Agronomy of ‘Metal Crops’ Used in Agromining

Philip Nti Nkrumah (1) , Rufus L. Chaney (2) , Jean-Louis Morel (3)

1 USQ - University of Southern Queensland
2 USDA-ARS : Agricultural Research Service
3 LSE - Laboratoire Sols et Environnement

Agromining involves growing selected hyperaccumulator plant species ('metal crops') on low-grade ore bodies or mineralized (ultramafic) soils, or anthropogenic metal rich materials (e.g. contaminated soils, mine spoils, industrial sludge), prior to biomass harvesting and incineration to recover valuable metals or salts. This chapter begins with an introduction that explains the concepts of phytomining and agromining. We then acknowledge the role of agronomy in enhancing metal yield of 'metal crops,' with emphasis on Ni. Highlighted in the selection of sites section is the issue of potential agromining substrates, and the role of metal phytoavailability in economic agromining. We present criteria for selecting potential 'metal crops' and possible regions where these species are most suited for successful agromining operations. We then discuss thoroughly the soil and plant management practices that have been proposed to increase biomass and metal yield of 'metal crops.' Also reported is progress of the tropical agronomic trials. Finally, we provide a conclusion and present an outlook on the agronomy of 'metal crops' used in agromining.

Domaines: Sciences agricoles

Philip Nti Nkrumah, Rufus L. Chaney, Jean-Louis Morel. Agronomy of ‘Metal Crops’ Used in Agromining. Agromining: Farming for Metals, Springer, 312 p., 2018, Mineral Resource Reviews, 978-3-319-61898-2. ⟨10.1007/978-3-319-61899-9_2⟩. ⟨hal-02154595⟩