The most exciting advances in biohydrometallurgy are occurring in the field of microbiology. The two main technologies employed in biohydrometallurgy, agitated tanks for the processing of refractory concentrates and heaps and dumps for the processing of low-grade ores, are technologically sound and widely practised at commercial scale, but their development began at a time when very little was ...

After the discovery in the 1940s that acid mine drainage was mainly a consequence of the metabolism of chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms able to oxidize metal sulfides, mostly pyrite, much research has been performed to understand the ecology and the physiology of the microorganisms involved. At first, to prevent this environmental problem, and later to improve the efficiency of biohydrometa...

Industrial biomining has been extensively used for many years to recover valuable metals such as copper, gold, uranium and others. Furthermore, microorganisms involved in these processes can also be used to bioremediate places contaminated with acid and metals. These uses are possible due to the great metal resistance that these extreme acidophilic microorganisms possess. In this review, the mo...

Biosurfactants produced by biofilm-forming bacteria have great applications in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, food engineering, bioremediation, and biohydrometallurgy industries. This study aimed to find out the bacteria that produce novel exopolymers (EPSs) which can find potential role in oil biodegradation. A screening procedure was performed to detect EPS-producing bacteria. The EPS produci...