Solvent extraction technique with 40 volume percent of bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid as an extractant was applied for recovery of zinc from technological solutions. Crude zinc oxides from Waelz processing of electric arc furnace dusts or ferrous waste of zinc hydrometallurgy were used for preparation of feed solutions by leaching them with diluted sulfuric acid and by preliminary hydrometallurgical purification. The studies were conducted step by step from elementary laboratory experiment to advanced level of pilot plant tests in a continuously operating installation consisting of a counter-current set of mixer-settler type extractors and necessary equipment. The paper describes the course and results of initial laboratory works undertaken to choose proper extractant and establish conditions for further successful zinc extraction in the pilot plant installation.