Introduction, methods, application, copper, microorganisms, and processes. Role of ore mineralogy in optimizing conditions for bioleaching lowgrade complex sulphide ores p. Biomining is the use of microorganisms in the recovery of metals from ores. In the 1990s, mintek undertook extensive research into the bioleaching of typical witwatersrand uranium and goldbearing ores and concentrates. Mining operations have long benefited from the activities of such naturally occurring microorganisms, especially the ability of some bacteria to leach the metals from insoluble ores. Biohydrometallurgical processing of solid wastes is an attractive technology, through currently confined to benchscale research. It is possible to recover uranium from low grade ores 0.
In microbial leaching or bioleaching metals can be extracted from large quantities of low grade ores this process has been used for centuries to recover copper form the drainage water of mines the role of microbes in the bioleaching came into notice some 40 years ago. Department of mining, shahrood branch, islamic azad university, shahrood, iran 2. Microbial leaching bioleaching, biomining microbial leaching is the process by which metals are dissolved from ore bearing rocks using microorganisms. The refractory gold ores contain finely disseminated gold particles associated with sulfide minerals including arsenopyrite and pyrite. Biomining provides a novel solution to complex environmental issues. Biohydrometallurgical processes have been applied for the extraction of copper, gold. Bioleaching of a spanish uranium ore fems microbiology. Oct 19, 20 cards for pupils to create a flowchart on how pure copper is obtained from lowgrades ores via bioleaching and phytomining. Bioleaching is getting metals from their ores by using living organisms. An acidic solution containing bacteria is applied and allowed to percolate through the heap, draining into a collecting pool.
The low grade ores are discarded in waste heaps which enter in the environment. The traditional method of extraction is to heat the copper sulfide. Bioleaching is the extraction of metals from their ores through the use of living organisms. During bioleaching, metals such as copper, nickel or zinc are oxidized through microbial action from the waterinsoluble. Bioleaching of gold, copper and nickel from waste cellular. This process was later on employed for recovering metals from ores containing low quantity of the metal. The bacteria feed on nutrients in the minerals, causing the metal to separate from its ore. Bioleaching is the use of bacterial microorganisms to extract precious metals, such as gold, from ore in which it is embedded. Bacterial consortium for copper extraction from sulphide ore. The principle of bioleaching is based on the dissolution of metals by oxidizing. Bioleaching is one of several applications within biohydrometallurgy and several methods are used to recover copper, zinc, lead, arsenic, antimony, nickel, molybdenum, gold, silver, and cobalt. Bioleaching of lateritic nickel ore using chemolithotrophic micro organisms acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of bachelor of technology in chemical engineering by jayesh doshi soumya darshan mishra under the guidance of prof. The effectiveness of column biooxidation of offbalance gold ores from bakyrchik and bolshevik deposits northeast kazakhstan containing pyrite and arsenopyrite was examined in the.
The economic extraction of copper from lowgrade ores requires lowcost. This is much cleaner than the traditional leaching processes like heap leaching using cyanide or other chemicals. Recent development has shown commercial application of the process and, concurrently, details pertaining to the key microorganisms involved in these processes have been described. These will include the working of lowgrade ore deposits, mine tailings, mine dumps, and workedout mines. When bioleaching is complete, 80 to 90 percent of copper has been extracted from the ore.
For the last 10 centuries, microorganisms have assisted in the recovery of copper dissolved in drainage from water. A typical column bioreactor used in bioleaching of ores is shown in fig. Heap bioleaching of lowgrade multimetal sulphidic ore in boreal conditions thesis for the degree of doctor of science in technology to be presented with due permission for public examination and criticism in festia building, auditorium pieni sali 1, at tampere university of technology, on the 27 th of november 2015, at 12 noon. Bioleaching of uranium and copper has been widely commercialized. For biomining specialized microorganisms are used in order to recover valuable metals from ores via bioleaching. Bioleaching is an effective technology for metal extraction from lowgrade ores and mineral concentrate. Heap bioleaching of lowgrade multimetal sulphidic ore in. Bioleaching and phytomining are increasingly used to extract copper from low grade ores see below. Finally, this work attempted to extract copper from a lowgrade ore using bioleaching techniques. The mining of ores for metals produces waste, and it has added to the. Bioleaching heaps use a tremendous amount of water, and mining operations are not usually in places with much water, so in future much more effort will be spent on ways of remediating the water so that it can be reused in further extractions. Covellite, chalcocite and chalcopyrite are generally used as copper ores for bioleaching processes. In the case of copper, copper sulfide is microbially oxidized to copper sulfate and metal values are present in the aqueous phase.
