Advances in Biological Metal Mining and Recycling: From Mechanism to Scalable Bioprocesses

The global transition toward clean energy, electrified transport, and advanced digital technologies has driven an unprecedented surge in demand for critical raw materials and rare earth elements. However, conventional pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical extraction methods are energy-intensive, environmentally damaging, and constrained by vulnerable, concentrated supply chains. At the same time, substantial quantities of valuable metals remain locked in low-grade ores, mine tailings, industrial process waters, and end-of-life electronic waste. Biological approaches—such as microbial bioleaching, biosorption, and bioaccumulation—offer low-carbon, highly selective, and environmentally benign alternatives for metal recovery. Despite this potential, translating biological mechanisms into robust industrial bioprocesses remains a major challenge, leaving commercial biological metal-recovery technologies virtually absent from the current market.Recent research has highlighted the remarkable ability of diverse microbial systems—including extremophilic acidophiles, fungi, and photosynthetic cyanobacteria—to mobilize or selectively capture critical metals. Notably, the exploitation of microbial extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), natural chelating agents, and tailored microbial cell factories has opened promising avenues for sequestering and concentrating rare earth elements from dilute and complex matrices. Advances in synthetic biology and systems metabolic engineering are further improving microbial tolerance to heavy metal toxicity and accelerating leaching kinetics. Nevertheless, the field faces unresolved questions regarding process kinetics, biomass reusability, selective recovery from polymetallic streams, downstream separation, and the design of scalable bioreactors. Bridging these fundamental and engineering gaps is essential to unlock the industrial viability of biological metal mining and recycling.This Research Topic aims to accelerate the development, optimization, and scaling of biological metal mining and recycling technologies, advancing them from laboratory concepts toward industrial implementation. By fostering multidisciplinary research at the intersection of bioprocess engineering, microbiology, molecular biotechnology, and circular resource recovery, this topic seeks to address both fundamental mechanisms and applied bioprocess challenges essential for sustainable, resource-efficient metal utilization.To gather further insights in the field of biological metal mining and resource-efficient metal recovery, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:- Microbial and enzymatic bioleaching of critical metals and rare earth elements from primary ores, tailings, and electronic waste (e-waste)- Mechanisms of biosorption, bioaccumulation, and selective metal chelation using cyanobacteria, microalgae, bacteria, and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS)- Bioprocess design, optimization, and bioreactor scale-up for biomining and recycling (e.g., continuous systems, biofilm reactors)- Downstream processing, selective desorption, and high-purity metal recovery from biological matrices- Systems metabolic engineering and synthetic biology to enhance microbial metal tolerance, selectivity, and leaching kinetics- Techno-economic analysis (TEA), life cycle assessment (LCA), and circular-economy integration of biological metal extraction processes Topic editors: Thomas Bartholomäus Brück, Gassan Hodaifa, Gerhard Schenk Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/86301/advances-in-biological-metal-mining-and-recycling-from-mechanism-to-scalable-bioprocesses