How do you break down kilometers of rock to get the metals within? You go small. Bacteria-level small. If you've got a big rock with a little bit of metal in it, how do you get it out? Most of the ...

A research collaboration between BOKU Tulln and IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems is using the further development of bioleaching and bioaccumulation to develop a two-stage, environmentally ...

The global bioleaching market was worth $10.14bn as of 2024 and is expected to grow to $21.37bn by 2033. The method is already used to produce up to 20% of the world’s copper and promises to offer ...

Among the environmental scars left behind by mining are heaps of waste known as tailings. They sit in exposed piles, are buried or are deposited in ponds and lakes. The danger comes from sulfide ...

This episode of Energy Technology explores how advances in microbiology, growing demand for critical minerals and the search for lower-emission processing routes are bringing bioleaching back into ...

The testwork used microbial cultures to achieve recoveries of up to 68% neodymium, 67% praseodymium and 65% dysprosium – all elements used in the production of valuable permanent rare earth magnets.

There are more than 1.4 billion cars in the world today, and that number could double by 2036. If all those cars burn petrol or diesel, the climate consequences will be dire. Electric cars emit fewer ...

EVEN the sleekest gadget depends on the mucky business of digging stuff out of the ground. Mobile phones and computers use copper for their wiring and rely on cobalt, germanium, lithium, nickel, ...