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Mining & Resources · Recorded milestone

Bacterial bioleaching

Recorded year1958

Kennecott patents using iron- and sulfur-oxidising bacteria to leach copper from low-grade ore heaps.

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Built on

Open-pit miningRecorded · 1906enables

Led to

Solvent extraction of copperRecorded · 1968enables
Mine waste reprocessedRecorded · 1999enables
Engineered biominingForecast · ~2029enables
Metal-harvesting cropsForecast · ~2034enables
Urban miningForecast · ~2063enables

Sources & evidence

Additional source

Dataset updated 2026-10-18. This individual record has not been separately re-reviewed.