Minerals Engineering, Vol. 4, Nos 7-11, pp. 1143-1152, 1991 0892-6875/91 $3.

00+000
Printed in Great Britain Pergamon Press pie

BACTERIAL OXIDATION TECHNOLOGY - A VIABLE PROCESS FOR REFRACTORY

GOLD ORES AND BASE METALS RECOVERY

P.A. SPENCER , J.R. BUDDEN and M.K. RHODESt

BacTech (Australia) Pty Ltd, P.O. Box 810, Cannington 6107,

W.A. 6107, Australia
t Paragon Resources N.L.

ABSTRACT

Bacterial oxidation technology can be applied to refractory sulphide ores and

concentrates to break down the mineral matrix and release the precious and
base metals. The precious metals and some base metals remain in the oxidized
residues and can be recovered in a conventional CIP or other chemical leaching
step. Some base metals, such as copper, zinc and nickel, enter the acidic
solution and may be recovered directly by conventional solvent extraction and
electrowinning.

A moderately thermophilic bacterial culture has been developed which can

operate at high ambient temperatures without the need to cool the process
reactors. The ability to operate at these higher ambient temperatures makes the
culture more suitable for use in hot tropical or hot arid regions than the
Thiobacillus species, which can only operate at temperatures up to 40 C. The
moderately thermophilic culture has been proven in the gold fields of Western
Australia during the summer when ambient temperatures were as high as 49 C.
The maximum reactor temperature reached 55 C and regularly exceeded
50C.

This bacterial culture has been applied to a range of refractory gold ores and
concentrates from Australia, South-East Asia and North America. Types of
samples tested included pyrite ore and concentrate, arsenopyrite concentrate,
arsenical bulk concentrate, copper - gold concentrate, carbonaceous pyrite
concentrate and antimonial concentrate. The culture has shown resistance to
high levels of arsenic present in some concentrates and has been applied at
concentrations up to 25 g / L arsenic. Antimony has not affected the bacterial
oxidation process as it was relatively insoluble in the sulphate environment and
probably precipitated as antimony oxides.

One refractory gold sample has been extensively tested at a mine site over a 6
month period to prove the technology and to obtain design data for a
commercial plant. The bacterial culture proved extremely robust under typical
operating conditions. The technology was simple to apply and the plant was
operated by site personnel for the majority of the test period. A feasibility
study showed the operating costs were very competitive and that the estimated
capital cost could be recovered over a relatively short operating period.

Base metals present in refractory gold concentrates were released as the

bacterial oxidation progressed, often in the early stages o f oxidation. One
concentrate containing 0.5 to 1.0% nickel as a nickel arsenic sulphide gave
nickel extractions greater than 95%. A second concentrate contained significant
copper. More than 88% of this copper was removed during the oxidation which
was necessary to improve gold recovery and reduce the cyanide consumption.
The copper could have been recovered by solvent extraction and electrowinning.
1143
1144 P.A. SPENCER et al.

A third concentrate contained 7% zinc and 110 ppm silver. Both metals were
released f r o m the mineral matrix as the concentrate was oxidized and could
be recovered, the silver with the gold in CIP leaching and the zinc by
precipitation f r o m the bacterial oxidation solution.

The bacterial culture has been also applied for the extraction o f base metals
f r o m sulphides not containing precious metals. A nickel - iron sulphide ore was
oxidized using bacterial oxidation treatment and gave a nickel extraction o f
93% compared with only 33% by conventional iron ( I I I ) sulphate leaching. The
nickel did not prove toxic to the bacteria nor did it retard the progress o f the
oxidation. A second application was to use bacterial oxidation to boost the
recovery o f copper from a chalcocite -chalcopyrite ore. Recovery after
oxidation was about 95%. The economics o f these base metal extraction
processes are being determined.

Keywords
Bacterial oxidation; biohydrometallurgy; gold extraction; base metal recovery

INTRODUCTION

Bacterial oxidation technology is based on the ability of naturally occurring soil bacterial
to break down sulphide minerals that contain valuable metals and to use these minerals as
an energy source to sustain the culture. The bacterial oxidation process is an accelerated
version of natural weathering in which sulphide minerals are converted to metal sulphates
or oxides in the order of their degree of reactivity. The more reactive sulphide minerals
are the first attacked by the bacterial culture as these minerals are the most readily available
source of energy.

