Publications

Book Chapters

  • Shuster J, Reith F, Southam G (2015, invited) Using TEM in geomicrobial research. Analytical Geomicrobiology – A handbook of instrumental techniques. eds. D. Alessi, H. Veerimani, J. Kenney; Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
  • Zammit CM and Reith F (2013) Gold biomineralization in the bacterium Cupriavidus metallidurans. Encyclopedia of Metalloproteins eds. V. N. Uversky, R. H. Kretsinger, E. A. Permyakov. Springer, Berlin, Germany. DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-1533-6
  • Reith F, Dürr M, Welch S, Rogers SL (2008) The geomicrobiology of the regolith, In: Scott K. and Pain CF. (eds.) Regolith Geoscience. CSIRO Press Melbourne Australia (accepted for publication 15.11.2007).
  • Reith F, Rogers SL (2007) Exploration Geomicrobiology – The New Frontier. In: C. Dunn, Handbook of Exploration and Environmental Geochemistry 9: Biogeochemistry in Mineral Exploration. Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 393-413.

 

Refereed Journal Articles

  • Reith F, Zammit CM, Shar SS, Etschmann B, Bottrill R, Southam G, Ta C, Kilburn M, Oberthür T., Ball AS, Brugger J (2016). Biological role in the transformation of platinum-group-mineral grains. Nature Geoscience ; doi:10.1038/ngeo2679
  • Kan L, Etschmann B, Rae N, Reith F, Ryan CG, Kirkham R, Howard D, Rosa DRN, Zammit C, Pring A, Ngothai Y, Hooker A, Brugger J (2016, accepted 21.9.15) Ore Petrography Using Megapixel X-Ray Imaging: Rapid Insights into Element Distribution and Mobilization in Complex Pt and U-Ge-Cu Ores. Economic Geology, v. 111, 0361-0128/16/4386/1-15
  • Reith F, Zammit CM, Pohrib R, Gregg AL, Wakelin SA 2015. Geogenic Factors as Drivers of Microbial Community Diversity in Soils Overlying Polymetallic Deposits. Appl Environ Microbiol 81, 7822-7832
  • Ta C, Brugger J, Pring A, Lenehan CE, Reith F (2015) Effect of manganese oxide minerals on gold mobilization and speciation. Chemical Geology 407, 10-20.
  • Campbell G, Reith F, Etschmann B, Brugger J, Southam G (2015) Surface transformations of platinum grains from New South Wales, Australia. American Mineralogist 100, 1236-1243
  • Craw D, Kerr G, Reith F, Falconer D.M. (2014, accepted 10.10.14) Pleistocene paleodrainage and placer gold redis-tribution, western Southland, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics.
  • Campbell G, Reith F, Etschmann B, Brugger J, Southam G (2014, accepted 30.11.14). Surface transformations of platinum grains from New South Wales, Australia. American Mineralogist.
  • Ta C, Reith F, Brugger J, Pring A, Lenehan C (2014). Analysis of gold(I/III)-complexes by HPLC-ICP-MS demonstrates gold(III) stability in surface waters. Environmental Science and Technology 48, 5737-5744.
  • Zammit CM, Brugger J, Southam G, Reith F (2014). In situ recovery of uranium—the microbial influence. Hydrometallurgy 150, 236-244
  • Weiland F, Zammit CM, Reith F, Hoffmann P (2014). High resolution two-dimensional electrophoresis of native proteins. Electrophoresis 35, 1893-1902.
  • Reith F, Campbell SG, Ball AS, Pring A, Southam G (2014) Platinum in Earth Surface Environments. Earth-Science Rev. 131, 1-21.
  • Watling HR, Collinson DM, Li J, Mutch LA, Perrot FA, Rea SM, Reith F, Watkin E.L.J. (2014) Bioleaching of a low-grade copper ore, linking leach chemistry and microbiology. Minerals Engineering 56, 35-44.
  • Reith F, Brugger J, Zammit CM, Nies DH, Southam G (2013). Geobiological Cycling of Gold: From Fundamental Process Understanding to Exploration Solutions. Minerals 3, 367-394.
  • Zammit CM, Quaranta D, Gibson S, Zaitouna AJ, Ta C, Brugger J, Lai RY, Grass G, Reith F (2013) A Whole-Cell Biosensor for the Detection of Gold PLoS ONE, 8 (8), art. no. e69292.
  • Wiesemann N, Mohr J, Grosse CM, Herzberg M, Hause G, Reith F, Nies DH (2013) Influence of copper resistance determinants on gold transformation by Cupriavidus metallidurans strain CH34. J. Bacteriol. 195, 2298-2308.
  • Brugger J, Etschmann B, Grosse C, Plumridge C, Kaminski J, Paterson D, Shar SS, Ta C, Howard DL, de Jonge MD, Ball AS, Reith F (2013). Can biological toxicity drive the contrasting behavior of platinum and gold in surface environments? Chemical Geology 343, 99-110.
  • Fairbrother L, Etschmann B, Brugger J, Shapter J, Southam G, Reith F (2013). Biomineralization of gold in biofilms of Cupriavidus metallidurans. Environ. Sci. Technol. 47, 2628-2635.
  • Cabral AR, Reith F, Lehmann B, Brugger J, Meinhold G, Tupinambá M, Kwitko-Ribeiro R (2012) Anatase nanoparticles on supergene platinum-palladium aggregates from Brazil: revealers for titanium mobility in natural waters. Chemical Geology 334, 182-188.
  • Reith F, Zammit CM, Rogers SL, McPhail DC, Brugger J (2012). Potential utilization of micro-organisms in gold processing: A Review. Transaction of the Institutions of Mining And Metallurgy 121, 251-260.
