The research program, spearheaded by the Carbonaught team, was initiated to validate the potential of specific materials to sequester carbon, augment soil fertility, and understand its decomposition rate within an Australian agricultural context. The selected property, a biodynamic avocado and macadamia farm, has utilized ground rock dust as a soil enhancer for a quarter-century. Preliminary findings indicate that over a decade, 90% of the applied 250 tonnes per hectare of crusher dust has decomposed, not only providing groundbreaking evidence of true weathering rates but also demonstrating significant soil organic carbon weights of between 1 and 1.5 wt% at depths of 30-35cm.
This decomposition pace is pivotal for carbon sequestration and soil health, influencing the project's economic feasibility and its scalability from a thousand to a billion tonnes. Emphasizing transparency, the study underscores mining companies' genuine efforts towards sustainability, tying their endeavors to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The research further provides promising insights into soil health, productivity, and carbon sequestration, emphasizing the importance of understanding biota's role in rock dust decomposition.
