Jarosite [KFe 3 (SO 4 ) 2 (OH) 6 ] is a mineral that is common in acidic, sulphate-rich environments, such as acid sulphate soils derived from pyrite-bearing sediments, weathering zones of sulphide ore deposits and acid mine or acid rock drainage (ARD/AMD) sites. The structure of jarosite is based on linear tetrahedral-octahedral-tetrahedral (T-O-T) sheets, made up from slightly distorted FeO 6 octahedra and SO 4 tetrahedra. Batch dissolution experiments carried out on synthetic jarosite at pH 2, to mimic environments affected by ARD/AMD, and at pH 8, to simulate ARD/AMD environments recently remediated with slaked lime (Ca(OH) 2 ), suggest first order dissolution kinetics. Both dissolution reactions are incongruent as revealed by non-ideal dissolution of the parent solids and, in the case of the pH 8 dissolution, because of a secondary goethite precipitate on the surface of the dissolving jarosite grains. The pH 2 dissolution yields only aqueous K, Fe and SO 4 . Aqueous, residual solid and computational modelling of the jarosite structure and surfaces using the GULP and MARVIN codes, respectively, show for the first time that there is selective dissolution of the A-and T-sites, which contain K and SO 4 , respectively, relative to Fe, which is located deep within the T-O-T jarosite structure. These results have implications for the chemistry of ARD/AMD waters, and for understanding reaction pathways of ARD/AMD mineral dissolution.