Page "Bioleaching" Paragraph 30

Extractions involve many expensive steps such as roasting and smelting, which require sufficient concentrations of elements in ores and are environmentally unfriendly.

Low concentrations are not a problem for bacteria because they simply ignore the waste that surrounds the metals, attaining extraction yields of over 90 % in some cases.

These microorganisms actually gain energy by breaking down minerals into their constituent elements.

The company simply collects the ions out of the solution after the bacteria have finished.

There is a limited amount of ores.