Agromining, Albania part of Farming for Metals Project

TIRANA, January 16

Have you ever heard about agromining? In plain words, it means to grow minerals on plants and although it sounds bizarre, scientifically it’s possible and in Albania, it’s implemented in Pojska and Domosdova area on the Coast of Ohrid Lake. Life-AGROMINE is a project funded by the European Union (EU) that focusses on cropping hyperaccumulator plants on nickel-rich soils and wastes for the green synthesis of pure nickel compounds.
Agromining is a simple process and it’s based on phytomining, a non-destructive process that recovers high-value metals such as nickel in metal-rich soils.
Nickel-rich soil is not used for agriculture process due to factors related to fertility and productivity. On the other hand, they have a high potential for metal recovery. The projects will use plants to accumulate trace metals from the soil that transport them to their shoots, that later is going to be harvested. The project aims at reducing the EU dependency on imports from metal-producing countries and also to offer eco-efficient alternatives to the classical pyro and hydro-metallurgical processes for metal recovery. Albania is one of the five field trials established across Europe along with Austria, Greece, Spain, and France. The project with also has a socio-economic impact and an important role in soil decontamination.

News Source: ec.europa.eu
Photo: Alyssum Murale field in Pojska, Credit: Life-Agromine