Abstract
Silicate rocks, especially those of volcanic origin, have been studied and applied for rock stonemeal in agricultural soils. Recently, in 2013, the use of rock materials was approved by the Brazil’s fertilizer legislation, receiving the name of remineralizers. Due to the complex nature and mineral variability of the rocks, and the lack of consistent scientific studies, the regulations for this new mineral fertilizer product require that it has characteristics of geochemical composition that provide little information about its fertilizing properties. The present work studies the geochemical characteristics of an altered amygdaloid basalt mined, observing the release of mineral nutrients through leaching tests aiming to evaluated its use with as remineralized. The studied sample comes from mine in Santo Antônio da Patrulha, RS, from an altered basalt amygdaloid horizon, containing adsorbent minerals. Aliquots of mined material and zeolite’s amygdala selected were analyzed to assess their mineralogical, chemical and base composition. Mined material aliquots in two granulometries liable for agronomic application, were subjected to leaching in a solution of citric acid (1.6%) and deionized water, for two solid / liquid ratios (1:1 and 1:4). The results indicated the presence of zeolites and smectites in the mineral matrix, the sum of bases and levels of toxic elements that fit the sample in the category of remineralizers, and the release of mineral nutrients: Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, Si and Zn, with the highest concentration of Si and Ca in solution. The release of a significant amount of nitrogen in the form of nitrate was also observed, with makes this altered rock very interesting to agriculture. Key words: silicate rock, altered amygdaloid basalt, remineralizer, geochemical characterization.
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