Bacterial oxidation has traditionally used Thiobacillus cultures which operate at

temperatures up to 40 C. Much of the copper production in USA from low grade ores and
dumps utilizes this culture often treating material that would be uneconomic without the
bacterial oxidation process. Bacterial oxidation can also be responsible for unwanted metals
release for waste dumps causing the problem of acid mine drainage with the accompanying
heavy metals contamination.

More recently, bacterial oxidation using Thiobacillus species has been applied to refractory
gold concentrates as a deliberate means of breaking down sulphide minerals under optimum
conditions. A large scale pilot plant has operated in South Africa for the past 3 years, some
of which time has been as a real contribution to the commercial production at that mine.
Numerous other pilot studies have been conducted in North America without any successful
commercial applications being commissioned. One commercial scale operation was attempted
in 1989 independently of any of the recognized bacterial oxidation technology groups but
this venture proved unsuccessful, partly due to financial constraints.

Application of bacterial oxidation technology using Thiobacillus cultures in hotter equatorial

or arid climates is restricted by the need to maintain the temperature of the process below
40 C. BacTech (Australia) Pty Ltd developed a moderately thermophilic culture, first
isolated by staff from King's College (1), to be a viable process for bacterial oxidation of
refractory ores and concentrates at process temperatures up to 55 C. The ability to operate
up to this temperature limit without the need for cooling allows the process operation to be
simplified and more tolerant of operating conditions and reduces the estimated capital
operating costs of a bacterial oxidation plant.

The bacterial oxidation process using this moderately thermophilic culture has been tested
over a five year period on a wide range of samples for the extraction and recovery of base
and precious metals, particularly copper, nickel and gold. Vastly improved extractions have
resulted after the bacterial oxidation treatment. Metals recoveries have improved from less
than 20% to more than 99%, depending on the material being treated.
 Bacterial oxidation technology 1145

REFRACTORY GOLD MINERALS

Extensive laboratory evaluation of the moderately thermophilic bacterial culture was carried
out to determine the range of refractory gold bearing minerals that could be treated using
this technology. The important gold bearing sulphide minerals found in Australia, including
arsenopyrite, pyrite, pyrrohtite, stibnite, telluride and chalcopyrite, have been examined
using the bacterial oxidation technology and leached with cyanide solution to determine
the gold extraction after treatment. Figure 1 shows the improvements that can be obtained
for gold extraction from some of these refractory ores and concentrates after bacterial
oxidation treatment. In all cases a substantial improvement in extraction is achieved after
bacterial oxidation treatment and gold extractions greater than 90% was consistently
achieved.

BccTech Moderctely Thermophilic Culture

Gold Recovery
(percent)

100
........................... 9"6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 . . . . . . . . . .

7
99
93 z/~// ~ 92 ~ 94

75
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ./. . . .............
.... .........
50

/---~ " .
25
~ A~ter
treatment
Before
treatment
AsPy 1 AsPy 2 Py Con 1 Py Con 2 Sb/AsPy Py Ore
SAMPLE TYPE
Fig. 1 Gold extraction from refractory gold ore and concentrates
before and after bacterial oxidation treatment.

Optimum bacterial oxidation conditions for the moderately thermophilic culture vary for
each ore or concentrate treated. The parameters that can affect the oxidation process include
the refractory minerals present, the major gangue minerals, whether the sample is on ore
or a concentrate, the plant water quality, flotation reagents and the operating conditions
experienced at the mine site. Bacterial oxidation conditions are established by performing
screening testing in shaken flasks at 45 C and pH 1.3 or less. These tests provide
comparative data for any given sample over a wide range of possible operating conditions.
Figure 2 shows the data generated for two nutrients to determine optimum levels for an
arsenopyrite concentrate containing talc and calcite as major gangue minerals. Variations in
Nutrient A had little effect on the arsenic release rate but an improvement of more than
60% was achieved by optimizing Nutrient B.

