Bioleaching of Metals: Current Applications and Future Directions
A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Mineralogy and Biogeochemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 567
Special Issue Editors
Interests: bioleaching; bioremediation; bioinformatics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: biotechnology; bioprocessing; lignocellulosic biomass; enzymatic hydrolysis; bioethanol; biogas
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The interactions between microbes and minerals have shaped earth's environment for billions of years, influencing processes such as metal cycling, soil formation, and pollutant remediation. Currently, these interactions are applied in sustainable practices such as metal recovery via bioleaching and the bioremediation of contaminated environments. Thus, understanding the mechanisms behind these processes is crucial for advancing eco-friendly technologies and mitigating the environmental impact of mining and industrial activities.
This Special Issue aims to present recent advancements in environmental mineralogy and biogeochemistry, focusing on the dynamic relationships between microorganisms, minerals, and their surrounding environments. By integrating insights from microbiology, geochemistry, and bioinformatics, these studies will shed light on how microorganisms mediate mineral transformations and contribute to environmental processes.
The Special Issue welcomes submissions that include original scientific research and reviews in the following areas:
- The application of microbial processes for the bioremediation of pollutants and the recovery of valuable metals from ores and industrial waste.
- Community-level studies of microorganisms in mineral-rich environments, supported by bioinformatics and metagenomics approaches.
- Research on the role of microbes in metal and nutrient cycling in natural and contaminated environments.
Dr. Rosina Nkuna
Dr. Tonderayi Matambo
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- microbial–mineral interactions
- bioleaching
- bioremediation
- metal cycling
- environmental sustainability
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