1849 bio

What do they actually do

1849 bio engineers and screens microbes to improve metal recovery for miners. Today they run a lab-to-field workflow: miners send ore samples, the team sequences and characterizes the ore and native microbiome, engineers and optimizes strains, validates performance with high‑throughput lab tests, and then offers pilot deployments that plug into existing leach circuits like heap leach and SX‑EW. Their website explicitly offers a free ore analysis and a pilot program contact path 1849 bio site.

The company is early-stage (YC S24) and is openly seeking partners for pilots. Public materials show no named paying customers or large field deployments to date. They cite performance ambitions such as “up to 60% copper recovery” versus ~20% from conventional bioleaching, framed as outcomes of their engineering platform, but these figures are presented in their own materials rather than third‑party field results at scale 1849 bio site, YC company page.

Who are their target customer(s)

• Metallurgy/processing lead at a copper mine running heap‑leach on chalcopyrite‑rich ore: Chalcopyrite leaches slowly and incompletely with current methods, leaving metal unrecovered and tying up heaps; they need something they can trial in existing circuits without major plant changes.
• Operations manager at a mid‑tier mine with large low‑grade or historical stockpiles: Conventional routes are often uneconomic for marginal material; they need a low‑CapEx, quickly testable path to turn stranded ore into cash using current leach infrastructure.
• Sustainability/ESG lead at a mining company: Pressure to cut energy use, reagent intensity, and tailings risk; they need credible, lower‑impact extraction options that can clear regulatory review and stakeholder scrutiny.
• E‑waste recycler or electronic scrap operator: Chemical/smelting approaches can be costly, dirty, and non‑selective; they want more selective, lower‑waste metal recovery from shredded electronics.
• Corporate innovation or pilot manager at a major miner: Mandated to de‑risk new tech without disrupting operations; they need partners who bring lab‑validated strains, clear SOPs, and biosafety/regulatory paperwork for controlled site pilots.

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Direct outreach to metallurgy and operations leads at mid‑tier copper mines and stockpile owners, offering the advertised free ore analysis and a low‑risk pilot integrated into existing heap‑leach circuits; close with one reference pilot showing a clear recovery/kinetics lift on chalcopyrite or similar ore 1849 bio site, YC page.
• First 50: Partner with metallurgical consultants, EPC/service contractors, and regional mining service firms to source vetted pilot sites and help with onsite approvals; standardize biosafety/regulatory checklists and use pay‑for‑pilot plus outcome‑linked offers, backed by several case studies/tech notes to convert conference and ESG‑driven inbound 1849 bio site, YC page.
• First 100: Productize strain production/packaging and SOPs (including turnkey biosafety docs) and build regional field capability or contract manufacturing so deployments are repeatable; land a multi‑site rollout with a major miner or e‑waste operator and scale a small sales + technical ops team to handle onboarding and QA 1849 bio site.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Global bioleaching is estimated at roughly $10–12B today, with copper as the largest segment (≈half), implying a near‑term copper‑focused TAM of about $4–6B for leach/bioleach services and technologies Grand View Research, Fortune Business Insights.

Bottom-up calculation:

If 20% of ≈22 Mt/year mine copper runs through leach circuits and engineered microbes lift recovery from ~20% to ~60%, the incremental recovered copper could be ~1.76 Mt/year, worth ≈$15.7B at ~$8.9k/tonne; capturing even a small share of that value would support a large services/licensing pool USGS, price refs, BHP SX‑EW context.

Assumptions:

• ~20% of global mine copper is processed via leach/SX‑EW today BHP.
• Engineered strains can raise recovery from ~20% to ~60% on applicable ores (company‑stated target) 1849 bio.
• Copper price reference ≈$8.9k/tonne (late‑2024 monthly average) INSEE/LME.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Rio Tinto Nuton: Portfolio of copper leach technologies targeting primary sulfides (including chalcopyrite) for heap leach; backed by a major miner and actively piloted with partners—directly relevant to the same problem.
• Jetti Resources: Develops catalytic leaching technology to unlock copper from primary sulfides in heaps; already deployed at scale with miners, making it a leading alternative to microbe‑based approaches.
• Metso (Hydromet + BIOX): Provides hydrometallurgical solutions and the BIOX process (for refractory gold) plus broader leach/SX‑EW offerings; a well‑established process licensor/partner for leaching flowsheets.
• BacTech Environmental: Bioleaching company focused on refractory ores (notably gold/arsenic) using bacterial oxidation; demonstrates commercial bioleach expertise and permitting know‑how.
• Mint Innovation: Uses engineered biology and chemistry to recover metals from e‑waste in urban refineries; relevant in the recycling segment 1849 bio cites as an adjacent market.