THE EFFECT OF THIOSULFATE-OXIDIZING BACTERIA ON THE STABILITY OF THE GOLD-THIOSULFATE COMPLEX

Abstract

An Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans spp., isolated from the Driefontein Consolidated Gold Mine, Witwatersrand Basin, Republic of South Africa was able to precipitate gold from Au(S2O3)23− in the presence of up to 0.26 mM gold. In chemical control experiments and with the presence of dead bacteria, gold was not precipitated under similar experimental conditions and duration. During growth, the pH of the culture medium decreased from pH 5.4 to 1.9, while the Eh increased from 0.3 to between 0.5 to 0.6 V within a period of 75 days. In the active (live) bacterial culture systems, acid production enhanced thiosulfate disproportionation, after which the elemental sulfur and any other intermediate sulfur species were oxidized completely to sulfate. The gold, Au(S2O3)23−, was stable in the bacterial systems until sulfur oxidation was complete; then the bacteria precipitated gold from Au(S2O3)23−. The bacterial systems (0.02–0.26 mM gold) precipitated 87 to 100% of the gold under diurnal light exposure, while only 11 to 69% of the gold was precipitated in the dark. The presence of gold (≥0.08 mM) reduced bacterial growth, disrupted cell division causing cell elongation, and was ultimately toxic to this bacterium, killing the cultures. The gold was precipitated inside the bacterial cells as fine-grained colloids ranging between 5 and 10 nm in diameter and in the bulk fluid phase as crystalline micrometer-scale gold. Observations using transmission electron microscopy revealed that the gold was deposited throughout the cell; however, it was concentrated in the cell envelope, especially along the cytoplasmic membrane, suggesting that gold precipitation was likely enhanced via electron transport processes associated with energy generation. Seven months after population growth had stopped, the gold had formed coiled or wire gold, irregular and rounded structures with an approximate size ranging from 0.5 to 5 μm, and crystalline octahedral gold.