Subsidiary Undertakes Micronutrient Plant Sampling
Lithium Australia NL’s (ASX: LIT) 90%-owned subsidiary Envirostream Australia Pty Ltd has successfully conducted a field trial in which zinc and manganese derived from its recycling of alkaline batteries were added (in differing ratios) as micronutrients to conventional mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP) fertiliser.
While fertilisers incorporating rapid-release micronutrients derived from alkaline batteries are available commercially in the northern hemisphere, the Envirostream micronutrients are slow-release variants tailored specifically for broad-acre farming in Western Australia.
It is hoped that they will suit the sandy soils (low in zinc and manganese) that characterise WA’s wheatbelt, providing growers with significant benefits. In the trial, being held near Kojonup (about 260 kilometres from capital city Perth), the fertiliser blends containing Envirostream micronutrients were applied during wheat seeding.
Plant sampling – to track micronutrient performance between treatments and between plots at the trial site – was completed at the end of August. The image below shows the condition of one of the germinated plots: the wheat on the right-hand side received fertiliser containing Envirostream’s micronutrient treatment, while the crop on the left- hand side was fertilised using a similar but commercially available product.
Lithium Australia Managing Director, Adrian Griffin, said the trials are part of the company’s campaign to create a “circular battery economy”.
“Using material from recycled batteries to enhance fertilisers can certainly divert toxic materials from landfill,” Mr Griffin said.
“Moreover, it has the potential to provide the fertiliser industry with more sustainable inputs to improve crop yields. The slow-release nature of the micronutrients produced by Envirostream could prove a real advantage in terms of local crop conditions. We look forward to the outcome of the trials later this year.”
