Mobilization of lead and zinc from Pb-Zn ores using novel microbial consortia. The goal of this study was to establish suitable microbial consortia for the mobilization of Pb and Zn from the Pb-Zn mine tailings using bioleaching and bioaccumulation methods. The mine tailings were sampled from Kocaeli City, Turkey. All leaching steps were performed at room temperature (27°C) with pH 7.0 and the experiments were conducted under sterile conditions in an anaerobic chamber. The mobilization of Pb was about 84%, from 30% initial Pb to 20.3% Pb on the seventh day for the consortium 'Anaerobic + Fungal' and 75% from 30% to 14% on the second day for 'Anaerobic + Bacterial'. The consortium 'Anaerobic + Fungal' had the highest leaching rate for the accumulated Pb at 40% (on the seventh day) for the consortium and 30% for the control. Although Anaxibius sp. isolated from the 'Anaerobic + Bacterial' consortium exhibited an appropriate mobilization rate, most of the Pb was accumulated in the consortium without much mobilization. For the Zn leaching, 50% from 30% initial Zn to 17% was obtained in the 'Anaerobic + Fungal' consortium and 40% from 30% to 11.5% in the 'Anaerobic + Bacterial' consortium. A total of 18% was accumulated in the consortium 'Anaerobic + Bacterial'. For the 'Anaerobic + Fungal' consortium, 66% from 30% initial Zn to 17% was obtained, and 40% from 30% to 11.5% was observed in the 'Anaerobic + Bacterial' consortium. Thus, both anaerobic bacterial species and fungi were found to be involved in the mobilization process. The mobilization of metals for the consortium 'Anaerobic + Fungal' was observed more effectively than for the 'Anaerobic + Bacterial' consortium, despite the lower immobilization rate in the latter. This can be attributed to the higher immobilization percentage of the Pb and Zn in the consortium 'Anaerobic + Fungal'. It can be said that the consortium 'Anaerobic + Fungal' could have great potential in removing Pb and Zn from the mine tailings for bioremediation purposes.