www.ferro-alloys.com: Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will look into the possibility of introducing phytomining in the country.

“I’ll call for a study into the matter,” DENR Secretary Gina Lopez said Wednesday (April 19) on the side of a forum in Metro Manila.

She assured such action as botanist and University of the Philippines-Los Baños professor Dr. Edwino Fernando said the country has several plant species capable of tolerating metal toxicity in mining areas around the country and absorbing metal elements present in the ground there.

Technology can make it possible to harvest metal elements those species absorbed, he noted.

“There’s a future for phytomining in the country,” he said.

He noted phytomining raises the possibility of exploiting mineralized soil that conventional mining methods render uneconomic.

Phytomining’s environmental impact is less compared to erosion from open-cut mining, he likewise said.

Dr. Fernando said metallophytes are plant species that thrive in soil with metal toxicity.

Those plants can survive and reproduce on metalliferous or metal-containing soil, he noted.

Such characteristics make metallophytes “extremely relevant” in programs on restoring vegetation in mined-out areas within these plants’ geographic range, he said.

Hyperaccumulators are plant species capable of accumulating metal elements, Dr. Fernando continued.

“There are just over 500 species of metal hyperaccumulators worldwide,” he said.

That accounts for a mere 0.2 percent of all flowering plants on Earth, he noted.

He said the plant with scientific name ‘Rinorea niccolifera’ is among the country’s hyperaccumulators.

‘Rinorea niccolifera’ can absorb nickel in very high amounts, he also said.

Dr. Fernando is promoting conservation of metallophytes and hyperaccumulators nationwide.

Collect and store germplasm or genetic materials of such plants so more of these can be grown, he noted.

“Invest in forest restoration research,” he also said.

Further research is needed to analyze cost of undertakingphytomining in the country, he continued.

Research on the matter must commence as soon as possible so the country can benefit from its plant species, he added.

• [Editor:Licaixia]