Os desafios da biometalurgia frente ao crescimento das minas urbanas

Over time, microorganisms have developed different biological mechanisms to survive in high concentrations of the most different chemical elements. Currently, the biological processes resulting from its diversified metabolism are presented as a wide variety of tools that have been used in biohydrometallurgy. Bioleaching and biooxidation, for example, are processes that facilitate the degradation of minerals and are accompanied by a release of metals. Biological processes are especially attractive for low-grade ores and are used on an industrial scale mainly for sulphide ores. However, nowadays, the world faces an increasing risk of supplying critical raw materials and innovation is necessary with regard to the sustainable mining of urban mines. Biometallurgy can play a crucial role in recycling waste and recovering metals. This article presents an overview of the biotechnological strategies currently applied on a large scale in biomineration in addition to identifying technologies, currently developed in the laboratory, that have a perspective for the recovery of metals on a large scale in the short and medium terms. The R, D & I challenges for the establishment of urban biomineration are also addressed.