Rock dust from mine waste as a natural media amendment in forest reclamation and the production of high value agronomic and horticultural crops

蟒蛇矿业公司是这一应用的行业合作伙伴。它们每年生产约400,000吨RD，作为贵金属(黄金)开采的废物副产品，并拥有独特数量的这种材料，用于潜在的商业用途。初步调查显示，岩尘废料的化学成分在可接受的范围内，可用作种植蔬菜作物。拟议的研究旨在评估岩尘废料作为贵金属开采产生的废料，作为适合森林开垦和农作物生产的天然基质改良剂的潜力。此外，在Industry Partners的运作中，木片生物质被成功地用于在黄金加工后清除氨气。这项工作还建议评估木屑生物质作为受控环境条件下作物生长的有效氮源的潜力。该项目的第一阶段将涉及对研发进行全面的化学分析，以确定作物生长所需的污染物和矿物质营养成分。在第二阶段，我们将利用研发的化学成分来配制土壤或基质与研发的不同组合，以评估在田间和温室条件下对作物生产的适宜性。在第三阶段，我们将寻求确定RD在资源开采后用于北方森林复垦的潜力。在最后阶段，我们建议开发一种基于RD或木片生物质的基质，作为可控环境作物生产的概念验证。拟议的研究是一个多学科的应用研究项目，将对学术和行业合作伙伴互惠互利。这项研究产生的成果将有助于更好地了解研发废物和富氮木片生物量的质量、是否适合大田和温室作物生产/森林开垦、与研发相关的机制在作物生物强化中的作用，以及研究生的HQP培训机会。行业合作伙伴将利用这些结果创造商业机会，或将这些废物产品用作公司的新收入来源。此外，使用RD或木屑生物质作为一种天然的媒介改良剂，将为增加民族解放力量的粮食产量提供机会，并可能成为缓解该省当前粮食安全挑战的长期战略的一部分。

Anaconda Mining Inc is the industry partner in this application. They produce approximately 400,000 tonnes of RD annually as a waste byproduct from precious metal (gold) mining, and have unique volume of this material for potential commercial use. Preliminary investigations determined the chemical composition of the rock dust (RD) waste material is within acceptable limits for vegetable crop cultivation.The proposed study seek to evaluate the potential of RD generated as a waste product of precious metal mining as a suitable natural media amendment for forest reclamation and agriculture crop production. Furthermore, wood chip biomass is used successfully to scavenge ammonia following gold processing at the Industry partners operation. This work proposed to also evaluate the potential of the wood chip biomass as a useful source of nitrogen for crop growth under controlled environmental conditions. The first stage of this project will involve a comprehensive chemical analysis of the RD to determine contaminants and mineral nutrient composition for crop growth. In the second stage, we will use the RD chemical composition to formulate different combinations of soil or media mixes with RD to evaluate suitability for crop production under field and greenhouse conditions. In the third stage, we will seek to determine the potential of RD for boreal forest reclamation after resource mining. In the final stage, we proposed to develop a RD or wood chip biomass based media as a proof of concept for controlled environment crop production. The proposed study is a multidisciplinary applied research project that will be of mutual benefits to the academic and industry partners. Outputs generated from this study will contribute to better understanding of the quality of the RD waste material and nitrogen enriched wood chip biomass, suitability for field and greenhouse crop production/forest reclamation, mechanisms associated with RD role in crop biofortification, as well as HQP training opportunities for graduate students. The industry partner will use these results to generate commercial opportunities or use of this waste products as a new revenue stream for the company. Furthermore, the use of RD or wood chip biomass as a natural media amendment will provide opportunities for increase food production in NL and could be part of a long term strategy to mitigate current challenges with food security in the Province.