How SGI is Investigating the Carbon-Capturing Power of Metabasalt

A byproduct of SGI’s mining process has potential applications for carbon sequestration and increased crop yields.

At its open pit quarries, SGI, a Standard Industries company, mines the material—called metabasalt—that will form the essential granules used to produce roofing shingles. The mining and subsequent grinding processes produce a fine rock dust (called metabasalt fines) that appears to have a surprising application for the agriculture sector.

Until recently, this byproduct was primarily used for mine reclamation, with limited application in the roofing supply chain. But SGI is leading a collaborative effort to unlock the hidden power of metabasalt fines.

To study the ability of metabasalt to sequester carbon from the atmosphere and increase crop yield for farmers, SGI has partnered with universities including UC Davis, Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania. For UC Davis’s study, SGI has contributed more than 500 tons of metabasalt fines from its mining sites, which are being applied to 30 acres of farmland in Los Banos, California. Researchers are measuring the effect of these metabasalt fines when introduced into the soil.