Extracellular polymeric substances overproduction strategy in Ferroplasma acidiphilum growth for biooxidation of low-grade gold bearing ore: Role of monosaccharides

•Refractory gold ore (0.5 g/ton) in pyrite (1.5 wt%) was used for recovery.•A consortium of microorganisms was used for biooxidation of refractory gold ore.•Community profiling indicated the growth of Ferroplasma acidiphilum.•d-sucrose 0.4 wt% and yeast extract 0.4 wt% leads to maximum EPS overproduction.•Adaptation of microorganisms to high ore content (20 wt%) in solution observed.