Shaken flask testing is also used to obtain comparative data on the oxidation rate for
different grind size ranges and different concentrates that may be produced from the same
ore. Data showing the effect of fine grinding on arsenic and iron release rates from a
refractory arsenopyrite/pyrite concentrate, which requires substantial pyrite oxidation for
high gold recovery, is presented in Figure 3. Higher oxidation rates were clearly obtained
at the finer grind size ranges. However, it is necessary to compare the reduction in bacterial
oxidation costs with the fine grinding costs and the additional gold extraction from
concentrates oxidized to the same levels at each size range before any conclusion is reached
on the benefit of such a treatment. Another paper at this conference (2) will discuss fine
grinding in more detail.

lie 4 : 7/11-GG
1146 P.A. SPENCERet al.

OXIDATION RATE
75

50

25 D NUTRIENT B

ot HALF STANDARD DOUBLE FOUR TIMES

NUTRIENT A

NUTRIENT LEVEL
Fig.2 The effect of nutrient optimization on the arsenic release rate
in bacterial oxidation of a refractory arsenopyrite concentrate.

ARSENIC RELEASE RATE

100

25

0
75 15 5
PSO SIZE RANGE
(MICRONS)
Fig.3 Effect of grind size range on the rate of arsenic release
during bacterial oxidation of an arsenopyrite/pyrite concentrate.

Figure 4 shows the comparative oxidation rates for four concentrates produced at the same
mine, each of which had a different arsenic content and a recovery of gold into the
concentrate. The rate data generated from this comparative testing can be used with data
on the gold recovery into concentrate, the tonnage and grade of the concentrate to assist
with the evaluation of treatment options for a single ore to obtain the most cost effective
pretreatment scheme combining both flotation and bacterial oxidation to achieve maximum
gold recovery.

Most of the operating parameters for bacterial oxidation are determined using aerated,
agitated reactors of a similar design to conventional CIP tanks. These reactors have a height
to diameter aspect of approximately one and use low shear axial flow impellers. Aeration
is the one main area where the reactors differ from the CIP design. Aeration is achieved by
using air dispersion located below the height of the impeller but outside its diameter so that
 Bacterial oxidation technology 1147

the dispersed air does not flood the impeller and reduce the mixing. Optimum operating
parameters determined using aerated, agitated reactors in batch testing are percentage solids,
level of oxidation for high gold extraction, oxygen uptake rate and confirmation of those
optimum conditions identified in shaken flask testing.

ARSENIC OXIDATION
AsPyrite = 1

1.00

0.75

0.50

0.25
ARSENIC
RATE
ARSENOPYRITE PILOT PYRITE BULK
SAMPLE DESCRIPTION

Fig.4 Comparison of the arsenic oxidation rate for four different arsenopyritic
concentrate samples produced from the same ore. The arsenic oxidation rate
for the arsenopyrite concentrate -- 1.

Figure 5 shows the rate of iron oxidation for a refractory pyrite ore at solids densities from
10% to 40% w/v solids. This sample was low in sulphide mineral content and the supply of
pyrite for oxidation by the bacterial culture could limit the rate of release of iron. The
sample also contained gangue minerals that could cause viscosity problems at higher solids
density. There was an optimum solids density at 25% solids for this ore sample at which the
supply of pyrite for oxidation was at a maximum and the effects of viscosity on the reaction
and the aeration had not yet become limiting.

IRON RELEASE RATE

14

[]

12

/' \
i \
10

I" [] "' "-,.

. . . . . . . . . . ]L.:;~''~..............................................................................~ .............:~"~:::::-ii~.....................................................................

.......... IRON
I0 20 30 40
SOLIDS DENSITY
~. w/v
Fig.5 Effect of solids density on the iron oxidation rate
for a refractory pyrite ore. Reduced rates at higher
percentage solids were due to viscosity effects.
1148 P . A . SPENCER et al.

The gold extraction pyrite oxidation correlation for the same ore is presented in Figure 6.
This ore required 85% oxidation of the pyrite mineral in order to obtain gold extractions
greater than 90%. Maximum gold extraction was approximately 99% and required almost
complete removal of the sulphide sulphur (97%) to achieve this result.

