Ores found in ‘Emerald City’ can reduce agricultural production costs, says research | Tocantins

Mining Agency carries out research on the use of emeralds in Monte Santo

The municipality of Monte Santo, in the central region of the state, known to miners as the city of emeralds, can have its mineral wealth used to increase the state’s agricultural productivity. According to the Tocantins State Mining Agency (Ameto), the city has potential for rocks that can be used as natural fertilizers.

The project developed in partnership with the University of Brasília (UnB) seeks to boost production chains and encourage the creation of a network to fully and intelligently use resources from the production of emeralds and remineralizers – ores that improve soil fertility.

The region has five legal mining cooperatives. In addition to the mineral potential for emeralds, the research found in the field the presence of materials that can be used such as rock dust to fertilize the soil and reduce agricultural production costs.

During the expeditions, the occurrence of other minerals such as rutile (titanium oxide), zircon (zirconite), sodalite, quartz, and other ores important to the state’s economy were observed.

Fieldwork began after the agreement signed by the state government in December 2023. Samples of rocks and minerals were collected, which will be integrated with geological, geophysical, altimetry data and satellite images.

Soil remineralizers are natural substances that contain a variety of essential nutrients in significant quantities. Among the substances is rock dust, a byproduct of mining activity.

Rock dust is used in the production of fertilizers, to correct soil acidity and in other applications. Through it, it is possible to replace traditional sources of fertilizers, in addition to contributing to the sustainable development of agriculture.

The rocking technique, as it is also called, has become popular among farmers, indicating a paradigm shift in relation to the way in which environmental resources can be used in an economic and sustainable way.