Shorena Petriashvili

The possibility of leaching silicon from quartz was studied. The results of the research showed that the maximum amount of extracted silicon was 86 kg per 1 t of rock. Further experiments are needed to improve the effectiveness of this method.

The paper describes the composition of the gases released as a result of the biological treatment of ores and rocks from the production wastes, ores and rocks of the Chiaturi manganese and Madneuli copper deposits. As studies have shown, the qualitative and quantitative indicators of gases released during the leaching of metals from different types of substrates in the same region during microbiological treatment almost coincide, which indicates that the microflora of leached solutions formed in a niche of the same region is characterized by a similar metabolism.

The article illustrates the possibilities of enriching the expensive and precious metals using gleying microorganisms. Introducing our method will allow to make mining of the deposits waste-free or reduced wastes. Apart from this it will be possible to produce not only the main metals, but also the associated expensive components, including the gold and rare metals for technicaprogress. 

Natural and artificial slopes of various origins (mountain, road) are subject to intense soil erosion, leading to loss of land, as well as the spread of heavy metals and other harmful substances from open mine workings. This problem is especially important for Georgia, which for the most part is a mountainous country, where slopes of various geological composition and structure abound. Slope erosion is the cause of a significant violation of the ecological balance of the environment. In Georgia, conditions are easily created for sliding masses of various scales, which are a good object for scientific research and engineering solutions. The main advantages of the proposed method are: (1) the method is cheap, fast and easy to use; (2) the method is absolutely environmentally safe; (3) does not require additional materials or biotextiles, since the mixture consists of natural sorbents that have a high binding capacity; (4) the grass does not need to be sown into the soil, the grass seeds are mixed in the binding solution; (5) the method is applicable in a variety of geological conditions with different slope inclinations; (6) the result is achieved quickly, if the method is applied in late autumn, grass of controlled density will grow the following spring. As shown by the preliminary study, the composition of the binding solution must be adapted to specific climatic and hypsometric conditions.

The method of extraction of metals from industrial solutions by means of economical and easy to apply biosorbents in subtropics such as products of tea manufacturing, moss, microorganisms is described. The multi-component solutions obtained in the process of leaching of ores, rocks and industrial wastes by peat suspension were used in the experiments. The element composition of sorbent biomass and solutions was investigated by epithermal neutron activation analysis and by atomic absorption spectrometry. The results obtained evidence that the used biosorbents are applicable for extraction of the whole set of heavy metals and actinides (U, Th, Cu, Mn, Fe, Pb, Li, Rb, Sr, Cd, As, Co and others) from industrial solutions.

The results of preliminary investigations aimed at the development of an economical and easy to apply technique of bacterial leaching of rare and valuable metales out of low-grade ores, complex composition ores, rocks, and industrial wastes in Georgia are discussed. The Main groups of microbiological comunity of the peat suspension used in the experiments of bacterial leaching are investigated and the activity of particular microorganisms in the leaching of the primary and processed samples was investigated by the epithermal neutron activation analysis method and the enrichment/subtraction level is estimated for various elements. The efficiency of the developed technique to purify wastes, extract some scrace metals, and enrich ores or rocks in some elements, e.g. Au, U, TH, Cs, Sr, Rb, Sc, Zr, Hf, Ta, Gd, Er, Lu, Ce, etc., is demonstrated.

aromatic combinations. The optimal regime and elaborate remediation technology for underground waters and soil was found. The investigation showed that the optimal version for recultivating oil- and petroleum-productcontaminated terra rossa and ground waters was the sample with green peas for seeding in the presence of biogenic material - peat, and the biomass of Pseudomonas accumulative cultures. In this version 87% of petroleum products is degraded, while the survivability of oil-destroying microbes is 13,04×102 cells per 1 g dry soil. 

Results are presented of an experimental study of bacterial leaching of tailings and wastes from mining industry enterprises. From the examples of Chiatura city and the industrial centre of Kazreti, it is shown that use of the suggested method for the leaching of ores can reduce significantly the pollution risk to water and soils in urban areas. The method also promotes both the improvement of the ecological system in general, and a more rational use of natural resources.