1
24-089
Unlocking Microbial Potential to Develop Innovative and
Environmentally Responsible Technologies
Dan Stigers, Karrie Radloff, Michaeline Albright,
Bianca Cruz, Tom Lankiewicz, Elizabeth Deyett,
Dayal Saran, Kent Sorenson
Allonnia, Boston, MA
ABSTRACT
Biology opens a new frontier for the mining industry. With
rising environmental concerns, the need to couple conven-
tional chemical and physical technologies with sustainable
approaches is pressing. At Allonnia, we harness microbial
processes to create innovative and environmentally respon-
sible technologies with broad applications. The native
microbial community (microbiome) remains largely unex-
plored at most mining sites, unlike the geochemical envi-
ronment. The exploration of complex biological reactions
that could transform mining technology is just starting and
holds vast possibilities, spanning bio-cementation, carbon
sequestration, ore beneficiation, water mitigation, biole-
aching, metals recovery, and more. Allonnia has collected
samples from mine sites in Australia, Africa, and North
America to characterize the microbiome and uncover the
genetic potential present in mineral-rich environments. We
are evaluating microbial metabolites that selectively solubi-
lize gangue from various ores. In addition, biological reac-
tions hold promise as tailings stabilizers. Our early efforts
illustrate exciting prospects for harnessing biology’s poten-
tial in mining.
INTRODUCTION
Our mission is to utilize known and novel biologi-
cal processes to tackle some of the world’s most pressing
environmental challenges. We identified several processes
essential to the mining industry that are naturally occur-
ring at the microscale in microbial communities across the
globe and have used this as both an inspiration and a start-
ing point for transforming how these processes can be done
at scale—to unlock untapped potential and to bring about
more environmentally responsible technologies. To do this,
we maintain and continue to build an industry-leading
database of genetically sequenced and functionally char-
acterized microbes and enzymes for biotransformation or
biogeochemical sequestration of target compounds in vari-
ous environments and media. We have identified two areas
within the mining industry where known microbial pro-
cesses play a key role: the solubilization of target elements
and the controlled agglomeration of particles through the
precipitation of carbonates.
The natural weathering of silicate and other materials
by microbes present in the environment provides the start-
ing point for the development of unique bio-solvents com-
prised of bacterial and/or fungal metabolites (Castro et al.
2000 Jain and Sharma, 2004 Torres et al., 2019, Li et al.
2019 Lamerand et al., 2020). The bio-solvents have several
distinct advantages over conventional mineral acids such as
sulfuric or hydrochloric acid (Dong et al. 2022). First, in
addition to lowering the pH and promoting acidolysis, the
bio-solvents provide ligands and chelators that form strong
24-089
Unlocking Microbial Potential to Develop Innovative and
Environmentally Responsible Technologies
Dan Stigers, Karrie Radloff, Michaeline Albright,
Bianca Cruz, Tom Lankiewicz, Elizabeth Deyett,
Dayal Saran, Kent Sorenson
Allonnia, Boston, MA
ABSTRACT
Biology opens a new frontier for the mining industry. With
rising environmental concerns, the need to couple conven-
tional chemical and physical technologies with sustainable
approaches is pressing. At Allonnia, we harness microbial
processes to create innovative and environmentally respon-
sible technologies with broad applications. The native
microbial community (microbiome) remains largely unex-
plored at most mining sites, unlike the geochemical envi-
ronment. The exploration of complex biological reactions
that could transform mining technology is just starting and
holds vast possibilities, spanning bio-cementation, carbon
sequestration, ore beneficiation, water mitigation, biole-
aching, metals recovery, and more. Allonnia has collected
samples from mine sites in Australia, Africa, and North
America to characterize the microbiome and uncover the
genetic potential present in mineral-rich environments. We
are evaluating microbial metabolites that selectively solubi-
lize gangue from various ores. In addition, biological reac-
tions hold promise as tailings stabilizers. Our early efforts
illustrate exciting prospects for harnessing biology’s poten-
tial in mining.
INTRODUCTION
Our mission is to utilize known and novel biologi-
cal processes to tackle some of the world’s most pressing
environmental challenges. We identified several processes
essential to the mining industry that are naturally occur-
ring at the microscale in microbial communities across the
globe and have used this as both an inspiration and a start-
ing point for transforming how these processes can be done
at scale—to unlock untapped potential and to bring about
more environmentally responsible technologies. To do this,
we maintain and continue to build an industry-leading
database of genetically sequenced and functionally char-
acterized microbes and enzymes for biotransformation or
biogeochemical sequestration of target compounds in vari-
ous environments and media. We have identified two areas
within the mining industry where known microbial pro-
cesses play a key role: the solubilization of target elements
and the controlled agglomeration of particles through the
precipitation of carbonates.
The natural weathering of silicate and other materials
by microbes present in the environment provides the start-
ing point for the development of unique bio-solvents com-
prised of bacterial and/or fungal metabolites (Castro et al.
2000 Jain and Sharma, 2004 Torres et al., 2019, Li et al.
2019 Lamerand et al., 2020). The bio-solvents have several
distinct advantages over conventional mineral acids such as
sulfuric or hydrochloric acid (Dong et al. 2022). First, in
addition to lowering the pH and promoting acidolysis, the
bio-solvents provide ligands and chelators that form strong