Biomining

Biomining turns to some of the smallest organisms on the planet — microbes — to solve one of the biggest challenges in modern mining. By leveraging the unique abilities of bacteria, archaea, fungi, and the viruses that infect them this research is exploring how to extract copper from ores and waste materials in ways that are cleaner, more efficient, and more adaptable to varied environments. 

Microorganisms naturally break down minerals, releasing metals like copper into soluble forms — a process known as biohydrometallurgy. This method not only reduces environmental impact but also enables extraction from low-grade ores and mine waste that would otherwise go unused. 

But copper biomining isn’t without its complexities. Each microbe behaves differently depending on ore type, temperature, pH, and other factors. To make biomining a scalable, effective alternative, the process must be precisely tuned — and that’s where biotechnology innovation comes in. 

What exactly are we doing?

This research work package is building a next-generation biotechnology toolkit for sustainable copper recovery. The team is working on: 

• Biological discovery: Creating a resource engine to identify genes, proteins, and biological components with a high affinity for binding copper. 

• Surface display (SD) platforms: Engineering modular systems — such as modified cells, membranes, bacteriophages, and lipid nanoparticles — that can attach to and capture copper from complex materials. 

• Smart process development: Using high-throughput automation and advanced experimental design to simulate real-world mining conditions and refine performance. 

• Hybrid living materials (HLMs): Developing new bio-based materials that integrate these engineered components into scalable, sustainable copper recovery systems. 

Together, these innovations represent a step change in how we think about mineral processing — combining biotechnology, materials science, and systems engineering into a new paradigm for resource extraction.