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The copper flue dust is an important secondary source for various metals and also a potential threat to the environment. In this study, a process was developed to convert a local copper flue dust containing 20.60% copper, 21% iron and 2.88% zinc into value-added products via a hydrometallurgical route. The response surface methodology was applied for the optimization of base metals leaching by sulfuric acid. Maximum recoveries of 96% for zinc and 76.7% for copper were achieved under the optimum conditions, whereas only 23.92% of the iron content was dissolved. Moreover, various parameters effective on Zn/Fe separation factor were assessed, and favorable separation obtained at pH 3, 2:1 A/O ratio, 20% V/V of D2EHPA in kerosene during 15 minutes. Stripping experiments also showed that 96.35% of zinc was successfully stripped at 1 M sulfuric acid and 2:1 A/O. The mathematical prediction models for …