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com

Hydrometallurgy 91 (2008) 20 – 27
www.elsevier.com/locate/hydromet

Biohydrometallurgy for sustainable development in the African

minerals industry
S. Ndlovu ⁎
School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag X3, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
Received 23 August 2007; received in revised form 22 October 2007; accepted 11 November 2007
Available online 17 November 2007

Abstract

Biohydrometallurgy is no longer a promising technology but is now an established economical alternative for treating specific
mineral ores. It occupies an increasingly important place among the available mining technologies. A significant number of the
current large-scale bioprocessing operations are located in developing countries. The popularity of this technology in most
developing countries is largely due to low capital cost requirements and its simplicity in operation. The African continent, with
South Africa in particular, pioneered and currently houses institutes that count among the top researchers in further development of
the biohydrometallurgical technology. However, despite its abundant mineral reserves and deposits, Africa is still much behind in
the commercialization process. This paper looks at possible reasons behind the lag in adoption of this technology in the African
continent. It further considers the influencing factors for the adoption and effective application of biohydrometallurgy for the
sustainable development of the African minerals industry.
© 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Sustainability; African minerals industry; Biohydrometallurgy

1. The African minerals Industry
The African continent is richly endowed with
abundant reserves of strategic and economically impor-
tant minerals. These minerals hold the promise of
exceptional long term social and economic benefits for
the continent and have become increasingly exploited
during the last couple of years thus contributing
immensely to the African countries' national wealth.
The continent hosts about 30% of the planet's mineral
reserves, including 40% of gold, 60% cobalt and 90% of
the world's platinum group metals (PGM) reserves —
⁎ Tel.: +27 11 7177516; fax: +27 11 7177591.
E-mail address: Sehliselo.Ndlovu@wits.ac.za.
0304-386X/$ - see front matter © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.hydromet.2007.11.007
making it a truly strategic producer of these precious
metals (Coakely and Mobbs, 1999). It produces more than
60 metal and mineral products and is a major producer of
several of the world's most important minerals and metals
including gold, PGM's, diamonds, uranium, manganese,
chromium, nickel, bauxite, copper and cobalt.
South Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Zambia
and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) dominate
the African Mining industry, whilst countries such as
Angola, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Zambia and Botswana
rely heavily on the mining industry as a major foreign
currency earner. The recent increase in exploration and
mine development in Africa has been primarily focused
on gold, uranium and diamond exploration. However, the
current improvement in the base metal prices could see a
 S. Ndlovu / Hydrometallurgy 91 (2008) 20–27 21

further increase in exploration and metal extraction in this thus important to develop and utilize appropriate
sector. Mozambique, Nigeria and Madagascar are but a technologies that are simple to apply, provide low
few countries that have tremendous potential for base capital and operational costs, comply with environ-
metal and industrial mineral deposits. mental regulations and yet are highly productive. One
Table 1 shows Africa and the world metal production technology recently developed that fits such criteria and
for gold, silver, copper, nickel and zinc. The table shows has found worldwide appreciation and application is the
that South Africa is one of the top leading gold producers biohydrometallurgical processing of ores.
