English

Noun

phytomining ‎(uncountable)

1. The planting (and subsequent harvesting) of vegetation that selectively concentrate specific metals from the environment into their tissues, for the primary or subsidiary purpose of commercial exploitation of the extracted metal.
   • 2005, J. Scott Angle, Nicholas A. Linacre, Ecological Risks of Novel Environmental Crop Technologies Using Phytoremediation as an Example, page 14,

     Cultivation of hyperaccumulators on naturally enriched areas offers the greatest promise for use in phytomining. Phytomining is a more specific form of phytoremediation where the purpose of metal removal from soil is economic gain.

   • 2013, Christopher W. N. Anderson, Chapter 5: Hyperaccumulation by Plants, Andrew Hunt, George A. Kraus, James H. Clark (editors), Element Recovery and Sustainability, page 121,

     The three metals, nickel, thallium and gold were reported as candidates for phytomining in 1999 owing to the relatively high price that each metal commands on international commodity markets.

   • 2013, Meri Barbafieri, Jan Japenga, Paul Romkens, Giannantonio Petruzzelli, Francesca Pedron, 2: Protocols for Applying Phytotechnologies in Metal-Contaminated Soils, Dharmendra Kumar Gupta (editor), Plant-Based Remediation Processes, page 23,

     This would be possible in the case of phytomining, a particular example of phytoextraction. Phytomining involves the exploitation of subeconomic ore bodies using hyperaccumulating plants.

Translations

See also

• hyperaccumulation
• phytoextraction
• phytoremediation