The interest in the use of salt tolerant microorganisms for bioleaching metals from low grade ores has been increasing due to the scarcity of fresh water resources and decreasing grade and quality of ores. However, most known bioleaching microorganisms are not tolerant to high levels of salt. In this project, three pure cultures of salt tolerant iron/sulfur oxidizing microorganisms of the genus “Acidihalobacter”, and four mixed enrichment cultures from environmental samples, were characterized for their ability to tolerate chloride ion when grown in the presence of ferrous sulfate and a reduced sulfur source. They were also characterized for their ability to leach sulfide ores in the presence of increasing chloride ion concentration. The microorganisms were grown at chloride concentrations ranging from 2.1 g/L to 45.5 g/L and analysed every 24 hours for cell numbers, pH, redox potential and iron oxidation. Genomic DNA was extracted for microbial community analysis from the mixed cultures to assess the impact of increasing chloride levels on community diversity. The salt tolerance experiments for the pure cultures showed that they were able to oxidize iron at chloride concentrations of up to 45.5 g/L. Oxidation of iron occurred from the cultures at all chloride concentrations tested, with maximum growth and oxidation of the pure cultures recorded at 15 g/L chloride ion. The ability of these microorganisms to oxidize iron at high salt concentrations demonstrates the possibility of their use for the recovery of metals from low grade ores with saline water.