in the world whilst Ghana, the largest gold producer in
West Africa, also makes a notable contribution. Zim- 2. Biohydrometallurgy in metal extraction
babwe and Botswana also contribute a small percentage to
the world's gold production. South Africa has about 2.1% The realization that the abilities of microorganisms to
of the world's known reserves of copper and accounts for oxidize minerals could be harnessed in more precisely
1% of world‘s copper production whilst Zambia is engineered operations led to the emergence of the
currently the world's 11th largest copper producer biohydrometallurgical technology (Brierley and Brierley,
(www.mbendi.co.za). South Africa further produces 2001). Biohydrometallurgy is a natural process that uses
small amounts of nickel and zinc. Zimbabwe also microorganisms to enhance the dissolution of metals from
makes a notable contribution to the copper and nickel mineral ores especially sulphide ores, by making them
producing industries although production has largely more amenable to dissolution in aqueous solutions
declined in the past few years due to lack of investment (Deveci et al., 2003). It is a multidisciplinary field
and subsequent closure of some of the copper and nickel involving hydrometallurgy, mineral processing, chemis-
mines. try, the environment and microbiology (Akcil, 2004). It
Natural resources development has proven vital to has been globally applied to the recovery of base and
the economies of African nations because of its role in precious metals, is now an established industrial technol-
generating employment and foreign exchange. Unfortu- ogy for the pre-treatment of refractory ores (Hansford and
nately, mining and mineral processing has always been a Vargas, 2001), and is piloted and commercialized in many
cost conscious industry. Most of Africa's mineral countries. It is characterized by low operational costs,
industries are export oriented and thus exposed to the lower environmental impact and is simple to use. Its
world market fluctuations. Even small fluctuations in modern commercial application became a reality in the
mineral prices on world markets regularly lead to the 1950s with the advent of copper bioleaching (Brierley and
closure of mines and resultant loss of employment. It is Brierley, 2001), and nowadays, it is the most successful
alternative in many mining projects (Frias et al., 2001).
According to Brierley (1982) the organisms' ability to
Table 1
World metal production of gold, silver, copper, nickel and zinc in
grow autotrophically is the primary reason why this
tonnes a method is economically competitive. Once the bacteria is
cultured it continues to grow, thus, providing a continuous
Country Gold Silver Copper Nickel Zinc
leaching solution to the mineral under consideration.
Australia 251.0 2150.0 950,000 191,000 1,400,000
Biohydrometallurgy encompasses two related micro-
Botswana 0.2 – – 28,000 –
Brazil 52.5 170.0 45,000 74,200 172,000 bial processes that are useful in extractive metallurgy:
Canada 104.0 1310.0 600,000 230,000 790,000 bacterial leaching, also known as bioleaching, and
Chile 54.0 1400.0 5,400,000 – 30,000 biooxidation (Acevedo, 2002). Bioleaching is leaching
China 240.0 2550.0 760,000 79,000 2,300,000 where extraction of metal from solid mineral into solution
Ghana 63.1 2.0 – – –
is facilitated by the metabolism of certain microbes —
India 2.2 52.0 50,700 – 144,000
Indonesia 167.0 100.0 800,000 145,000 – such as bacteria, archaea and eukaryota. On the other
Mexico 26.4 2700.0 380,000 – 380,000 hand, biooxidation is an oxidation process caused by the
North Korea 5.0 50.0 16,000 – 210,000 microbes where the valuable metal remains (but becomes
Papau NG 66.7 78.0 166,000 – – enriched) in the solid phase. Biooxidation leaves the metal
Peru 203.0 3200.0 1,050,000 – 1,300,000
values in the solid phase and the solution may be
Russia 152.6 800.0 720,000 320,000 140,000
South Africa 275.0 90.0 187,000 41,700 76,400 discarded. Bioleaching is used today in commercial
United States 260.0 1100.0 1,220,000 – 760,000 operations to process ores of copper, nickel, cobalt, zinc
Zambia – – 540,000 – – and uranium, whereas, biooxidation is used in gold
Zimbabwe 22.1 21.2 112,000 9000 – processing and coal desulphurization (Brierley and
a
Data extracted from http://www.goldsheetlinks.com/world.htm. Brierley, 2001, Andrews and Maczuga, 1984).
22 S. Ndlovu / Hydrometallurgy 91 (2008) 20–27

There are two dominant views on the mechanisms ores for copper recovery has been practiced for centuries
involved in bioleaching. The first is that the overall in Spain, Sweden, Germany and elsewhere by solution
leaching process occurs by the microbial oxidation of mining techniques (Ehrlich, 2002). Commercial appli-
ferrous to ferric ions followed by the chemical oxidation cation of biohydrometallurgy designed to facilitate the
of the sulphide mineral by the ferric ion. This is known activity of microorganisms was initiated in 1980 for
as the indirect mechanism (Sand et al., 1999, Tributsch, copper leaching from heaps (Brierley and Brierley,
1999). 2001). Heap bio-leaching is now a well established
Bacteria
technology for the treatment of secondary sulphide
2Fe2þ þ 0:5O2 þ 2Hþ Y 2Fe3þ þ H2 O ð1Þ copper ores with a growing number of commercial
operations (Watling, 2006, Olson et al., 2003, Brierley,
FeS2 þ 2Fe3þ Y3Fe2þ þ 2S0 ð2Þ 2001, Gentina and Acevedo, 1985). Table 2 shows some
of the commercial copper bioheap leach operations.
