Biotechnologies and Mining

Dear Colleagues,

There is enormous potential for the application of biotechnologies to mineral exploration, resource extraction, and environmental remediation. The ability of microbes to obtain energy and nutrients from interaction with metals and minerals is well known. These interactions cause or promote both mineral dissolution and precipitation and are the basis of metal bio-extraction systems and of techniques for remediation of metal-contaminated water. Microbes could also play a role in the beneficiation of coal, oil, and waste materials. Molecular biological techniques have made it possible to understand the evolving genetic makeup of the microbial communities present in metal bio-extraction systems. Some plants will accumulate significant quantities of metals, a characteristic that has been used for both extraction and remediation. Peptides that bind specifically to minerals can be identified and these may form the basis of selective mineral separation or mineral identification techniques. Polymers with these peptide binders attached could be constructed so that once binding occurs to a particular mineral in slurry, a reagent also attached to the polymer could be released to dissolve the mineral—targeted reagent delivery. Finally, engineered biological systems consisting of novel enzymes, genetic circuits, and cells could be assembled to produce, for example, sensors that can be used to detect minerals or circuits that perform and control metallurgical operations. Papers in all these areas of biotechnology and minerals are welcome.

Prof. Dr. W. Scott Dunbar
Guest Editor

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