Mineral bioprocessing
In the last 25 years, the introduction of biotechnological methods in hydrometallurgy has created new opportunities and challenges for the mineral processing industry. This was especially true for the production of metal values from mining wastes and low-and-complex-grade mineral resources, which were considered economically not amenable for processing by conventional extraction methods. Using bio-assisted heap, dump and in-situ leaching technologies, copper and uranium extractions gained their first industrial applications. The precious metal industries were the next to adopt the bio-preoxidation technique in the extraction of gold from refractory sulfide-bearing ores and concentrates. A variety of other bioleaching opportunities exist for nickel, cobalt, cadmium and zinc sulfide leaching. Recently developed bioremediation methods and biosorption technologies have shown a good potential for industrial applications to remove trace heavy metal and radionuclide concentrations from contaminated soils, and mining and processing effluents.
- Research Organization:
- EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC07-76ID01570
- OSTI ID:
- 10160139
- Report Number(s):
- EGG-M-93095; CONF-9303162-1; ON: DE93013678
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: International conference and workshop on applications of biotechnology to the minerals industry,Adelaide (Australia),22-23 Mar 1993; Other Information: PBD: [1993]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Current nature-based biological practices for rare earth elements extraction and recovery: Bioleaching and biosorption
Biohydrometallurgical technologies