Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Sediment-hosted stratabound copper assessment of the Neoproterozoic Roan Group, central African copperbelt, Katanga Basin, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia

October 1, 2014

This study estimates the location, quality, and quantity of undiscovered copper in stratabound deposits within the Neoproterozoic Roan Group of the Katanga Basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia. The study area encompasses the Central African Copperbelt, the greatest sediment-hosted copper-cobalt province in the world, containing 152 million metric tons of copper in greater than 80 deposits. This study (1) delineates permissive areas (tracts) where undiscovered sediment-hosted stratabound copper deposits may occur within 2 kilometers of the surface, (2) provides a database of known sediment-hosted stratabound copper deposits and prospects, (3) estimates numbers of undiscovered deposits within these permissive tracts at several levels of confidence, and (4) provides probabilistic estimates of amounts of copper and mineralized rock that could be contained in undiscovered deposits within each tract. The assessment, conducted in January 2010 using a three-part form of mineral resource assessment, indicates that a substantial amount of undiscovered copper resources might occur in sediment-hosted stratabound copper deposits within the Roan Group in the Katanga Basin. Monte Carlo simulation results that combine grade and tonnage models with estimates of undiscovered deposits indicate that the mean estimate of undiscovered copper in the study area is 168 million metric tons, which is slightly greater than the known resources at 152 million metric tons. Furthermore, significant value can be expected from associated metals, particularly cobalt. Tracts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have potential to contain near-surface, undiscovered deposits. Monte Carlo simulation results indicate a mean value of 37 million metric tons of undiscovered copper may be present in significant prospects.

Publication Year 2014
Title Sediment-hosted stratabound copper assessment of the Neoproterozoic Roan Group, central African copperbelt, Katanga Basin, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia
DOI 10.3133/sir20105090T
Authors Michael L. Zientek, James D. Bliss, David W. Broughton, Michael Christie, Paul Denning, Timothy S. Hayes, Murray W. Hitzman, John D. Horton, Susan Frost-Killian, Douglas J. Jack, Sharad Master, Heather L. Parks, Cliff D. Taylor, Anna B. Wilson, Niki E. Wintzer, Jon Woodhead
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Series Title Scientific Investigations Report
Series Number 2010-5090
Index ID sir20105090T
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Central Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center; Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center; Mineral Resources Program