The second view envisages the microbial catalysis of However, not all are currently in production because of
the overall dissolution of the mineral. It has been depletion of ore reserves or problems in operation.
proposed that the microorganisms interact with the The copper bioheap leach plants listed in Table 2 are
mineral directly, enhancing the rate of oxidation, over for the recovery of copper from the mineral chalcocite.
and above that achieved by chemical oxidation. This is While chalcocite is easier to leach, the bioleaching of
known as the direct mechanism (Sand et al., 1999, chalcopyrite has been rather difficult to accomplish
Tributsch, 1999). because of the formation of a passivating layer on the
Bacteria mineral surfaces that prevents further leaching. It has
2FeS2 þ 7O2 þ 2H2 O Y 2FeSO4 þ 2H2 SO4 been found however, that using thermophilic micro-
ð3Þ organisms such that the temperature can be raised to
60°C (140°F) or higher, destabilizes the passivating layer
Regardless of the mechanism, it is the enhanced on chalcopyrite (Dew et al., 1999, Konishi et al., 1999,
oxidation of the mineral created by the microorganism Johanesson et al., 1999, Schnell, 1997). New technol-
that creates the acid-solubility required for leaching to ogies are now being developed using thermophilic
take place. Today the use of this biotechnology has microorganisms for bioleaching of chalcopyrite using
grown with many mines exploiting the biooxidation either heap or stirred-tank reactor systems (van Staden
technologies while many old mines are being cleaned up et al., 2005).
with bioremediation technologies (Bosecker, 1999, Table 2 shows that Chile has successfully adopted the
Blumenroth et al., 1999). bioleaching technology in the exploitation and processing
of the country's large reserves of copper. For instance,
3. Worldwide bioprocessing operations following early development work and application in the
United States, in 2001, there were 13 companies using
Although there has been a significant research into bioleaching technology and bioleaching constituted
bioleaching of zinc sulphides (Mousavi et al., 2007,
Olubambi et al., 2007, Rodriguez et al., 2003, Fowler
and Crundwell, 1998), and both the sulphidic and Table 2
lateritic nickel ores in the recent years (Mason and Rice, Commercial copper bioheap leach plants (historical and present) a
2002, Simate and Ndlovu, 2007, Valix et al., 2000,
Plant Location Size (tpd) Date of commissioning
Mckenzie et al., 1987), current worldwide biooxidation
Lo Aguirre Chile 16,000 1980–1996
and bioleaching research and operations remain focused
Mt Leyson Australia 1370 1992–1997
essentially on gold (Brierley and Brierley, 2001, Nestor Cerro Colorado Chile 16,000 1993-
et al., 2001, Iglesias and Carranza, 1994) and copper Girrilambone Australia 2000 1993–2003
production (Cancho et al., 2007, Waitling, 2006, Ivan-Zar Chile 1500 1994-
Sadowski et al., 2003, Gericke and Pinches, 1999). Quebrada Blanca Chile 17,300 1994-
Andacollo Chile 16,000 1996-
Cerro Verde Peru 32,000 1996-
3.1. Commercial copper bioleaching operations Dos Amigos Chile 3000 1996-
Zaldivar Chile 20,000 1998-
The majority of copper minerals are sulfides such as S&K Copper Myanmar 18,000 1998-
bornite (Cu5FeS4), chalcocite (Cu2S), covellite (CuS) Equatorial Tonopah USA 24,500 2000–2001
a
and chalcopyrite (CuFeS2). Biooxidation of sulphidic Data adapted from Olson et al. (2003).
