HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF BIOLEACHING

The historical background of metal accumulation has been documented elsewhere in various acid mine
drainages, mine dumps, and coal heaps (Brierly, 1978). An ancient technology that the Chinese practiced as far
back as 100-200 BC and probably even earlier is the leaching of copper from ore and the precipitation of copper
from the resulting solution (Needham and Gwei-Djen, 1974) (Rossi, 1990) . In Europe and Asia Minor, the same
processes were also identified and were likely to be used there around the 2nd century (Rossi, 1990). The role of
particular microorganisms in processes of metal solubilization, however was obviously not practiced until the 1940s.
Many research contributions have since helped to understand the fundamental mechanism behind this method. For
decades, in Spain, Sweden, Germany, China and elsewhere, biooxidation of sulfide ores for copper recovery has
been performed using solution mining technologies (Ehrlich, 2001). In south-western Spain, however the Rio Tinto
mines are commonly considered the cradle of biohydrometallurgy. These mines have been coveted for their copper,
gold and silver values since pre-Roman times (Lugaski, 1997).. The use of bioleaching started in the early 1890s at
the Rio Tinto mines. Heaps of low grade copper ore were constructed and left for natural decomposition for 1 to 3
years. The low-grade copper run-of-mine material, stacked in waste dumps to depths of over 100 m in height, was
leached at the Kennecott Bingham Mine near Salt Lake City, Utah, using an acid ferric iron solution for the
economic recovery of copper. Since pre-Roman times, these mines have been coveted for their copper, gold and
silver values. The use of bioleaching at the Rio Tinto mines began in the early 1890s. Heaps of low grade copper ore
were built and left for 1 to 3 years for natural decomposition. At the Kennecott Bingham Mine near Salt Lake City,
Utah, the low-grade copper run-of-mine material, stacked in waste dumps to depths of over 100 m in height, was
leached using an acid ferric iron solution to economically recover copper. Until 1961, when Thiobacillus
ferrooxidans was found in leachates, the contribution of bacteria to metal solubilization was not reported, though
industrial leaching operations were carried out for several decades at Rio Tinto Mines (Salkield, 1987).. The
acidophilic iron oxidizing bacterium Thiobacillus ferrooxidans has been recognized as a way of storing iron in an
oxidized state to serve as an oxidizing agent for sulfide copper ore in order to solubilize copper. The Quebrada
Blanca activity in Northern Chile, which is situated at an altitude of 4400 m, is another excellent example of a
current commercial bioleach use. This plant can handle 17,300 t of sulfide ore per day by being located at such a
high altitude. This approach shows the active evolution in the mining industry of biohydrometallurgy . Below is the
tabulated data of eleven bioheap copper leaching plants and one in situ bioleach project commissioned since 1980.
Biooxidation pretreatment of refractory sulfidic gold ores is another popular and comprehensive commercial
application of biohydrometallurgy. In the Goldfields BIOX phase, a biooxidation pretreatment plant with the longest
history is commissioned at the Fairview Mine in South Africa. This plant has been operating since 1986 and treats
big, stirred tank, aerated, continuous reactors with refractory arsenopyrites/pyrite gold-bearing concentrate. Another
excellent example of the current commercial use of bioleach is the activity of Quebrada Blanca in Northern Chile,
which is located at an altitude of 4400 m. By being located at such a high altitude, this plant can deal with 17,300 t
of sulfide ore per day. This approach shows the active evolution of biohydrometallurgy in the mining industry. The
data from eleven bioheap copper leaching plants and one in situ bioleach project commissioned since 1980 are
tabulated below. Another popular and comprehensive commercial application of biohydrometallurgy is biooxidation
pretreatment of refractory sulfidic gold minerals. A biooxidation pretreatment plant with the longest history is being
commissioned at the Fairview Mine in South Africa in the Goldfields BIOX phase. This plant has been operating
since 1986 and treats with refractory arsenopyrites/pyrite gold-bearing concentrate large, stirred tank, aerated,
continuous reactors.The technology developed by Geobiotics, is known as GEOCOATTM and is currently operating
on a pilot scale. The method involves the coating of refractory sulfide gold concentrated on a screened rock or ore
support. Pre-treatment with bio-oxidation takes place in a stacked heap configuration. Through conventional
hydrometallurgical processes, the oxidized support is then removed from the rock for gold extraction. This process
was also tested using thermophilic microorganisms for the bioleaching of copper from chalcopyrite concentrate.
Existing commercial stirred-tank bioleach plants for the pretreatment of refractory gold concentrates are listed in
Table 2. Sansu, where nearly 1000 t of concentrate is processed daily in reactors up to 900 m3 in size, is the largest
of these operations.

