Australian firm Michelago has enlisted the tiniest of partners -- sulphur loving bacteria -- as it invests in China, the world's fourth largest gold producer. The bacteria can process refractory ore, common to China, in which gold locked in with sulphur and arsenic cannot be efficiently recovered through conventional cyanide leaching. "The bacteria literally eat the arsenic," Peter Secker, Michelago's director of operations, said. "They live for 100 hours, that's their lifecycle. They've done their job, they've been very happy, they've had lots of sex, they've had lots of sulphur and arsenic, and then off they go."