 S. Ndlovu / Hydrometallurgy 91 (2008) 20–27 23

approximately 10% of Chilean copper production while encapsulated in sulphide mineral matrix which prevent
heap and dump leaching, in general, constituted approxi- the gold from being leached by cyanide. The BIOX®
mately 30% of Chilean production (Sasson, 2004). process destroys the sulphide minerals and exposes the
In Africa, Zambia is the major player in the gold for subsequent cyanidation, increasing recovery
production of copper (Table 1, Section 1). Although rates. The initial research and development into the
there have been some demonstration plants set up to try process was conducted by Gencor Process Research (now
and implement the bioleaching technology for copper Billiton Process Research). The process itself uses a
production in Zambia, there are currently no large-scale combination of three bacteria that occur naturally, Thio-
commercial copper bioleaching plants in operation. bacillus ferrooxidans, Thiobacillus thiooxidans and Lep-
South Africa and Zimbabwe also produce a notable tospirillum ferrooxidans, to break down the sulphide
amount of copper yet there are no copper processing mineral matrix in the ore being treated, thus freeing the
plants currently using this technology. occluded gold for subsequent cyanidation. The BIOX®
process involves the continuous feeding of the flotation
3.2. Commercial gold biooxidation operations concentrate slurry to a series of stirred reactors. Low pH
levels (1.0–2.0) and high slurry temperatures (35–45 °C)
Another successful commercial application of biohy- enhance the efficiency of the process. It is important that
drometallurgy is the biooxidation pretreatment of these parameters are controlled within narrow ranges so as
refractory sulphidic gold ores before cyanidation to maintain the right balance of bacteria in order to achieve
(Brierley and Brierley, 2001, Nestor et al., 2001, Iglesias the optimum rate of oxidation.
and Carranza, 1994). In this process, the microorgan-
isms are used to oxidize pyrites and arsenopyrites to 3.2.1. Ghana
expose the gold occluded within the sulphide mineral The installation of the BIOX® process for the
matrix. Table 3 gives a summary of some of the treatment of the refractory gold concentrate at the Sansu
commercial BIOX® plants that have been commis- Sulphide Treatment Plant in 1994 at Obuasi in Ghana was
sioned for gold treatment. On the African continent, a major breakthrough for the BIOX® technology. The
South Africa and Ghana are the two countries that have BIOX® process was selected after an extensive metallur-
adopted this technology for gold recovery. gical testwork program and was chosen on the basis of
The BIOX® process, which pre-treats refractory reduced capital and operating cost, reduced technical risk,
sulphide gold ores, was developed to increase gold reduced environmental impact and for the simplicity of
recovery rates during the metallurgical extraction process operation. The plant established stirred tank biooxidation
(van Aswegen et al., 2006). The gold in these sulphide as a process suitable for very large-scale application
ores such as pyrite, arsenopyrite and pyrrhotite, is within the gold mining industry. Developments in reactor
design allowed operating volumes to approach 1000 m3
and with multiple reactors installed at Ashanti, capacity
increased to approximately 1000 tonnes per day (tpd) of
Table 3 concentrate (Clark et al., 2006).
Commercial BIOX® plants for gold recovery (historical and present) a A more recent development in the application of the
Plant Location Conc. design Date of BIOX® process in Ghana is at the Bogoso Gold Mine,
capacity (tpd) commissioning owned by Golden Star Resources. At full production,
Fairview South Africa 62 1986,1991- expected in late 2007, Bogoso/Prestea's sulphide circuit
Sao Bento b Brazil 150 1990 will operate at a design capacity of 3.5 million tonnes per
Habour Lights Australia 40 1992–1994
year of refractory sulphide ore into the crusher. Design
Wiluna Australia 158 1993-
Sansu Ghana 960 1994- recovery is estimated at 85% overall, resulting in annual
Tamboraque c Peru 60 1999- gold production from the sulphide plant of between
Fosterville Australia 211 2005- 230,000 and 260,000 oz. (van Aswegen et al., 2006).
