Hidden Microbiome of Mining Environments: Implications for Occupational Health, Bioaerosol Exposure, and Antimicrobial Resistance

Mining environments are extreme subsurface ecosystems characterized by elevated concentrations of metals and minerals, limited light, and high particulate loads. Occupational health research in mining has traditionally emphasized physical and chemical hazards, whereas biological exposures remain less well-characterized. This narrative review synthesizes evidence on mining-associated microbial communities, bioaerosols, occupational exposure, respiratory health, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The literature search covered PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science from database inception through August 2026. Evidence from coal, uranium, metal mining, acid mine drainage, and mine dust environments indicates that geochemical conditions and mining activities shape microbial communities. Drilling, blasting, excavation, and ore transport can aerosolize microbial cells, spores, and dust-associated microbial components, creating plausible inhalation pathways. Metal-rich environments may also favor persistence and co-selection of metal- and antibiotic-resistance determinants within environmental microbial communities. Metagenomic sequencing and environmental DNA approaches have expanded detection of microbial diversity, functional genes, and environmental resistomes. However, environmental detection does not establish microbial viability, effective worker exposure, transmission, or disease causation. Future research should integrate standardized environmental and personal microbial exposure measurements with respirable dust and chemical monitoring, longitudinal occupational epidemiology, and functional validation of resistance determinants to determine the actual occupational-health significance of mining-associated microbiomes.