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The goal of this work was to compare the use of precipitation by chemical reduction with the use of chelating resin to obtain copper present in nickel laterite leach solution. A synthetic solution was prepared to simulate the liquor obtained in ore leaching. The precipitation process was performed through reducing the redox potential of solution until 240 mV, and the reducing agent used was sodium dithionite. The effect of stirring speed was also studied for precipitation between 0 and 200 rpm. The chelating resin Lewatit TP 207, of functional group iminodiacetate, was used for ion exchange experiments. The solution was put in contact with the resin and taken a constant stirring in 200 rpm. The effect of pH was studied between 0.50 and 2.00. All experiments were performed at 25 °C and 120 min. Results indicated that the use of precipitation technique by chemical reduction was more advantageous than chelating resins. In chemical reduction, it was possible to obtain a selective precipitation of 96% of copper at pH 0.50 and 45 rpm. In experiments using chelating resins, it was possible to absorb 48% of copper at pH 2.00, and also contaminants such as iron and aluminum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]