Copper mineralization in the Lubin-Malomice concession covers an area of 70 km2 at depths of 638 m to 1,006 m below surface. When fully developed, a typical ore profile consists of (in descending order):
- Calcareous dolomite.
- Streaky dolomite, generally banded.
- Clayey dolomite.
- Cupriferous Shale, bituminous in the lower part and dolomitic in the upper part; upper interface sharp or transitional; thickness variable, generally 30 cm to 50 cm.
- Boundary Dolomite; grey micritic dolomite, about 5 cm thick.
- White Footwall Sandstone, fine-grained with calcareous cement passing downwards into clay cement; thickness 8 m to 10 m of which the uppermost 2 m to 3 m may be mineralized.

Locally, a second mineralized horizon is encountered in the White Footwall Sandstone, generally separated from the Cupriferous Shale by a 2 m to 3 m thick interval carrying only traces of sulphide mineralization. Because of its small lateral extent and patchy occurrence, this horizon has no economic importance, except where copper mineralization extends upwards through the whole interval to the Cupriferous Shale. The base of copper mineralization in the White Footwall Sandstone is sometimes marked by the so-called “bornite smear”, in which the copper content can attain 3% to 4% over a thickness of as much as 10 cm to 20 cm.

There are two contrasting structural domains within the combined Lubin and Malomice mining area. The southern part of the area, from the pre-Tertiary Zechstein outcrop to the Szklary Górne Fault Zone, about 2 km to the north, is traversed by a series of west-northwest striking faults with throws ranging from 10 m to 100 m. Movements on these faults have led to a local steepening of the strata to 10 to 15 degrees , and sometimes up to 40 degrees , and to local reversals of dip. In contrast, the northern part of the mining area is little disturbed by faults and maintains a more or less constant dip to the northeast, typically 2 to 6 degrees.

Sandstone ore constitutes 64.5% of the current Balance Reserves and provides about 76% of the mine output. The sandstone ore typically contains 0.7% to 5.5% Cu. Shale-carbonate ore is absent over large areas in the central and southeastern parts of the Lubin-Malomice concessions but it occurs on its own, without the underlying sandstone ore, in the southwest part of the Lubin mine. The copper content in shale-carbonate ore ranges from 0.7% to 16%.

The highest copper grades occur in the Cupriferous Shale, with a gradual decrease in grade both above and below this unit. On the whole, horizontal grade variations are insignificant. The ore thickness generally varies from 1 m to 7 m but, in places, exceeds 17 m. The average ore thickness for both Lubin and Malomice is 3 m. In broad terms, there is a northwesttrending zone of relatively thick ore (greater than 4.5 m) running between the central and western shafts. Another thick zone occurs to the northeast of the eastern shafts, straddling the boundary between the Lubin and Malomice mining areas. In this area, ore reaches a thickness of up to 9 m but is unusual because mineralization occurs in a basin-like depression within the White Footwall Sandstone, 3 m to 9 m from the top of the sandstone unit. There is no shale over the dome and the sandstone is overlain by reef, algal and sandy dolomites. Because of its relative position to the surrounding area and problems with access, reserves in this part of the deposit are classified as Non-Industrial.

MINERALIZATION.
The main copper minerals in all types of ore are chalcocite and digenite, which generally occur together in concentrations up to 6% by weight (wt.%). Also abundant are bornite (up to 3.5 wt.%), chalcopyrite (up to 1 wt.%), covellite (also up to 1 wt.%) and, locally, minerals from the tetrahedrite group. Accessory minerals include tenorite, azurite, cuprite, native copper, enargite, galena, sphalerite, smithsonite, loellingite, arsenopyrite, cobaltite, nickeline, native silver and stromeyerite.

Sandstone Ore.
The predominant mineral associations in sandstone ore at the Lubin mine are bornitechalcopyrite and bornite-chalcocite. The most common non-copper mineral is pyrite. Accessory minerals include tetrahedrite.

Shale Ore.
The mineralogy of shale ore is far more complex. The content of copper-bearing minerals often exceeds 4 wt.%. Chalcocite-bornite and bornite-chalcopyrite associations predominate. Copper minerals are accompanied by pyrite, galena, sphalerite and marcasite. Shale ore also contains abundant organic carbon. There is a lateral zonation with bornite-chalcopyrite prevailing near Lubin east, bornite with chalcopyrite and minerals of the chalcocite group predominating in the vicinity of the main shafts at the Lubin mine, and chalcocite assuming the major role further northwestwards.

Shale ore is enriched in silver minerals, particularly in the eastern and central parts of the Lubin mine. Silver concentrations vary from 10 g/t to over 5,500 g/t, and occasionally to 10 kg/t. Silver occurs mainly in isomorphic admixtures in bornite, chalcocite, djurleite, digenite and galena.

Carbonate Ore.
The most important copper mineral in carbonate ore is chalcocite, which is commonly associated with digenite, bornite and covellite but rarely with chalcopyrite. Bornite is less abundant, but locally predominates over chalcocite. Chalcopyrite generally accompanies bornite but occasionally predominates, in which case bornite and other sulphide minerals occur as inclusions or intergrowths. Covellite tends to be associated with digenite and bornite. Accessory minerals include tetrahedrite, which occurs on its own or with bornite, and galena. Pyrite is abundant and predominates in some parts near the hanging wall of the carbonate ore horizon. Silver is contained in stromeyerite.

