The adsorption of the three metal ions, copper, cadmium and zinc in single component and multi-component mixtures in aqueous solutions by lignite is reported. A comparison is made between the single component saturation uptake and the multi-component uptakes. The isotherms indicate a competitive uptake with copper being preferentially adsorbed by the lignite in multi-component solutions. The isotherms are plotted to obtain the Langmuir constants, the Freundlich constants and the Redlich-Peterson constants. Lignite is shown to possess an affinity for the metal ions which make its use as an adsorbent a possible alternative to the use of more expensive activated carbons.