National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Rock-Eating Bacteria "Mine" Valuable Metals


Email to a Friend	<< Back to Full Story

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