Acta Montanistica Slovaca (Nov 2005)
Copper bioleaching from after-flotation waste using microfungi
Abstract
The aim of the research presented is an analysis of ways of utilizing microfloral autochthonous organisms from the after-flotation waste of the Gilow stockpile in order to bioleach copper. The alkaline character of the environment disables the use of the traditional processes of acid bioleaching, because of both the economical and environmental aspects. A research of the bioleaching process of the after-flotation waste was conducted using microfungi of the Aspergillus niger species, which dominate in the autochthonous environment. The metabolism of these microfungi, connected with the production of large amounts of organic acids, allowed to conceptualize their usage in the biohydrometalurgy copper processes. After isolating in a pure culture and multiplying the microfungal biomass Aspergillus niger, the experiments began. Weighed samples of the waste were covered with a selective medium and then inoculated with the microfungal biomass, playing the role of the bioleaching agent. After thirty days of incubation, the end product was chemically analyzed, showing effects of the conducted copper bioleaching process (81,23–87,98 %).