Biomining is a technique of extracting metals from ores and other solid materials typically using. Technological advances have taken biooxidation from a concept to commercial reality. Metallurgical sludges, bioleaching and heavy metals recovery zn. Bioleaching is a simple and effective technology for metal extraction from lowgrade ores. Cards for pupils to create a flowchart on how pure copper is obtained from lowgrades ores via bioleaching and phytomining. The low grade ores contain significant amount of nickel, lead, and zinc ores which could be processed by microbial leaching. Refractory sulfide ores are ubiquitous resources of gold around the world. In the first case, the extraction rate of uranium was higher. Bioleaching of uranium was carried out with turamdih ore sample procured from uranium corporation of india limited, jaduguda.
Currently, heap bioleaching is the most convenient technology to treat low grade copper sulphide ores bearing chalcopyrite, chalcocite and covellite. Bioleaching of gold ore table of contents title page i table of contents ii abstract iii 1. Bioleaching is the extraction of metals from ores using the principal components of water, air and microorganisms, all of which are found readily within the environment. It was observed that around 30% of copper could be leached at an initial ph and pulp density of 2 and 20% mv respectively. Activation of bacteria in agglomerated ores by changing the. Bioleaching bioleaching is the extraction of metals from their. Bioleaching is also more environmentally friendly than traditional pretreatments, largely due to the high sulfur dioxide emissions from smelting and roasting. Apart from containing copper, the ores also contain other elements like iron, zinc and sulphur. Bioleaching simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Bioleaching of covellite from low grade copper sulphide ore. It finds application in the extraction of metals from their ores. Biomining research typically leads to new technology implementation for higher metal yields. Thermal decomposition means that the compound breaks down into other substances when it is heated.
Because of this flexibility, biooxidation can be effectively. Bioleaching is the use of microorganisms to transform elements so that the elements can be extracted from a material when water is filtered through it. Jan 09, 2012 in relation to bacterial leaching and biomining, microorganisms are using and releasing minerals in the earths crust since ancient times. In an effort to develop alternate techniques to recover metals from waste electrical and electronic equipment weee, this research evaluated the bioleaching efficiency of gold au, copper cu and nickel ni by two strains of aspergillus niger in the presence of goldplated finger integrated circuits found in computer motherboards gficms and cellular phone printed circuit boards.
The reactor can be operated both in fluidized bed or drain mode depending on particle size. Bioleaching definition of bioleaching by merriamwebster. School of mining engineering, college of engineering, university of tehran, tehran. Bioleaching is now an established technology for the pretreatment of refractory gold ores and concentrates and the leaching of wholeore copper heaps. Bioleaching osprey aviation elite units pdf technology in minerals processing. The development of new effective techniques, using these sources, to process mineral material is one of the. During bioleaching, metals such as copper, nickel or zinc are oxidized through microbial action from the waterinsoluble sulfide to the soluble sulfate forms. Pdf the microbial solubilization of metals in acid environments is productively. Optimization of parameters affecting recovery of copper from. In subsequent processes, different from bioleaching, the metal is recovered from the leachate bacterial oxidation such as bioleaching or biooxidation on a commercial scale has been done on sulfide metal bearing materials such as arsenopyrite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, covellite and chalcocite ores and concentrates, the one. Methods of metal recovery by microorganisms 2 methods. This method is used to recover many different precious metals like copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, and nickel. Mesophiles moderately thermophilic bacteria extremophiles. Studies on the bioleaching of refractory concentrates.
Additional capabilities include the bioleaching of metals from sulfide ores, phosphate ores, and concentrating of metals from solution. Bioleaching of lowgrade copper ore using indigenous. Leaching of rare earths elements ree past and present. Application of bioleaching to copper mining in chile doi. A technology that has not been considered thus far is the tank bioleaching of uranium concentrates. In other words, bioleaching is the commercialization of the ability of certain bacteria and archaea, found in nature, to catalyze the oxidation of sulfide minerals. Pdf bioleaching, a technology for metal extraction and.