BIOLEACHING

In general, bioleaching is a process defined as the dissolution of metals by some naturally

occurring microorganisms from their mineral sources or the use of microorganisms to turn elements so
that when water is filtered through it, the elements can be removed from a material (Brierly, 1978)
( Lundgren Malouf, 1983). Generally, bioleaching refers to the conversion of solid metal values by the
use of microorganisms into their water-soluble forms. In the case of copper, for example, copper sulfide
is microbially oxidized to copper sulfate and metal values are present and the remaining solids are
discarded in the aqueous process. In comparison,' biooxidation', a bioleaching variation, explains the
microbiological oxidation of minerals containing interesting metal compounds. As a result, metal values
stay in a more concentrated shape in the solid residues In order to explain the mobilization of elements
from solid materials mediated by bacteria or fungi or planktonic residues, some other terms, including
'biomining',' bioextraction' and 'biorecovery' are also used (Rawlings 2002). Biomining is primarily
concerned with the large-scale implementation in the mining industry of a microbial method for the
economic recovery of metals.

EXTRACTION OF CHEMICALS

C.A. Jerez, in Encyclopedia of Microbiology (Third Edition), 2009

Metal microbial solubilization is commonly and effectively used to extract metals such as copper, gold,
uranium, and others in industrial processes called bioleaching of ores or biomining. Using chemolithoautotrophic
microorganisms, this phase is finished. In circumstances that simulate industrial biomining activities, there is a wide
range of microorganisms capable of growth and several different species of microorganisms reside at sites of acid
mine drainage (AMD). The most studied leaching bacteria are from the genus Acidithiobacillus. Ferrooxidans
(Figure2(b)) and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans are acidophilic mesophiles and belong to Gram-negative γ-
proteobacteria along with mild thermophilic Acidithiobacillus caldus. Figure 2(c) shows ferrooxidant cells
developing on the surface of an elemental sulfur particle in the form of a biofilm, most likely a monolayer. Only
those cells more firmly attached to the sulfur particle remain if this biofilm is separated from the solid particle using
a detergent (Figure 2(d)). By a 'pitting' in which some cells are still tightly bound to the cavities and others have
been freed, leaving empty cavities, they are seen as attacking the sulfur surface. A similar assault on the surface of
other minerals has been observed, such as pyrite.

Fifure  2. Some examples of acidophilic microorganisms that use biomining to engage in metal extraction.
(a) cells of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. (b) A group of cells of Sulfolobus metallicus. (c) A biofilm, maybe a
monolayer of A. On the surface of an elemental sulfur prill, ferrooxidant cells expand. (d) The bulk of the A.
biofilm. Using a detergent and intense shaking of the sample, the ferrooxidants seen in (c) were removed from the
solid particle. The remaining cells seen are those that bind to the particle more strongly. Transmission electron
microscopy (TEM) of unstained preparations was used to observe the cells in a and (b) and those in (c and d) by
scanning electron microscopy. In each case, the arrows point to dense polyphosphate granules of electrons that may
assist these microorganisms with their extremely high metal tolerance.

