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Minerals
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Advances in the Theory and Technology of Biohydrometallurgy
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Advances in the Theory and Technology of Biohydrometallurgy

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 January 2026 | Viewed by 1436

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yan Jia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Engineering Research Center of Green Recycling for Strategic Metal Resources, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Interests: biometallurgy principles and technology development; mining environmental biotechnology
Dr. He Shang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Engineering Research Center for Environment-Friendly Metallurgy in Producing Premium Non-ferrous Metals, GRINM Group Corporation Limited, Beijing 101407, China
Interests: hydrometallurgy; bio-metallurgy; recycling of solid waste

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biohydrometallurgical technology has the great advantages of low cost and low carbon emissions. It has been industrialized for decades, especially in copper, gold, and uranium ore processing, and its application is currently being expanded to other raw and secondary resources. The biohydrometallurgical process involves complex chemical and biological reactions. With advanced molecular biological and high-resolution techniques, the evolving genetic makeup of the microbial communities present in metal bio-extraction systems and their interaction with minerals have become better understood. Moreover, researchers and industries continue to develop and optimize biohydrometallurgical techniques to broaden their range of applications and elevate their efficiency. This Special Issue aims at presenting recent theoretical and technological advances in biohydrometallurgy using raw materials and secondary resources, such as important deposits, refractory ores, low-grade polymetallic wastes, sludges, slags, and electronic waste. In terms of theory, knowledge of the molecular and genetic makeup of bioleaching microbes and the interaction between microbes and minerals is crucial for a deeper understanding of the bioleaching mechanism. Critical aspects influencing the efficiency of biohydrometallurgy, including physical, chemical, and biological factors, should also be emphasized to increase leaching efficiency. Studies on leaching kinetics, process modeling, reactor design, life cycle analysis, and socio-economic aspects are encouraged in order to drive industrialization. Contributions on new technological developments for enhancing bioleaching efficiency, as well as on industrial instances of biohydrometallurgy, are also welcome.

Dr. Yan Jia
Dr. He Shang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biohydrometallurgy
  • bioleaching
  • bio-oxidation
  • biomining
  • microbe-mineral interaction
  • microbial communities
  • genomics/metabolomics/transcriptomics
  • sulfide minerals
  • secondary resources
  • leaching kinetics
  • process modeling
  • reactor design

