In the Kapan mining district, mineralisation dominantly occurs as two styles – as chalcopyritepyrite veins and stockworks and poly-metallic vein systems hosted by a volcano- sedimentary rock sequence.

The Shahumyan deposit exhibits numerous syn-volcanic dykes and sills of andesitic to gabbroic composition. Such intrusions are pre-mineralisation. Pre-mineralisation dykes often have mineralised contacts and are always subject to propylitic alteration or higher grade (typically within contacts of veins or major structures).

At Shahumyan mineralisation is hosted by a suite of sub-parallel veins, the current interpretation of the deposit includes in excess of a hundred veins. In many cases the continuity of these veins is yet to be established and future drilling will be important to validate the current model. Regardless, development along and across the vein system has confirmed the prevalence of approximate east-west strikes and steep dips of the veins.

Hydrothermal-altered breccia units are also notable within the deposit makeup. Such breccias are generally found on the eastern flank of the deposit and contain polymictic clasts (andesite, basalt, dacite) within a sulphide rich matrix. Mineralised clasts can be found which are thought to have occurred due to precipitation of sulphides within vesicular lithologies.

Mineralisation within the Shahumyan deposit is characterized by narrow veins (0.2 – 2.0 m), steeply dipping and strik ........

Kapan mine has been in production since 1994 and currently uses the long-hole open-stoping (LHOS) mining method with remote-loading and rib pillars. Access to mining areas is top-down via spiral declines from which access drives are developed at 15 m vertical intervals. At vein intersections, ore drives are developed along the entire strike of a vein. Long-hole drilling techniques are used to drill up holes between levels and stopes are mucked remotely and loaded into trucks for haulage to surface. The mine is fully mechanized, and access is predominantly through a portal at the South of the deposit from which multiple declines in the North, Central, and South mining areas give access to mining fronts.

Stope design
Individual stopes have a maximum length of 30 m and maximum height of 12 m, with a maximum of three stopes forming a panel between a crown pillar with surface and sill pillars between levels.

Development design
Development at Kapan Mine is achieved through conventional mechanized drill-and-blast, loadand-haul.

The development design is based on developing declines from which cross-cutting access drives are developed at 15 m vertical intervals to intersect the veins. Ore drives are then developed along the strike of the veins to form upper and lower sublevels for the stope designs.

The drive profiles of the key development components are:
• Declines: 4.5 m wide by 4.5 m high.
• Access drives: 4.3 m w ........

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