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The precipitation of nearly pure nanocrystalline zine sulphides, mainly sphalerite and wurtzite, within a biofilm dominated by sulphate-reducing bacteria of the family Desulphobacteriaceae has been observed in the flooded tunnels of the abandoned Piquette No.1 mine in Wisconsin. ZnS accumulations are limited to biofilms growing on old mine timbers and comprise about 20% of the volume of the biofilm, having formed in less than 30 years from solutions containing only a few mg/l Zn2+. A model for their formation also predicts a series of discrete metal-sulphide precipitation events that may be used to interpret the sulphide paragenesis of low-temperature Cu-Pb-Zn deposits of the Mississippi Valley, stratiform, stratabound and sedex types. The characteristics of ZnS produced by sulphate-reducing bacteria can be used as a basis for identifying features consistent with a biogenic origin., The precipitation of nearly pure nanocrystalline zine sulphides, mainly sphalerite and wurtzite, within a biofilm dominated by sulphate-reducing bacteria of the family Desulphobacteriaceae has been observed in the flooded tunnels of the abandoned Piquette No.1 mine in Wisconsin. ZnS accumulations are limited to biofilms growing on old mine timbers and comprise about 20% of the volume of the biofilm, having formed in less than 30 years from solutions containing only a few mg/l Zn2+. A model for their formation also predicts a series of discrete metal-sulphide precipitation events that may be used to interpret the sulphide paragenesis of low-temperature Cu-Pb-Zn deposits of the Mississippi Valley, stratiform, stratabound and sedex types. The characteristics of ZnS produced by sulphate-reducing bacteria can be used as a basis for identifying features consistent with a biogenic origin.