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GUEST BLOG: Converting Mine Waste to Create Super Plants

Posted on April 01, 2016 16:58 PM by WGCIT

By Dennis Amoroso
Plant Nutrition Technologies, Inc. CEO and Chairman

The States of Nevada and California were both able to achieve economic independence and great wealth because of the mining done in the days of the Silver and Gold Rush eras. The work of thousands of miners left behind great piles of mine and mill waste, which to date have been considered a blight on the land and an ecological disaster. Acid rain is mixing with the elements in the waste and leaching them into the watershed.  The accumulation of these metals is damaging our land and rivers. By removing these piles of mine and mill waste from the environment, we eliminate the problem at its source. 

Here at Plant Nutrition Technologies, Inc. in Morgan Hill California we have developed a proven ecologically sound process whereby we recover value from mine waste. The by-product of our process, known as Rock Powder, is rich with micro nutrients needed to remediate and amend depleted farmland. These micro nutrients are present because the geology where the mine waste originated is deep in the Earth where the nutrients have not been eradicated by farming. During the leaching process, the micro nutrient elements in the Rock Powder are preconditioned in such a way as to make them more readily available for use as a soil amendment or as a nutrient rich additive to a bio-converter mixture. 

Application of our products known as PoweRoc, BioRoc, and RocTea, delivers readily available micro nutrients directly to the root systems to help create a robust plant with greater resistance to disease and insect damage.  Because the nutrients are easily accessible to the plants they require much less water to produce nutrient rich quality crops with higher yields. The very fine particle size of the clay and silica in the Biomineral Fertilizer gives it the added ability to retain ten times its weight in water without leaching into the water table. All water that does enter the water table has no contaminants.   

When mixed with biomass in a bio-converter Rock Powder becomes part of a complete growing medium. The minerals provide the nutrients for the bacteria to grow while the silica particles provide a home base for the fast growth of healthy soil microbes which then consume the micro nutrients to make them available to the plant roots. The bio-conversion process produces a product ready for direct application to farm land. Use of this product can regenerate depleted farmland and generate new farmland where none has previously existed. 

Our environmental impact is completely positive, restoring properties to their owners, and eliminating hazards such as heavy metals from the watershed. We provide an option for the local and state governments for the reclamation and restoration of abandoned mine sites that costs the state nothing and generates good will among the tax payers. In addition, we create revenue and economy in outlying areas where none previously existed. In synergistic alliances with land owners, city, county, and state governing bodies we develop and implement operational plans for the removal and processing of tailings dumps, tailings ponds, and other sources of waste materials.

Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology has provided a supportive environment where we have successfully interacted with many people who directly benefit from the use of our product in California agricultural industries. We have taken advantage of the conference room several times which makes everyone comfortable that they can talk freely without disturbing others in the Center. It also leaves a good impression that we are professionals and serious business people.