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Oxidation of gold-antimony ores by a thermoacidophilic microbial consortium

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Abstract

Antimony leaching from sulfide ore samples by an experimental consortium of thermoacidophilic microorganisms, including Sulfobacillus, Leptospirillum, and Ferroplasma strains was studied. The ores differed significantly in the content of the major metal sulfides (%): SbS, 0.84 to 29.95; FeS, 0.47 to 2.5, and AsS, 0.01 to 0.4. Independent of the SbS concentration in the experimental sample, after adaptation to a specific ore and pulp compaction, the microorganisms grew actively and leached/oxidized all gold-antimony ores at 39 ± 1°C. The lower was the content of iron and arsenic sulfides, the higher was antimony leaching. For the first time the investigations conducted with the use of X-ray microanalysis made it possible to conclude that, in a natural high-antimony ore, Sb inhibits growth of only a part of the cell population and that Ca, Fe, and Sb may compete for the binding centers of the cell.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Winogradsky Institute of Microbiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, pr. 60-letiya Oktyabrya 7, k. 2, Moscow, 117312, Russia

    I. A. Tsaplina, V. V. Sorokin, A. E. Zhuravleva, V. S. Melamud, T. I. Bogdanova & T. F. Kondrat’eva

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  1. I. A. Tsaplina
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  2. V. V. Sorokin
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  3. A. E. Zhuravleva
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  4. V. S. Melamud
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  5. T. I. Bogdanova
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  6. T. F. Kondrat’eva
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Correspondence to I. A. Tsaplina.

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Original Russian Text © I.A. Tsaplina, V.V. Sorokin, A.E. Zhuravleva, V.S. Melamud, T.I. Bogdanova, T.F. Kondrat’eva, 2013, published in Mikrobiologiya, 2013, Vol. 82, No. 6, pp. 660–671.

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Tsaplina, I.A., Sorokin, V.V., Zhuravleva, A.E. et al. Oxidation of gold-antimony ores by a thermoacidophilic microbial consortium. Microbiology 82, 680–689 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0026261713060118

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0026261713060118

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