Enhancement of Au–Ag–Te contents in tellurium-bearing ore minerals via bioleaching

Nag-Choul Choi¹，Kang Hee Cho¹，Bong Ju Kim²，Soonjae Lee²，Cheon Young Park³

1. Department of Rural Systems Engineering, Seoul National University2. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Korea University3. Department of Energy and Resource Engineering, Chosun University

摘 要：The purpose of this study was to enhance the content of valuable metals, such as Au, Ag, and Te, in tellurium-bearing minerals via bioleaching. The ore samples composed of invisible Au and Au paragenesis minerals（such as pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite and galena） in combination with tellurium-bearing minerals（hessite, sylvanite and Tellurobismuthite） were studied. Indigenous microbes from mine drainage were isolated and identified as Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, which were used in bioleaching after adaption to copper. The effect of the microbial adaption on the bioleaching performance was then compared with the results produced by the non-adaptive process. The microbial adaption enhanced the Au–Ag–Te contents in biological leaching of tellurium-bearing ore minerals. This suggests that bioleaching with adapted microbes can be used both as a pretreatment and in the main recovery processes of valuable metals.

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