Bioleaching (or biomining) may be a process in mining and biohydrometallurgy (natural processes of interactions between microbes and minerals) that extracts valuable metals from a low-grade ore with the assistance of microorganisms like bacteria or archaea. Bioleaching reactions industrially are performed by many bacterial species which will oxidize ferrous iron and sulfur. An example of such species is Acidithiobacillus ferroxidans. Some fungi species (Aspergillus niger and Penicillium simplicissimum) have also been shown to possess the power to dissolute heavy metals. Bioleaching. Certain bacteria can break down ores to supply an acidic solution containing copper(II) ions. the answer is named a leachate and therefore the process is named bioleaching . Bioleaching doesn't need high temperatures, but it produces toxic substances, including vitriol , which damage the environment.