Kansanshi mineralisation occurs as hydrothermal, structurally controlled, vein and strata hosted copper deposits.

The Kansanshi deposit, currently mined from the Main Pit and the North West Pit, is hosted by deformed metasediments of the Lower Kundulungu Group, within the Katanga Supergroup of the Zambian Central African Copperbelt. The individual rock units of the stratigraphic sequence comprise dolomites, dolomitic marbles, and various schists and phyllites. The recently defined South East Dome and Rocky Hill deposits, in the south east of the tenement area, are similarly hosted but separated from the Main Pit by a structural discontinuity.

Copper mineralisation at Kansanshi occurs within two domal structures along the crest of a regional antiform. These domes are closely associated with the deposit mineralisation been mined in the Main and North West Pits. Three styles of primary sulphide mineralisation are associated with these domes:
* stratified and disseminated mineralisation
* vertically dipping, quartz-carbonate-sulphide veins crosscutting the stratigraphy
* breccia mineralisation

Oxidation of primary mineralisation is associated with depth of weathering, and is reflected as:
* nearer surface weathering around vertical veins, with oxide mineralisation evident as malachite and tenorite
* mixed mineralisation, with a wide variety of copper ore mineralogy, occurs in a wide transitional zone between the base of complete oxidation and the top of fresh rock

Mineralisation at South East Dome and Rocky Hill occur as higher grades associated with near vertical brecciation and veins as well as lower grades associated with stratigraphic controlled mineralisation.

Primary copper sulphide mineralisation is dominated by chalcopyrite, with very minor bornite and is accompanied by relatively minor pyrite and pyrrhotite. Oxide mineralisation is dominated by chrysocolla with malachite, limonite and cupriferous goethite. The mixed zone includes both oxide and primary mineralisation but also carries significant chalcocite, minor native copper and tenorite. Some copper appears to be hosted in clay and mica minerals, and is essentially refractory. Gold mineralisation appears to occur in association with copper.

Open pit mining at Kansanshi is based on conventional drill and blast, shovel and truck mining techniques. Mining has proceeded from initial excavations in two pits (Main and North West) through a sequence of cutbacks, which in the longer term will result in these pits merging. A newly defined, nearby resource at South East Dome will contribute to the longer term production profile, but is unlikely to merge with the other two pits.

The Kansanshi process plant has been designed to operate with a high degree of flexibility to suit the various ore types delivered from the mined orebodies. The three main process routes are for treating sulphide, mixed and oxide ores independently. The flexibility of the circuitry, however, allows any ore type to be treated through any of the three circuits. This allows balancing of the tonnages as each circuit has a different inherent capacity.

Mixed float and mixed leach ores are treated via crushing, milling, flotation, sulphuric acid leaching and the SXEW process to produce cathode copper. The ore is treated with a sulphidising agent, NaHS (sodium hydrosulphide) to assist with flotation to recover a proportion of acid-insoluble copper minerals and gold. The concentrate so produced is filtered (pressure filters) and sold along with concentrate from the separate sulphide and mixed ore processing plants.

Sulphide ore is treated via crushing, milling and flotation to produce copper in concentrate. High pressure leach (HPL) autoclaves are used to treat a portion of the concentrate product and produce a supplementary oxidised feed suitable for SXEW cathode copper recovery.

In 2009, the HPL plant was treating FQM’s Frontier concentrate on a toll treatment basis. This avoided the loss of payable gold in the concentrate treated. After the closure of the Frontier operations, HPL treatment of Kansanshi concentrate was resumed. At that time, metallurgical testwork indicated that gravity gold recovery was possible on HPL residues and an acid resistant gravity concentrator was installed.

Gold recovery by gravity in the main milling plants was expanded by the addition of four new gravity concentrators in April 2010, thus providing two concentrators per milling train, and increasing gold recovery from all ore types. Shaking tables were also installed to treat gravity gold concentrates with the final concentrate being smelted to produce dore.

The SXEW (leach) circuit was subject to an upgrade in 2014 to effectively double the leach capacity. This expansion will match the output of low cost acid from the Kansanshi smelter and allow ore previously classified as mixed to be leached, thereby reducing the plant feed types to essentially two, ie float/leach and sulphide.