Underground Development of Mineral Subsoil Using Microorganisms: A Mini-Review

Abstract

This mini-review is devoted to the analysis of the current state of the relatively rarely used underground bio-mining of natural minerals. On the basis of this analysis, it is substantiated that bacterial leaching technology has no alternative for environmentally safe and economically break-even mining of ore-bearing rocks and off -balance metal-bearing formations that are difficult to access, or unprofitable for traditional methods. It is emphasized that the efficiency of biotechnology depends on the accuracy of modeling and operational control of the working parameters of the process of biological extraction of metals, for which it is necessary to develop a new combined hydro-technical system with the possibility of the reverse technological influence on the regimes of leaching. Such controlled modes of the process are the intensity of forced aeration, pH level of the bacterial solution, amount of nutrient medium, and duration of leaching. To improve the accuracy of prediction and control of underground microbiological development, the use of a control method based on an adaptive-network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is recommended.