© 2012 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc.
Special Publication 16, pp. 269–301
Chapter 12
Digital Appendix
Geology of the Tenke-Fungurume Sediment-Hosted Strata-Bound
Copper-Cobalt District, Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo*
W. SCHUH, R. LEVEILLE, I. FAY, AND R. NORTH
Detailed Stratigraphy (Fig. 4)
Roan Group–R
Bull et al. (2011) applied sequence stratigraphy methods
for the Katanga Supergroup in Zambia. Extrapolating the
same approach to Congo, the Roan here would correspond to
the first two sequences of Bull et al. (2011), which involved
half-graben development during active extension. The Mines
Series could correspond with the next two sequences of low-
relief carbonate platform development. The overlying Dipeta
is, however, different from Zambia and reflects three regres-
sive cycles, two ending in evaporite development, before the
onset of the Mwashia, which can be correlated again with
Zambia (Bull et al., 2011).
RAT–R.1
The R1 Subgroup, known as the RAT, consists of massive or
irregularly stratified detrital formations with hematite present
as authigenic plates and red pigment, indicating primary oxi-
dizing conditions (Cailteux, 1978a, 1994; Buffard, 1988; Cail-
teux et al., 2005a; Figs. 8a, A2a, b).
The RAT (or argillic-talc rocks) in fact contains very little
talc (except in the weathered zone; Cailteux et al., 2005a). An
added confusion stems from the term RAT gris, which is
stratigraphically part of the Mines Series overlying the RAT
lilas. The known thickness of the RAT in Tenke-Fungurume
is at least 200 m; the total thickness is unknown.
The RAT consists of a brecciated lower section, the Lower
RAT, and of a bedded upper section that is the lowermost unit
of the Mines Series (R2). Despite this bedded aspect on the
outcrop scale, the RAT as a whole subgroup is always brec-
ciated at deposit-scale and larger scales in Tenke-Fungurume.
Lower RAT: Thicknesses are unknown but are at least 200 m.
Deposition occurred on top of an unknown basement, possi-
bly the Lufubu schist (cf. basement under the Zambian Cop-
perbelt). A basal transgression conglomerate as it occurs in
Zambia has been proposed (François, 1973; Cailteux, 1994;
Cailteux et al., 1994) but is only found in the N’Zilo area (Kol-
wezi) deposited in the Kibaran Formations, ~50 km north-
west of Tenke-Fungurume. In situ brecciated siltstones, fine-
grained sandstones, and polymict breccias make up the Lower
RAT (Fig. 8a; Lower RAT breccia). The rocks are purplish,
hematitic, very commonly brecciated and filled with dolomite-
hematite-talc veinlets. The siltstones are comprised of quartz,
dolomite, magnesite, clays, and locally minor chlorite. Brec-
ciation textures range from veinlets to crackle to mosaic pat-
terns, transitioning upward into polymict breccias. Matrix of
the polymict breccias is dolomite-chlorite-quartz-hematite
1
cement; fragment lithologies are massive siltstones and
crackle brecciated siltstones healed by earlier dolomite-
quartz veinlets. Minor fragment lithologies are sandstones
and siltstones with fine-grained hematite along bedding and
crossbedding planes, and local massive dolomite blocks that
can measure up to several meters in outcrops at the Fungu-
rume VII railroad cut.
A polylithic breccia characterizes the contact between the
Lower and Upper RAT. In outcrop, the breccias display sim-
ilarities to fluviatile channel fills or distal bajada-facies con-
glomerates. These breccias display a remarkable continuity
throughout the Tenke district and the Katanga Copperbelt.
Texturally similar breccias form the toothpaste-like RAT that
crosscuts diapirically at higher stratigraphic levels and occurs
as subvertical injections along sutures between tectonic
blocks (e.g., Mutaka injection in the southeastern part of the
Tenke-Fungurume concession (Lombard and Nicolini, 1963;
Demesmaeker et al., 1963), or “écailles” throughout the Tenke
district (Fig. 2). The diapiric injection geometry of the brec-
cias makes it very difficult to interpret them as pure sedimen-
tary features, as suggested by some authors (Wendorff, 2003).
The term écailles (scales) is a local structural term for tec-
tonic blocks. These are typically several 50 to 500 m in length
and downdip, and 20 to 200 m thick. They are characterized
by consistent internal stratigraphy and are completely fault
bounded on all sides. Several écailles may be lined up to form
upright to recumbent anticlines or monoclines. Mines Series
écailles can occur juxtaposed to any other stratigraphic unit.
In tectonically complex sites, several écailles can occur
stacked up (Fig. 10a).
Upper RAT: There is an inverse relationship between the
thickness of nonbrecciated Upper RAT and the degree of dis-
ruption of the Mines Subgroup into écailles or tectonic blocks
(Demesmaeker et al., 1963; Oosterbosch, 1963; Cailteux,
1978a; Broughton and Hitzman, pers. commun., 2004). For
example, in the structurally simple Dipeta syncline area, the
unbrecciated, bedded Upper RAT is up to 15 m thick, while
in the structurally complex, disrupted Fungurume area, the
RAT breccias are only 0 to 2 m below the footwall contact
with the Mines Subgroup.
The Upper RAT Formation corresponds to the unit RAT
lilas–R1. This unit is purple colored, consists mostly of purple
ferruginous mudstones and hematitic fine-grained siltstones,
and of minor sandstones, coarsening upward; thicknesses are
highly variable, from 1 to over 15 m. The basal beds of the
RAT lilas frequently display pseudomorphs of dolomite and
quartz after gypsum, evidence for evaporitic sabkha condi-
tions, also noted by Cailteux (1978a, 1994), Moine et al.
2
(1981), Jackson et al. (2003), and Cailteux et al. (2005a). Geo-
chemically, the RAT is characterized by high Mg, Na, Li, and
mineralogically by dolomite, magnesite, Mg chlorite (Moine,
et al., 1981, 1986), indicative of lacustrine evaporitic condi-
tions. Elongate quartz grains (Cailteux, 1978a) most likely
represent pseudomorphs after evaporitic mineral phases (Fig.
A13).
The contact to the overlying RAT gris of the Mines Series
is marked by a distinct red/gray boundary which defines a re-
gional oxided-reduced contact. The RAT gris to RAT lilas
contact is gradational and sedimentary in nature (Cailteux
and Kampunzu, 2004); local, small-scale intercalations have
been observed. This is in agreement with Cailteux (1978) and
Cailteux et al. (2005a). The sedimentary transition also con-
tradicts Wendorff’s (2000, 2003) assertion that there is neces-
sarily a primary tectonic contact between the RAT gris and
lilas.
Mines Series–R2
The Mines Series Subgroup (Figs. 4, 8a-e) consists of the
Kamoto Dolomite formation, overlain by dolomitic shales,
SDB, termed SDB, and SDS, and the Kambove Dolomite,
termed CMN (Oosterbosch, 1950; François, 1973; Cailteux,
1978a, b, 1994); SDB, SDS, and CMN are the old nomencla-
ture that is used here and in the Tenke-Fungurume area. The
Kamoto Dolomite unit contains 80 to 90% of the copper-
cobalt ores, the reminder occurs in the lower SDB unit of the
SD dolomitic shale. Locally, significant secondary copper
mineralization occurs in the CMN unit of the Mines Series
(e.g., at the Zikule and Fungurume VI deposits; S. Lavoie,
pers. commun., 2012). Mineralization is also present in Dipeta
breccias at Kazinyanga where they occur tectonically below
RAT in what is presumably a thrust fault (R. North, pers.
commun., 2012).
Based on drill data, a considerable amount of pinch and
swell has been observed in the Mines Series at Tenke-Fungu-
rume and has not yet been fully explained.
Kamoto Dolomite: The Kamoto Formation (R.2.1.) is di-
vided into the RAT gris (gray RAT)–R.2.1.1, DStrat (R.2.1.2.1),
RSF (R.2.1.2.2), and RSC (R.2.1.3.) units. The RAT gris unit
forms the base of the Mines Series subgroup and is charac-
terized by white to gray sandstones, distinctly nonhematitic,
locally sulfidic gray with hypogene chalcocite. The RAT gris
also contains local late-stage hypogene copper sulfide veins
(Fig. A14), and varies from 1 to 5 m in thickness. In some
places, there is local oxide copper mineralization in the form
of malachite or as secondary chalcocite. Core logging obser-
vations from hundreds of drill holes indicate that this chal-
cocite is most common directly below the the upper strati-
graphic contact and diminishes toward zero within 2 to 5 m
downward. Oosterbosch (1951) noted the presence of chlo-
rites with a 45/55 antigorite-amesite composition, reflecting
an intermediate Fe/Mg ratio, and very low Al contents. Sedi-
mentary facies, sedimentary contacts to the overlying DStrat
and or to the underlying purple RAT (Cailteux et al., 2005)
and dominance of siliciclastic rocks make the RAT grises ap-
pear more related to the underlying RAT lilas (Cailteux et al,
2005). Base metal geochemistry and the bleached appearance
due to lack of hematite (and copper-cobalt-sulfide mineral-
ization) make it more a part of the Mines Series.
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The facies and the stratigraphic position of the RAT gris
bear strong similarities to the Weissliegendes (“white footwall
beds”) below the Kupferschiefer deposits of Central Europe.
Similarly, mineralization there is in the form of secondary
copper. The contact to the overlying DStrat unit of the Mines
Series is generally marked by a distinct facies change from
siliciclastic to laminated chemical sediments. In other parts of
the Congo portion of the Central African Copperbelt, there
are impure dolomites with up to 20% siliciclastic component
in the DStrat (at Kambove, Cailteux, 1978a, 1983). This was
also observed locally at the Fungurume deposit (Oosterbosch,
1962). At centimeter to decimeter scale, the contact is irreg-
ular, discordant, and patchy. The bottom units of the DStrat
contain locally chert and detrital quartz (Oosterbosch, 1950,
1962). At meter scale, however, the contact does follow depo-
sitional bedding. It represents a fundamental change from
leached-white siliciclastic sediments below to marine carbon-
ate sediments above. This lithochemical change from the
RAT lilas first to the RAT grises sandstones and siltstones, and
then to the thin laminated DStrat dolomites above represents
a fundamental, regional change in depositional conditions,
from earlier dry, terrestrial, evaporitic, and oxidized condi-
tions to a shallow marine, reduced, organic-rich facies, char-
acterized by an alternating sequence of chemical and biolog-
ical formation of carbonate sediment.
Geochemical, mineralogical, facies, abundance of ferric iron,
and structural evidence all suggest that the RAT Subgroup
developed under arid, oxidized, and evaporitic conditions.
The DStrat (Dolomies Stratifiees)–R.2.1.2.1 subunit is 2 to
8 m thick, averages 4 m, and is characterized by well-lami-
nated dolomite beds, interrupted by thinner shale beds (Figs.
8b, A3a, b). The DStrat is thicker bedded than the overlying
RSF. Another well-known characteristic is the presence of
oblate carbonate-quartz nodules of 0.3 to 2 cm in size, and
could represent either stromatolithic oncolites (François,
1973; Batumike et al., 2006) or pseudomorphs after anhydrite
nodules (Fay and Barton, 2012). Needle-shaped quartz-car-
bonate pseudomorphs were probably originally gypsum crys-
tals. These needles are commonly also filled with magnesite
(Cailteux, 1978a, 1994); such short carbonate pseudomorphs
are typical for evaporitic mineral morphologies. The 2- to 10-
mm-thick laminae of DStrat are made up of coarse dolomite
crystals, whereas 0.5- to 5-mm laminae in the RSF consist of
quartz. In field outcrops the DStrat displays intense ductile
deformation pattern, with near-isoclinal folds at decimeter to
meter scale (Fig. 8b, DStrat). In unoxidized drill core, the
DStrat lithologies and RAT gris have a distinct light to
medium gray coloration, strongly in contrast with the under-
lying reddish and purplish RAT lilas sediments.
The contact to the overlying RSF is marked by the first
siliceous laminations that are distinctly thinner bedded than
the typically several millimetre- to centimeter-thick dolomite
beds. In weathered outcrops, DStrat has the distinct softer
rounded, yellowish, cream-colored weathering aspect of
dolomitic rocks, whereas the RSF forms sharper edges and
has the more jagged appearance of siliceous sediments.
Marine carbonate facies; the millimeter- to centimeter-
thick laminations are likely to represent explosive growth pe-
riods of stromatolitic algal mats, interrupted by periods of
chemical carbonate deposition, chemical sulfate (gypsum
2

