Tenke Fungurume is classified as a strata-bound copper cobalt deposit. The Tenke Fungurume coppercobalt deposits are typical of those that comprise the Central African Copperbelt. The Copperbelt is located in a major geological structure called the Lufilian Arc, a 500 km fold belt that stretches from Kolwezi in the southern DRC to Luanshya in Zambia. The deposits of the Tenke Fungurume district are located at the northernmost apex of the arc. The arc formed between the Angolan Plate to the southeast and Congo Plate to the northwest during the late Neoproterozic, approximately 650 to 600 million years before present (Ma). Rocks in the arc are exposed in a series of tightly folded and thrusted anticlines and synclines, generally trending east west to southeast-northwest in the southern DRC. The Tenke Fungurume group of sedimenthosted copper cobalt deposits occurs near the base of a thick succession of sedimentary rocks belonging to the Katanga System of Proterozoic age (1050-650 Ma). [2016 AR, p. 39]

The Tenke-Fungurume deposits lie in the largest tectonic window of Roan Group rocks in the Central African Copperbelt. This central Roan window is surrounded by Nguba and Kundelungu lithotectonic assemblages. The Mines Series forms a series of scattered tectonic blocks referred to as ‘écailles’. These are fault bounded on all sides and tend to form tight, upright or recumbent anticlines or monocliines. The écailles can range from several 10’s to over 500 m in length and extend downdip from 20 to 200 m.

The Luflian Arc is an intensely folded zone composed of three distinct but related structural units. The outer unit, within which the Tenke Fungurume group of deposits is located, is the most northerly, consisting of tightly folded and thrust blocks of Roan age rocks which have been tectonically transported from south to north, and now rest upon a younger Kundelungu foreland.

The Tenke Fungurume concession encloses thrust slices of various dimensions and orientations. The northern portion is relatively undisturbed with a gentle northerly dip, while the southern portion is occupied by the Dipeta syncline. At its eastern extremity the syncline is closed by a series of thrust blocks which form the Fungurume section of the deposits. At the western end, the northern limb of the syncline is terminated by a major dislocation which offsets the Tenke deposits to the northeast.

Within the east west trending Dipeta syncline both the northern and southern limbs can be traced in more or less continuous ridges of Lower Roan rocks, with more resistant RSC forming the crestal spines. These ridges run approximately parallel for a distance of 14 km, apparently undisturbed. Drilling and geophysical surveys indicate that the syncline is a gently box-folded recumbent isoclinal fold with steep to overturned inside flanks and a relatively flat bottom.

As is the case with the Kolwezi Nappe, it is possible that the mineralized mega-fragments represent transported blocks of large dimension riding as nappes, or related structures, on series of decollement planes. The overall transport direction has been interpreted as being from south to north.

Both to the north and south, the Dipeta syncline is flanked by numerous écailles of Lower Roan rocks. They attain a maximum development south of the syncline where they form, in general, randomly oriented blocks. By contrast the thrust blocks to the north of the northern flank of the syncline are smaller and fewer in number, generally aligned sub-parallel to the strike of the Dipeta syncline, and are seen to rest upon the lower member of the Dipeta formation (RGS) of Upper Roan age.

The copper-cobalt mineralization at Tenke-Fungurume is mainly associated with two dolomitic shale horizons (RSF and SDB respectively), each ranging in thickness from 5 to 15 m, separated by some 20 m of cellular silicified dolomite (RSC). Primary copper and cobalt mineralogy is predominately chalcocite (Cu2S), digenite (Cu9S5) bornite (Cu5FeS4), and carrollite (CuCo2S4). Oxidation has resulted in widespread alteration producing malachite (Cu2CO3(OH)2), pseudomalachite (Cu5(PO4)2(OH)4), chrysocolla (hydrated copper silicate) and heterogenite (Co3+O(OH)).

Dolomite and quartz are the main gangue minerals present. Dolomite or dolomitic rocks make up the bulk of the host strata. Weathering of the host rocks is normally depth related, intensity decreasing with increasing depth, producing hydrated iron oxides and silica at the expense of dolomite, which is leached and removed. As a result, gangue acid consumption (GAC) is lower in the oxide zone.

Tenke Fungurume mines copper-cobalt oxide ores by open-pit mining techniques. Drill and blast is employed in the both the ore and waste rock. Conventional loaders and trucks transport the ore to the crusher or stockpiles and the waste to dumps. Larger mining equipment is currently being introduced to enable increased mining rates.

Mining at Tenke Fungurume has historically been carried out on benches of 5 m or 10 m height advancing top down in the various development phases. Recently, the bench height has been increased to 7.5 m and 15 m height. Bench operating surface widths are generally quite generous with the narrowest areas having a width of 30 m. Ore is generally broken using a continuous surface miner and excavated using a wheel loader. Waste and some low grade ore is drilled and blasted and excavated using either hydraulic excavators, front shovels or wheel loaders. Ore and waste is hauled in 85 t and 45 t capacity off-road end dump trucks. Long haul trucks will be introduced to haul ore from some of the more distant deposits. The smaller trucks are generally being phased out in favour of larger units. [2014 TR, p. 123]

Ore zones are mined first using the surface miner. High-grade ore is delivered to stockpiles near the mill feed chute. A two month stockpile of this high grade ore is maintained and loaders provide an optimized blend to the mill. The two month stockpile also allows the mine to develop in an orderly fashion without “chasing” ore in the phase to meet short-term demands. [2014 TR, p. 123]

Copper is extracted using standard SAG milling, sulphuric acid leach, SX-EW to produce copper cathode. Iron, manganese and aluminium are removed from a low grade residue stream from the tankhouse and a cobalt rich solution is recovered which is purified before the cobalt hydroxide product is precipitated out.

Nominal daily mill feed of oxide ore has increased from the original design of 8,000 tpd to 11,000 tpd to 14,500 tpd following several phases of plant debottlenecking and the completion of a phase 2 expansion.

The phase 2 expansion of Tenke Fungurume was completed in 2014 increasing annual copper production by 50% to a nameplate of 195,000 tonnes copper cathode and 15,000 tonnes cobalt hydroxide. The expansion included additional mining equipment, mill upgrades, acid plant expansion and a doubling of the existing tank house capacity. A second sulphuric acid plant was commissioned in early 2016.

Run-of-mine (ROM) ore is delivered by haul truck to ........