SELENIUM AND TELLURIUM CONCENTRATION BY ORGANIC MATERIALS

"Selenium (Se) and Tellurium (Te) are scarce (semi)metallic elements usually recovered as by-products of the chemical extraction of other metals. The proposal will exploit close relationships between these elements and organic materials to target additional resources, and extract resources in a more sustainable, environmentally sensitive manner.

Se/Te are most concentrated in rocks containing organic matter (e.g. coals, carbon-rich shales, sandstones containing oil residues or coaly matter). We also know that microbial (bacterial) activity can concentrate Se/Te. We seek to use that knowledge to predict previously unrecognized concentrations of Se/Te by study of metal sulfide ores which are known to have been formed by microbial sulfate reduction, on the basis that these microbes could have also engendered Se/Te concentration. More significantly, we will try to advance our knowledge of how microbes interact with Se/Te in rocks and soil, to develop a strategy for the microbial concentration of Se/Te on a valuable scale. To achieve this the project combines interdisciplinary expertise on Se/Te from geology, soil science, chemistry and microbiology.

The catalyst stage involves data gathering, and pilot sampling from two field sites, one in SW Ireland where some of the most Se-rich soils in the world occur, and in Scotland where a gold mine and its environs have elevated levels of Te, and the Te needs to be exploited to ensure financial viability. We have the support of Scotgold Resources, who own the gold mine, and Stantec, an international company whose portfolio includes management of metal resources."