Talk:Bioleaching

General
There used to be an article Thiobacillus thio-oxidans. Its entire content was "cu"; it had no history and so no non-vandalized versions, and so I deleted it. If someone here is competent to write about the subject, please do. :-) Koyaanis Qatsi, Saturday, March 30, 2002

I find the description of the process rather confusing; it first deals with copper, then shows a totally different example, dealing with arsenopyrite, and finishes off saying "The gold is now separated from the ore and in solution." - someone should make it a bit clearer! [Moe], Saturday, February 25, 2006

In general,the gold ores mixed with pyrite and arsenopyrite. After pyrite and arsenopyrite oxidized by bacteria, the gold particle is separated from the ore.[macromath],Thursday, Dec 28, 2006

There is a problem with this - This is much cleaner than the traditional heap leaching using cyanide.[1] For bacterial leaching of gold, cyanide is still required to recover the gold, and in fact more is probably required. However, cyanide in an of itself is not really a long term environmental hazard. It has short term toxicity, but is readily broken down by UV light.

I am a specialist in the field and I'll spend some time on this page. The Puppeteer (talk) 03:41, 18 October 2023 (UTC)

Biocatalytic Processes
The physiology and energetic manipulation of metal leaching organisms are extemely significant, especially for gold, copper,uranium leaching and recovery of metals such as arsenic, silver, and mercury.Organisms that thrive in extreme environments such as those described above, are of interest in the production of highly stable enzymes and in the development of certain innovative bioprocesses. One area of environmental/biotechnological research would be the  realization of the biocatalytic potential of these extremophilic microbes, which thrive at very high (boiling) temperatures, high pressures, highly saline or acidic environments. An area of interest would be the development of environmentally relevant (bio)technology based on microbial degradation of the recalcitrant pollutants. This calls for characterization of single microbes and mixed cultures that can survive amidst high concentrations of the pollutants.Essential evaluation of microbial physiology in conjunction with industrially relevant molecular bioprocess design is required for development of these system which can aid as great learning/research tools in arenas of enzyme or cell processing applications alongwith mining, waste-water treatment, bioremediation. Understanding of these "hyperthermophilic anaerobes" that encompass a widely metabolic variety can be utilized for novel applications such as high-temperature 'anaerobic digestors',aiding the conversion of the waste to useful products,molecular engineering of enzymes etc. reshmibanerjee 07:16, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Nickel Bioleaching
Please would an industrial chemist, mining expert or other suitably knowledgeable person add a section or paragraph on bioleaching nickel, as being carried out by Talvivaara. I think they also produce zinc as a by-product. Dendrotek (talk) 15:15, 11 June 2009 (UTC)