Titan Resources NL has spent 14 million dollars and 4 years developing its proprietary BioHeap~(TM) bacterial heap leaching process for base metals. Most work has centred on nickel. Work has been carefully guided from bench to field trials in the traditional engineering approach. The process has an emphasis on the microbiological aspects with specific, identified bacterial strains adapted to each ore to be leached. The bacterial strains have been modified to operate effectively in high salinity water. Our 80 ore types have been tested in the laboratory and two 5,000 tonne field trials have been completed on a nickel/copper/cobalt disseminated sulphide deposit in the north-west of Western Australia. Nickel recoveries into solution of 90 per cent were attained in both trials.
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