Recovery of critical metals from SX-EW copper raffinate and other solutions derived from leaching ores with sulfuric acid

A method for extracting secondary metal values from a sulfuric acid leachate is provided. The method includes providing a leachate which contains a primary metal and a plurality of secondary metals, wherein the primary metal is selected from the group consisting of Cu, Li and Ni and is derived from sulfuric acid leaching of an ore; passing the leachate through a first ion exchange resin which is selective to, and releasably binds, the plurality of secondary metals; stripping the plurality of secondary metals from the second or third ion exchange resins, thereby obtaining a first extract; and recovering the secondary metals from the first extract.