The mineral mining industry in Canada is rapidly shifting toward more sustainable practices that reduce the environmental impacts of extraction, wastewater, and emissions. Although often overlooked, microorganisms, or bacteria, living in the soils and water of mine sites and mining waste materials, collectively known as the ““mining microbiome”, exert strong influence on all stages of the mining life cycle. For example, microorganisms may cause corrosion of equipment via biofouling (corrosion), or be essential to mine cleanup through processes known as bioremediation.