The Lithosphere

News

Mining Zinc, Nickel, and Cobalt from Plants: "Phytomining" is the Sustainable FutureMining companies look to scientists to demonstrate "phytomining" on a large scale, letting plants pull nickel out of the ground instead.

Down on the Farm That Harvests Metal From Plants (Published 2020)Hyper-accumulating plants thrive in metallic soil that kills other vegetation, and botanists are testing the potential of phytomining.

Mountaintop mining causes 40% loss of aquatic biodiversity: Environmental scan of DNA turns up 10,000 species living in streamsUsing environmental DNA scans of Appalachian streams, researchers found that the effects of mountaintop coal mining in West Virginia are even more widespread than previously reported: Streams from heavily mined watersheds harbor 40% fewer species than streams with cleaner water.

Seabed mining could destroy ecosystemsMining on the ocean floor could do irreversible damage to deep-sea ecosystems, says a new study of seabed mining proposals around the world.

Mineral resources: Exhaustion is just a myth, say scientistsRecent articles have declared that deposits of mineral raw materials (copper, zinc, etc.) will be exhausted within a few decades. An international team of scientists, however, has shown that this is incorrect and that the resources of most mineral commodities are sufficient to meet the growing demand from industrialization and future demographic changes. Future shortages will arise not from physical exhaustion of different metals but from causes related to industrial exploitation, the economy, and environmental or societal pressures on the use of mineral resources.

Recovering critical, economically important metals from low-grade ores and wasteThe EU area is experiencing challenges in sourcing critical metals. Solutions to this are being sought by the a new project. Researchers are developing technologies for extracting valuable metals from metallurgical waste and low-grade ores, from which recovery is not yet economically viable. The research is serving European industry, which is dependent on the import of critical metals.

Websites

How to Recycle and Why You Should Do ItThe recycling rate in the United States has increased from less than 7% in 1960 to over 34% in 2015. While the progress is promising, we still have a long way to go. This resource should help get you started so that you can recycle at work, home, and school.Importance of RecyclingWhy should we recycle? It’s a fairly simple concept. When you transform something old into something new, it benefits the environment in a number of ways. Materials and natural resources aren’t wasted. Energy is saved during the manufacturing process. There’s less waste going to landfills.

Cradle to CradleThe Cradle to Cradle® design principle describes the safe and potentially infinite use of materials and nutrients in cycles.

Journal Articles

Phytomining: A reviewBioharvesting of metals from high biomass crops grown in soil substrates particularly those associated with sub-economic mineralization is termed phyt…

Podcasts

Videos

Mining minerals from seawaterThe world needs clean water, and more and more, we're pulling it from the oceans, desalinating it, and drinking it. But what to do with the salty brine left behind? In this intriguing short talk, TED Fellow Damian Palin proposes an idea: Mine it for other minerals we need, with the help of some collaborative metal-munching bacteria.

Long Reads

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