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Reductive Dissolution of Ferric Iron in Laterite Overburden Using Acidithiobacillus Spp. and Neutrophilic Iron-Reducing Consortia

Cuba is considered as one of the top world producer of nickel and cobalt. The laterite ore containing nickel and cobalt is mined after first removing an overburden of a long strip of soil and rock. The laterite has a high content of iron oxide (63%), which has to be removed in order to recover the nickel and cobalt. This study reports on the kinetics of reductive dissolution of the Fe(III) from the overburden by two native neutrophilic iron-reducing consortia as well as Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans. All of the organisms mobilized the ferric iron in the laterite by reducing it to Fe(II). The AeRD process using At. thiooxidans was far more efficient in extracting total iron than the AnRD process using At. ferrooxidans.