In situ pilot-scale demonstration of a novel mineral processing biotechnology for recovering metals from lateritic ores (International) Nickel and cobalt are two key metals used by modern civilization in a host of applications. Cobalt is categorized as a "strategic metal" in view of its great importance to the development of "green technologies" (such as energy storage in batteries used, for example in new generation electric and hybrid vehicles) and also because of the fact that much of its production is concentrated in parts of the world perceived to be potentially unstable. Most nickel and cobalt produced from mining primary ores originates from reduced (sulfidic) minerals, though the bulk of accessible global reserves of nickel is contained in oxidized ores, most notably laterites, which are widely distributed throughout tropical regions. Although technologies exist for extracting valuable metals from lateritic ores, these operate at high temperatures and pressures and are therefore highly energy consuming and have large carbon footprints. Recently, a microbiological mechanism for extracting nickel and cobalt from limonitic laterites, which operates at atmospheric pressure and ambient (30 - 40C) temperatures has been described and demonstrated at laboratory scale. Biomining is often considered to be a "green" approach for obtaining metals and has been used for over 50 years to obtain copper. The novel technology developed at Bangor University in conjunction with the mining industry has greatly extended the range of metal ores that can be bioprocessed. Limonitic ores from mines located in different parts of the world (including Asia, Africa and South America) have been trialled in the frame of a current NERC-sponsored project and all have been shown to be amenable to bioprocessing using this new approach (referred to as "reductive mineral dissolution"). Among these was material from a new mining enterprise in Brazil, located in Piaui state, the owners of which are active members of the NERC project consortium. The Piaui mine has not yet become a full-scale operation, and the bioprocessing option has several perceived major advantages of what is currently envisaged as the operating protocol (leaching with concentrated sulfuric acid in heaps). These include: (i) eliminating the need to transport in large amounts of concentrated acid to the remote mine site (both costly and hazardous); (ii) removing the need to purchase an acid-generating plant for long-term sulfuric acid generation (the cost of which is equivalent to ~25% of the total capital cost of the mine); (iii) the potential to enhance both rates and extents of metal extraction from the ore. The original reductive mineral dissolution protocol has been fine-tuned in the current NERC project to minimize or eliminate the need to use acid to neutralize the alkalinity generated when minerals in the limonite ores dissolve. Instead, the acid is generated in situ from elemental sulfur by specialized bacteria. There is a perfectly timed opportunity to scale up the reductive mineral dissolution approach from laboratory to pilot scale, and this is greatly facilitated by the fact that large columns required for this are already in place at the Piaui mine site. The project will involve firstly producing sulfur colonized by the specialized bacteria used in the process, shipping this from the UK to the mine at Piaui where it will be combined with the ore (and additional sulfur) and packed into a large column. This, and a control (acid-leached) column will be operated in re-circulation flow mode for 6-7 months, by which time most of the metals will have been extracted. The columns will then be dis-assembled and, if results are as anticipated, used for the next stage in the process (heap leaching; beyond the scope of the current project). This demonstration plant will provide essential data that will help promote the application of this novel biomining approach to laterite mines throughout the world. Primary Beneficiary: Brazil. Potential Secondary Beneficiaries: Kazakhstan, Cuba, Turkey, Indonesia. The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) supports cutting-edge research to address challenges faced by developing countries. The fund addresses the UN sustainable development goals. It aims to maximise the impact of research and innovation to improve lives and opportunity in the developing world.