- Bioleach and biooxidation process design, development and review
- Due Diligence for gold and copper hydrometallurgical processing flowsheets
- Technology Evaluation & Commercialization Strategy
- International Cyanide Management Code pre-audit assessment
- Sustainable Mining Technologies and Implementation Strategies
- Corporate/site laboratory safety and industrial hygiene assessment
- Metallurgical Process Optimization through stage-gate approach
- Metallurgical Accounting
- Strategic R&D Management
- Experienced in corporate representation in international settings.
Catalyst Bio-Mine Innovation, LLC
Catalyst Bio-Mine Innovation, LLC
Technical consulting driving innovation at the interface of mining and industrial microbiology
Catalyst Bio-Mine Innovation is a Colorado-based LLC established in 2025 to serve the mining industry in identifying promising innovative technologies including biomining, to advance their processing and sustainability objectives.
Services
Metallurgical consulting services for the gold and copper industries including:
About
Dr. Francisco (Frank) Roberto is the founder and principal consultant for Catalyst Bio-Mine Innovation, founded after Dr. Roberto’s retirement from Newmont Corporation as a Director of Processing. He is a Registered Member (RM) of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) and a Specialist Microbiologist (SM-Biological Safety Microbiology) of the National Registry of Certified Microbiologists (NRCM). Dr. Roberto was elected to the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 2020. He is the author of over 80 technical papers and co-inventor of 14 US patents (full list available upon request).
Expertise
Frank has worked in fundamental R&D and applied technology development supporting the mining industry for several decades. From 1988 to 2012, he conducted and managed a wide range of biotechnological R&D projects and programs addressing high-volume, low-value materials at the Idaho National Laboratory.
In 2012 he joined Newmont Corporation as a senior metallurgist in the corporate technical facility in Denver. His tenure at Newmont included work on:
- metallurgical process development (multiple gold and copper projects from early stage conceptual studies to process selection)
- pilot scale deployment (1 Mt) of high-temperature bioleaching for copper recovery from enargite
- evaluation and investigation of new technologies including alternatives to cyanide for gold extraction, mitigation of acid rock drainage, sustainable technologies addressing needs across the mine, and technical representation of corporate process development on multi-partner innovation projects and international trade councils and treaty committees.