% GOLD EXTRACTION
100
...---'''~ ...............
..,---
/o ,

. . . . . . . . . . ~..<:;~[ ....................
80 [] //y"
/../o..I
i,, `
60
. . . . . . . . . . . . . <'; X ..............................................................................

.."

....... ::1;'~ ............................................................

40

20 ..................................................... -......... % GOLD

I I , I , ,, t , , , I , , , t , , , EXTRACTION
2O 40 60 8O 100
% SULPHUR OXIDATION

Fig.6 Correlation between gold extraction and sulphur oxidation for

bacterial oxidation of refractory pyrite ore.

Continuous bacterial oxidation testing may be performed at any scale from small bench
systems of 10 L capacity to large pilot scale, normally mine site based, of 32,000 L. These
continuous systems are designed and operated based on the laboratory data generated by
batch testing. Scale up of the bacterial oxidation technology using BacTech's moderately
thermophilic culture is not a problem. The reactor design is common to all agitated reactors
from 1 L bench reactors to 8000 L pilot plant reactors and oxidation performance is similar
across all sizes. Table 1 shows the data for an arsenopyrite concentrate predicted from
laboratory bench scale testing and the results achieved during a six month site trial of the
bacterial oxidation technology in a 32,000 L skid mounted pilot plant. The parameters were
all within the range that might be accepted as sample variation or experimental error.

TABLE 1 Comparison of design data with performance

for the bacterial oxidation pilot plant

Parameter Design Actual

Acid consumption 70 (max. 150) ii0

(kg/t of concentrate)
Aeration (L/m3/min/~As) 10.64 9.28
Temperature (oC) 43 to 45 45 to 55
Arsenic Oxidation Rate 47 43
(mg/e/hr)
Residence time (days) 7 5
Arsenic Oxidation (~) 70 55
Lime consumption 120 67
(kg/t of concentrate)
Gold Extraction 96 94
 Bacterial oxidation technology 1149

The pilot plant treated the refractory concentrate using the moderately thermophilic culture
under real operating conditions in a continuous site trial lasting more than 6 months at a
gold mine in Western Australia. Apart from the success with increasing the scale of
operation of the bacterial oxidation technology, the process was able to be operated by the
site staff giving results consistent with the laboratory testing and without the loss of culture
from the plant under any circumstances. The bacterial oxidation technology proved
extremely robust and resulted in gold extractions greater than 90% being achieved for a
wide range of different refractory arsenopyrite concentrates which were produced over a
2 year period.

BASE METALS

Bacterial oxidation is applicable to the extraction of base metals from ores and concentrates
that might otherwise be considered waste or contribute to tailings losses during flotation of
saleable concentrate. In the case of ore treatment, bacterial oxidation can improve the
recovery of base metals from sulphidic and transition ores and improve the rate of
extraction of the metal of interest. In the case of flotation concentrates, bacterial oxidation
can treat some of the recirculating load material that would otherwise split between the
concentrate and the tailings, thus improving the overall metal recovery.

The main emphasis of the bacterial oxidation testing using the moderately thermophilic
culture has focused on copper and nickel recovery from ores and concentrates. Both metals
are readily soluble in acidic sulphate solution and can be recovered by either direct
electrolysis or precipitation as a hydrated oxide and are able to be recovered by either
agitated reactor leaching or heap leaching processes and conventional recovery processes.

The recoveries obtained for a range of base metals sulphides are presented in Figure 7.
Extractions in the order of 90% were possible in all cases, regardless of whether the sample
was treated by agitation or by heap leaching.

% METAL
:XTRACTION

100 .........................96 ...................... 95 . . . . . . . 94

/ d / ; 87 /
................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

80
..... 65
............ i T i ...............
"
60 5 o z//,//~,
,-f-~
...................... ; ,1~1>1~1 .....

40
25 .....
....~.. ,---, ............
,---,
,...,
.v././.4 _=- _- - - ~===] Bacteria~
20 Leach
Aeroted
Acid Leach
Nickel Con I Nickel Con 2 Copper/gold Toils Copper Ore
SAMPLE TYPE

Fig.7 Comparison of base metal extraction by aerated acid leaching

and bacterial oxidation treatment.