  • Reith F, Brugger J, Zammit CM, Gregg AL, Goldfarb KC, Andersen GL, Desantis TZ, Piceno YM, Brodie EL, Lu Z, He Z, Zhou J, Wakelin SA (2012). Influence of geogenic factors on microbial communities in metallogenic Australian soils. The ISME Journal 6, 2107-2118.
  • Reith F, Stewart L, Wakelin SA (2012) Supergene gold transformation: Secondary and nano-particulate gold from southern New Zealand. Chemical Geology 320, 32-45.
  • Zammit CM, Cook N, Brugger J, Reith F (2012) Gold mining: Future technologies driven by bacteria, MESA Journal 65, 18-20.
  • Fairbrother L, Brugger J, Shapter J, Laird JS, Southam G, Reith F (2012) Supergene gold transformation: Biogenic secondary and nano-particulate gold from arid Australia. Chemical Geology 320, 17-31.
  • Zammit CM, Cook N, Brugger J, Ciobanu CL, Reith F (2012) The future of biotechnology for gold exploration and processing. Minerals Engineering 32, 45-53.
  • Wakelin SA, Anand RR, Reith F, Gregg AL, Noble RRP, Goldfarb KC, Andersen GL, Desantis TZ, Piceno YM, Brodie EL (2012). Bacterial communities associated with a mineral weathering profile at a sulphidic mine tailings dump in arid Western Australia FEMS Microbiology Ecology 79, 298-311.
  • Wakelin S, Anand RR, Macfarlane C, Reith F, Noble R, Rogers S (2012) Assessing microbiological surface expression over an overburden-covered VMS deposit. Journal of Geochemical Exploration 112, 262-271.
  • Reith F (2011) Life in the deep subsurface. Geology 39, 287-288.
  • Reith F, Etschmann B, Dart RC, Brewe DL, Vogt S, Schmidt Mumm A, Brugger J (2011) Distribution and speciation of gold in biogenic and abiogenic calcium carbonates – Implications for the formation of gold anomalous calcrete. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 75, 1942-1956.
  • Reith F, Fairbrother L, Nolze G, Wilhelmi O, Clode PL ,Gregg A, Parsons JE, Wakelin SA, Pring A, Hough R, Southam G and Brugger J., 2010. Nanoparticle factories: Biofilms hold the key to gold dispersion and nugget formation. Geology 38, 843-846.
  • Phillips G, Reith F, Qualls C, Ali A-M, Spilde M, et al. (2010) Bacterial Deposition of Gold on Hair: Archeological, Forensic and Toxicological Implications. PLoS ONE 5, e9335.
  • Brugger J, Pring A, Ryan C, Reith F, Etschmann B, Liu W, O’Neill B, Ngothai Y (2010) Probing ore deposits formation: new insights and challenges from synchrotron and neutron studies. Radiation Phys. Chem. 79, 151-161.
  • Southam G., Lengke MF, Fairbrother L, Reith F (2009) The biogeochemistry of gold. Elements 5, 303-307.
  • Reith F, Etschmann B, Grosse C, Moors H, Benotmane MA, Monsieurs P, Grass G, Doonan C, Vogt S, Lai B, Martinez-Criado G, George GN, Nies D, Mergeay M, Pring A, Southam G, Brugger J, (2009). Mechanisms of gold biomineralization in the bacterium Cupriavidus metallidurans. Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) 106, 17757-17762.
  • Fairbrother L, Shapter J, Pring A, Southam G, Brugger J, Reith F (2009) Effect of the cyanide-producing bacterium Chromobacterium violaceum on ultraflat gold surfaces. Chemical Geology 265, 313-320.
  • Reith F, Wakelin S., Gregg, A.L. Schmidt Mumm A. (2009) A microbial pathway for the formation of gold anomalous calcrete. Chemical Geology 258, 315-326.
  • Reith F., Rogers S.L. (2008) Assessment of bacterial communities in auriferous and non-auriferous soils using genetic and functional fingerprinting. Geomicrobiology J. 25, 203-215.
  • Reith F, Lengke MF, Falconer D, Craw D, Southam G (2007) Winogradski Review – The geomicrobiology of gold. ISME Journal 1, 567-584.
  • Reith F, McPhail DC (2007) Microbial influences on solubilisation and mobility of gold and arsenic in regolith samples from two gold mines in semi-arid and tropical Australia. Geochimica et Cosmochimica. Acta 71, 1183-1196.
  • Schmidt Mumm A, Reith F (2007) Calcrete genesis at the gold anomaly of the Barns prospect, Gawler Craton, South Australia. Journal of Geochemical Exploration 92, 13-33.
  • Reith F, Rogers SL, McPhail DC, Webb D (2006) Biomineralization of Gold: Biofilms on bacterioform gold. Science 313, 233-236.
  • Reith F, McPhail DC (2006) Effect of resident microbiota on the solubilization of gold in soils from the Tomakin Park Gold Mine, New South Wales, Australia, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 70, 1421-1438.
  • Reith F, McPhail DC, Christy AG (2005) Bacillus cereus, gold and associated elements in soil and regolith samples from Tomakin Park Gold Mine in south-eastern New South Wales. Journal of Geochemical Exploration 85, 81-89.
  • Reith F, Drake HL, Kuesel K (2002) Anaerobic activities of bacteria and fungi in moderately acidic conifer and deciduous leaf litter. FEMS Microbial Ecology 41, 27-35.

