There has been a strong interest in technologies suited for mining and processing of low-grade ores because of the rapid depletion of mineral resources in the world. In most cases

the extraction of copper from such raw materials is achieved by applying the leaching procedures. However

its low extraction efficiency and the long extraction period limit its large-scale commercial applications in copper recovery

even though bioleaching has been widely employed commercially for heap and dump bioleaching of secondary copper sulfide ores. Overcoming the technical challenges requires a better understanding of leaching kinetics and on-site microbial activities. Herein

this paper reviews the current status of main commercial biomining operations around the world

identifies factors that affect chalcocite dissolution both in chemical leaching and bioleaching

summarizes the related kinetic research

and concludes with a discussion of two on-site chalcocite heap leaching practices. Further

the challenges and innovations for the future development of chalcocite hydrometallurgy are presented in the end.