Sustainability
Itronics has "success proven" expertise in several scientific fields including hydrometallurgy, pyrometallurgy, formulation and precision manufacturing of chelated fertilizers, plant nutrition which includes what happens to applied nutrients in the soil and how plants take in and utilize the nutrients both from the soil and from foliar application.
Itronics also has proven expertise in mineral project planning and implementation which is being used to launch the Fulstone Project. |
- Itronics is a world leader in developing and operating proprietary technology that uses hazardous silver-bearing liquid photographic waste, after processing and silver removal, as a raw material in the production of specialty chelated liquid fertilizers sold under the Company’s GOLD’n GRO brand. The Company recovers, refines, and sells pure silver bullion from the waste stream, and produces a silver-bearing glass in the refining process which is also sold. The combination of processes converts 100 percent of the waste stream to commercial goods, thereby putting materials that were previously disposed as hazardous waste into beneficial use as raw materials. Eliminating a major hazardous waste stream by putting the waste materials into commercial use after appropriate processing is one of the Company’s most important methods of improving sustainability.
- Its accomplishments have won the Company a place as one of the finalists in the Kirkpatrick Chemical Engineering Award, the most prestigious worldwide award in chemical engineering technologies. Its President traveled to London, England twice to be presented worldwide environmental awards at the Royal Courts of Justice and the House of Commons.
- Itronics is a leader in utilizing advanced chelation chemistry in liquid fertilizer formulation and has developed, field tested, and registered the labels for 12 specialty chelated liquid fertilizers that are sold in bulk under the GOLD’n GRO brand in Nevada, California, and several other western states. Individual fertilizers are registered in other states as sales opportunities are identified. The Company’s GOLD’n GRO chelated liquid fertilizer technology maximizes agricultural sustainability through proprietary formulations that are completely utilized by the crops and the microbes in the soils being fertilized. Complete utilization of the fertilizer reduces the risk that chemical or metal residues will accumulate in the environment over time. The result is improved crop productivity, improved soils, and reduced risk of run-off and groundwater contamination by the GOLD’n GRO fertilizers. Developing, field testing, and marketing the advanced GOLD’n GRO chelated liquid fertilizer is another pathway that Itronics is using to maximize sustainability.
- The Fulstone project offers the potential for production of multiple minerals. These include iron ore, copper, gold, zinc, silver, and molybdenum for a total of six metals. The project also offers the potential for production of at least three industrial minerals which are silica, clay, and pyrophyllite (a specialty mineral). There is some potential for limestone, and there are geochemical indications of rare earths and uranium. Itronics’ goal is to maximize the recovery of valuable minerals from the host rocks and thereby minimize waste. Taking this approach maximizes sustainability for mining by minimizing environmental impacts and maximizing the long term economic benefits.