needle) precipitation, and minor clastic sedimentation of
fine-grained shales on a shallow epicontinental platform. Or-
ganic material in algal mats may have played a crucial role in
providing the reductant for copper-cobalt sulfide mineraliza-
tion (Broughton and Hitzman, pers. commun., 2004; D.
Brougthton and W. Schuh, unpub. data, 2004).
Within the Mines Series, the RSF–R.2.1.2.2 (Roches Sil-
iceuses Feuilletées) subunit carries the bulk of the ore, from
50 to 70% of the contained copper at Tenke Fungurume; the
unit is 8 to 14 m thick. It is a well-bedded, thin-laminated algal
dolomicrite to dolomitic grainstone (Figs. 8c, A4a-d). Based
on anhydrite nodules, pseudomorphs, and similar evaporite
textures, the original sediment appears to have contained 10 to
20% evaporite gypsum (Hitzman and Broughton, pers. com-
mun., 2004). In the field, deformation textures in the RSF in-
clude kink folds and chevrons on a centimeter to decimeter
scale. The RSF appears more competent than the underlying
DStrat, perhaps because it is ubiquitously silicified.
The contact with the overlying RSC unit is sharp, slightly
undulating on a centimeter to decimeter scale. The main tex-
tural contrast is the massive nature of the RSC versus the dis-
tinct laminations of the RSF. The upper most 20 to 100 cm of
RSF also carries the highest (commonly over 1%) cobalt con-
tent of the unit. At Kakavilondo and Shimbidi, up to 3% Co
grade occurs in the uppermost RSF (S. Lavoie, pers. com-
mun., 2012).
RSC stands for Roches Siliceuses Cellulaires, or siliceous
vuggy rocks, R.2.1.3; this unit is 15 to 30 m thick, averaging
22 m (Fig. 17d, RSC; also Fig. 22d). It is light colored, mas-
sive, and unbedded. Pervasive quartz-dolomite alteration cuts
across primary algal mats and commonly completely obliter-
ates them. Brecciation and silification is multistage. The name
stems from the vuggy appearance of outcrops from weather-
ing of centimeter-sized dolomite crystals; weathering also
brings out primary stromatolite textures, termed “finger rocks.”
Due to its high silica content, the RSC is the most erosion re-
sistant unit of the Roan Group, and underlies many of the
highest ridge crests (Katebala 1,520 m; Pumpi, 1535 m),
where blocks of massive light gray to white silica RSC are
common. In drill core, vugs in the RSC contain 1- to 10-cm-
sized dolomite rhombs in a quartz matrix. The RSC contains
low-grade, patchy copper and cobalt mineralization, with dis-
seminated, commonly coarse carrollite being the dominant
sulfide mineral (Figs. A16, A17). The RSC consists of perva-
sively silicified, massive stromatolite bioherms (Figs. 8d, A5a-
c) that are individually 2 to 5 m thick and 20 to 100 m long
and are locally interrupted by lensoid “Schistes Intercalaires,”
or intercalated shales, of 0.5 to 2 m thickness and 20 to 50m
in strike and dip (Fig. A5a). These probably represent quiet
local lagoonal facies between stromatolite reefs.
The characteristic finger rock textures of 20- to 80-cm-high
stacks of convex-shaped, 5- to 10-cm-wide stromatolite globes
are reminiscent of Mississippi Valley-type deposits in the
United States, same-age phosphate deposits in Bahia, Brazil,
and modern ones in Shark Bay, West Australia.
Dolomitic Shales (SD), R.2.2 formation: The contact of the
RSC with the overlying SDB unit of the SD formation is
sharp. It is also marked by locally by high (1%) cobalt con-
tents for the first 50 to 100 cm of the SD, directly above the
stratigraphic contact.
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3
The dolomitic shale (Schistes Dolomitiques, or SD, R.2.2)
measures 60 to 100 m in thickness, and averages ~78 m. Two
stratigraphic units are distinguished, the 10- to 20- m-thick
SDB (R.2.2.1) below and the 40- to 80-m-thick SD (R.2.2.2
and R.2.2.3) above. The former is subdivided into the SD1a
and SD1b. The SD is further subdivided into two subunits,
each capped by a carbonaceous shale horizon.
The SD marks a strong facies change from the dominantly
biochemical, marine, algal laminates and reef-type stromato-
lites of the underlying Kamoto Formation (DStrat, RSF, and
RSC) toward the first clastic input. At Tenke-Fungurume,
copper-cobalt mineralization in the SD1a is generally weaker
than in the RSF.
The SD1a-R. 2.2.1.1 is commonly termed Schistes Dolomi-
tiques de Base (SDB), or basal dolomitic shale, and forms the
Upper orebody at Tenke-Fungurume (Figs. 8e, A6a-c). It is
typically 4 to 11 m thick, averaging 7 m. Dolomitic shales of
1- to 10-mm thick laminations and minor dolomite grade
upward gradually toward several centimeter-thick sandy silt-
stones and fine-grained sandstones beds. Ripup clasts of thin
siltstones indicate periodic dryingup conditions. Round or
oblate nodules of quartz-dolomite with pyrite-chalcopyrite
rims are common (Figs. A6c, A17). Such nodules typically
form after gypsum during periods of evaporation, or as anhy-
drite concretions during early diagenesis (Cailteux, 1994;
Muchez et al., 2008). The association of sulfides with the nod-
ules may indicate organic matter present at the time of dia-
genetic iron sulfide formation (D. Broughton and M. Hitz-
man, pers. commun., 2004).
The contact with the SD1b is marked by the first massive
dolomite-cemented sandstone bed, typically 20 to 80 cm
thick.
The SD1b-R. 2.2.1.2 subunit is characterized by a number
of fine-grained, yellowish, 20- to 200-cm-thick bedded quartz-
arenite beds; its thickness ranges from 6 to 18 m; it is further
characterized by a complete lack of carbonaceous organic ma-
terial and by a gradual decrease of copper-cobalt sulfides to
nil. The copper mineralization appears to decrease with the
upward disappearance of chemical sediments. Pyrite, how-
ever, continues upward in low contents (<1%), associated
with the fine-grained portions of the sequences. Graded bed-
ding and crossbedding in the sandstones indicates minor flu-
viatile and major deltaic to shallow marine conditions. Glau-
conite, which only occurs in marine sandstones, has been
observed in a few drill cores. This is in line with regional fa-
cies analysis elsewhere in the Katanga Supergroup (François,
2006). Quartz is the dominant cement in the sandstone ma-
trix, and the unit is generally coarser grained than the SD1a.
The upper two SD units, R.2.2.2 and R.2.2.3, are 40 to 80
m thick. The SD is characterized by three depositional cycles
(Francois, 2006), each capped by a 1- to 2-m-thick black car-
bonaceous shale horizon with pyrite that can be traced across
the Congo Copperbelt (Cailteux, 1994). The shales have nor-
mal sedimentary contacts with their footwall and hanging
walls. In detail, each of the three units shows meter-thick
massive to poorly bedded dolomitic siltstone, intercalated
with fine-grained sandstones or siltstones. Dolomitic beds are
devoid of evaporitic and algal textures, are massive, and ap-