Bioleaching for copper extraction of marginal ores from the. Compressed air is passed through the top, and through controlled aeration, the ore particles in the slurry can be kept in suspension. Bioleaching of chalcopyrite university of birmingham. Pdf bioleaching and biomining for the industrial recovery of metals. Introduction bioleaching is the simple and effective technology for metal extraction from low grade ores and mineral concentrate by the use of micro organisms. The application of this phenomenon offers a cleaner alternative for the environment when compared. Covellite is a secondary copper sulphide occurring in copper sulphide deposits and it is also formed by acidic dissolution of chalcocite. Bioleaching where microorganisms are used to facilitate the mining of metals. The bioleaching performance of blank control bc, planktonic cell deficient. Because of this flexibility, biooxidation can be effectively integrated into goldprocessing. The microbs used in bioleaching are easily cultivated and reused. Bioleaching application of biotechnology in mining industry. Today, biooxidation technology is successful in a range of conditions, from ideal to the most severe climates in the world. Additional capabilities include the bioleaching of metals from sulfide materials, phosphate ore bioprocessing, and the bioconcentration of metals.
Bioleaching is one of several methods used to recover copper, zinc, lead, arsenic, antimony, nickel, molybdenum, gold, silver, and cobalt bioleaching uses certain types of bacteria to produce a solution called a leachate. Column bioleaching of refractory gold ores scientific. However, in order for bioleaching to compete successfully with other pre. Optimization of parameters affecting recovery of copper from sarcheshmeh lowgrade sulfide ore using bioleaching m. Bioleaching of metals from primary sulfide ores, polymetallic ores, and refractory gold ores and concentrates has been commercialized. Heap bioleaching of secondary copper sulfides was pioneered by mine operators in chile confronted with diminishing acidsoluble oxide ore resources. Bioleaching, or microbial ore leaching, is a process used to extract metals from their ores using bacterial microorganisms. Bioleaching an established technology and an industrial reality for ore processing heap leaching stirred tank reactor current status mainly applied for the treatment of cu ores many bioheap processes have targeted extraction of marginal ores not suitable for concentration and smelting main operators. Bioleaching is the extraction of a metal from sulfide ores or concentrates using materials found native to the environment. Bioleaching is one of latest technologiesthe used to recover many important metals like copper. Application of bioleaching to copper mining in chile. Usually, bioleaching is referring to the conversion of solid metal values into their water soluble forms using microorgan isms. Metal recovery from sulfide minerals is based on the activity of chemolithotrophic bacteria, mainly thiobacillus ferrooxidans and t. Copperii sulfide gives copper and sulfur dioxide during thermal decomposition.
One of the many applications in biohydrometallurgy. Biomining of natural ores bioleaching general process involves numerous ferrous iron and sulfur oxidizing bacteria, including acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and acidithiobacillus formerly known as thiobacillus. The tree was inferred by neighborjoining analysis of sequence from each band. The decomposition of the mineral sulfide matrix is required after bioleaching, more than 95% of the gold is extracted future aspects. Bioleaching is the method of choice for the largescale production uranium from its ores. Bastnaesite bastnaesite is a rare earth fluorocarbonate mineral1, reco3f, which primarily contains light rare earth elements. Uranium bioleaching is widely used in india, usa, canada and several other countries. Specific mechanism of acidithiobacillus caldus extracellular. Compressed air is passed through the top, and through controlled aeration, the. Bioleaching technology for the extraction of base metals from sulfide ores. Catalytic potential of selected metal ions for bioleaching, and. The multisulfide ore constituted of chalcopyrite, sphalerite, galena, and pyrite as the major minerals 8. The amount of raw material and accessibility of ores for metal extraction on earth is a finite one. This is much cleaner than the traditional method using cyanide.
The bacterial strain that was used in the leaching experiments was isolated from the jaduguda mine water sample. Bioleaching circuits can be made more flexible and simpler to merge with existing pyro and. Biomining will become more important as highgrade surface mineral deposits are worked out and become less viable, and mining companies will be forced to find other mineral sources. This is a simple process which can be done using microorganisms such as mesophiles, moderately thermophilic bacteria, extremophiles. Bioleaching is the extraction of metals from ores using.
