Hoda Fereydouni, Tannaz Naseri
Mining activities produce significant amounts of gold mine tailings (GMT) that are rich in rare earth elements (REEs), yet effective extraction methods are limited. This study presents a novel approach combining bioleaching with oxalic acid pretreatment to recover Pr, Ce, and Eu from GMT. The pretreatment involved exposing the GMT to a 2 M oxalic acid solution at 90 °C for 6 hours, which enhanced the bioavailability of REEs by selectively removing iron. Following this, the pretreated GMT was introduced to the Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans bacterium during its logarithmic growth phase to maximize bacterial activity and subsequent acid production during the bioleaching process. Structural analyses confirmed surface modifications during bioleaching, while kinetic modeling highlighted that the rate of chemical reactions was the limiting factor. The results demonstrated a marked improvement in the recovery rates of REEs, with Pr, Ce, and Eu increasing by 24.4%, 14.4%, and 9.1%, respectively, after iron removal. This integrated approach of pretreatment and bioleaching presents a promising strategy for enhancing the recovery of REEs from GMT, potentially offering a sustainable resource recovery method in mining operations.
@article{17523059-c5ac-4417-9a13-fb0a022e759f,
title={Synergistic recovery of Pr, Eu, and Ce from gold mine tailings using bioleaching and oxalic acid pretreatment},
author={Hoda Fereydouni and Tannaz Naseri},
year={2025},
language={en}
}TY - JOUR TI - Synergistic recovery of Pr, Eu, and Ce from gold mine tailings using bioleaching and oxalic acid pretreatment AU - Hoda Fereydouni AU - Tannaz Naseri PY - 2025 LA - en ER -
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