Biomineralisers remediating historically contaminated mining sites and symbiotically refining mineral with microorganisms (2118).
Biomineralisers become a means to refine rare earth minerals from their ores using biological processes of biomining and bioleaching. Biomineralisers also apply these methods combining them with wastewater electrolysis for bioremediation of contaminated effluent sites left behind after centuries of mineral exploitation. Together with biochemical processes of microbial growth, the bioactive carbon medium provides a proven, effective, and cheap means to clean up nitrates, phosphates, and heavy metals from freshwater ecosystems. The yield quantities are low but are in sync with the need for slow fabrication processes that have become the norm for producing many rare-earth-dependent high-tech goods. Certain strains of fungi and species of plant organisms known to biologically leach minerals from ores are applied here, working together with metabolic systems. In addition to copper and gold production, biomining can also be operated on local scales to refine elements such as cobalt, nickel, zinc, and uranium. Biomining has also been applied in processing sulphide and uranium ores, showing remarkable opportunities for remediating soils and water bodies.
Read More: Page 89-91 of Chapter 3, Beyond Vaporware: Remembering the Blue Reparations Programs in The Open Journal of ReFuturing (2131)
