The use of the guanidine extractant, LIX 7956, to extract copper cyanide from waste cyanide solution has been investigated. Copper extraction is favorable at low pH while a high cyanide to copper molar ratio tends to suppress copper loading. The extractant also strongly extracted zinc and nickel from cyanide solution, but the extraction of iron was poor. The presence of thiocyanate ion significantly depressed copper extraction, but thiosulfate ion produced negligible impact on copper extraction. The preferential extraction of metal cyanide species to free cyanide has been noticed. The potential application of the recovery technique as a pre-concentration step for the treatment of cyanide effluent has been suggested, by which copper can be extracted and concentrated into a small volume of solution and the barren cyanide solution recycled to the cyanidation process. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.