Definition of bioleaching
: the extraction of valuable metals (such as copper and gold) from ores through the action of microorganisms (such as bacteria)
- Until now bioleaching, as the process is known, has been held back by the leisurely pace at which bacteria munch …
- —Burt Chardak, Miami Herald, 24 May 1992
- Bacteria have been used to extract other metals from ore, in a process called bio-leaching.
- —Lynn Dicks, New Scientist, 17 Apr. 2004
