Abstract: A process for the treatment of a spent hydrochloric acid solution containing dissolved iron, zinc, and minor amounts of heavy metals to remove such dissolved metals from the solution, which process comprises contacting said solution with metallic iron in a first stage, whereby trivalent iron present in the solution is reduced to divalent iron and certain of said heavy metals may be reduced to elemental form, next, in a second stage, contacting said solution with metallic zinc, whereby any remaining heavy metals are reduced to elemental form, and then extracting zinc, as zinc chloride, from the resulting aqueous phase with an organic liquid containing a complexing agent for zinc chloride.