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I
am currently completing a PhD at the University of Melbourne
studying the gold uptake in plants. Using plants to mine gold
from tailings (phytomining) has recently been demonstrated to
be an economically viable and relatively environmentally friendly
method of extracting gold. However, we do not understand the
uptake pathway for gold into plants, what form of gold is absorbed
by plants or how gold is transported within plants.
Understanding
these issues is important for choosing suitable plant species,
maximising gold recovery, and optimising the economic aspect.
The aims of my PhD are to: i) Develop a controlled method for
studying gold uptake in plants; ii) determine the uptake pathway
for gold into plants; iii) determine in what form gold is taken
up and transported by plants and iv) to develop a list of plants
suitable for the phytomining of gold.
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