Iron geochemistry and carbon stocks in iron mining tailings: effects of chelating agents, consortium of microorganisms and fertilization

• Grant number: 22/16082-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 15, 2023
• End date: August 14, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Soil Science
• Principal Investigator: Tiago Osório Ferreira
• Grantee: Flaviane Caroline Pagoto
• Supervisor: Xosé Lois Otero Pérez
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Vida (USC), Spain
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/09818-5 - Assisted agromining: a nature-based solution to reuse iron mining tailing, BP.IC

Abstract

Iron mining (Fe) is one of the most important economic activities and population growth, rising global average income and changes in the energy matrix have increased the demand for metals. Brazil is the second largest producer of Fe in the world, more than half of the existing dams in the country are classified as "high risk" or with "high potential for associated damage". In this sense, the agromining of iron mining tailings is an excellent alternative for the disposal of the material, enabling its economic exploitation through a low-cost strategy with reduced environmental impact. Internal and external factors influence the ability of roots to absorb metals, some are intrinsic to the plant and others external, related to the soil. The bioavailability of the tailings metal of interest can be increased through the use of additives, such as fertilizers, chelating agents and beneficial microorganisms. Consequently, the present work aims to determine the effect of the application of soil additives (fertilizers, chelating agents and beneficial microorganisms) on iron geochemistry and the influence of different agromining protocols will be evaluated, using isolated techniques and combined techniques on the bioavailability of Fe in the tailings. In a partnership with the University of Santiago de Compostela, the geochemical fractionation of Fe in the solid phase will be carried out, as well as the characterization of the organic matter accumulated in the mining tailings after the cultivation of the phytoextractor species. (AU)