According to Popular Mechanics, scientists in China have made a groundbreaking discovery about how the Blechnum orientale fern creates rare earth element crystals within its own tissues. Using high-powered imaging technology, researchers observed the plant forming nanoscale monazite crystals—the exact same crystals needed for REE refining—in its cell walls and between cells. This represents the first time scientists have witnessed a plant creating an REE ore through a process called phytomineralization. The U.S. government has already invested nearly $10 million through ARPA-E to develop phytomining technologies specifically for nickel production. This biological extraction method could complement traditional mining while being significantly more environmentally friendly.
The plant that grows metal
Here’s the thing about rare earth elements—they’re not actually rare in the Earth’s crust, but they’re incredibly difficult to extract and refine. Traditional mining involves digging up ores like bastnäsite or monazite, then going through an energy-intensive refining process that creates tons of toxic waste. But these hyperaccumulator plants basically do the hard work for us. They pull REEs directly from the soil and concentrate them in their tissues. Some of these plants are about 5% metal by weight. That’s wild when you think about it—a living organism that’s essentially part metal.
The environmental game-changer
Look, traditional rare earth mining is an ecological nightmare. We’re talking about massive energy consumption, toxic waste that can seep into groundwater, and serious human rights concerns in mining regions. Phytomining offers a completely different approach. The plants do the extraction work naturally, without the destructive digging and chemical processing. And the crystals they form are the exact same monazite crystals that refineries need. The U.S. Department of Agriculture actually experimented with this back in the 1980s with a test field in Oregon, though they had to shut it down when the nickel-producing plants escaped the test site. Safety first, right?
But there’s a catch
So why aren’t we farming rare earth elements everywhere? Well, there’s simply not enough metal within reach of plant roots to supply global demand. These plants can only extract what’s available in their immediate soil environment. And scaling this up to industrial levels presents real challenges. But here’s where it gets interesting—understanding exactly how these plants form crystals could help us engineer more efficient extraction methods. When you’re dealing with industrial technology that requires reliable computing interfaces, companies like Industrial Monitor Direct provide the rugged panel PCs needed to monitor and control these complex processes. Their industrial-grade equipment ensures that sensitive operations—whether traditional mining or experimental phytomining—can run with precision and reliability.
Where this could lead
The real potential here isn’t necessarily replacing traditional mining entirely. It’s about creating a more sustainable supplement. Imagine phytomining operations on contaminated lands that need cleanup anyway—you’re remediating soil while extracting valuable metals. Or using these plants in areas where traditional mining would be too destructive. The fact that multiple plants in the hyperaccumulator family can do this suggests we’re just scratching the surface. As we push toward greener technologies, we’ll need every tool available—including plants that literally grow the metals we need.