Refereed Conference Proceedings (selection)

  • Shuster J, Reith F, Southam G (2014) Biogeochemical cycling of gold: Nano-particle formation and accretion. Goldschmidt 2014, Sacramento, USA.
  • Weiland F, Zammit CM, Reith F, Hoffmann P (2014) High resolution two-dimensional electrophoresis of native proteins up to 1.2 MDa. Lorne Proteomics Approaches Conference.
  • Reith F (2014) Biogeochemical cycling of gold and platinum – An integrative micro-analytical approach ICONN ACMM Symposium 2014, Adelaide, Australia.
  • Shuster J, Zammit CM, Reith F; Southam G (2014) Biogeochemical cycling of gold: an overview.
  • Reith F; Shuster J, Zammit CM, Southam G (2014) Keynote: From little things big things grow – What about gold nuggets AESC Convention Newcastle.
  • Brugger J, Mei Y, Reith F, Etschmann B, Fiorentini M, Barnes S. (2014) Palladium transport in aqueous fluids http://ima2014.professionalhosting.co.za/IMAConference/
  • Zammit C.M., Li K., Etschmann B., Brugger J., Reith F. (2013) Geobiology of In Situ Uranium Leaching Advanced Materials Research 825, 372-375.
  • Reith F, Zammit C, Nies DH, Southam G, Brugger J. (2013) Biogeochemical cycling of Au and Pt – Integrating field Studies, micro-analyses and molecular biology. Mineralogical Magazine Goldschmidt spec. edition p. 204
  • Reith F., Grosse C., Brugger J., Nies D.H. (2013) Microbial toxicity determines the environmental mobility of gold and platinum FEMS Symposium Leipzig Germany.
  • Zammit CM, Cook N, Ciobanu CL, Brugger J, Reith F (2013) Prospective Biotechnologies: Future Applications in Gold Exploration and Processing. World Gold 2013 The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Carlton Victoria Australia, pp.233-247.
  • Reith F, Grass G, Zammit C., Southam G., Brugger J (2011) The Geomicrobiology of Au: From Fundamental Processes to Industrial Applications. Mineralogical Magazine Goldschmidt spec. edition p. 1707
  • Reith F, Ta C, Etschmann B, Lenehan C Brugger, J. (2011) Mobility of Platinum and Gold in the Australian Regolith – Spectroscopic and Electron Microscopic Analyses. Mineralogical Magazine Goldschmidt spec. edition p. 1707
  • Campbell G, Reith F, Maclean L, Southam G, 2011. The weathering of platinum from nuggets and platinum immobilisation by Cupriavidus metallidurans Mineralogical Magazine Goldschmidt spec. edition p. 615.
  • Reith F Etschmann B, Brewe DL, Vogt S, Brugger J (2010) The distribution of gold in biogenic and abiogenic carbonates. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 73, A1087-A1087 Supplement: Suppl. S.
    Reith F, Pring A., Wakelin SA, Brugger J (2010) The Role of Bacteria in Mobilisation and Deposition of Gold” 13th Quadrennial IAGOD Symposium 2010, ‘GIANT ORE DEPOSITS DOWN-UNDER’. Symposium Proceedings, p. 293.
  • Reith F, Etschmann B, Brewe DL, Vogt S, Brugger J (2009) The distribution of gold in biogenic and abiogenic carbonates. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 73, A1087-A1087 Supplement: Suppl. S.
    Fairbrother L, Shapter J, Pring A, Southam G, Brugger J, Reith F (2009) Effect of the cyanide-producing bacterium Chromobacterium violaceum on ultraflat gold surfaces. J Geochem Explor. 101, p. 32.
