Researchers in Sudbury, Ont., are working on scaling up bacteria-powered technology in an effort to recover valuable metals from old mine waste.
A pilot facility operated by MIRARCO Mining Innovation is testing how microbes can break down mine tailings — the leftover rock and sediment from mining — and release critical minerals such as nickel, cobalt and copper in a process known as bioleaching.
Although bioleaching technology is a staple in international mining, in use at some 30 mine sites globally, Canada has yet to achieve full-scale commercial deployment, according to Nadia Mykytczuk, CEO of MIRARCO, the research arm of Laurentian University.
Mykytczuk was among those who spoke to CBC during a recent tour of the 10,000-square-foot pilot facility in Sudbury, including to get a first-hand look at how bioleaching works.
Although researchers moved into the facility last May, their work has been years in the making.
“Tailings are a very common material that you see here in Sudbury or any mining community,” said Mykytczuk. In Sudbury alone, the tailings contain $8 billion to $10 billion worth of nickel, she said.
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