Detoxification of Heap after Gold Leaching Using Biodegradation

Bacteria which are adapted both to high content of toxic compounds and to the environments grow in autochthonous communities of gold heap leach (HL) wastes. In the following study of HL waste from a deposit in the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic (Russia) it was shown that microbial processes had a greater impact on the degradation of cyanides and of complex copper and nickel cyanides, respectively, compared to a chemical degradation. The diversity of bacterial communities growing under natural and model conditions was determined.