  • Brugger J, Pring A, Reith F, Etschmann B, Weihua L. (2009) Towards molecular-level understanding of geochemical processes in mineral exploration. Journal of Geochemical Exploration
  • Reith F, Rogers SL, McPhail DC, Brugger J (2007) Potential for the utilisation of micro-organisms in gold processing. In: Avraamides, J., Deschenes G., Tucker, D. (Eds): World Gold 2007, The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Carlton Victoria Australia, pp. 67-74.
  • Reith F, Schmidt Mumm A (2007) Microbially mediated formation of gold in calcrete anomalies in Australia. Geochmica et Cosmochinica Acta 71 (15): A831-A831 Suppl. S.
    McPhail DC, Usher A, Reith F (2006) On the mobility of gold in the regolith: Results and implications from experimental studies, in Regolith 2006 – Proceedings CRC LEME Regolith Symposium (Eds: R. W. Fitzpatrick and P. Shand), p. 386-
  • Reith F, Rogers SL (2006) Bioaccumulation and secondary gold nugget formation Geochmica et Cosmochinica Acta 70 (18): A526-A526 Suppl. S.
  • Reith F, Rogers SL Schmidt Mumm A. (2006). Exploration geomicrobiology – The new frontier. In: R.W. Fitzpatrick and P. Shand Eds., Regolith 2006 Proceedings CRC LEME Regolith Symposium, CRC LEME, 291-295.
  • Reith F., Rogers S. (2005) The influence of micro-organisms on the dispersion and concentration of gold in Australian soils. In: Book of Abstracts and CD, 8th International Conference on the Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements, (8th ICOBTE) Adelaide, 3-7 April 2005. CLW. p. 564-565.
  • Reith F (2005) Contribution of plants and microbiota to the biologically mediated turnover of gold at the Tomakin Park Gold Mine in New South Wales, Australia. In: Roach I.C. ed. 2005. Regolith 2005 – Ten Years of CRC LEME. CRC LEME, pp. 260-264.
  • Reith F, Rogers SL (2004) Gold flakes and the art of molecular bioscience. In: Roach, I.C. Ed., Regolith 2004, CRC LEME, 291-295.
  • Reith F (2004) Microbially mediated mobilisation and precipitation of gold in Australian soil and regolith. Geochmica et Cosmochinica Acta 68 (11): A198-A198 Suppl. S.
    Reith F, McPhail DC (2004) Evidence for a geomicrobiologically mediated gold cycle in soil and regolith in Eastern Australia. In: 17th Australian Geological Convention Conference Proceedings, p. 115.
  • Schmidt Mumm A., Reith F., (2004) The biogeochemistry of calcrete forming processes. In: Roach, I.C. (ed.) Regolith 2004, CRC LEME, p. 315-319.
  • Reith F. (2003) Evidence for a microbially mediated gold cycle in Australian soil and regolith – a literature review. In: Roach, I.C. Ed., Advances in Regolith, CRC LEME, 336-341.
  • Reith F (2002) Interactions of microorganisms with gold in regolith materials from a gold mine near Mogo in southeastern New South Wales. In: Roach, I.C. (ed.): Regolith and Landforms in Eastern Australia, CRC LEME, p. 107-110.
  • Reith F, Kuesel K, Drake HL (1999) Comparative assessment of anaerobic activities of leaf and conifer Litter, Biospectrum (special edition), p. 108.

