Phytomining

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

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

Phytomining 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. A 2021 review concluded that the commercial viability of phytomining was "limited" because it is a slow and inefficient process.

History

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

Advantages

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

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.

See also

• Semisynthesis
• Phytoremediation