pear to be cyclically deposited on a shallow marine platform
(D. Broughton and M. Hitzman, pers. commun., 2004).
3
4
The SD likely indicates three brief phases of deepening of
sedimentation conditions followed by periods of shallow ma-
rine platform chemical deposition of dolomite and near-shore
marine siltstones before the onset of deeper marine lime-
stones of the overlying CMN unit. The contact with the over-
lying CMN is marked by the first distinctly massive, well-bed-
ded limestone unit.
CMN (Kambove)-R.2.3 formation: The acronym CMN
stands for limestone with black minerals (Calcaire a Minerais
Noirs; Oosterbosch, 1950, 1963). The CMN formation is sub-
divided into the Lower CMN and the Upper CMN (François,
1973; Cailteux, 1978b, 1994). Its total thickness on the con-
cession ranges from 68 to 115 m, averaging 96 m.
A high, erosion-resistant ridge in the district is composed of
CMN at Fungurume VI. Several outcrops shown as RSC on
early UMHK maps are in fact highly siliceous CMN, for ex-
ample at Zakeo, Fungurume Hill (S. Lavoie, pers. commun.,
2012). The CMN consists of upper and lower, both being
stromatolitic. The Lower CMN consists of gray laminated
shaly carbonaceous dolomite units 60 to 70 m thick with two
black horizons, one at the base and one at the top. The Lower
CMN carries locally white dolomite talc nodules. The Upper
CMN consists of light gray to white, laminated dolomite
units, 40 to 50 m thick, with dark, 5- to 30-mm-thick chert
bands, and interbedded dolomitic talcose siltstones.
The CMN represents a rable combination of evaporitic
conditions and deposition of reducing organic material. There
are locally economic copper-cobalt deposits in the CMN else-
where in the Congo Copperbelt, for example, at Kambove
(Cailteux, 1994) and Kinsevere (Schuh, pers. observation,
2007).
Dipeta Subgroup-R.3
The total thickness is poorly known, due to at least two
stratigraphic gaps (Oosterbosch, 1960). Measured thicknesses
indicate a minimum of 500 m; however, the maximum could
be up to 1,000 m (François, 1987). The rocks are generally
soft and incompetent, strongly folded and thrusted. To date,
no continguous stratigraphy has been established. Siltstones
and sandstones, massive- to thin-bedded dolomites with nod-
ules and pseudomoprhs indicate evaporitic conditions. The
hematitic units of the RGS R.3.1 are very similar to the RAT
lilas (Fig 6). The RGS also has structurally complex hematitic
crackle breccias that are very comparable to the RAT brec-
cias. The Dipeta consists of three formations, from bottom to
top: RGS (R.3.1), Mofya (R.3.2 and R.3.3), and Kansuki
(R.3.4) (Fig. 4).
RGS/Lower Dipeta-R.3.1: The sandy siliceous rocks of the
RGS form the Lower Dipeta of the Dipeta Subgroup
(François, 1973, 1987). The RGS is ~140 m thick, with a 10-
m reddish, fine-grained siltstone at the base, overlain by
arkosic siltstones with dolomitic horizons. The upper RGS is
made up of gray or white dolomites alternating with gray
dolomitic shales containing green pelitic horizons. The RGS
corresponds in terms of facies to the RAT (R.1.2). RGS-like
fragments have been observed in polylithic RAT breccias. In
fact, the original type locality for RAT was later corrected to
RGS-Dipeta. The contact with the overlying Mofya is defined
in outcrops by hard, massive dolomitic limestones of the
Mofya.
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Mofya/Upper Dipeta-R.3.2 to R.3.3: The type locality is the
Mofya Quarry near the Fungurume Airport. There is a broad
E-W−trending belt of Mofya Formation, from Salabwe Vil-
lage to Fungurume Airport, running parallel to the Mofya
River, forming a peculiar landscape of scattered hummocky
hills up to 100 m high. Field mapping and airphotograph in-
terpretation shows common subvertical folds at a scale of tens
to hundreds of meters. Five subunits form a >300-m-thick se-
quence of dolomites and limestones with evaporitic textures.
This is overlain by a 8- to 12-m-thick dolomite-magnesite talc
schist. Underlying rocks are 10- to 15-m-thick ferruginous
tan brown siltstones with blue riebeckite sodic alteration
stockwork. Stratigraphic and possibly tectonic gaps occur
(François, 1987). Riebeckite also occurs in the Dipeta syn-
cline, described as “crocidolite” (Leruite, 1965). This wide-
spread distribution possibly indicates a broad, late sodic al-
teration in the hanging-wall rocks sensu lato relative to the
copper ores in the Mines Series.
The Mofya also contains red hematitic crackle breccias in
poorly bedded siltstones. The lower Mofya units display rip-
ple marks, indicative of marine conditions and evaporitic tex-
tures in the upper units. An example of the latter is the pink-
ish dolomite replacing the edgewise conglomerate, a
sedimentary texture indicating desert conditions observed at
the Mofya quarry.
Kansuki Formation (formerly Lower Mwashya R.4.1)—
now R.3.4: The Kansuki Formation (Cahen, 1974; Cailteux et
al., 2007) is about 100 m thick and consists of dolomites and
locally massive hematitic ironstones that feature prominently
on magnetic surveys. Due to a gradational lithologic transition
to the underlying Dipeta elsewhere in the Lufilian arc, and
due to similar petrological characteristics (Cailteux et al.,
2007), the Kansuki was reassigned to the underlying carbon-
ate-dominated Dipeta Subgroup southeast of Tenke-Fungu-
rume; at Mulungwishi, the Kansuki contains volcaniclastic
beds of gabbroic composition (Lefebvre, 1974, 1975, 1976).
The volcanics form a regional belt of nearly 10,000 km2 (Cail-
teux et al., 2007) covering most of the Congolese Copperbelt
and are thought to be coeval with gabbroic intrusions in Zam-
bia, with continental-rift REE patterns (Cailteux et al., 2007).
Although these beds have not yet been identified in Tenke-
Fungurume, they provide a stratigraphically important age
date at 765 ± 5 Ma (Key et al., 2001; Dewaele et al, 2008),
There is ore-grade copper-cobalt mineralization in the Kan-
suki elsewhere in the Congolese part of the Central African
Copperbelt (Shituru, Tilwezembe, Mutanda; Cailteux et al.,
2007; Dewaele et al., 2008). The Kansuki features a major
hiatus (M. Leruite, in François, 2006), possibly vanished
evaporites. At Tenke Fungurume, structurally the upper Kan-
suki appears to parallel the contacts of the Mwashya 4.2.
Mwashya Subgroup-R 4 (formerly Upper Mwashya-R.4.2)
The Mwashya Subgroup (formerly Upper Mwashya; Cornet,
1892, 1894; Oosterbosch, 1962) is now subdivided into the
Kamoya, Kafubu, and Kanzadi Formations (Cailteux et al.,
2007). The Mwashya sequence is dominated by gray to black
carbonaceous shales, well-laminated siltstones, organic-rich
mudstones, and feldspathic sandstones. The unit is 120 m thick.
The Mwashya event was associated with mafic igneous activ-
ity (Lefebvre, 1985) at 765 to 735 Ma, indicating basin-scale
4

