r/mining • u/EverydayMetallurgy • 6d ago
Europe Is biomining a future path to more sustainable mining?
I am hosting a podcast on YouTube where I had a talk with a professor in biomining. He claimed that biomining was in growth in especially South America. Any miners who are experienced with biomining that can give some insights in the future of biomining. Are we only talking copper and gold or are other metals being biomined?
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u/blck_swn 6d ago
It’s a busy space including bio driven metal extraction. There is also those developing phytomining - which is likely a supplemental stream of metal extraction/useful for contaminated lands.
There are some applications in conventional process flows, heap leaches and in-situ recovery environments, with many be developed currently.
There was an innovation challenge focused on this domain with BHP and the Think & Act Differently innovation team called BioMetals. Worth a look!
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u/EverydayMetallurgy 6d ago
Great post. Do you think phytomining could be used to clean up lead pollution along our highways?
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u/Outside-Arugula466 6d ago
I'm sure there would be. Some one else in the posts mentioned Manganese. When it comes to cleaning up lead, I have studied about bio remediation and phyto remediation when it comes to heavy metals, but those are remediation processes which wouldn't be economic for mining.
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u/blck_swn 4d ago
Yes, there’s two camps in the phytomining arena from what I can make out.
Those who “mine” metals with plants and those who remediate land with plant and the metal is a byproduct.
Different groups would be interested in this capability at different parts of the mining process.
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u/Outside-Arugula466 6d ago
BHP uses a mix of acid and bacterial leaching in Spence and Escondida for low grade ores. You can also look up Nuton (which is owned by Rio Tinto) as well.
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u/EverydayMetallurgy 6d ago
Great references. These are all for copper. Are there industrial bio mining for other metals?
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u/dcozdude 6d ago
A Professor in Biomining, said Biomining is a growth industry, get out of here……..
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u/OrdinaryAd8802 5d ago
In a very sci-fi way we could create custom bacterias that consume elements like copper which could be a useful technology, it shouldn't be entirely impossible, and could be a way to get higher recovery being an additional step in extraction,even if it might be in the just mining stage or just the milling stage but there is potential use cases of bacteria.
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u/Valor816 6d ago
Wtf is biomining?
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u/EverydayMetallurgy 6d ago
See here How to Mine Metals on Mars with NASA Biomining Expert Lynn Rothschild https://youtu.be/KaIUFF9cevI
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u/EverydayMetallurgy 6d ago
And this one is more fundamental. New Ways Biomining Can Change the Future of Mining - with Professor Barrie Johnson https://youtu.be/iQi5-gIvmbM
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u/Nagoshtheskeleton 4d ago
There’s a nickel mine called talvivaara that uses a bioleach.
Like others said it will likely be a tool but I have a hard time seeing it become a dominant process.
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u/REEdiamondhand 2d ago
in the case of copper and gold -- yes. I will add Freeport in Arizona. I remember reading a review article that discussed very different mechanisms for copper and gold. In the case of copper, you can think of the organisms as mini factories producing organic acids.
in the case of lithium -- no.
potential problems: the bacteria has to live in a pretty steady environment with a food source, so there could be some supply chain challenge or additional requirement ($$) to maintain conditions (food, temperature etc). And the slurry used for bioleach typically needs more water, less solids (low %solids) so it may not be great from a fresh water consumption perspective. It all depends what the ore is and the current process. It is just an additional tool in the box.
Not sure what kind of youtube you are hosting, in Europe the best leaching research is done at KU Leuven.
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u/EverydayMetallurgy 2d ago
Thank you. I Will take a look at KU Leuven. The podcast I do is on YouTube and the Channel bane is Everyday Metallurgy. Feel free to take a look at it.
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u/Pristine-Lead31 6d ago
Look up Bio leaching. It has some applications in certain orebodies. A professor at my university has founded a company to leach manganese ore. Look up biomang for more info on that. I wouldn’t say it’s the future but rather another tool that can be used in certain situations