Phytomining, sometimes called agromining, is the concept of extracting heavy metals from the soil using plants. Specifically, phytomining is for the purpose of economic gain. The approach exploits the existence of hyperaccumulators, proteins or compounds secreted by plants to bind certain metal ions. These extracted ores are called bio-ores. 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.