Elements can already be transmuted by using particle accelerators. The question is, is it more economical to use high energy atomic collisions to do this or just dig gold out of the ground? Digging wins by an astronomical margin.

Reading the first paragraph of the patent, they claim that adding a kind of Thiobacillus bacteria to radioactive waste can serve to transmute elements as well. I don't know if it's true or not, it's just a patent.

Even if true, it'd have to be more efficient than digging gold and other expensive elements from the ground to have any impact.