Populations driving acidophilic iron- and sulfur-oxidation, despite the taxonomic consideration that they are comprised of populations representing two domains, Archaea and Bacteria, have instead been historically defined in the mining arena by temperature optima in regimes resulting from exothermic sulfide oxidation:  mesophiles ( < 40^oC) including Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, At. thiooxidans,  Leptospirillum ferrooxidans, or various isolates of the archaeon Ferroplasma; moderate thermophiles (40^oC – 60 ^oC)  such as Sulfobacillus thermosulfidooxidans, Sb. acidophilus, At. caldus,  Acidimicrobium ferrooxidans or a recent isolate of  Ferroplasma; and thermophiles (> 60^oC ) including archaea such as Metallosphaera sedula, Acidianus brierleyi, and Sulfolobus metallicus.     Microbial diversity across the temperature spectrum in metal sulfide oxidation processes highlights the potential importance of targeted (non-passive) inoculation, cross-domain interactions, and succession as aspects of a new industry strategy to maximize activity in biooxidation environments.