SAMBA: A DEFORMED PORPHYRY-TYPE COPPER DEPOSIT IN THE BASEMENT OF THE ZAMBIAN COPPERBELT.

The Samba deposit is the largest known concentration of copper mineralization in the pre-Katangan basement of the Zambian copperbelt. The deposit consists essentially of pyrite, chalcopyrite and bornite in deformed granodioritic and quartz-monzonitic porphyritic intrusives of pre-Katangan and post-Lufubu age. Textural evidence indicates that the mineralization pre-dates the earliest recognizable deformation event; despite metamorphism, alteration zones including a central sericitic core can be identified. Samba provides evidences that the Katangan stratiform mineralization of the Zambian Copperbelt owes its location, at least in part, to the presence of cupriferous basement rocks. It is suggested that detailed investigation of the basement may provide clues to the location of hidden Katangan orebodies.