Abstract: A process is described for recovering non-ferrous metal values from a metal-containing sulphide material containing at least one non-ferrous metal selected from zinc, copper, lead, cobalt, nickel, silver and gold, as well as iron, comprising leaching the complex sulphide material under oxidizing conditions in a leach stage with an acidic aqueous chloride lixiviant solution containing magnesium chloride, thereby to solubilize non-ferrous metal values in the material and to leave a residue comprising iron in oxide or hydrated oxide form and also sulphur, passing resulting non-ferrous metal-containing leach liquor to a metal recovery section including a solvent extraction stage in which non-ferrous metal values are recovered by liquid-liquid extraction using a hydrophobic organic extractant phase containing a cationic transport agent for non-ferrous metal transport, recovering from the solvent extraction stage an aqueous magnesium chloride-containing raffinate, subjecting a portion of the aqueous magnesium chlor