Bacterial oxidation treatment of a nickel bearing pyrrohtite concentrate, which proved

difficult to treat by conventional flotation, gave high nickel extractions under aerated
agitation leaching conditions. Iron (III) sulphate leaching at 80 C for 48 hours achieved
only 33% nickel extraction. In comparison, bacterial oxidation treatment obtained 93 to 96%
1150 P . A . SPENCER et al.

extraction at pH 1.2 and 45 C. The flotation reagents used in the production of the
concentrate and the nickel released during the bacterial oxidation process have not proven
toxic to the bacterial culture. Precipitation of the nickel at pH 8.5 results in the removal of
99.5% of the nickel as nickel hydroxide.

A copper=gold tailings from an operation producing concentrate for sale was treated using
bacterial oxidation to extract the copper for recovery and to allow the residue to be
economically leached with conventional cyanide processing. The copper extraction from the
tailings, which contained approximately 1.1% copper, was 88%. The residual copper level
was low enough to allow cyanide leaching to extract the gold from the residue, which
contained 11.4 g/t gold. The gold extraction was 93% at a cyanide consumption of 8 kg/t
compared with 65% gold extraction and 19 kg/t cyanide consumption without bacterial
oxidation treatment. A second copper sample was tested on a pilot scale to assess the
feasibility of bacterial treatment to enhance the copper extraction from a partially oxidized
ore by heap leaching. The copper ore contained native copper, copper sulphate, copper
carbonate, chalcocite, covellite and chalcopyrite. A majority of the ore body was sulphidic
and the major sulphide mineral was chalcocite.

Approximately 40 column leach tests, 500 mm by 3000 mm in size, were prepared using
samples representative of each level of the ore body. Size ranges for the ore were P80 of 75
mm to P80 of 12 mm. The tests were intended to show whether the copper extraction varied
with the depth from which the ore was taken and if the size range affect the extraction in
anyway. Acid leaching was performed in parallel with the bacterial oxidation treatment to
quantify the benefits of such a treatment over more conventional copper heap leaching. The
bacterial oxidation conditions were optimized to obtain maximum extraction rates and
recovery of copper.

Most sulphide ore bodies contain bacteria capable of oxidizing the sulphide minerals and
releasing the base metals if the pH range is sufficiently low. This ore was found to contain
significant indigenous bacteria so the comparison was actually the copper extraction under
conventional heap leaching conditions with bacteria present and the extraction that can be
achieved by deliberately encouraging bacterial oxidation.

Figure 8 shows the copper extraction as a function of time for bacterial oxidation and acid
leaching for a typical column leach test on sulphidic ore from approximately 60 m depth.
The initial copper release was due to some copper sulphate and the loosely bound copper in
the chalcocite which is released as this mineral is converted to covellite. The rate of copper
extraction achieved by acid leaching was much lower than for bacterial oxidation for the
balance of the contained copper. The rate for bacterial oxidation was six to ten times faster
than for acid leaching for the balance of the copper over the remainder of the test period.
The final copper extraction by bacterial oxidation was 94% to 96% compared with only 65%
for the acid leaching in the same leach time. It was expected that the final recovery from
the acid leaching would approach that for the bacterial oxidation because of the indigenous
bacterial present in the ore.

The copper solution grades from the columns using bacterial oxidation to enhance the
extraction were typically 20 g/L. This copper was electrowon continuously and the depleted
solution returned to the column. The ore had an acid consumption of 24 kg/tonne but the
acid generated by electrowinning was sufficient to maintain the pH in the correct range, pH
1.3 to pH 1.8, for optimum bacterial performance. Nutrients were added initially at the
commencement of bacterial oxidation and thereafter only in proportion to any make up
water needed to replace solution removed from the system.

The benefits of enhancing the bacterial activity were to obtain a faster release of copper
resulting in higher copper solution grades for electrowinning and, in practice, requiring less
water for irrigation as less ore would be treated to produce a given amount of copper and
less pad space for stacking ore if reusable pads were employed.
 Bacterial oxidation technology 1151

% COPPER
EXTRACTED
IO0
,/"
,.'~ 0

75 ...............
,/ :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .....