Sudzal Kazhastan 196 2006-
Bogosa/Prestea Ghana 825 2007-
3.2.2. South Africa
Kokpatas Uzbekistan 1069 2007-
a
The biooxidation pretreatment plant with the longest
Data adapted from http://www.gsr.com/Operations/ and augmented. history of operation is Goldfields' BIOX® process at
b
BIOX® reactors are in care and maintenance due to concentrate
shortages.
Fairview Mine in South Africa. The BIOX® process has
c
Mining operations were halted in 2002 due to mining and financial been in operation for over 20 years and the Fairview
difficulties. Operations restarting in 2007. plant was the first commercial BIOX® plant, and played
24 S. Ndlovu / Hydrometallurgy 91 (2008) 20–27
a vital role in the ongoing development of the process.
This plant treats refractory arsenopyritic gold-bearing
concentrate in large, stirred-tank, aerated, continuous
flow reactors. A pilot plant was commissioned in 1984
to treat flotation concentrate from Fairview. This plant
operated for two years and its success led to the
installation of a demonstration plant at Fairview. The
demonstration plant was commissioned in 1986 to treat
10 tpd in parallel with the aging Edwards Roasters. The
process proved to be robust and the capacity of the
BIOX® section was increased in 1991 to treat the full
35 tpd concentrate. The capacity of the plant was again
increased in 1994 and 1999 to the current design
capacity of 62 tpd (van Aswegen et al., 2006).
There has also been a new development in the
application of biohydrometallurgical technology in
South Africa's mining operations. GeoBiotics LLC has
developed their first commercial plant for the treatment of
refractory gold ores at the Agnes Gold Mine in Barberton,
South Africa. Agnes Mine, owned and operated by
African Pioneer Mining (APM) (a subsidiary of Metallon
Resources PLC), acquired the property in 2002 from Cluff
Mining PLC (Cluff). The refractory sulphide ore is mined
by underground methods and a conventional milling and
flotation plant produces a gold bearing sulphide concen-
trate. In 2000, Cluff signed a license agreement with
GeoBiotics LLC for the use of the GEOCOAT® heap
biooxidation process for treatment of the concentrate.
Column biooxidation testwork conducted at SGS Lake-
field Africa Pty. confirmed the amenability of the
concentrate to biooxidation. Design and construction
followed, with commissioning starting in the first quarter
of 2003. The plant currently produces about 50 tpd of
concentrates (Harvey and Bath, 2006).
The GEOCOAT® process incorporates elements of
two successful and commercially proven technologies:
heap leaching and biooxidation. In the process, sulphide
flotation or gravity concentrate slurry is coated onto a
crushed and sized carrier rock which may be barren or
may contain sulfide or oxide mineral values (Harvey
et al., 2002). The coated material is stacked on an
impervious pad for biooxidation. GeoBiotics originally
developed the GEOCOAT® system for the treatment of
refractory gold deposits and has since expanded the
technology for the treatment of copper, nickel and cobalt
(Harvey and Potter, 1999, Harvey et al., 1999).
Mesophilic bacteria such as Thiobacillus leptospirillum,
T. ferrooxidans and T. thiooxidans are typically used,
except for the processing of chalcopyrite concentrates,
where the higher temperatures associated with the use of
thermophile microorganisms such as the Acidianus,
Metallosphaera and Sulfolobus strains have proven
highly beneficial in increasing the rate and extent of
copper leaching (Harvey et al., 2002).
Zimbabwe, another gold producer on the African
continent (see Table 1, Section 1) has in the past been
involved in small scale demonstration and pilot plants in
the biohydrometallurgical processing of gold (Mutandwa
and Mutandwa, 2007). Most of these projects have,
however, failed to make it to large-scale production. This
is largely due to the economic and political situation
currently prevailing in the country. As a result, not much
confidence currently remains in the mining and mineral
processing sector for large-scale investments to be
initiated. This has subsequently led to a collapse of
some of the mining and mineral processing operations.
