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

蟒蛇矿业公司是这个应用程序的行业合作伙伴。他们每年生产大约40万吨RD，作为贵金属（黄金）开采的废物副产品，并且具有独特的这种材料的潜在商业用途。初步调查确定，岩石粉尘（RD）废料的化学成分在蔬菜作物种植可接受的限度内。拟议的研究旨在评价作为贵金属采矿废物产生的RD作为森林开垦和农业作物生产的适当天然介质修正的潜力。此外，在行业合作伙伴的操作中，木屑生物质成功地用于清除金处理后的氨。这项工作还提出了评估木屑生物质在受控环境条件下作为作物生长有用氮源的潜力。该项目的第一阶段将包括对RD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，我们将使用RD的化学成分来配制含有RD的土壤或介质混合物的不同组合，以评估在田间和温室条件下作物生产的适用性。在第三阶段，我们将设法确定资源开采后北方森林复垦的RD潜力。在最后阶段，我们建议开发一种RD或木屑生物质为基础的媒介，作为受控环境作物生产概念的证明。建议的研究是一个多学科的应用研究项目，将使学术界和工业界的合作伙伴互惠互利。本研究产生的成果将有助于更好地了解研发废料和富氮木屑生物质的质量，田间和温室作物生产/森林复垦的适用性，与研发在作物生物强化中的作用相关的机制，以及为研究生提供HQP培训机会。行业合作伙伴将利用这些结果产生商业机会或使用这些废物作为公司的新收入来源。此外，使用RD或木屑生物质作为天然介质修正将为增加NL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.