Mopani Copper Mines mineralisation occur within the ore shale. Copper mineralisation in the deposits changes from mostly chalcopyrite in the South Orebody, to chalcopyrite-bornite in the Central area and to bornite-chalcopyrite at Mindola. Cobalt occurs as carrollite and cobaltiferous pyrite in approximately equal proportions. The mine produces copper and cobalt from three sources: Mindola Shaft, Central Shaft and South Orebody Shaft. Vertical crater retreat is the predominant mining method while sublevel open-stopping and sublevel caving methods are also used. In April 2011 Mopani announced its intentions to sink a new $295 million shaft at Mufulira, this should extend the life of the mine
Volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposit sulfidic sediments, similar to SEDEX ores, and is generally manganese, barium and hematite enriched, with cherts, jaspers and chemical sediments common. Most VMS deposits show metal zonation, caused by the changing physical and chemical environments of the circulating hydrothermal fluid. Ideally, this forms a core of massive pyrite and chalcopyrite around the throat of the vent system, with a halo of chalcopyrite-sphalerite-pyrite grading into a distal sphalerite-galena and galena-manganese and finally a chert-manganese-hematite facies. Most VMS deposits show a vertical zonation of gold, with the cooler upper portions generally more enriched in gold and silver. The mineralogy of VMS massive