Company improves carbon capture with mining dust.

• Darjeeling-based company, Alt Carbon, is focusing on reducing carbon emissions by using rock weathering to capture carbon.
• Rock weathering is a geo-chemical process where atmospheric carbon reacts with minerals, forming bicarbonates.
• The carbon is then released into the oceans, where it is stored for aeons.
• The oceans are major carbon sinks, capturing about 30% of CO2 from human activities.
• With rising carbon dioxide levels and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s consensus that some amount of carbon dioxide in the air needs to be removed by 2050, governments and businesses are investing in schemes to accelerate natural carbon removal processes.
• Alt Carbon uses basaltic rock, rich in minerals like calcium and magnesium, to crush into a fine powder, increasing its effective surface area and accelerating bicarbonate formation.
• The company collects tonnes of crushed basalt from Rajmahal mines, transports it to Darjeeling, and sprinkles it on tea estates.
• The basaltic dust enriches the soil and accelerates carbon sequestration.
• Alt Carbon has used about 500 tonnes of dust so far, and has entered into an agreement with Frontier to buy a tranche of carbon sequestered in advance for $5,000.