4. Research and commercialization of the
biohydrometallurgical technology in Africa
Science and technology play crucial roles in any
process affecting the exploration, processing and
utilization of mineral resources (United Nations,
2001). Not only do they provide the cutting edge for
exploiting known reserves, but also provide basis for
new knowledge of potential. While there are a number
of ways in which technology could contribute to the
effective exploitation of mineral resources, priority
should be given to areas where efficiency, increased
availability and sustainability could be ensured. In the
minerals sector, competitiveness, irreplaceability and
environmental issues merit particular emphasis.
In developing countries, there is a need to develop
and utilize technologies that are capital efficient and,
yet, comply with environmental regulations (Olubambi
et al., 2006). As a result, research and development
assume particular importance in this regard. Although
the African continent has rich mineral reserves, the
extraction of most of these minerals is relatively capital
inefficient when compared to other developing nations.
Most developing countries, in order to maintain a
competitive edge, have focused their attention on the use
of the recent established biohydrometallurgical/bio-
leaching technology (Acevedo et al., 1993). Countries
such as Chile, Brazil (Table 2 and 3) and more recently
China (Yang et al., 2002) have been quick to identify the
potential benefits of this technology and have estab-
lished measures both to develop such industries and to
extract value where possible and relevant. The adoption
of the biohydrometallurgical technology by developing
countries is not purely accidental but the necessary
result of two important factors. For one thing, many
developing countries have significant mineral reserves
and mining constitutes one of their main sources of
 S. Ndlovu / Hydrometallurgy 91 (2008) 20–27
income; on the other hand, bioleaching is a technique
especially suitable for developing countries because of
its simplicity and low capital cost requirement (Dasilva,
1981, 1982, Gentina and Acevedo, 1985).
It is important to note that South Africa has pioneered
some of the biohydrometallurgical technologies cur-
rently used around the world. In the private sector, the
South African mining company, Gencor, undertook
ten years of research and development culminating in
the construction of the world's first biooxidation plant
for gold-bearing sulphide concentrates in 1986 — the
result was the technically and commercially viable
BIOX® process, now in use on at least three continents
(Table 3, Section 3.2). In 1998 the gold assets of Gencor
were merged with those of Gold Fields of South Africa
to form a new company Gold Fields Ltd. Gencor's
nonprecious metals assets were sold to Billiton in
1997 — which subsequently merged with Australia's
BHP to form the current BHP Billiton in 2001. BIOX®
was followed by the Bio-COP process for copper,
developed in conjunction with Chile's State-owned
copper-mining giant, Codelco.
One of the key results of this legacy is that today South
African minerals beneficiation, processing, and process
control research and development (R&D) institute Mintek
is a leading centre of expertise in bioleaching technologies
and R&D, globally, with more than 20 years' experience.
Mintek, with technology partner BacTech, has developed
the BACOX technology, which bioleaches more than 95%
of the gold contained in refractory pyrite–arsenopyrite
concentrates at gold mines in Australia and China. In
China the Michelago Limited's Laizhou Biogold plant in
China's Shandong province, has been using the proprietary
BACOX bioleach technology to liberate gold from
difficult-to-treat concentrates. The plant is currently
undergoing expansion, which should see a doubling of
gold production from the bioleach facility to over
150,000 oz of gold a year. Next in Mintek's sights is the
development of a cost-effective bioleaching technology for
zinc sulphide concentrates. The success of Mintek is
clearly indicative of South Africa's experience and success
in developing profitable and highly useful biotechnologies.
On the public sector, there are the universities, with the
University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), the University of
Cape Town (UCT), Rhodes University, the University of
Pretoria and the University of Stellenbosch, carrying out
significant research in the field of biohydrometallurgy.
Although the universities have contributed only relatively
few journal publications to international peer-reviewed
journals, these publications are found in some of the most
highly cited international journals and have a high
‘average relative impact factor’ compared with other
25
developing countries (Motarim, 2004, Pouris, 2003). This
is clearly indicative of the quality of South African
research and the capacity to develop a competitive
biotechnology industry.
