In nature, microbes are involved in weathering of rocks, in mobilization of metals from
minerals, and in metal precipitation and deposition. These microbiological principles and
processes can be adapted to treat particulate solid wastes. Especially the microbiological
solubilization of metals from solid minerals (termed bioleaching) to obtain metal values is a
well-known technique in the mining industry. We focus here on non-mining mineral wastes
to demonstrate the applicability of mining-based technologies for the treatment of metal …