Froth flotation is commonly used in coal processing to selectively recover the organic material (coal) from inorganic waste material. Tabas coal, located in east Iran, contains fine disseminated pyrite which is floated with coal during flotation, and hence decreasing the quality of the final concentrate. Reagents, such as sodium cyanide, are typically added to depress pyrite. Due to the toxicity of cyanide, alternative strategies for depressing pyrite flotation are being investigated. In this paper the metallurgical performance of Tabas coal treated with sodium cyanide is compared to that of Tabas coal which has undergone bacterial treatment using Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. Results indicate that bacterial treatment decreases the flotation rate of pyrite and improves the selectivity between coal and gangue. The possibility of using bacteria in place of toxic chemicals such as cyanide has significant environmental benefit. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.