A Review on the Heap Bioleaching of Copper from Low-Grade Fine Tailings

In this review, the general mechanism of the Heap bioleaching process, the types of microorganisms involved in the process and the suitable conditions for the activity of each of the microorganisms, the parameters affecting the process, the advantages and disadvantages and the main problems and limitations of the heap bioleaching process are discussed. Considering the constant decrease in the grade of ore extracted from mines and the huge amount of low-grade tailings deposited in processing plants and on the mine site, the use of traditional methods of hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy to recover valuable elements has no technical and economic justification. On the other hand, global demand for precious metals is increasing day by day, but precious resources are dwindling. Therefore, the effort to achieve a cost-effective method is undeniable. Bioleaching using microorganisms to dissolve and recover valuable materials from the mentioned low-grade sources is a suitable and significant method due to the advantages of low investment, low required manpower and a simple process and to some extent without environmental complications. However, it can be said that the main problem of using microorganisms is the slow kinetics and the long process time to achieve the desired result.

A Review on the Heap Bioleaching of Copper from Low-Grade Fine Tailings Keywords:

Heap bioleaching , Low-grade ores , Fine tailings , Microorganism , Copper sulfide