Current state of copper production; Ore minerals; Phase equilibrium of copper and iron sulphides; Equilibriumin aqueous solutions; Thermodynamics of heterogeneous systems in aqueous media; Programs and databases for thermodynamic calculations; Kinetics of heterogeneous reactions of leaching processes; Leaching in chlorides; Extraction of metals from solutions; Effect of electronic structure on leaching of sulphide semiconductors; Experimental methods of investigating hydrometallurgical processes; Leaching of copper sulphides; Morphology and behaviour of sulphur in leaching of sulphides; Examination of the fine structure; Mechanism of leaching of copper sulphides in acid medium; Current state and prospects of hydro-metallurgical processes.