Continuously finding 'white gold', experts conclude: Wherever there is this type of tree, there is treasure!

This "super plant" is highly appreciated by experts for bringing great economic value to humans .

Plants that love heavy metals

According to Kompas, in 2004, Aiyen Tjoa - a geological biologist and lecturer at Tadulako University accidentally came to the small town of Sorowako located in the center of Sulawesi island , Indonesia. This town is one of the world's largest nickel mines. A mining company here supplies 5% of global nickel production.

Sorowako is also famous for its vegetation with many endemic species that cannot be found elsewhere. But when Tjoa arrived here, they had been cleared away, leaving only barren and dusty land.

On the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, a team of researchers found two types of trees that commonly grow on nickel mines. (Photo: Global Plants)

However, while searching, Tjoa accidentally discovered that two types of trees always appeared above the ground in nickel mining areas in this town. These are Sarcotheca celebica and Knema matanensis.

According to Tjoa's definition, these plants can be called "super plants ", they are not only adapted to nickel-rich environments but also have the ability to absorb large amounts of this metal. Because in reality, most plants can only absorb a small amount of heavy metals to activate some enzymes used for the flowering process of the plant. However, if the amount of nickel is too much, it can cause the tree to be poisoned and die. Therefore, plants that can store a lot of nickel are very rare.

Saraca celebica is a species of plant in the Fabaceae family. This species is only found in Indonesia. Saraca celebica is found near streams and lowlands. According to the World Red Book, Saraca celebica was included in the list of species threatened with extinction in 1998. Currently, the number of adult individuals of this plant is not many due to severe cutting down by people.

Knema matanensis is a species of plant in the family Myristicaceae. This plant was also listed as vulnerable species D2 by the World Red Book in 1998. Currently, Knema matanensis is being reduced in area and habitat quality due to humans.

One of the two types of trees that can absorb large amounts of nickel is only found in Indonesia. (Photo: Global Plants).

After analysis, biological experts found that these two types of plants mainly store nickel in buds, leaves, roots and sap. The identifying characteristic is that the sap of these trees is banana green or blue due to the influence of nickel.

To complete this research, it took Tjoa four years to review the entire town. After finding these two plants, Tjoa took the samples to the laboratory, dried them and examined them with X-rays. Both Sarcotheca celebica and Knema matanensis can store between 1,000 and 5,000 micrograms of nickel per gram of dry leaves.

However, around the world, there are about 450 plant species that commonly grow in areas where nickel is recorded. Species such as Alyssum murale, a native plant in Italy, can store up to 30,000 micrograms of nickel in 1g of dry leaves. Another species, Phyllantus balgoyii, which can be found in Malaysia, also has similar amounts of nickel in its resin. Meanwhile, compared to other nickel-storing plant species elsewhere, the two species found by Tjoa do not have high storage capacity.

The identifying characteristic of trees with large nickel reserves is that their sap is banana green or blue. (Photo: BBC).

This threshold may be high compared to other metal-storing plants, but Tjoa's team is looking for plants that can store at least 10,000 micrograms of nickel per gram of dry leaves. The reason is because they want to turn these plants into a new source of nickel.

A way to mine this metal without destroying ecosystems is called "phytomining". Specifically, in plants that super-accumulate nickel, there is a large amount of metal. When burned into ash, the metal in it will be magnetic. This is partly because the absorption of nickel in hyperaccumulators occurs concurrently with the absorption of iron, a highly magnetic metal.

According to the research team's calculations, if they find plants that can store up to 30,000 micrograms of nickel in 1 g of dry leaves, in 1 year they can produce 120 kg of nickel per hectare. If calculated according to market price, it can be obtained about 1,754 USD/ha.

The process of extracting nickel from trees requires pruning and burning the buds because this is where the largest concentration of the metal is located. This process will emit CO2 _when burned, but the group of experts said that replanting these super nickel-storing trees will help balance the amount of CO2 produced.

Scientists will use the method of burning trees with large nickel reserves to harvest this metal. (Photo: Investing)

In addition, Tjoa also shared with the BBC that these plants will help improve soil in nickel mining areas. Because to exploit nickel in mines, people need to crush rock and soil, this action will release radioactive elements, cement dust, and metal dust. Furthermore, these mines also release a lot of toxic waste in liquid form called tailings. If not handled properly, waste containing arsenic and mercury may leak into the environment. Not to mention, this method also causes large amounts of CO2 emissions.

Meanwhile, the phytomining method also brings many other useful effects. Nickel hyperaccumulator plants not only improve soil quality but also provide essential nutrients to other common plants. It brings economic benefits to mining companies thanks to the additional nickel residue in the tree. These companies can use phytomining as a parallel approach.

Why is nickel considered a type of "white gold"?

Nickel is a naturally occurring metallic element that is silvery white and shiny. It is the 5th most abundant element on earth and is found abundantly in the earth's crust and core. Nickel, along with iron, is also a common element in meteorites and even small amounts of nickel can be found in plants, animals and seawater.

According to the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), nickel was discovered in 1751 by Swedish mineralogist and chemist, Axel Fredrik Cronstedt.

Nickel is a naturally occurring metallic element that is silvery white and shiny. (Photo: Investing)

In the context of industrialization and modernization, especially in the current global supply chain, nickel is one of the most sought-after resources in the world, especially when nickel is widely used in the industry. Future technology such as electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

According to experts, it is predicted that in the coming period, as the amount of nickel used to produce electric vehicle batteries increases and the scale of battery production expands, the demand for nickel production will increase significantly. This means that the world could enter a nickel thirst if the global supply chain is affected or interrupted due to geopolitical fluctuations or conflicts.

In the world today, the huge demand for nickel in China, according to experts, will affect the growth of consumption of this metal in the coming period.

At the same time, China currently accounts for more than half of the world's nickel consumption and is expected to continue growing due to growing stainless steel production and battery production for the popular electric vehicle trend.

Nickel is currently the metal that is causing a global "thirst". (Photo: BBC).

Meanwhile, the world's largest nickel ore mining countries have also begun to recalculate how to preserve this important metal for themselves. Therefore, this metal is creating a "thirst" globally, considered a type of "white gold".

According to Central Economics, nickel is quite well distributed globally with an estimated resource of about 300 million tons.

Nickel reserves are estimated at 94 million tons and are mainly located in Indonesia (22.4%), Australia (21.3%), Brazil (17%), Russia (7.3%), Cuba (5.9%). ) and Philippines (5.1%).

In particular, the island of Sulawesi and some neighboring Indonesian islands have the largest super-mineral geological basement in the world with 23,400 hectares, which may contain large amounts of nickel . In addition to having a high nickel content, soils from this geological basement also form high plant endemism. Therefore, the areas are perfect for nickel hyperaccumulators to grow and phytomining to take place.