rifting. The areal extent of igneous mafic rocks (Cailteux et al,
2007) is much smaller than the extent of sediment-hosted
copper deposits across the Lufilian arc and is unlikely to pro-
vide a direct genetic link. In Tenke-Fungurume, near the
Nguba railroad station, a large saline spring occurs with asso-
ciated historic, now defunct commercial-scale salt works at
the Mwashya-Nguba contact. This is locally the strongest ev-
idence for halite still preserved at or near these stratigraphic
levels. There are also numerous salt springs in the Roan Group
elsewhere in the Congo Copperbelt worked for NaCl (Studt,
1910; Buffard and Grujenshi, 1979). Some of these springs ex-
solve H2S (Studt, 1910), indicating that organic material from
Neoproterozoic rocks may still be preserved in some units.
Nguba–Ng
The base of the Nguba (François, 1987; Batumike et al.,
2007), formerly Lower Kundelungu (Cornet, 1892, 1903; Bel-
liere, 1966), is marked by the Grand Conglomérate (Ng 1.1).
The 735 Ma Sturtian global snowball earth glacial diamictites
(Stutzer, 1913) cover most of southern Africa (Beetz, 1929;
Robert, 1940; Kampunzu and Cailteux, 1999; Key et al., 2001;
Cailteux and Kampunzu, 2004; Batumike et al., 2006) and are
equivalent to the Varianto/Brazil, and the Chuos/Namibia
(Cailteux et al., 2007). The Grand Conglomerate is about 730
m thick in Tenke-Fungurume (Figs. 3a, 4). It consists of a
380-m-thick lower mixtite, a 110-m-thick middle mixtite, fol-
lowed by a 40-m-thick arkose, and a 200-m-thick upper mix-
tite on top.
The Grand Conglomerat is followed by up to 130 m of thin
and regularly bedded, slightly dolomitic mudstones of the
Kaponda Formation (Ng.1.2). The Kakontwe Formation
(Ng.1.3) and Kipushi Formation (Ng.1.4) are absent (Fig. 4).
The upper Nguba is termed the Bunkeya Subgroup (Batu-
mike et al., 2007). It consists of the Katete (Ng 2.1; Cornet,
1903) and Monwezi (Ng.2.2) Formations. These formations
are mainly purplish and grayish dolomitic mudstones (Ng 1.5)
and argillacous shales and dolomitic sandstones (Ng.1.6).
Their thicknesses average 520 and 415 m, respectively.
The entire Nguba measures approximately 1,800 m in thick-
ness. Across the Tenke-Fungurume concession, this thickness
decreases considerably, from over 2,000 m to less than 800 m
in the north (François, 2006). The rapid change in thickness
can be attributed to an asymmetric rift tectonic setting at the
time of Grand Conglomerat sedimentation (Wendorff and
Key, 2011). Alternatively it could be related to Lufilian over-
thrusting that may have juxtoposed different nappes with
variable Nguba thicknesses.
Kundelungu–K
The base of the Kundelungu (formerly Upper Kundelungu;
Cornet, 1892, 1894, 1897, 1903) is defined by a second glacia-
tion diamictite, the Petit Conglomerat (Ku.1.1), probably cor-
responding to the 620 Ma global Marinoan event ( Bodis-
elitsch et al., 2005; Kampunzu et al., 2005; Batumike et al,
2006). Similar to the Grand Conglomerat, the Petit Conglom-
erat is overlain by a series of limestones (Ku.1.2), siltstones-
sandstones (Ku.1.3), mudstones, and fine-grained, flat-lying,
Kiubo sandstones (Ku.2; Figs. 3a, b, 4). The topmost unit are
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the Biano sandstones (Ku 3; Grosemans and Jamotte, 1937),
which are thought to represent continental molasse at the end
of the Lufilian orogeny (Kampunzu and Cailteux, 1999; Cail-
teux and Kampunzu, 2004). In Tenke-Fungurume, they form
the prominent Plateau des Biano in the northern part of the
concession (Fig. 3a); they are the youngest lithified sediments
in the area.
The entire Kundelungu measures approximately 1,800 m in
thickness. Across the Tenke-Fungurume concession, the thick-
ness increases considerably, from less than 1,500 m in the
south (Kavundi facies) to more than 2,300 m in the north
(Kyavye facies; François, 2006).
Phanerozoic
At the end of the Lufilian orogeny, most of Africa was cra-
tonized as a whole, and was uplifted with isostatic rebound
above sea level (Porada and Berhorst, 2000). Erosion appears
to have taken place in discrete events. Erosion, leaching, and
reprecipitation of copper and cobalt as supergene minerals
were critical for the development of world-class oxide copper
ores of 7.7 Mt of contained copper as reserves and mineral-
ized material at a combined average grade exceeding 3 wt %
Cu (Freeport, 2012). The best known event was a 10 to 5 Ma
late Miocene (Decree et al., 2010) uplift exposing sulfide ores
to oxidation, leaching, and subsequent erosion event under
arid conditions (Robert, 1930; Gasse, 2006). This event re-
sulted in local decoupling of copper and cobalt in the leached
capping zones of inselberg mountains (Kwatebala, Kansalaw-
ile, Mukondo). On the north flank of Kwatebala, and else-
where, cobalt was deposited as botryoidal heterogenite crusts
and fracture fills starting from the surface. Copper was mobi-
lized and redeposited as malachite meters to tens of meters
below the surface of the leached zones on mountain tops
(Figs. 10b, 16).
During the Quaternary, the Tenke-Fungurume area
formed a high plateau (Alexandre-Pyre, 1971), which was dis-
sected by upstream erosion. This had important conse-
quences for development and preservation of supergene cop-
per oxide deposits. Central inselbergs such as Kwatebala,
with good drainage in all directions, had a low ground-water
table. This geomorphology (Figs. 2, 10a), coupled with pre-
vailing arid conditions in the Quaternary (Giresse, 2005;
Gasse, 2006), resulted in an exceptionally thick copper oxide
zone of up to 150 m. The Fungurume cluster (Fig. 3a), on the
other hand, located on the periphery of the Tertiary uplift,
underwent fast erosion, aided by the incision of the topo-
graphically lower Dipeta River nearby (“Col du Dipeta;”
François, 2006), and resulted in much thinner (0−50 m) cop-
per oxide ores than Kwatebala. As a consequence, mixed
oxide and sulfide ores are now almost outcropping (Fig. 10c)
in the Fungurume cluster of deposits.
Quaternary Rocks
Eolian sediments cover the Plateau des Biano in the form
of fossil sand dunes (Alexandre-Pyre, 1971). Kalahari sands
cover also several square kilometers of the western areas.
Quaternary alluvium fills the Dipeta and Mofya Valleys.
5
6

