Biological processes for recovering heavy metals

摘要

Disclosed is an efficient biological process for recovering heavy metals from refractory ore, and a process for removing heavy metal contaminants from the soil. The process utilizes a potato extract growth medium (PEGM) to greatly increase the efficiency for recovering heavy metals from ores and for removing heavy metal contaminants from soil. Microbes which can be used in the process are manganese reducing Bacillus sp., or mutants thereof which retain the metal recovering properties of the parent microbe. Further, recombinant microbes, as disclosed herein, can be used in the same manner as the native microbe.