Environmentally-friendly compositions and methods for extracting minerals and metals from ore

1. A method for extracting minerals and/or metals from ore, the method comprising:

obtaining ore comprising one or more minerals and/or metals selected from the group consisting of gold, silver, copper, cobalt, lithium, zinc and nickel, and gangue;

crushing, grinding, micronizing or pulverizing the ore into smaller ore particles; applying a biological leaching reagent comprising a Starmerella bombicola yeast and/or a growth by-product thereof to the ore particles, wherein the growth by-product is a biosurfactant;

mixing the biological leaching reagent with the ore particles to form a slurry;

allowing the minerals and/or metals to separate from the ore; and

collecting the minerals and/or metals from the slurry.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mixing occurs continuously.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the separated minerals and/or metals are dispersed and/or float in the slurry as solution.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the separated minerals and/or metals are sequestered by the yeast and/or growth by-product thereof of the biological leaching reagent.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the minerals and/or metals are collected from the slurry via gravity, froth flotation, electrostatic separation, magnetic separation, wet size screening, dry screening or cyclone classifying.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ore is in the form of mine tailings.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein contacting the ore with the biological leaching reagent comprises placing the ore particles into a tank, column, vat or pool and pouring the biological leaching reagent into the tank, column, vat or pool.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the biological leaching reagent further comprises glycine.