The magic of microbes: Sudbury scientists reimagining mine waste

Nadia Mykytczuk believes in the magic of microbes.Mykytczuk, CEO and president of MIRARCO , is using bacteria to break down tailings to extract valuable minerals while mitigating environmental degradation.The process is called bio-leaching . Simply put, it uses naturally occurring bacteria “to help us break down rocks; so the same way a smelter works, and uses heat to break down rocks to extract metals,” Mykytczuk said this week during an open house tour of the year-old MIRARCO labs