Grey

Red

FIG. A1. Stratigraphic contact DStrat (above, green) with RAT (below, red), illustrating the major regional redox bound-
ary. Fungurume Number II orebody, view toward the southwest; cliff is about 10 m high. The DStrat-RAT gris contact (black
dotted line) has been mapped as stratigraphic in nature. However, textures that appear to be duplex-type reverse faulting
occur inside the DStrat.

A2a
Field Outcrop

SD
30-100 m

SDB
5-15 m

RSC
15-35 m

RSF A2b
5 -15 m Drill Core
DStrat 2-7 m
RAT gris 2-5 m

RAT lilas
> 200 m

FIG. A2. RAT lilas. Polymict breccia with bedding poorly developed; includes mineralized fragments and is strongly
hematitic, Mg chloride rich. Hypogene sulfides have not been observed in the hematitic RAT. a. Field outcrop at Kwatebala.
B. Drill core of RAT.

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A3b A3c 21.25 m @ 0.8% Cu

A3a Up

Base
of
Cycle RSC
65.95-87.2

Top
of RSF 7.00 m @ 8.6% Cu
cycle 87.2-94.2

Magnesite at
base of cycle

0.90 m @ 8.3% Cu

DStrat
94.2-95.1

dolomite with
gypsum laths
replaced by
chalcopyrite 5.90 m @ 1.3% Cu
RAT Bx
at top of cycle
95.1-101.0

FIG. A3. DStrat. a. Lithostratigraphic facies control on metasomatism. Evaporitic cycles with top of cycle on the left (light
gray dolomite with chalcopyrite pseudomorphs after gypsum) and bottom of next cycle as dark gray massive magnesite on
the right with almost no sulfides. Photograph courtesy of S. Castro-Reino (2012). b. Typical oxidized Dstrat, copper carbon-
ates associated with coarse dolomite laminae. c. DStrat (and RSF) oxide ore from Pumpi drill core (PUMP 0018); high-grade
copper oxide ore. Intersect shows the lower part of the Mines Series. Copper grades and stratigraphic units are shown, with
stratigraphic contacts shown as red dots; labels show depth in meters.

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8

A4a A4b

SD
30-100 m
3
SDB
5-15 m

A4c
RSC
15-35 m

RSF
5 -15 m

DStrat 2-7 m
A4d
RAT gris 2-5 m 2
1
RAT lilas
> 200 m

FIG. A4. RSF. a. Banded, silicified shales; typical silicified RSF sulfide ore. Laminations are dark Mg chlorite, rutile-ich
bands, and white laminations are quartz-dolomite-calcopyrite-bornite bands; the latter laminations are thought to represent
evaporite stages, the former cyanophyta (blue-green algae) mats and fine silt. Rhythmic banding reflects alternating periods
between increasing salinity (=algae bloom), and more intense evaporation (=anhydrite stages). b. Crosscutting bornite-
dolomite veins are possibly related to Lufilian deformation. c. Oxidized jack veins, consisting of dolomite and malachite after
chalcocite, which itself is probably after chalcopyrite or bornite. d. 1 = primary hypogene sulfides. Strata-bound fine chal-
copyrite + bornite. 2 = jack veins. Bedding-parallel coarse dolomite veins with chalcopyrite can develop diagenetically due
to fluid overpressurization, or can be related to the Lufilian orogeny compressive event. Dark bands are Mg chlorite.

