Microbial Study of the Marine Shore Porphyry Copper Tailings Deposit Bahia De Ite, Peru (original) (raw)
2006, Journal American Society of Mining and Reclamation
Preliminary results of a microbiologal study of the marine shore tailings disposal at the Bahia de Ite (tailings from Toquepala and Cuajone porphyry copper mines, Peru) are presented. The goal of the study is to understand the microbiological communities and its distribution in the tailings profiles before and after the installation of a wetland on the marine shore tailings deposit. The tailings have low sulfide (~2 wt% pyrite equivalent) and low carbonate contents. Molecular based methods, mainly terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP), cloning and sequencing as well as cultivation methods were applied to characterize the microorganisms. Iron/sulfur oxidizing bacteria (e.g. Leptospirillum, Acidithiobacillus and Sulfobacillus-like) and heterotrophs (e.g. Acidiphilium and Acidobacterium-like) were present in the still oxidizing tailings. The maximum bacteria, as determined by total cell count, were detected at the oxidation front where sulfide minerals as pyrite and oxygen are both available. These tailings are characterized by a low biomass and a low bacterial diversity. In the remediated zone, due to the less extreme condition, the bacterial diversity was higher and a dominance of heterotrophs and sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) were expected in this zone.
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