Bioleaching and mineral biooxidation of highly refractory ores and mineral concentrates generate very high acidities and a lot of heat,rise the temperature inside the reactors or heaps,company the accumulation of sulfur on the surface of the ores.Extremely thermoacidophilic archaea mainly from the genus of Acidianus,Sulfolobus,Metallosphaera and sulfurisphaera,have great potential to contribute to biomining processes for their inherent tolerance for low pH,high temperature,and high-soluble metal concentration.Species of the genus Metallosphaera typically grow by aerobic respiration on CO2 with S0,tetrathionate(S4O62+),and Fe2+as electron donors,stands out from related extremophiles for metal extraction under high temperature by their iron-and sulfur-oxidation ability.Several species from Metallosphaera and Acidianus genuswere investigated for their ability and conditions to dissolve the different ores.All of them showed good performance in copper extraction from chalcopyrite,two strains isolated recently displayed higher activities than others.Surface analysis of chalcopyrite leached with the strain showed the leaching products accumulated on the ores.Our study will cover new understandings on the application of these thermoacidophilic archaeon in biomining.