Purification of wet process phosphoric acid as a pretreatment step in the recovery of uranium

A metal containing acidic solution, also containing humic acid impurities and contaminants, is purified by contacting the acidic solution with a scrubbing agent consisting essentially of a metal extractant and from about 50 vol % to about 90 vol % of a hydrocarbon, where the scrubbing agent interacts with impurities and contaminants in the acidic solution to form a sludge phase which is removed and a purified acid phase which can be fed into a metal recovery process