Other essential biomining bacteria which belong to a new bacterial division are members of the genus
Leptospirillum. It also identified some Gram-positive bioleaching bacteria belonging to the genera Acidimicrobium,
Ferromicrobium, and Sulfobacillus. Biomining has been known for many years using highly thermophilic archaeons
capable of oxidizing sulfur and iron (ii), and the archaeons are primarily from the Sulfolobus (Figure 2(b)),
Acidianus, Metallosphaera, and Sulfurisphaera genera. Some mesophilic iron (ii)-oxidizing archaeons belonging to
the Thermoplasmatales-Ferroplasma acidiphilium and Ferroplasma acidarmanus have recently been isolated and
defined. In fact, the oxidative reactions are involved in a consortium of different microorganisms, resulting in the
extraction of dissolved metal values from ores.

There are various types of industrial biomining operations, depending on the form of ore and its
geographical location, the metal content and the particular minerals present (metal oxides, metal sulfides of different
kinds). The irrigation process type is one of the most used configurations for the recovery of gold or copper. This
include the percolation through the crushed ore of leaching solutions which can be found in a column, a heap or a
dump. We can see a scheme in Figure 3 in which the crushed ore is transported to an agglomeration tank or drum
where it is acidified by bioleach. As the larger ore particles are surrounded by the very fine particles that bind to
them this method is the main one, thus avoiding all the particles, especially the fine material sediment, to the bottom
of the heap. In this way, from top to bottom, irrigation and aeration of the heap takes place, allowing the
microorganisms to grow even more homogeneously and thus to solubilize metals better. The heap can be 6-10 m tall
and 100 or more meters long and wide and is built over high-density polyethylene-lined irrigation pads to prevent
loss of the pregnant copper-containing solution (Figure 3). This solution containing copper sulfate formed by the
microbial solubilization of the insoluble copper sulfides contained in the ore is subjected to the extraction of solvents
to provide a highly concentrated solution of copper sulfate from which the metal is recovered in an electrowinning
plant to produce high purity electrolytic copper (Figure 3). Since most mining operations are located in areas where
water is scarce, for further irrigation, the spent leach liquors or raffinates are recirculated to the heap. This must be
controlled since the liquor is enriched in salts that can instead be chosen for those microorganisms that are capable
of withstanding the high salt and are not generally the most appropriate for biooxidation reactions.

Figure 3:A scheme showing the construction of a heap bioleaching process to obtain copper in a large scale.

For gold recovery, bioleaching bacteria may also be used. Gold is typically contained in minerals containing arsenic
and pyrites in nature (arsenopyrites). The iron- and sulfur-oxidizing microorganisms strike and solubilize the
arsenopyrite during gold bioleaching, releasing the trapped gold particles. The gold is complexed with cyanide
according to normal gold-mining processes following this publication. Gold bioleaching is typically achieved by
using highly aerated stirred tank bioreactors linked in series instead of using large leaching heaps or dumps, as in the
case of bioleaching of copper ores. Because the construction of these reactors is costly, they are used with high-
grade ores or with mineral concentrates. The benefit of tank reactors over heaps and dumps, which are 'open
bioreactors,' is that it is possible to control conditions in the tanks, thus having a much faster and more efficient
process of metal extraction.

Operations using both mesophilic and thermophilic microorganisms are currently being conducted. There are
distinctive advantages to biomining over traditional mining processes. It does not need the high quantities of energy
used during roasting and smelting, for instance, and does not emit harmful gases such as sulfur dioxide.
Nevertheless it is possible to generate AMD, which pollutes the environment with acid and metals if not properly
controlled. Biomining is also of great benefit because it is possible to leach not only discarded low-grade minerals
from conventional mining operations in an economically viable manner, but also some high-grade minerals. Many
mining operations process between 10 000 to 40 000 tons of ore per day in countries such as Chile, which is
currently the world's first producer of copper, and produce between 10 000 and 200 000 tons of copper per year
using heap or dump bioleaching of minerals such as oxides, chalcocite, covellite, chalcopyrite and others. Similar
conditions exist in the United States, Australia, and other nations. Those that process copper oxides and secondary
copper sulfides were the most powerful ones. Chalcopyrite, however is the world's most concentrated copper
sulfide. Since microorganisms are the most difficult to solubilize, there is currently a great deal of interest in
developing processes primarily utilizing thermophilic biomining microorganisms.