Process for direct electrowinning of copper

A method for recovering copper from a copper-containing material, comprising the steps of:

• providing a feed stream comprising a copper-containing material and acid;
• separating at least a portion of said copper-containing material from said acid in said feed stream to yield an acid stream comprising at least a portion of contaminants and other impurities present in said feed stream and a pressure leaching feed stream comprising a copper-bearing material;
• subjecting at least a portion of said pressure leaching feed stream to pressuring leaching to yield a product slurry comprising a copper-containing solution and a residue;
• conditioning said product slurry without the use of solvent extraction techniques to yield a copper-containing solution suitable for electrowinning;
• electrowinning copper from at least a portion of said copper-containing solution to yield cathode copper and a copper-containing lean electrolyte stream.