The Mumbwa licence area lies within the extreme southern portion of the Neoproterozoic Lufilian Arc. The Lufilian Arc is a large arcuate fold and thrust belt covering northwestern Zambia, the southern Democratic Republic of Congo and eastern Angola.

The geology of the Mumbwa area is described by Cikin and Drysdall (1971). The region is dominated by metasedimentary rocks of the upper units of the Neoproterozoic Katanga Sequence. These rocks are intruded by the large syn- to post-tectonic 566-533 Ma Hook Granitoid Suite and by younger post-tectonic syenites, diorites, porphyry granites, granites, diorites and gabbros. The east-northeast trending MSZ runs along the southern margin of the Hook Granitoid Suite.

The Mumbwa district represents an IOCG province that is related to voluminous an orogenic (Atype), alkali and granitoid magmatism and tectonic activity that took place from 570-500 Ma along a Pan-African transform plate boundary that separated the Congo and Kalahari Cratons (Pelly, 2001). IOCG systems associated with the Hook Granitoid Suite and related intrusions in the Mumbwa district display many of the typical characteristics of IOCG systems.

IOCG deposits comprise a broad and ill-defined clan of mineralisation styles, which are grouped together chiefly because they contain hydrothermal magnetite and/or specular hematite as major accompaniments to chalcopyrite ± bornite. Apart from copper and byproduct gold appreciable amounts of Co, U ........

Sub-level caving was selected as the appropriate mining method at the completion of the Pre Feasibility study. This was due to the deposit being too deep (overlain by waste) for open pit mining and having insufficient rock mass strength to be efficiently mined by stoping methods.

Production tonnages are modelled to an economic shut off grade of 0.9% copper, not exceeding the maximum draw percentages listed below:
- first level – 40% of tonnes;
- second level – 60% of tonnes;
- third level – 90% of tonnes;
- fourth level – up to 120% of tonnes;
- fifth and consecutive levels – up to 150% of tonnes.

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