Metal sulphide extraction

A process for recovering metal values from a zinc-containing complex sulphide material, which sulphide material further contains copper in sulphide form, comprising leaching the material in a first leaching stage under non-oxidative conditions with a controlled amount of an aqueous chloride lixiviant solution containing cupric chloride in an amount which is selected so as to solubilize at least a part of the zinc in the material and to precipitate a quantity of cupric sulphide substantially equivalent on a molar basis to the zinc leached from the material, the lixiviant solution further containing sufficient of a source of chloride ions other than cupric chloride to ensure solubilization of metal chlorides present, recovering from the first leaching stage a zinc chloride-containing leach liquor, which further contains an amount of copper ions equivalent to the copper content of the zinc-containing complex sulphide material, recovering metal values from said leach liquor in a metal recovery section, treating solids containing copper in sulphide form from the first leaching stage under oxidizing conditions in a second leaching stage with a liquor containing (i) hydrochloric acid in an amount corresponding approximately to the stoichiometric quantity required for leaching the non-ferrous metal content of the copper sulphide-containing solids and (ii) metal chlorides thereby to solubilize substantially all the non-ferrous metal values in the solids, to precipitate iron values in the form of ferric hydroxide and jarosite and to regenerate cupric chloride-containing lixiviant solution for use in the first leaching stage, and recovering from the second leaching stage (a) a solids residue consisting essentially of (i) iron values in the form of ferric hydroxide and jarosite and (ii) sulphur, which solids residue is substantially free from non-ferrous metal values, and (b) a cupric chloride-containing lixiviant solution for recycle to the first leaching stage.