BBX use bacteria to mine precious metals

BBX Minerals recently announced a groundbreaking discovery in their eco-friendly beneficiation process. Using their propriety bacterial technology, they have significantly increased the recoveries of precious metals.

BBX conducted a successful bioleaching pilot plant test at the Ema gold-PGM project in Brazil, which boosted gold, palladium, and rhodium values.

The company aims to use this technology to extract precious metals and potentially rare earths efficiently. It is crucial to explore sustainable sources of valuable magnetic rare earth outside of China, as demand for decarbonisation is expected to increase, leading to potential shortages by 2035.
BBX’s chief executive Andre Douchane states that if the average precious metals recovery rate of 3 grams is maintained, the company can recover almost 2 million ounces of metal instead of the current 725,000 oz contained. He says this could lead to a revolutionary change in the industry.

“The ultimate goal is to have a fully operational pilot plant with a longer-term ambition of large plant,” Douchane says.

According to Douchane, several bench-scale studies must be conducted before proceeding. They emphasize the importance of establishing a recovery curve, which requires taking into account factors such as particle size, reagent addition timing, microbe quantity, microbe food and oxygen distribution, and other variables. In order to justify the construction of a larger plant, it is necessary to develop a comprehensive material balance.

“Regarding the rare earth projects, we are drilling at the Ema project and sending samples to the lab. We have also sent a sample for metallurgical testing to Centro de Tecnologia Mineral.”
So how do your proprietary microbes increase the availability of minerals?
There the refractory ore microbes were employed to remove the iron pirate exposing the gold in a much shorter time than 100 days.

Rock breaking bacteria has the potential to not only unlock precious metals trapped inside tiny microcrystals but also in assist in the rocovery of rare earths, which can be challenging.

What results are you hoping for by the completion of the pilot study?
We have yet to start testing those microbes at Ema. We have some outstanding results we just published – we’re reasonably sure they’re ionic. BBX is currently conducting leach tests at SGS with ammonium sulphate and salt leach. These tests will give us a reasonable expectation of recovery. The EMS rare earth deposit is very similar geologically to the rare earth deposits in China. China typically gets 65 to 75 per cent recovery, which is what we would expect. However, we must wait for the tests to be complete in about two weeks.BBX material has precious metals trapped inside tiny microcrystals. Rock breakers break these crystals apart so the gold collector can gather the metals.

Can you provide an update on your rare earth drilling at Ema?
We have exciting news to share soon about our work with rare earth elements and platinum group metals towards a carbon-neutral future. We’ve made a significant discovery but can only share limited details. We’re waiting for the Mines Department to end their strike and publish the exploration lease notification. We will let EcoBiome test our material with their microbes to improve recovery rates. Microbes have incredible abilities that allow us to achieve more than is currently possible.

Why do you consider bioleaching such a game-changer on the bacterial front?
Consider this scenario: you own a mine and can extract minerals using reagents, cyanides, and acids. However, a new option is now available – using microbes that can break down the rock naturally and recover the value in an environmentally neutral way (no effect). This alternative is more environmentally friendly and should be worth considering. The rocks are returned to their original position, and because of the rock breaker, they contribute to better soil quality. Using this process results in a completely green environment with no pollutants.

So, what do you see as the risks with this technology?
To be honest, it’s incredible. After years of working in this industry, I’ve never seen anything as thrilling as this business. It will be soon that it becomes widely used for sampling and assaying.

Will the assaying process require an additional step?
We plan to bioassay every drill hole in the Tres Estados resource as soon as possible. This involves a standard preparation, a bio leach and an assay. The exact duration of the bio leach is uncertain, as we observed a sharp increase in recovery during a previous pilot plant test. Previously, EcoBiome used a 96-hour bio leach process, but our current test is leaching for 192 hours. We will soon determine if this is sufficient, but we cannot estimate the time required for the bio-leach process.

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