With a presumed steady decline of gold ore grade in mineral resources, mining applications enabling efficient metal extraction from low-grade ores are of increasing interest to the minerals industry. Microbial processes may provide one such solution since they can participate in the biogeochemical cycling of gold in many direct and indirect ways. This review examines current literature on the role of microorganisms in gold processing and recovery. The review covers aspects such as the biotechnical pretreatment of gold ores and concentrates, microbially catalysed permeability enhancement of ore bodies, gold solubilisation through biooxidation and complexation with biogenic lixiviants, and microbially mediated gold recovery and loss from leach liquors.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.