Ryan said in the soil livestream that a geologist believes that the structure of Akadama exists in two places. One is Japan and the other one Mt Hood Oregon. So are there any intrepid explorers who can search to find Akadama in the good old USA? I think it would be a profitable venture.
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#Mt.HoodMine - folks in Portland will be stoked on that! 
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Sounds like a great cottage industry candidate. If the right soil is found, how would you actively certify the material as suitable ( a lengthy government cert that would try the patience of Jesus? ).
Mount Hood, called Wyâeast by the Multnomah tribe, is a potentially active stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc of northern Oregon, the next eruption would heal the wounds made by man and animals.
Using naturally occurring pumice, sand and gravel are what Portland is made of!! Portland cement, an invention of our English friends. Embrace the volcanoes!!!
Im telling you guys, I havenât been able to get that small statement out of my mind! I think it would be great to track that geologist down and talk to him seriously about this. If i remember correctly Ryan mentioned that the dude ran it through a computer and it spit out the hypothesized location, if we could find a more specific âneighborhoodâ of Mt. Hood that would be great. I posed the question in the chat, (this is âBenjaminâ btw) I wonder how deep it is, and that a real question, if its under 50â of âoverburdenâ then weâre screwed! However, if its just like any other clay deps. (like we have here in the mid-west) right below the surface soil, then we could be easily within reach of âAmerican Akadamaâ
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Is that dude a member of BSOP?
Maybe @ryan has some more info to crank up the momentum of this topic, Iâm sure he would love to find a local supply right here in NW Oregon!
Hey guys, all this excitement is great and I would love to take a field trip out there with Motorcity ( I live in Ferndale ). Arenât we still forgetting the DNR, or the Forestry service? Look at the hassles some folks have to go through just to collect yamadori. What do you think Greenpeacenicks will think about an excavator at the foot of Mt. Hood?
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Oh I know, just the thought of the amount of hoops to jump through, and bureaucratic red tape that would be involved in this venture is frighteningâŚ
If Ryan has any connections by this time in that area, we could start there. The area around the Mt. for miles could be protected and permits impossible.
Maybe Kendall could find out some initial info. Would Ryan also be interested in being the sole distributor, or maybe a partner? All these questions rolling around in my head.
Even if we got a green light, there are equipment choices to be made, trucks and loaders to rent, or buy. Not to mention a piece of property to build our facility and living spaces. Air handling and filtration due to the dust that will be generated, not to mention the rock crushing, and lastly sifting equipment that will be needed to get the material down to usable size.
Have I missed anything, lol?
Regards,
Leonard
Kendall, first we push the #mthoodcondos and #mthooduraniummine. Then we settle for soil collection.
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Exactly. There is a reason that the akadama has become more expensive, it is a limited resource and is being mined out. Or at the very least, is becoming harder to process.
We would be better served to find a renewable resource. Have there been any studies to investigate artificial akadama candidates?
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Why does everyone think Akadama is volcanic? Just because it comes from japan and japan has volcanos, doesnât mean it comes from the top of Mt fuji. Lots clays are sedimentary and come from lower regions and are a mixture of different decomposed minerals.
If it is clay? then research different types of clays and where they come form or even where akadama comes from to find alternatives. There are lots of clay mines around. In the USA clay is not really sold as a soil additives for landscaping and gardening like it is in Japan. Most of the ground in Pacific Northwest is clay of some color and composition. In our yards we try to replaces clays with organics to brake up the soils to make is easer to work and plant in.
Maybe we need to processing the clay and not just dig it up and maybe akadama is just made?
Yes. Ryan has mentioned that he is looking into that with some soil scientists
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I donât know if Iâm the same geologist that Ryan was thinking of, but I am a geologist and I have hypothesized that similar soils to akadama are likely exist in the Pacific Northwest. I wrote a short article about soil components some time ago, including what I believe akadama is in Japan and why as well as a map of where I believe similar soils might be found in the US. I have a higher resolution version of the map if anyone is interested. Hereâs a link to the article. http://houstonbonsaisociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Inorganic-Components-Reference-Sheet-1.pdf
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thank you for the actual scientific description of the soils we know too little about.
We are all trying to learn what and why different soils work, (or do not work) for our environment and different species.
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Hey, Scott, I actually quoted your article (or an excerpt I saw on B-Nut) to Ryan at a class at Mirai earlier this month! He looked slightly skeptical when I said akadama-like soil should exist around the world, but he knows it exists on Mount Hood. It remains to be seen if it could be utilized in an environmentally responsible manner. He wouldnât pursue it unless it could.
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great info markyscott! way to rep TX and geologists!
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Well, alophanic andosols similar in composition to akadama exist in many places around the world, including the Pacific NW. Whether it is sufficiently similar in character to the andosols in Japan remains to be seen. Someone will have to take a drive out there and find out. If you study the map carefully, there are at least seven different types of andosols deposited in the PNW.
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Great article! Thanks for sharing your knowledge 
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