The deposits are stratabound and associated with Permian sediments.

Mining in KGHM Polska Miedz S.A. is performed by three mining Divisions: Lubin, Rudna and Polkowice-Sieroszowice.

The technology of mining the copper ore in all 3 mines is based on the room-and-pillar system with the use of blasting technology for ore extraction. This involves access and preparatory work, comprised of the excavation of a drift network on all sides of the site to be mined, cutting of the unmined rock mass with rooms and drifts separating a number of operating pillars, as well as extraction of the ore followed by the transport of the ore to underground dumping stations, where the large rocks are crushed and sifted through a grate, and then the crushed muck is transported to the storage areas near the shafts, from which it is transported to the surface by skip hoisting shafts.

The work related to mining of the copper ore is fully mechanised, in a 4-shift labour system, with the use of motorised mining rigs, most of which are equipped with air-conditioned cabins and systems supporting the work of the operators. Mining work is conducted in the following cycle: drilling the blasting holes with the support of motorised drilling rigs, loading blasting material into drilled holes by motorised blasting rigs, group blasting in mining divisions, followed by the ventilation of the areas blasted (from 30 minutes to 2 hours; in seismically- sensitive areas this time may be longer). The next stage involves the loading of the muck using motorised loaders into haulage vehicles and its transport to dumping stations, along with protection of the exposed face by roof anchor bolts using bolting rigs. The crushed muck is transported by conveyor belts or mine rail trolleys to the storage sites near the shafts, and is then transported to the surface. After the muck is unloaded at the shaft top, it is transported by conveyor belts or railway to the ore concentrators located at each of the three mines.

The Lubin Mine.
The Lubin mine extracts both sandstone and shale-carbonate ore, with the bulk of production coming from the sandstone. Ore thickness typically ranges from 1 to 7 m, with an average of about 3.0 m, but there are places in which thicknesses exceed 17 m. Hydraulic backfill is used to facilitate the mining of the thicker ore zones (more than 7 m), as well as when excavating the support pillars.

Lubin is the shallowest of KGHM’s mines, operating at depths of between about 680 and 890 m.

In terms of copper content, Lubin has the lowest grade of all of KGHM’s mines, with run- of mine ore typically averaging about 1.0% Cu. On the other hand, the silver content is higher than at the other mines and typically averages 35 to 60 g/t Ag.

The main mining area, located more or less in the centre of the Lubin concession, is serviced by shafts L-1 and L-2, the eastern area is serviced by shafts L-3 and L-7 and the western area is serviced by shafts L-4 and L-5. Shaft L-6, which is currently used solely for ventilation purposes.

Of the seven shafts, one (L-2) is a production shaft, four (L-1, L-3, L-4, L-5) operate as service and ventilation shafts and two (L-6, L- 7) are dedicated solely to ventilation. The capacity of the L-2 production shaft is 27,000 tonnes per day and it is this hoisting capacity that imposes the limit on underground production from the Lubin mine.

The Lubin mine is developed by four levels, from four shafts, at depths below surface of 610, 670, 740 and 910 m. All production, accesses and conveyorways are developed in the ore horizon. The 610 m level is the main operating level. It is connected to the main, east and west shaft systems, and also extends into the Malomice concession. The 670 m level is understood to be used essentially for the control of air flow, while the 740 m level provides the main haulageway for the transportation of ore to the production shaft from the western, northern and eastern areas of the Lubin mine, and from Malomice. The 910 m level is developed from the northernmost shaft (L-6) and provides access westward to the boundary of the Rudna mine. The areas below the 910 m level are equipped with conveyors for the delivery of ore from the extreme northern portions of the Lubin mine to the main transportation system on the 740 m level.

There are currently eight production areas at the Lubin mine, which include 17 mining districts. The individual areas produce between 500 and 1,500 tonnes of ore per shift.

Operations in the G-4 area are in thick sections of ore below the town of Lubin. The area is mined in two passes, with a top slice below the dolomite roof and a lower pass benched below. The resulting void is filled with hydraulically-transported sand.

RECOVERY METHODS.
Production in KGHM Polska Miedz S.A. is a fully integrated process, in which the end product of one technological phase is the starting material (half-finished product) used in the next phase. Mining in KGHM Polska Miedz S.A. is performed by three mining Divisions: Lubin, Rudna and Polkowice-Sieroszowice. In the subsequent phase the Concentrators Division prepares concentrate for the smelters and refineries, while the Tailings Division is responsible for storing and managing the tailings generated by the copper ore enrichment process. The organisational structure of KGHM includes two metallurgical facilities: the Legnica Copper Smelter and Refinery and the Glogów Copper Smelter and Refinery, as well as the Cedynia copper wire rod plant.

The operations and processes applied at each of the three ore concentrators are the same. However, due to the varied lithological and mineralogical composition of the ore from individual mines, the production layout of ........