Although Africa houses one of the top and largely
active research institute in the biohydrometallurgical
technology, the continent has been rather slow in
extracting value from the technology that it has
pioneered. This has mainly been due to limited success
in closing the gap between research activities and
commercialization. On considering the universities,
research scientists/academics are motivated by their
publication output rather than the commercial value of
their work. This is not surprising because commercia-
lization is not the core business of their work and their
performance appraisal mechanisms are based on
published basic research rather than commercial enter-
prise. Thus, research in South Africa has not been
carried out with commercialization in mind and has
therefore lacked market focus. Only a small number of
higher institutions have a division designed to assist
with the management and commercialization of research
and intellectual property (IP) emerging from the
institution. Consequently, South Africa lags far behind
in terms of patent outputs when compared with other
developing nations. This makes it essential that the
research institutions involved in the development of a
biohydrometallurgical industry where ideas are primar-
ily generated be strongly linked to an industrial partner
who will capitalize on the knowledge and lead to the
commercialization of the technology.
In the past few years the South African government has
begun to implement strategies to close the gap between
research activities and commercialization in the biotech-
nology industry as a whole and hence the biohydrome-
tallurgical industry in part (Cloete et al., 2006). Various
organization and programmes that are active in research
capacity building and technology transfer have been
established. These include the National Research Foun-
dation (NRF) for funding research and human resources
development at higher education institutes, the Innovation
Fund (IF) established to promote technological innova-
tion, the Technology and Human Resources for Industry
Programme (THRIP) that provides funding to innovative
research programmes that involve an industrial partner.
These programmes are designed to increase the quality
and number of appropriately skilled people for the
management of technology for industry and promote
increased interaction between public researchers and
industry (National Research Foundation, 2003). It is still
to be seen however, whether this initiative by the South
African government will yield any significant dividends.
26 S. Ndlovu / Hydrometallurgy 91 (2008) 20–27
5. Considerations for the African mineral industry
The microbial-assisted dissolution route is an
established innovative technology used for processing
minerals and extracting various metals from their ores. It
has been accepted globally and has become an
increasingly important economic alternative to other
extraction processes. It satisfies most of the industrial
requirements in terms of technical effectiveness, flex-
ibility, ease of operation, cost effectiveness, environ-
mental friendliness and the ability to be expanded when
starting from small scale. Since there are suitable
mineral deposits all over Africa, where application of
this technology is viable, increased efforts should be
placed in the research, development and more impor-
tantly commercialization of this robust technology.
Since the bioleaching process was pioneered and
developed in South Africa, it is an opportunity for the
South African minerals industry to take a very strong
lead and expand the application of the process to other
African countries. The process is technically very
feasible all over Africa and has been adapted and
successfully applied to the Ghanaian mineral sector. The
bioleaching process has been shown to be suitable not
only for gold and copper but also for zinc (BioZINC™)
process and nickel ores (BioNIC™) (Dew and Miller,
2001). These ores can be found on the African continent
and application of the bioleach technology will lead to
greater economic and environmental rewards. In addi-
tion, past research has shown that this technology can
also be used for coal desulphurization. South Africa and
Zimbabwe have significant coal deposits that can
benefit from the ready application of this technology.
Partnering activities play a key role in the develop-
ment of technological capabilities in developing coun-
tries; hence, international cooperation and collaborations
should be considered and encouraged in the adoption of
this process. Strategies like those implemented by the
South African government to close the gap between
research and commercialization must be encouraged
across the continent in order to promote the application
of technology. It is therefore an opportunity for every
African government to express a keen interest in
adopting, developing and expending this technology
within the continent and to establish cross-disciplinary
research and share facilities.
6. Conclusion
The African continent is richly endowed with
abundant reserves of important minerals. The continent
has pioneered and continues to dominate the biohydro-
metallurgical technology research through South Africa
and thus, has a significant comparative and competitive
advantage in this area. However, the continent has so far
been lagging in harnessing and applying this technology
for the extraction and processing of its mineral ores. The
African countries need to increase their efforts in bridging
the gap between research and commercialization of the
biohydrometallurgical technology and to further encou-
rage collaboration within the continent. These efforts will
go a long way in maximizing the recovery of minerals for
sustainable economic development.
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