The final day at the International Biohydrometallurgy Symposium

 Amanda reports on the final day of IBS 2022:

Delegates preparing for the final day

Mario Vera (Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Chile) began the final day of the conference, with his keynote presentation on "Biofilm lifestyle of bioleaching microorganisms".

Next, we heard from Catherine Joulian (BRGM, France) with her presentation on "Bioleaching community dynamics during adaptation and process upscaling of a secondary polysulfidic ore".

Following Catherine, Robert Braun (Helmholtz-Institut Freiburg für Ressourcetechnologie (HIF) HZDR, Germany) gave a recorded presentation on "Directed evolution biology in resource technology - from the identification of novel inorganic-binding biomolecules to their provision in future".

Then we heard from Maria Dabrowska (University of Warsaw, Poland) with "Sporosarcina globispora and Glutamicibacter protophormiae - two ureolytic strains with high potential in revalorisation of heavy-metals".

In the last presentation before morning coffee, Ishaaq Hajee (University of Cape Town, South Africa) asked, in a recorded presentation, "Can microbially-induced calcite precipitation alleviate the traditional shortcomings of the Co-disposal method?".

Coffee with Zygmunt Sadowski of Wroclaw University of Science
and Technology, Poland

Sadia Ilyas (Hanyang University, Republic of Korea) and
Siti Chaerun (Bandong Institute of Technology, Indonesia

The parallel sessions after coffee were Session 5A, Biomining Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Systems Biology and Synthetic Biology and Session 5B, Biostabilisation, Bioremediation and Ecological Restoration and Biological Mineral Formation and Minerals Exploration, Biogeochemistry and Biosensors. The full programme can be viewed here.

After lunch, as with the previous two days, we were given 1.5 hours to view the posters and exhibition. 

Then, after an afternoon coffee break, it was time to decide on a venue for  IBS 2026 (the 2024 event will be held in Halifax, Canada, in conjunction with COM 2024). The choice was between France and Chile and, as ever, it was up to the delegates to choose. And the winner was... France!

Next up, Axel Schippers (BRG, Germany) gave the closing presentation, entitled "Future prospects for biohydrometallurgy".

Then came the award presentations.

Congratulations to the poster award winners: Douglas Pino Herrera (BRGM, France), Daniela Rios (Linnaeus University, Sweden), Reinier Egas (Wageningen University, The Netherlands), Maria Dąbrowska (University of Warsaw, Poland), Benjamin Monneron-Enaud (Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany) and Anna Cozzolino (University of Cagliari, Italy).

And congratulations to the oral presentation award winners: Klemens Kremser (University of Natural Resources and Life Science, Austria), Sophie Ullrich (TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany), Reinier Egas (Wageningen University, The Netherlands), Babatunde Oladipo (Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa), Anne-Gwénaëlle Guezennec (BRGM, France), Anna Cozzolino (University of Cagliari, Italy), Melissa  Corbett (Curtin University, Australia), Chiamaka Belsonia Opara (Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology, Germany) and Jonovan Van Yken (CSIRO Land and Water / Murdoch University, Australia).

All that was left then was for Elizabeth Watkin to deliver the closing remarks, including thanking Anna Kaksonen for all her efforts in finally bringing this event to fruition. Thanks to Covid it has been 7 years in the planning!

I would like to also offer my thanks to Anna and her team. You all did a fantastic job and it was wonderful to be back with the IBS 'family'. I hope to see as many of you as possible in the UK next June for Biomining '23, and in Canada the year after! There is an album of photos from the conference, so please feel free to download any that you like.