The University of Queensland (UQ) has engineered a ‘super-powered’ fungus, which could be used to extract critical minerals from toxic mining waste, while also helping to remediate sites.
Environmental engineers at UQ’s new Biosustainability Hub are growing unique fungal strains that can be used to detoxify mining tailings and capture traces of important rare earths without the need for harsh chemicals.
The new leaching method uses ‘super fungi’ strains that produce organic acids capable of cleaning mine waste and recovering valuable metals.
Dr Denys Villa-Gomez says the engineers took fungi that grow naturally in mining and then engineered them to actually become super.
“So they can cope with toxic environments and tolerate harsh conditions,” Villa-Gomez says.
“We know the process works well for extracting high-value critical minerals such as vanadium and scandium, key compounds in electronics and microchips.”
UQ says that the creation of the super fungi is achieved through adaptive laboratory evolution, where the fungi are put under challenging conditions over time so only the strongest survive and evolve into more effective strains.
Bioreactors at UQ’s Biosustainability Hub then process the mining waste by combining it with the engineered fungi and feedstock.
PhD candidate Fernanda Soto-Montandon says as the fungi consumes the feedstock they begin producing natural organic acids, as part of their metabolism.
“Those acids then break down the mining waste, destabilising the mineral structure and releasing the trapped metals into a liquid form,” Soto-Montandon says.
“From there, the metals can be recovered and reused, turning what was once waste into a valuable resource through a low-impact biological process.”
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: The University of Queensland
