Gold Mining Bacteria 50
Anonymous 49'er writes "Nature is reporting that bacteria found in Australian gold mines are capable of extruding tiny invisible 'secondary grains' from soil and alluvial systems. From the article: "Potential applications -- from sensing the bacteria as a way to look for gold mines, to using them to help make industrially useful particles of gold -- may be some way off. But Southam is keen to exploit the bacteria's natural trick. 'I want to make a gold nugget one day,' he says. 'Gold nuggets grow in nature, so why shouldn't I be able to make one?'"
I misread at first (Score:1, Funny)
Re:I misread at first (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Overwhelming Response (Score:2)
(SF) Chocolate-covered MANHOLE COVERS!!! (Score:1)
The short story of that title was very important in my life, because it quoted a very funny paragraph -- the Agnostic's Prayer -- from Roger Zelazny, who became one of my absolutely favorite writers (I am still angry at him for smoking and dying of lung cancer so prematurely).
Actually, I've been thinking of the story for its own sake a bit recently too, just because I argue with so many idiot creationists these days
In other
Re:(SF) Chocolate-covered MANHOLE COVERS!!! (Score:2)
Re:(SF) Chocolate-covered MANHOLE COVERS!!! (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:(SF) Chocolate-covered MANHOLE COVERS!!! (Score:1)
Sledegehammer + testicles (*) = how long an argument ???
(* insert breeding organs of choice if target creationist is not conventionally male)
Inertia is your friend [G], or your hammer's friend.
Robert Forward ?? of the Cheela and JPL and a few other things.
searching for mines? (Score:3, Funny)
Surely we know where the gold mines are already - I mean, they tend to be biiiig things, or at least big holes in the ground. I wouldn't have though that looking for bacteria would make then any easier to spot.
Shouldn't the bacteria be used for finding gold _deposits_ instead?
Thank you, thank you. I'm here all week, tell you friends! I reccomend the veal, it's devine.
The smallest gold-diggers in the world (Score:1)
Re:searching for mines? (Score:2)
And deveined as well!
Thanks folks, I'm only here tonight and tomorrow!
Gold nuggets growing wildly... (Score:5, Interesting)
Is it not more likely that these bacteria have been excreting gold as a matter of habit for hundreds of millions of years, and that gold nuggets are in fact the toilet pits of huge bacterial colonies from ages past? Perhaps the bacteria feed off sulphur or some other element that's mixed with the gold...
Re:Gold nuggets growing wildly... (Score:2)
Re:Gold nuggets growing wildly... (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm speculating that bacteria, in colonies, may be responsible for gold nuggets, at least in some cases. There are other cases of bacteria creating mineral concentrations (like stromatolites). Bacterial activity in hot rocks and hot springs is well known; gold is often found with other elements that some bacteria like, such as sulphur. Concentrations of gold don't seem to fit a natural process, I'd expect to see minerals dispersed within strata, not concentrated into pure blobs.
OK, bizar
Re:Gold nuggets growing wildly... (Score:5, Informative)
Most of the gold in the world is in archaean deposits or was transported from archaean sources by alluvial processes. In these deposits, the gold was dissolved from basalt rocks by superheated water, then precipitated out into cracks and fissures as the water got too cold to maintain the solution. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ore_genesis#Gold [wikipedia.org]
The use of bacteria in mining is nothing new though. We've been using "bug leach" techniques in Australian mines for more than a decade. http://www.indmetlab.com.au/equipment/bio_metallur gy.php [indmetlab.com.au]
The main novelty of this species of bacteria is that it produces metallic gold instead of gold compounds. Given the relative ease of precipitating gold from solution, I'm not sure if it'll be enough of an advance to be worth using.
Re:Gold nuggets growing wildly... (Score:2)
Standby patent office, I have and idea! (Score:4, Funny)
2. Sneak rocks into their food.
3. ????
4. Profit!
Re:Standby patent office, I have and idea! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Standby patent office, I have and idea! (Score:1)
Re:Standby patent office, I have and idea! (Score:1)
Next on Fear Factor...
Used in processing (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Used in processing (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Used in processing (Score:2)
Bacteria Point The Way To Gold Deposits (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Bacteria Point The Way To Gold Deposits (Score:1)
Didn't we end up with Atomic Bombs last time someone got the bright idea to try making gold nuggets ?
I make em fresh every morning! (Score:1)
I already make my own gold nuggets at home and sometimes, if i have too, outside. ;)
Gold Farmers (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Gold Farmers (Score:1, Funny)
Bacteria are crucial to cleanup in general (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Why use bacteria? (Score:2)
Proof and therefore disproof of God (Score:4, Funny)
But i'm too tired, so just pretend I wrote it and mod me funny appropriately.
Seawater? (Score:1)
Maybe I should patent the method of using a bioengineered bacterium to extract gold particles from seawater. Then I'd be richer than the biotech companies. Me thinks someone else go
Re:Seawater? (Score:2)
There's a good chance these bacteria are already at work in the ocean. The problem with extracting gold from seawater is pumping all that water in and out of whatever it is you're using to extract it. For the bacteria method to work, every drop of gold-bearing water has to meet up with the bacteria colony long enough for the bacteria to extract the gold. Either you need a really big colony, or a really long time.
Since the price of gold has spiked lately, I've wondered about the cost of some of these al
Book on this topic (Score:1)
from the 70s/80's (Score:4, Informative)
What bothers me about this is that we gave it up as oil prices were pushed down. We should have pushed it forward then.
I for one... (Score:2, Funny)
I don't understand... (Score:1)
How about nuclear waste cleanup? (Score:1)
But oh, the mutations. I imagine that would be a deal-killer.
bacteria responsible for majority of deposits? (Score:2)
A surprise has been the every deep drilling into the earth, up to eight miles deep, has found teeming bacteria. These may have been when these rocks were at the surface, and/or bateria have gone deeper into the earth over billions of years.