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A5a

A5b

SD
30-100 m
SDB
5-15 m

RSC
15-35 m

RSF
5 -15 m
DStrat 2-7 m
RAT gris 2-5 m

RAT lilas
> 200 m

A5c

FIG. A5. a. RSC-Schistes Intercalaires contact; black oxide mineral is heterogenite (right is up). b. RSC outcrops at Kwa-
tebala; detailed cut across finger rock texture. Rock consists of massive quartz; dolomite is mostly dissolved and forms brown-
ish residual patches (hammer is 45 cm long). c. RSC vug with cobaltoan dolomite indicating mixed ore levels.

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A6a A6b
Co

SD
30-100 m
RSC
SDB
5-15 m

SD
RSC SDB
15-35 m

A6c
RSF
5 -15 m

DStrat 2-7 m
RAT gris 2-5 m

RAT lilas
> 200 m

FIG. A6. a. SDB outcrops; thin laminated shales, with more pyrite and chalcopyrite contents than in the units below, and
low silica concentrations. b. Outcrop at Tenke, with highest cobalt concentrations in the first 1 meter above the RSC contact
(black dotted line). c. Drill core of SDB sulfide ore, Kwatebala. Laminations of pyrite and chalcopyrite. Anhydrite nodules
with rims replaced by sulfides.

FIG. A7. Thin section photomicrograph from Fungurume, showing early

randomly oriented anhydrite laths replaced by dolomite and quartz against a
fine-grained dolomite background. Sample F23R-487.9, cross-polarized
transmitted light.

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A8a A8b A8c

A8d A8d A8e

A8g

A8f A8f

A8h A8i

FIG. A8. Thin section and cathodoluminescence photomicrographs from Fungurume, illustrating the complex alteration
sequence of gangue minerals. a. Inclusions of chalcedony (cdony) fans in a quartz crystal; sample F16-129.8, transmitted
light, crossed polars. b. Coarse dolomite crystal with an area, outlined in white, containing a characteristic texture of brown
iron oxide inclusions in a hollow rhombic shape; sample F23R-126.9A, transmitted light, crossed polars, 10× magnification).
c. Rhombic iron oxide inclusion pattern as preserved in a quartz crystal (with black outlines to emphasize the shape) and in
a dolomite; sample F5-138.9, transmitted light, crossed polars. d. CL image (left) and transmitted light (right) image show-
ing the different CL signatures of different types of dolomite; sample F63-201.8, 4× magnification. e. A coarse dolomite
crystal pseudomorphous after quartz, inclusions of which are still visible, over chalcedony; sample F14-313.9D, transmitted
light, crossed polars. f. Transmitted light (left) and CL (right) images showing the difference in CL signature between dif-
ferent types of dolomite; sample F490-121.9, 4× magnification. g. Intergrowth of second type of dolomite (zoned coarse
dolomite) with malachite; sample F5-147.2, transmitted light, crossed polars. h. Layer-parallel dolomite vein displaying the
antitaxial texture of the crystals within; sample F61-159.6D. i. Dolomite crystals within one such layer-parallel vein, in a thin
section taken perpendicular to the long dimension of the crystals and parallel to the vein axis, showing the overgrowth of one
type of dolomite by another; sample F61-315, transmitted light, crossed polars.

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A9a A9b

A9c

Fig A9. Polished section photomicrographs, Fungurume. Carrollite bleb replacing early digenite replacing bornite. a. Dis-
seminated grains of bornite (bn) coexisting with digenite (dig); sample F23R-494.8, 10× reflected-polarized light. b. Covel-
lite (blue, cov) replacing chalcocite (cc) around the edges of grains; sample IV-42, reflected-polarized light. c. A carrollite
(carr) grain partly replacing bornite and digenite, as evidenced by remnants of these sulfides within it. Another line of evi-
dence is convex embayments of carrollite into bornite-digenite. Digenite coexists with bornite both within the carrollite crys-
tal as well as outside; myrmekitic intergrowths can be observed between bornite and digenite. Sample F23R-494.8, 10× re-
flected-polarized light.

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A10a A10b

A10c

A10d

Fig A10. Two types of chalcocite at Fungurume. Polished section photomicrographs, showing vein chalcocite vs. blebby
chalcocite with ghost relict textures. a. Characteristic texture of coarse-grained chalcocite in a carbonate vein; sample F16-
137, reflected-polarized light. b. Characteristic texture of coarse-grained chalcocite after an unknown gangue material, dis-
playing a radial dendritic texture; sample F523-253.3, 20× reflected-polarized light. c.-d. Reflected-light microscopic image
and inset of SEM-back scattered electron (BSE) image of a chalcocite grain, showing inclusions of kolwezite (kol) and a Co-
Mg carbonate, likely cobaltoan dolomite; sample F23R-347.05A. The blebby chalcocite grain shows relic textures and bor-
nite inclusions, indicative that that cc replaced bornite.

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A11a A11b

A11c A11d

FIG. A11. Fungurume. a.-b. Reflected-light microscopic image (upper left) and inset of SEM-BSE image of a sulfide
grain, showing the replacement of a carrollite (carr) grain by chalcocite (cc), kolwezite (kol), and a Cu-Co-Fe oxide with trace
sulfur; sample F13-33.1. c. Replacement of a clean carrollite grain by bluish chalcocite along fractures; sample F117-96.5A,
reflected-polarized light. One triangular late white chalcocite grain in the center. d. Replacement of euhedral clean carrol-
lite with early bluish chalcocite, overgrown by later white chalcocite; sample F117-96.5C, reflected-polarized light. The white
chalcocite is replaced by secondary oxides.

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A12a A12b

FIG. A12. Fungurume vein vs. disseminated carrollite. a. A euhedral carrollite grain found in a crosscutting vein, dis-
playing the characteristic pristine appearance of clean vein carrollites; sample F23R-498.5. b. Typical appearance of euhe-
dral carrollite (carr) grains found in disseminated sulfide assemblages, replacing bornite (bn) and digenite (dig). Early clean
bornite, digenite, and related phases (idaite or orange anomalous bornite, as well as a bornite-digenite exsolution texture)
occur as inclusions within carrollite. Their approximate concentric arrangement appears to reflect the advancing replacement
by the growing carrollite crystal; sample F23R-494.8. These two samples were less than 4 m apart and illustrate the differ-
ence in assemblage and texture between vein carrollite and disseminated carrollite.

dolomite

anhydrite
inclusions in quartz
chlorite fragments
(+Al-sil - talc)
elongate
apatite clots zircon

hematite quartz after

evaporites?

zircon rutile

dolomite

anhydrite
inclusion in
subhedral quartz

anhydrite
anhydrite

Fig. A13. RAT lilas, Kwatebala. Crackle breccia with quartz-chlorite fragments and dolomite cement; dolomite is largely
restricted to veins and to cement. Bedding is not recognizable, so fragmentation may have occurred along primary layering.
Fragments consist mainly of chlorite (43% of the sample), with minor talc (3%) and aluminum silicates (5%), quartz grains
(16%), and trace rutile (0.9%), apatite (0.4%), hematite (0.5%), and anhydrite. Small dissolution cavities are present, possi-
bly from high S-Mg clays (attapulgite? sepiolite?). Larger quartz grains are inclusion rich, commonly with anhydrite, or with
fuzzy outlines, indicating authigenic origin. Apatite, rutile, hematite are all restricted to fragments; rutile suggests a terrige-
nous origin. Trace minerals include muscovite flakes, K-spar, tourmaline; sulfides have not been observed. Sample TF-
R.RAT (QEMSCAN image courtesy of J. Woodhead, 2012).

