Structural control on the Dikulushi Cu-Ag deposit, Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo.

A NNW-oriented thrust is exposed in the western part of the Dikulushi mine, marked by ductile deformed shale that was transported upward and is in faulted contact with an overlying dolomite-sandstone sequence. The brecciated layers in the west and non-brecciated sandstone layers in the central part of the mine are crosscut by several E-W and NE-oriented faults. The complex set of faults produced a damage zone that was a favorable site for the migration of mineralising fluids. The faults and brecciated layers contain Cu-Pb-Zn-Fe mineralisation consisting of chalcopyrite, bornite and chalcocite, with minor pyrite, arsenopyrite, sphalerite, and galena, with dolomite, calcite, and quartz as gangue minerals. The fault zones were sites of remobilisation and enrichment of the previously deposited Cu-Pb-Zn-Fe mineralisation. The remobilised sulphides consist of Ag-rich chalcocite, with barite, calcite and quartz as gangue minerals. The deposit is structurally controlled by a crosscutting set of E-W and NE-oriented faults. Similar structural settings in the mine and in the Dikulushi region represent important future exploration targets.
A NNW-oriented thrust is exposed in the western part of the Dikulushi mine, marked by ductile deformed shale that was transported upward and is in faulted contact with an overlying dolomite-sandstone sequence. The brecciated layers in the west and non-brecciated sandstone layers in the central part of the mine are crosscut by several E-W and NE-oriented faults. The complex set of faults produced a damage zone that was a favorable site for the migration of mineralising fluids. The faults and brecciated layers contain Cu-Pb-Zn-Fe mineralisation consisting of chalcopyrite, bornite and chalcocite, with minor pyrite, arsenopyrite, sphalerite, and galena, with dolomite, calcite, and quartz as gangue minerals. The fault zones were sites of remobilisation and enrichment of the previously deposited Cu-Pb-Zn-Fe mineralisation. The remobilised sulphides consist of Ag-rich chalcocite, with barite, calcite and quartz as gangue minerals. The deposit is structurally controlled by a crosscutting set of E-W and NE-oriented faults. Similar structural settings in the mine and in the Dikulushi region represent important future exploration targets.