Role of ore mineralogy in optimizing conditions for. However, heap bioleaching of the refractory primary copper sulphide. Bacterial leaching is the extraction of metals from their ores. Bioleaching of heavy metals by sulfur oxidizing bacteria.
The bioleaching and processing of refractory gold ore. Pulps of each ore were prepared at 10% pulp density in mineral salts. Microbial leaching of refractory process metal ores to enhance gold and silver recovery is one of the promising applications gold is obtained through bioleaching of arsenopyritepyrite silver is also obtained by bioleaching of arsenopyrite but it is more readily solubilized than gold during microbial leaching of iron sulphide. Ppt biomining and bioleaching powerpoint presentation. Leaching process was first observed in pumps and pipelines installed in mine pits containing acid water. The process of recovering metals from ores by using a number of different techniques microbial ore leaching bioleaching is the process of extracting metals from ores with the use of microorganisms.
Leaching and recovery of metals from metallic industrial sludges, dusts and. Bioleaching, lowgrade copper ore, acidithiobacillis ferrooxidans. Bioleaching is one of several methods used to recover copper, zinc, lead, arsenic, antimony, nickel, molybdenum, gold, silver, and cobalt. There have been discoveries of newly identified acidophilic microorganisms that have unique characteristics for effective bioleaching of sulfidic ores and. Biohydrometallurgical processes have been applied for the extraction of copper, gold, uranium, cobalt, zinc, nickel, gallium, molybdenum. Four carbonaceous gold ores were tested to determine the relative merits of using bioleaching, cil, or a blanking agent to enhance gold recovery. Prospects for bioleaching of chalcopyrite ores and concentrates. Bioleaching is a simple and effective technology for metal extraction from low. School of chemical and metallurgical engineering, university of the witwatersrand.
Apr 17, 2004 bioleaching definition is the extraction of valuable metals such as copper and gold from ores through the action of microorganisms such as bacteria. Bio leaching group members mehwish nazeer, kanza saleem, nazish mehmood m. Apr 30, 2015 microbial leaching of refractory process metal ores to enhance gold and silver recovery is one of the promising applications gold is obtained through bioleaching of arsenopyritepyrite silver is also obtained by bioleaching of arsenopyrite but it is more readily solubilized than gold during microbial leaching of iron sulphide. In many cases, it offers economic, environmental and technical advantages over pressure oxidation and roasting1,2. Gcse chemistry extraction of copper thermal decomposition. Bioleaching technology for the extraction of base metals from sulfide ores and. Bioleaching of chalcopyritebornite and chalcopyritepyrite mixed.
Microbial community structure and function in sulfide ore. In particular, mimivirus and phycodnavirus mainly acquire genes of bacterial. However, as a primary sulfide ore, copperbearing sulfide ore is difficult to. Gold bioleaching is applied for the treatment of refractory gold ores. As an alternative to smelting or roasting, miners use bioleaching when there are lower concentrations of metal in ore and they need an efficient, environmentally responsible method to extract it. Files included 1 copper bioleaching and phytomining.
It was demonstrated that biooxidation pretreatment of refractory whole ores could be conducted in heaps. Bioleaching is a simple and effective technology for metal extraction from lowgrade ores and mineral concentrates. Bioleaching technology for the extraction of base metals from sulfide ores and concentrates has been under development for several decades, and is finding increasing commercial application. Results of bioleaching of a complex copperleadzinc sulfide ore in presence of a. This is much cleaner than the traditional heap leaching using cyanide. Bioleaching technology in minerals processing john neale mintek, biotechnology division private bag x3015, randburg, 2125, south africa bioleaching is a process that employs microorganisms to dissolve leach sulphide minerals. Bioleaching of carboneous ores minimize pregrobbing losses in cyanide leaching. As nouns the difference between ore and bioleaching is that ore is rock that contains utilitarian materials. The understanding and funding of bench, pilot, and fullscale programs is steadily increasing. Bioleaching is a preparatory step to metal recovery. Disadvantages slow process timeconsuming uranium industrialscale bioleaching by spraying stope walls with acid mine drainage insitu irrigation of fractured underground ore deposits. Pdf bioleaching is a biochemical mining technique in which specific. Pictures of each step in the process, a description to link to and differentiated questions.
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