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1
dolomite

1
4
bornite

bornite

chlorite+quartz
(+Al-sil - talc)

chlorite+quartz
(+Al-sil - talc)

bornite core in
dolomite quartz nodule
with cc/dig

FIG. A14. Bornite vein in RAT gris, Kwatebala. This mineralized gray RAT consists mainly of a mixture of chlorite, Al sil-
icates, and talc (totaling 46% of the rock), with quartz (23%). Dolomite veins contribute 22%, bornite 5%, rutile 0.7%, Fe
oxides 0.5%, and apatite 0.3%. Trace amounts of chalcopyrite, illite, muscovite, zircon, calcite, tourmaline, pyrite, K-feldspar,
and anhydrite are also present. Fine disseminated sulfides (bornite, chalcocite, digenite, and chalcopyrite) occur in the chlo-
rite rock matrix throughout and are commonly associated with quartz. Apatite is also intergrown with quartz. Area (1) shows
a mix of detrital and secondary quartz grains, some of which are intergrown with bornite; (2) large quartz grains with bornite
inclusions or cores, perhaps silicified nodules or gypsum pseudomorphs. Gray RAT is cut by epigenetic dolomite-bornite-
quartz vein; virtually no alteration halo; (3) mixed character of the coarse sulfides; along the margins of the dolomite vein,
bornite also occurs late between interstices of dolomite crystals, presumably having formed there at the same time as the
vein; (4) bornite on vein edge, with a late rim of chalcocite/digenite, growing between columnar dolomite. Sulfide mineral-
ization appears cogenetic with magnesian alteration. The rock does not show definitive sulfide depletion halos, nor en-
hancement of sulfides in the wall rocks of crosscutting dolomite-quartz-sulfide veins. In some cases the gangue mineralogy
in the veins does have a different composition, e.g., high Mg phlogopite. J. Woodhead (pers. commun., 2012) suggests that
in certain cases, the veins may have been preceded by anhydrite. Sample TF2-RAT GR (QEMSCAN image courtesy of J.
Woodhead, 2012).

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chlorite-talc bands, elongate

chalcopyrite (trace)
quartz after sulfates?
disseminated
bornite throughout

dolomite

inclusion -rich quartz

bornite with carrolite

and chalcopyrite
inclusions polygonal
contacts:
evaporites?

dolomite trace barite +

magnesite

columnar dolomite

FIG. A15. Copper sulfide mineralized RSF, Kwatebala. This laminated dolostone alternates between fine-grained layers
and thicker beds. The finer bands are comprised of quartz-dolomite-chlorite-talc-illite (magnesian alteration) with dissemi-
nated chalcopyrite, rutile, and rare coarse apatite. The coarser bands are dolomite or quartz-dolomite-bornite and contain
traces of chalcopyrite, intergrown with dolomite and, more commonly, intergrown with or replacing quartz, on the margins
of the bands. The fuzzy contacts of the Cu minerals with the silicates suggest a possible genetic connection. Two types of
dolomite, differing in composition, occur; some are mixed with quartz and contain trace barite and magnesite, some are mas-
sive and solitary. Bornite is visually prominent adjacent to silicified beds but it is also finely disseminated throughout the rock.
Quartz inside the prominent bornite margins is elongate, possibly pseudomorphous after sulfate.
The overall composition of the sample is 51% dolomite, 31% quartz, 7% bornite, 2.7% Cu in other forms, 4% chlorite, 2%
talc, >1% illite/muscovite or other magnesium aluminum silicate. Trace rutile, chalcopyrite, apatite, magnesite, muscovite,
calcite, and K-feldspar also occur. Sample TMF3-RSF (QEMSCAN image courtesy of J. Woodhead, 2012).

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TM2- RSF

fine-grained quartz-
muscovite-K-feldspar
[illite/muscovite, Mg-
chlorite, kaolinite]

bornite dolomite bornite +

dolomite +
quartz

fine diss bornite in

musc-Kspar band

carrollite

carrolite +
dolomite +
quartz

v
apatite

dolomite +quartz

FIG. A16. Laminated dolomitic siltstone with minor K-feldspar in the RSF, Kwatebala. Fine-grained disseminated bor-
nite throughout, and coarse carrollite concentrated in Mg chlorite-poor beds. The greenish-color silty material is mostly de-
trital quartz-muscovite-K-feldspar (-dolomite), altered to illite-sericite and phengite, Mg chlorites and kaolinite, with fine
disseminated rutile and bornite and rare zircon and tourmaline. The textures show early potassic alteration of detrital
feldspar, followed by Mg alteration. The silty beds alternate with coarser quartz-dolomite layers containing fine Ca-Mg-Si
chlorite, apatite, and traces of magnesite, K-feldspar, white micas, and rutile. Apatite occurs in irregular forms in contact with
quartz, but polygonal around dolomites. In thick coarse dolomite bands, sulfides occur as small bornite-quartz grains. In thin
quartz-dolomite bands, sulfides occur as larger carrollite grains, which are subhedral to rounded, possibly reflecting nodular
origins, with inclusions of quartz and dolomite and rims of fine-grained bornite. Other sulfides are intergrown with quartz
and dolomite and associated with the apatite. The overall sample composition is 33% quartz, 33% dolomite, 11% illite, 7%
muscovite, 5% K-feldspar, 3% chlorite, and 5% sulfides (2.5% carrollite, 1% bornite, 2% other), with trace rutile, kaolinite,
apatite, celestite, talc, tourmaline, calcite, monazite, albite, magnesite, sphene, and zircon. Sample TM2-RSF (QEMSCAN
image courtesy of J. Woodhead, 2012).

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quartz

polygonal apatite
contacts

dolomite

quartz

carrollite
illite/muscovite
+chlorite

quartz

dolomite veinlet
cut by later quartz veins

Silicified
evaporite dolomite
texture ?
late quartz veins

Fig. A17. RSC with multiple quartz-dolomite events. Rock is massively silicified with patches of coarse dolomite and rem-
nant patches of fine dolomite. A stromatolitic texture is outlined by Mg chlorite-rutile-apatite banding in this silicified
dolomite, which contains irregular patches of Mg-Al silicates (6% of sample) and traces of rutile, albite, kaolinite, K-feldspar,
apatite, sphene, zircon, and tourmaline (0.4% dravite, i.e., abundant). Quartz (72%) and dolomite (21%) are polygonally in-
tergrown, but throughgoing quartz veins cut dolomite veinlets, indicating multiple quartz-dolomite events. Trace pyrite and
a single grain of chalcopyrite and coarse carrollite occur in quartzose zones, as is the apatite. The rutile suggests trapping of
windblown material on algal mats. Sample TF38-RSC (QEMSCAN image courtesy of J. Woodhead, 2012).

