To assess the potential for recovering zinc using a biotechnological approach, leaching of Moore cake using Thiobacillus ferrooxidans bacteria has been attempted. At laboratory scale a number of experiments were conducted at different pH values, different ratios of solid to leach-liquor, different temperatures etc. Shaking and percolation effects on leaching were also studied. Maximum zinc recovery was found to be about 40% in a percolation experiment. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.