Bringing biotechnology to mining

A few days ago, I offered brief speculation on robotics being used in Latin American mining projects. The BBC highlights a potentially different trend with a Chilean firm using bacteria to extract copper. The microbes break down the various minerals in the rocks until only copper remains. It concludes:

If it works, one day it might be possible to get mine for copper without digging huge pit mines. Instead, miners would simply drill two holes to introduce a solution full or with microbes, and then collect it once it contains copper.

It sounds like the technology may be closer in some ways than the robotics.