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dolomite

Illite + muscovite
+ chlorite + quartz
+ dolomite

chalcopyrite

pyrite

quartz

Pyrite rims

FIG. A18. Evaporite nodules, SDB, Kwatebala. A silicified dolomitic siltstone with bands containing nodules of quartz,
dolomite, pyrite, and chalcopyrite. The silty bands contain quartz, dolomite, illite, muscovite, chlorite, talc, K-feldspar, phlo-
gopite, biotite, rutile, tourmaline, apatite, and minor, very fine-grained disseminated pyrite and chalcopyrite; the sulfides and
apatite are intergrown with the quartz. The nodules are typically dominated by coarse dolomite in the interior and coarse
quartz, and by irregularly intergrown pyrite and chalcopyrite toward the rims. The textures of the nodules indicate evapor-
ite origin. Both quartz and dolomite preserve small inclusions of anhydrite and, more rarely, barite; the quartz-dolomite con-
tacts are polygonal, indicating evaporitic replacement. Deformation textures include green wavy Mg chlorite, phengite, and
sericite bands coalescent around the margins of the nodules. The overall composition is 42% quartz, 24% dolomite, 11%
illite, 4% chlorite, 4% muscovite, 10% sulfides, 2% an Si-S interphase (possibly representing a fine sulfide or sulfate mixed
with silicates), and about 1% other silicate phases, plus trace phlogopite, K-feldspar, talc, rutile, apatite, kaolinite, calcite, an-
hydrite, tourmaline, zircon, Fe oxides, monazite, and albite. Sample TF33-SDB (QEMSCAN image courtesy of J. Wood-
head, 2012).

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pressure
shadow?

muscovite-chlorite bands apatite

dolomite

carrollite

dolomite

Cu rims

FIG. A19. Fine-grained SDB, Kwatebala. Finely laminated dolomitic siltstone, composed of dolomite, quartz, muscovite,
chlorite, and traces of K-feldspar, with fine disseminated bornite, chalcocite, and carrollite throughout the matrix. On the
lower right is a layer-parallel dolomite-carrollite vein, located at the interface between a silt-rich (green color, on the lower
right) fine-grained, more terrigenous siltstone, and dolomite-quartz−rich dolomitic beds that are more chemical in origin.
Scattered coarse carrollite grains with pressure shadows, filled with dolomite, indicate predeformation precursor phases (di-
agenetic pyrite? or predeformation carrollite?). Similar pressure shadows were reported by LeRouge et al. (2005); elongate
dolomite grains and pressure shadows are associated with sulfides, indicating that the sulfides were formed before com-
pressive deformation. On the lower left, a late dolomite-quartz vein crosscuts the bedding-parallel coarse carrollite vein. The
silty matrix material is illite-chlorite-talc (indicating Mg alteration), after detrital quartz-K-feldspar-muscovite-biotite-
dolomite, and includes finely disseminated rutile, pyrite, rare Cu-Co sulfides, clotty apatite, and an Si-S interphase that may
be sulfide intergrown or included in silicates. The terrigenous silt-rich bed on the lower right contains thin muscovite-chlo-
rite bands. Anhydrite is conspicuously absent. Edges of the coarse carrollite grains show chalcocite-digenite alteration, trap-
ping late-stage copper. The coarse carrollite grains are dirty, containing early and Mg silicate phases of their wall rocks. The
bedding-parallel vein has no alteration selvage halos. Overall sample composition is 44% dolomite, 28% quartz, 11% illite,
6% chlorite, 2% talc, <2% muscovite, 3% carrollite, 1% of the Si-S interphase, about 0.2% pyrite, and trace rutile, phlogo-
pite, biotite, K-feldspar, apatite, kaolinite, calcite, sphene, tourmaline, and zircon. Sample TF35-SDB (QEMSCAN image
courtesy of J. Woodhead, 2012).

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bacteriogenic & Inorganic

diagenetic Mixing ? evaporite sulfur
pyrite sulfur
marine / lacustrine
sulfates

SDS
regression

SDB

transgression
RSC

RSF
Kansalawile

DStrat

Mwadinkomba Sefu
RAT gris

-12 -6 0 6 12 18
Delta 34S
Chalcopyrite Pyrite
Green = early stage (foliated, blebs) per mil CDT
Red = late stage (veins, fiber veins, massive, breccia) Carrollite Chalcocite
Dipeta deposits in pale colors Bornite same sample

FIG. A20. Sulfur eotopic composition of early and late sulfide phases from the Kwatebala, Kansalawile, Sefu, and
Mwadinkomba deposits. All unlabeled data points are Kwatebala samples. RSF from Kwatebala ranges from 0 to −4‰, RSC
from Kwatebala is −4 to −8‰, SDB is similar to RSF, and chalcopyrite in SDB and SDS is 6 and 10‰. Fractionation be-
tween different sulfide phases from the same sample indicates no attainment of equilibrium during Lufilian orogeny, sug-
gesting in situ recrystallization or slight remobilization. The only positive data are from low-grade chalcopyrite-pyrite at
Kansalawile, and two samples from reduced facies pyritic SD, indicative of increasingly heavy sulfur during reduced marine
transgression. Mineralization associated with a bacterial sulfide reduction (or possibly diagenetic pyrite) sulfur source is ob-
served throughout the RSF unit at Kwatebala, and at the RSF/DStrat contact at the Dipeta syncline. This suggests that the
major mineralization event utilized sulfur sourced from bacterial sulfide reduction. The thermochemical fractionation of sul-
fur from evaporites in distal mineralization indicates that the mineralizing event that occurred at Kwatebala had a higher in-
tensity than at Kansalawile. Data from P. Capistrant (pers. commun., 2012).

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 Tenke-Fungurume

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Kolwezi
Likasi

23
Lubumbashi

FIG. A21. Facies map of the Lufilian arc and location of Tenke-Fungurume. The sedimentary facies of Tenke-Fungurume corresponds mostly to the sandy, shallow
water Long facies of northern Kolwezi. Two exceptions are the Fungurume I, II, and VII deposits, and the Manda deposit which correspond to the deeper water, re-
duced, organic-rich Kalumbwe facies. Modified from A. Francois (1973).
23
24

A22a

A22b

A22b

5 km

A22d

1 km

A22c

5 km 5 km

Fig. A22. Possible analogous locations with salt tectonics and salt extrusion megabreccias similar to Tenke-Fungurume.
(a)-(c) and (d) are at the same scale, and (b) is a detailed enlarged view of (a). a. Modern salt extrusion, Garmsar, Iran (400
km2); Eocene salt mega breccia with Miocene roof fragments. Salt glacier extrusion the same magnitude as Roan Undiffer-
entiated (Fig. 3a; also approximately 400 km2). Google Earth image. b. Detail of Garmsar, showing geometries very similar
to Tenke-Fungurume, in particular the Pumpi and Mutaka thrust sheets outlined in a red dashed line in the southern part
of Figure 3a. Also compare the folded roof rocks in the northern part of (b) with drag-folded Mines Series ecailles in (d). c.
Neoproterozoic salt diapir breccia with associated copper mines, Flinders Range, South Australia (Preisse, 1985). d. Neo-
proterozoic Tenke-Fungurume (modified from Jackson et al., 2003); salt megabreccia textures are shown for comparison (for
lithologic detail, see Fig. 3a). In the South Australian case (c), the lithologies of floating blocks inside the diapir correspond
to basement and wall rocks of the diapir. They are interpreted to have been plucked from the diapir walls and rafted upward
with the rising salt.

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