A hydrometallurgical process for recovering copper from copper bearing ores or fractions, by a process of first wetting and sulfatizing the ore with controlled amounts of H.sub.2 SO.sub.4 and water, followed by acid curing and repulping to sulfatize a substantial portion of the copper in the ore. Also, the fine and coarse fractions can be classified, followed by pile leaching the coarse fraction, preferably reusing the cycled H.sub.2 SO.sub.4 solution obtained during the copper recovery process....

A hydrometallurgical process for recovering copper from copper bearing ores or fractions, by a process of first wetting and sulfatizing the ore with controlled amounts of H.sub.2 SO.sub.4 and water, followed by acid curing and repulping to sulfatize a substantial portion of the copper in the ore. Also, the fine and coarse fractions can be classified, followed by pile leaching the coarse fraction, preferably reusing the cycled H.sub.2 SO.sub.4 solution obtained during the copper recovery process....

A method of removing aqueous phase residues and other contaminants from the organic phase used in hydrometallurgical extraction processes comprises passing the organic phase through a column or other vessel in which a porous bed of elements of suitable size and shape to permit flow therethrough is provided. The material making up the bed elements may be polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon, teflon, stainless steel, plastics in general and their derivatives, or combinations thereof. The aqueous pha...