Review: Biotechnological Potential of As- and Zn-Resistant Autochthonous Microorganisms from Mining Process

This review presents important information about general aspects of the mining process as a source of environmental pollution, economic and health impact, microorganisms involved in the microenvironments resulting from ore exploitation, and resistance mechanisms to As and Zn, as a global vision of topics of interest to researchers or students involved in this field. The exploitation of mineral resources generates ideal but extreme microenvironments, where the growth of microorganisms adapted to high concentration levels of heavy metals in comparison to common soil occurs; tailings, contaminated soils, and acid mine drains are sources of culturable heavy metal–resistant microorganisms that naturally grow under stressful conditions. The present review focuses on As and Zn as heavy metal pollutants, due to their presence in high concentrations in mining wastes, regardless of geographic location and mineral processes, in addition to their toxicity; the low profile of Zn as a pollutant even at the alarming levels can be found in mining wastes and consequently in the environment; the impact of ore processing is also included and provides an overview of some of the data on the relationships of mining microbiology highlighting the potential of microorganisms to eliminate these compounds discharged by any means into the environment. The relevance of this compendium is to highlight the interaction of native microorganisms present in mining wastes with high concentrations of heavy metals (As and Zn) as a biological treatment to remove such contaminants as an alternative to conventional technologies.