Pamela Chavez Crooker

Pamela Chávez Crooker, a marine biologist and microbiological engineer. As cofounder and director of research and development (R&D) for Aguamarina S.A.—a leading Chile-based biotechnology company—Chávez is applying the latest science in microbiology to the age-old process of mineral extraction to improve mine safety and address the industry’s environmental pitfalls.

A proud native of Antofagasta, a port city of about 300,000 people in northern Chile, Chávez attributes her passion for marine science to a childhood spent in one of the driest regions on earth. “If you’re not looking up at the sky,” she says, “you’re looking out toward the ocean.” The Chilean mining industry’s need for new technology motivated Chávez into a search for global ideas. After studying at the Universidad de Antofagasta, she pursued graduate work at Kyoto University and the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Chávez finished her studies in 2000, at a time when Chile experienced a new influx of foreign investment. Returning to her hometown, she partnered with other investors to create Aguamarina, assembling a team of 18 biologist and chemical engineers.

Aguamarina specializes in R&D in three chemical processes that are key to mineral extraction. The first is bioleaching, or the process of using bacteria to extract low concentrations of precious metals from ore. Mining companies tend to disregard these ores due to the high cost and low returns of the standard extraction method, known as leaching. In contrast, bioleaching can remove the minerals cheaply, and instead of requiring miners to burrow underground to retrieve the ore, it extracts metals inside the mine itself, diminishing safety risks, environmental damage and costs. Although the process occurs in nature, mining companies have only recently begun to manually induce bioleaching on a large enough scale for it to become efficient, profitable and sustainable.

The other process Aguamarina researches is biocorrosion, which disintegrates metals through exposure to sulfate-reducing bacteria. Aguamarina was one of the first companies in the world to identify the effects of leakage from wells and piping in underground mines due to biocorrosion. A third process is