Metals Extraction from Sulfide Ores with Microorganisms: The Bioleaching Technology and Recent Developments

Nowadays, due to fast global industrial progress and near diminution of high-grade ore reserves, there has been massive call to cost-effectively process the resources of low-grade ores and industrial effluents for metal extraction. However, conventional approaches cannot be used to process such resources due to high capital cost and energy, also causing environmental pollution. Alternatively, bioleaching is highly environmental friendly and economic method to process such resources. Metal recovery from metal sulfide ore is carried out by chemolithotrophic bacteria like Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans. The same is done by heterotrophic microorganisms in non-sulfide ores. Additionally, for gold and copper extractions, bioleaching is used to extract cobalt, zinc, nickel, and uranium from low-grade ores and industrial effluents. In this review, the fundamental process of bioleaching from low-grade metal sulfide ores are discussed with emphasis on mechanism, types, pathways, techniques, and bioleaching development.