Topics as innovative as the combination of synthetic biology and biohydrometallurgy to recover ore, and the experience working with phytoremediation to treat contaminated areas of a former uranium mine are part of the technical program of the 20th International Biohydromeallurgy Symposium, IBS 2013, to be held from October 8-11 in Antofagasta, Chile.
Two authors from the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, will present their research linked to the decontamination of economically viable land by combing process engineering, phytoremediation, synthetic biology and biohydrometallurgy. They state that it is necessary to use tools, techniques and principles from synthetic biology to research the application of microorganisms in creating metal nanoparticles in order to increase the value of recovered ore.
Moreover, a group of German scholars from Friedrich Schiller University of Jena and the Technical University of Dresden will present their experience related to field-scale phytoremediation in a former uranium mine and the subsequent treatment of the plant material. The authors have phytoremediation as a convenient method for the stabilization and rehabilitation of contaminated sites.
The IBS technical program consists of 184 poster and oral presentations from 34 countries. The opening address highlighting “Recent advances in proteomics applied to microorganisms in biomining” will be given by Dr. Carlos A. Jerez from the University of Chile. Additionally, participants in the symposium will visit mine sites at the Escondida, Spence and Radomiro Tomic prior to the start of the event.
IBS 2013 is chaired by Cecilia Demergasso from the Center for Biotechnology at the Universidad Católica del Norte and the Center for Scientific and Technological Research for the Mining Industry, both in Antofagasta, and co-chaired by Nicolas Guiliani from the University of Chile.
