Accessing Metals from Low-Grade Ores and the Environmental Impact Considerations: A Review of the Perspectives of Conventional versus Bioleaching Strategies

Mining has advanced primarily through the use of two strategies: pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy. Both have been used successfully to extract valuable metals from ore deposits. These strategies, without a doubt, harm the environment. Furthermore, due to decades of excessive mining, there has been...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMinerals (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 5; p. 506
Main Authors Nkuna, Rosina, Ijoma, Grace N., Matambo, Tonderayi S., Chimwani, Ngonidzashe
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.05.2022
Subjects
Anniversaries
Bacterial leaching
bioleaching
Biotechnology
Capital costs
Climate change
Copper
Cost control
Environmental impact
environmental pollution
Harsh environments
Hydrometallurgy
Leaching
low-grade ore
metal recovery
metallurgical methods
Metallurgy
Metals
Microorganisms
Mineral deposits
Mineralogy
Mines
Mining
Ores
Precious metals
Pyrometallurgy
Toxicity
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Summary:Mining has advanced primarily through the use of two strategies: pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy. Both have been used successfully to extract valuable metals from ore deposits. These strategies, without a doubt, harm the environment. Furthermore, due to decades of excessive mining, there has been a global decline in high-grade ores. This has resulted in a decrease in valuable metal supply, which has prompted a reconsideration of these traditional strategies, as the industry faces the current challenge of accessing the highly sought-after valuable metals from low-grade ores. This review outlines these challenges in detail, provides insights into metal recovery issues, and describes technological advances being made to address the issues associated with dealing with low-grade metals. It also discusses the pragmatic paradigm shift that necessitates the use of biotechnological solutions provided by bioleaching, particularly its environmental friendliness. However, it goes on to criticize the shortcomings of bioleaching while highlighting the potential solutions provided by a bespoke approach that integrates research applications from omics technologies and their applications in the adaptation of bioleaching microorganisms and their interaction with the harsh environments associated with metal ore degradation.
ISSN:2075-163X
2075-163X
DOI:10.3390/min12050506