Electrolytic production of copper from ores and concentrates

A process for extracting copper from a copper and iron bearing ore or concentrate and concomitantly plating out the extracted copper at the cathode of an electrochemical diaphragm cell which comprises forming a slurry of the ore or concentrate with an electrolyte in the anode compartment of the electrochemical diaphragm cell, intimately mixing finely dispersed oxygen bearing gas with the slurry and maintaining the slurry and the mixture at substantially atmospheric pressure throughout the process and at a temperature of from 50.degree. C to the boiling point of the electrolyte, said electrolyte containing chloride ions in a concentration between that sufficient to maintain in solution any cuprous ions present and saturation, and passing current between the anode and cathode at a rate such that the hydrogen ions liberated at the anode maintain a pH of between 1.5 and less than 7.0 in the electrolyte throughout the process, whereby the iron solubilized in the process is substantially simultaneously precipitated as ferric oxide and sulphide sulphur oxidised under the conditions is substantially converted to elemental form and the copper is plated at the cathode.