Photo: Rock-Eating Bacteria "Mine" Valuable Metals

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Copper-mining waste piles up near the Chuqicamata, a mine in Chile's Atacama Desert owned by the state-run company Codelco.

New technology supported by Codelco and a Japanese biotechnology institute has created mineral-crunching bacteria that "mine" valuable metals, such as copper, in a cheaper and more environmentally friendly process.

Photograph by Joel Sartore/NGS

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