These plants could change the future of mining

Every year, the world mines billions of tonnes of metals, often at a huge cost to the environment. Nickel is one metal in particularly high demand, as it is a vital component of electric vehicle batteries and stainless steel.

One solution is emerging in an unexpected corner of the world in the form of a very special plant called Odontarrhena decipiens. This plant is a type of hyperaccumulator, a species that naturally absorbs large amounts of certain metals, such as nickel, from the soil. The plants can then be processed to extract the nickel.

The process, known as phytomining or agromining, is more efficient and less energy intensive than traditional mining.

RAZOR’s Reya El-Salahi meets Professor Aida Bani, a leading figure in Albanian phytomining research, who has dedicated two decades to studying this remarkable type of plant.

In northern Albania, a start-up is scaling up hyperaccumulator cultivation. Metalplant is growing 7 hectares of these plants with the goal of producing battery grade nickel. They are also using enhanced rock weathering to make the process carbon negative.