...................................

1,
.......... 3ACr ,Ac
2 S '..................................................... O X ~ A T O~
ACID
, , J I , , , I ~ ; , I L ~ h I , , h ~ ,
LEACH
o loo 200 300 400 500 600
TIME (DAYS)

Fig.8 Copper extraction as a function of treatment time for column leaching

of copper ore using bacterial oxidation and acid leaching.

ECONOMICS OF BACTERIAL OXIDATION TREATMENT

The estimated operating and capital costs of this process for the treatment of refractory
arsenopyrite concentrates where selective oxidation was possible were understood to be
superior to roasting, ultra fine milling and bacterial oxidation treatment using Thiobacillus
cultures. The final selection of a treatment process at any site will consider these cost
advantages against other factors such as proven performance of a process, level of
understanding of a process, overall financial considerations including subsidies to reduce
costs and encourage a technology where it is not proven and technical support for the
technology where a process is not proven under real operating conditions.

A typical plant in Australia might be designed to treat approximately 50 tonnes per day of
refractory arsenopyrite concentrate containing 40 to 50 g/t gold where only the arsenopyrite
need be oxidized for high gold recovery and the transport costs were high. Estimated capital
and operating costs for such a plant would be about $2.5 million and $50 to $70 per tonne
respectively. Reagent costs are high with acid at $180 per tonne and lime at $225 per tonne.
Power is charged at $0.15 per kWh. The relative proportions of the operating costs including
reagents, power, labour, assaying and services are summarized in Figure 9.

A complete feasibility study has not yet been performed for the copper heap leaching using
bacterial oxidation to enhance the copper extraction. However, the project is known to be
economic just on the acid leached copper so the additional recovery and the faster
extraction rates could only improve the economics of the project,

CONCLUSIONS

Bacterial oxidation has been found to improve the metals recovery from a range of precious
and base metals samples. These samples have included a wide range of minerals as well as
both ores and concentrates. Pilot scale studies over long periods of time have demonstrated
that the moderately thermophilic bacterial culture applied by BacTech (Australia) Pty Ltd
is robust under real operating conditions and is capable of providing higher recoveries for
a range of metals.
1152 P.A. SPENCERet al.

LAF" . . . .
NUTRIENTS

POWER
REAOENTS
LIME

ASSAYS
SERVICI
N
U ACID

Fig.9 Operating cost estimate for the bacterial oxidation of an arsenopyrite

concentrate under typical Australian gold fields conditions.
The bar graph shows the relative proportions of the reagent
costs distributed between acid, lime and nutrients.

This culture has additional benefits. It is able to operate at higher temperatures so that
cooling is not required, to oxidize arsenic (III) to arsenic (V) so that more stable arsenic
wastes can be produced and is metals tolerant so that high grade solutions can be obtained
for direct electrowinning of base metals or precipitation of unwanted products can be
performed on a minimum solution volume.

The bacterial oxidation technology has been evaluated for both precious and base metals
extraction on a large pilot scale. The technology has been applied in a mine site environment
by normal plant operating personnel without loss of bacterial culture from the system.
Normal plant fluctuations have occurred during these large scale tests without significant
loss of performance.

The estimated capital and operating costs for the bacterial oxidation technology are
competitive with those for alternative treatment methods. It now remains for the
metallurgical staff at managerial level to have the courage to utilize this technology where
it is applicable for bacterial oxidation technology to assume its place in the list of treatment
options considered for refractory gold and base metal sulphide deposits.

REFERENCES

. Barrett, J., Ewart, D.K., Hughes, M.N., Nobar, A.M., O'Reardon, D.J., and Poole,
R.K., The Bio-oxidation of Gold - bearing Arsenical Minerals., R & D for the
Minerals Industry, Kalgoorlie (1988)

. Angove, J., and Corrans, I., Ultra - fine Grinding for Recovery of Refractory Gold,
Minerals Engineering 4(6-11) ( 1991 )