hyperaccumulation happens, the final metal, or bio-ore, needs to be refined from the plant matter. [4] A 2021 review concluded that the commercial viability of phytomining was "limited" [1] because it is a slow and inefficient process.

History

Phytomining was first proposed in 1983 by Rufus Chaney, a USDA agronomist. [5] He and Alan Baker, a University of Melbourne professor, first tested it in 1996. [5] They, as well as Jay Scott Angle and Yin-Ming Li, filed a patent on the process in 1995 which expired in 2015. [6]

Advantages

Phytomining would, in principle, cause minimal environmental effects compared to mining. [2] Phytomining could also remove low-grade heavy metals from mine waste. [4]

Commercialization

Several startups are using the process for mining surface-available heavy metals. In 2025, Genomines received 45 million dollars of Series A funding to commercialize nickel phytomining from mine tailings. [7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Dang, P.; Li, C. (2022-12-01). "A mini-review of phytomining" . International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology. 19 (12): 12825–12838. Bibcode:2022JEST...1912825D. doi:10.1007/s13762-021-03807-z. ISSN   1735-2630.
  2. 1 2 Brooks, Robert R; Chambers, Michael F; Nicks, Larry J; Robinson, Brett H (1998-09-01). "Phytomining" . Trends in Plant Science. 3 (9): 359–362. Bibcode:1998TPS.....3..359B. doi:10.1016/S1360-1385(98)01283-7. ISSN   1360-1385.
  3. ↑ Linacre, J. Scott Angle and Nicholas A. (2005). Ecological Risks of Novel Environmental Crop Technologies Using Phytoremediation as an Example. Intl Food Policy Res Inst.
  4. 1 2 "Leaders of the energy transition are calling for a sustainable source of critical metals – is phytomining the answer?". smi.uq.edu.au. 2021-02-11. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  5. 1 2 Morse, Ian (2020-02-26). "Down on the Farm That Harvests Metal From Plants". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  6. ↑ US5711784A,Chaney, Rufus L.; Angle, Jay Scott& Baker, Alan J. M.et al.,"Method for phytomining of nickel, cobalt and other metals from soil",issued 1998-01-27
  7. ↑ Peters, Adele (2025-09-19). "This startup grows plants instead of digging mines to extract a critical mineral". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 2025-10-10. Retrieved 2025-11-10.
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