Background In 1965 the South Australian Government Department of Mines authorised Amdel to carry out a review of lead and copper smelting operations. This decision was undoubtedly prompted by the proving of considerable reserves of lead ore at Ediacara, and the exploration work for copper proceeding in South Australia. Objective It was desired to have readily available technical and cost data for the smelting and refining of ores and concentrates of these metals. This information would assist the Department of Mines in assessing newly discovered lead and copper occurrences. Summary of Work Done This report is the concluding report of a series of three, the two previous being: AMDEL report 398 “Review of Lead and Copper Smelting Operations – Sale of Concentrates” AMDEL report 451 “Review of Lead Smelting Operations”. In this present report dealing with copper extraction the published literature has been searched and a bibliography of over 400 references is given in Appendix B. The extraction of copper from both sulphide and oxidised ores has been reviewed and the fixed capital investment and the direct treatment cost estimated for most of the processes. Conclusions It will be appreciated that there is no presently known copper ore body in South Australia which can be used as an example. The information should prove useful when considering the treatment in South Australia of ore from another State, and in evaluating new discoveries in South Australia.