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 5644 KB  
Article
Technology Development and Industrial Practice of Distinct Low-Cost Heap Bioleaching at Monywa Copper Mine
by Zhentang Wang, Baojun Yang, Jun Wang, Keqi Guo, Xin Zhang, Rui Liao and Guanzhou Qiu
Minerals 2025, 15(9), 985; https://doi.org/10.3390/min15090985 - 16 Sep 2025
Viewed by 202
Abstract
This paper presents a case study on heap bioleaching at the Monywa copper mine in Myanmar. Through mineralogical characterization and leaching tests, specific heap bioleaching technologies were developed and implemented at the mine. These technologies include acidification and start-up of heap bioleaching without [...] Read more.
This paper presents a case study on heap bioleaching at the Monywa copper mine in Myanmar. Through mineralogical characterization and leaching tests, specific heap bioleaching technologies were developed and implemented at the mine. These technologies include acidification and start-up of heap bioleaching without external acid addition, ore classification with process optimization, and selective inhibition of pyrite oxidation for acid/iron balance during heap bioleaching. The optimized heap bioleaching technologies implemented at the Monywa copper mine have reduced both capital and operating costs. These advantages are specifically reflected in the use of multi-lift pads for both heap bioleaching and final residue storage, optimized processing based on ore characteristics, and the implementation of a solution closed cycle process without the need for additional acid or neutralization. These findings demonstrate a cost-effective approach to heap bioleaching and provide practical insights for operational optimization in similar copper mines. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Theory and Technology of Biohydrometallurgy)
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14 pages, 1849 KB  
Article
Isolation, Testing, and Adaptation of Bacteria to Bioleach Metals from Pyrite
by Anna Choińska-Pulit, Justyna Sobolczyk-Bednarek and Marcin Kania
Minerals 2025, 15(9), 946; https://doi.org/10.3390/min15090946 - 4 Sep 2025
Viewed by 423
Abstract
Bioleaching, mediated by selected microflora, offers a more environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative to traditional mining techniques by transforming metals from sulfide ores into water-soluble forms. Pyrite ores often contain valuable rare or noble metals, such as gold (Au), silver (Ag), nickel (Ni), [...] Read more.
Bioleaching, mediated by selected microflora, offers a more environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative to traditional mining techniques by transforming metals from sulfide ores into water-soluble forms. Pyrite ores often contain valuable rare or noble metals, such as gold (Au), silver (Ag), nickel (Ni), and cobalt (Co), which can be leached through the metabolic activity of specific chemoautotrophic microorganisms. This study investigates the adaptation process of the Acidithiobacillus ferriphilus bacterial strain, originally isolated from acid mine drainage (AMD), for the bioleaching of pyrite. The progress of the bioleaching process was evidenced by the release of iron (3.6 mg/mL) and significant quantities of gold (0.21 mg/L, equivalent to 3 g/t) into the post-culture liquid. The results indicate that the most effective bioleaching was achieved during the final adaptation stage, utilizing a medium with 7% pyrite content and a 0.75% supplement of an easily accessible energy source in the form of iron sulfate. These findings confirm the potential of the A. ferriphilus strain for pyrite bioleaching. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Theory and Technology of Biohydrometallurgy)
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16 pages, 3941 KB  
Article
Contribution of Sessile Acidophiles on Chalcopyrite Bioleaching Under Controlled Redox Potentials
by Qiru Yang, Yan Jia, Luohu Zhang, Qiaoyi Tan, Heyun Sun, Jiaqi Jin, Jingkui Qu, Renman Ruan and Chao Zhang
Minerals 2025, 15(5), 480; https://doi.org/10.3390/min15050480 - 4 May 2025
Viewed by 466
Abstract
Although the bioleaching of secondary copper sulfides has been industrialized for decades, the application of chalcopyrite bioleaching remains under development because of its low leaching rate. The effect of contact microbes on chalcopyrite leaching is still unclear due to the technical challenges in [...] Read more.
Although the bioleaching of secondary copper sulfides has been industrialized for decades, the application of chalcopyrite bioleaching remains under development because of its low leaching rate. The effect of contact microbes on chalcopyrite leaching is still unclear due to the technical challenges in separating the contact (sessile micro-organisms) and the non-contact (planktonic micro-organisms) processes. Chalcopyrite bioleaching experiments were conducted using a novel device that stabilizes the redox potential and distinguishs between the microbial contact and non-contact effects. The contribution of the microbial “contact mechanism” in chalcopyrite leaching was quantified considering different redox potentials, compared to the “non-contact mechanism”. Based on the copper leaching kinetics and morphology of the leaching residue, it was demonstrated that the leaching rate of chalcopyrite was significantly influenced by the redox potential (850 mV > 650 mV > 750 mV), from 6.30% to 14.02% in 8 days leaching time. At each redox potential, the chalcopyrite leaching rate was 9.3%–30.6% higher with the presence of sessile microbes than without sessile microbes. Analysis of the leached chalcopyrite surface using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) revealed the formation of polysulfide and elemental sulfur at the surface. While the contacted sulfur oxidized the microbes, here, the Acidithiobacillus caldus preferred sessile at the chalcopyrite surface rather than Leptospirillum ferriphilum. Sulfur-oxidizing bacteria reduced the elemental sulfur content at the leach residue surface, thus playing an important role in degrading the sulfur passivation layer. In chalcopyrite bioleaching, the “contact mechanism” was primarily explained by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria promoting chalcopyrite oxidation through the removal of sulfur intermediates, while the “non-contact mechanism” was explained by ferrous-oxidizing microbes influencing the redox potential. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Theory and Technology of Biohydrometallurgy)
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