Abstract
The paper presents the direct and indirect mechanism of action of different types of microorganisms in the process of chemical-bacterial solubilization of sulfuric minerals. The discovery of some bacteria that favor the dissolution of metals, increasing the speed of the process up to 500,000 times, proved to be able to improve the parameters of hydrometallurgy and create new possibilities for its application in the recovery of useful elements from different minerals and waste. The mechanism of the chemical-bacterial mineral solubilization process does not proceed according to a unitary mechanism, but corresponds to different mechanisms depending on the nature of the metal, the nature of the ore, the microorganisms and the physical-mechanical conditions in which the bacterial culture acts.