The purpose of this work was to isolate Cu-tolerant sulfate-reducers that could be used to produce copper sulfides under pure culture conditions. Three sulfate-reducing bacteria were isolated from wastewater effluents of a zinc-smelter in the Urals and their tolerance to copper varied between 325 and 2600 mg Cu l. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences placed the isolates in the genus Desulfovibrio. The isolates showed pronounced saccharolytic growth. Growing cultures precipitated Cu as covellite (CuS) within less than a week. Extended incubation for 1 month lead to the formation of chalcocite (Cu2S) and chalcopyrite (CuFeS2).