Seasonal variation in metabolic profiles and microbial communities in a subarctic ore processing plant

The mining industry strives to reduce its water footprint by recycling water in ore processing. This leads to build-up of ions, flotation chemicals and microbial biomass, which may affect the process. The Boliden Kevitsa mine in Northern Finland is exposed to seasonal change and recycles up to 90% of the process water. We studied the variation in size, composition and putative functions of microbial communities in summer and winter in the ore processing plant. The raw water, Cu and Ni thickener overflow waters had statistically significantly higher bacterial numbers in winter compared to summer, and specific summer and winter communities were identified. Metagenomic analysis indicated that Cu and Hg resistance genes, sulphate/thiosulphate, molybdate, iron(III) and zinc ABC transporters, nitrate reduction, denitrification, thiosulphate oxidation and methylotrophy were more common in winter than in summer. Raw water drawn from the nearby river did not affect the microbial communities in the process samples, indicating that the microbial communities and metabolic capacities develop within the process over time in response to the conditions in the processing plant, water chemistry, used chemicals, ore properties and seasonal variation. We propose that the microbial community structures are unique to the Boliden Kevitsa mine and processing plant.