Recovery of metals from ores

An aqueous oxidizing solution comprising:

• a pH of less than 0.7;
• at least one strong acid;
• at least 0.05% by weight persulphate anions;
• and
• 0.8-2.8M of anions selected from a group consisting of chloride, bromide, iodide and nitrate.

A process for using an aqueous oxidizing solution comprising at least steps of:

• formulating the aqueous oxidizing solution by addition of ingredients to water, wherein the aqueous oxidizing solution has a pH of less than 0.7 primarily as a result of the presence of at least one strong acid, at least 0.05% by weight persulphate anions, wherein the aqueous oxidizing solution contains 0.8-2.8M of anions selected from a group consisting of chloride, bromide, iodide and nitrate;
• a metal solubilization step of oxidizing and thereby rendering soluble a desired at least one metal from a ground amount of ore in suspension;
• collecting a pregnant liquor from the suspension;
• and
• selectively removing at least a portion of the at least one metal from the liquor while at a pH of less than 3, such that any remaining liquid is a recyclable liquor.