Manuscripts in revision, under review and in preparation:

  • Reith F, Zammit CM, Pohrib R, Gregg AL, Schmidt-Mumm A, Wakelin SA (2014, submitted) Geogenic factors as drivers of microbial community diversity in soils overlying polymetallic deposits Environmental Microbiology.
  • Reith F, Zammit CM, Shar SS, Etschmann B, Bottrill R, Southam G, Oberthuer T, Ball AS, Brugger J (2015, submitted). (Trans)formation of platinum and osmiridium nuggets: The role of biofilms and biomineralisation. Nature Geoscience.
  • Wiesemann N., Hause G., Berthold L., Etschmann B., Brugger J., Martinez-Criado G., Herzberg M., Dobritzsch D, Baginsky S,Reith F, Nies DH (2014, submitted) Synergetic gold and copper detoxification at the core of gold biomineralization Nature Communications
  • Ta C, Brugger J, Pring A, Lenehan CE, Reith F (2014, submitted) Effect of manganese oxides on the mobilization and speciation of gold. Chemical Geology.
  • Zammit C.M., Weiland F., Joël Brugger, Gordon Southam, Peter Hoffmann, Reith F (2015, in preparation) Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34: proteomic response to gold and copper. Molecular and Cellular Proteomics.
  • Sawley P., Reith F (2015, in preparation) Supergene gold (trans)formation – Biofilms, nanoparticulate an secondary gold from northern Finland. Chemical Geology.
  • Etschmann, B., Grosse C., Martinez-Criado G., Brugger J., Reith F (2015, in preparation) Effect of Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34 on the transformation of mobile platinum and gold complexes. Chemical Geology.
  • Reith F, Etschmann B, Southam G, Nolze G, Brugger J (2015, in preparation). Supergene platinum biomineralisation – The formation history of the enigmatic nuggets from Corrego Bom Sucesso, Serro, Brazil. Geology.
  • Reith F, Dart R, Etschmann B., Brugger J., Pring A., Schmidt Mumm A., Cornelis G. (2015, in preparation) Mobility of gold and platinum nano-particles in Australian soils. Chemical Geology.
  • Shuster J, Reith F, Southam G (2015, in preparation) Mobility of gold in soils and sediments of the Kilkivan area, subctropical Queensland, Australia. Chemical Geology.

Other Publications

  • Reith F (2007) Geomicrobiological investigations at the Jaguar and Teutonic Bore sites in Western Australia. Report for AMIRA P778 – Predictive geochemistry in areas of transported cover, 69 p.
  • Reith F (2004) The geomicrobiology of gold in the weathering environment. Australasian Science 25/6, p. 23-25.
  • Reith F (2003) Relevance of microorganisms for the formation of and the exploration for gold deposits in the Australian regolith. The AUSIMM Bulletin 6, p. 60-62.

 Theses

  • Reith F (2006) The Geomicrobiology of gold – Interaction of bacteria with gold in Australian soils and deeper regolith materials. Ph.D. thesis, Australian National University.
  • Reith F (1999) Anaerobic activities and anaerobic microbial populations in leaf and conifer litter from two adjacent sites in central eastern Germany (in German). M.Sc. thesis, The University of Bayreuth, Germany.