Log In
Frontier Mine, Sakania, Sakania Territory, Haut-Katanga, DR Congoi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Frontier Mine | Pit (Active) |
| Sakania | Town |
| Sakania Territory | Territory |
| Haut-Katanga | Province |
| DR Congo | Country |
This page is currently not sponsored. Click here to sponsor this page.
Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
12° 43' 33'' South , 28° 28' 13'' East
Latitude & Longitude (decimal):
Type:
Pit (Active) - last checked 2023
Köppen climate type:
Other/historical names associated with this locality:
Kaluani; Frontier-Kishiba-Lufua
An open pit copper mine on the border with Zambia. A large tailings storage facility is located between the mine and Sakania.
Frontier Mine is a rare example of a structurally controlled, vein-hosted Cu sulphide deposit in the Zambian Copperbelt. The stratigraphy, from oldest to youngest, comprises a basal, volcano-sedimentary succession made up of a basal sandstone with intercalated andesite, overlain by dolomite interbedded with shale and mudstone. An olive-green, 10–15 m thick, massive to weakly-foliated mudstone is developed mainly in the northwestern portion of the open pit. This succession, in turn, is overlain by argillite, ranging between 10 and 100 m in thickness, interbedded with limestone of highly variable thickness (5–70 m). The term 'argillite' is used in the mine to describe a pale, greenish-grey to pinkish, fine-grained, weakly to strongly foliated and variably altered pelitic protolith. Copper mineralization at Frontier Mine is associated with three main sets of quartz-carbonate-sulphide veins. Chalcopyrite is the main Cu-sulphide in all vein generations, whereas pyrite is volumetrically a minor phase. Mineralized vein sets occur mainly in Mwashya Subgroup argillite and carbonaceous shale. However, unlike most deposits in the Zambian Copperbelt, mineralization is not stratiform. Instead, economic-grade mineralization transgresses the stratigraphy, both into dolomite of the underlying Upper Roan Subgroup and the stratigraphically higher Grand Conglomerate.
Located in the territory of Sakania.
It is reported that many citizens in the area had their land and property expropriated by various mining companies and the mine is now operated by Eurasian Resources Group (owned 40% by the Kazakhstan government). According to Wikipedia (2021) the company supplies all of its copper product to China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group and Yunnan Copper.
A village was created for the displaced people (Kishiba).
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.Mineral List
7 valid minerals.
Rock Types Recorded
Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
| ⓘ Albite Formula: Na(AlSi3O8) References: |
| ⓘ 'Apatite' Formula: Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) References: |
| ⓘ 'Biotite' Formula: K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 References: |
| ⓘ Calcite Formula: CaCO3 References: |
| ⓘ Chalcopyrite Formula: CuFeS2 References: |
| ⓘ 'Chlorite Group' References: |
| ⓘ Dolomite Formula: CaMg(CO3)2 References: |
| ⓘ Pyrite Formula: FeS2 References: |
| ⓘ Quartz Formula: SiO2 References: |
| ⓘ Rutile Formula: TiO2 References: |
Gallery:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Chalcopyrite | 2.CB.10a | CuFeS2 |
| ⓘ | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Quartz | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | Rutile | 4.DB.05 | TiO2 |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
| ⓘ | Dolomite | 5.AB.10 | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| Group 9 - Silicates | |||
| ⓘ | Albite | 9.FA.35 | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Unclassified | |||
| ⓘ | 'Biotite' | - | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| ⓘ | 'Chlorite Group' | - | |
| ⓘ | 'Apatite' | - | Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| H | ⓘ Apatite | Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) |
| C | Carbon | |
| C | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| C | ⓘ Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| O | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| O | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Rutile | TiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Apatite | Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) |
| F | Fluorine | |
| F | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| F | ⓘ Apatite | Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) |
| Na | Sodium | |
| Na | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Mg | Magnesium | |
| Mg | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| Mg | ⓘ Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| Al | Aluminium | |
| Al | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Al | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Albite | Na(AlSi3O8) |
| Si | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| P | Phosphorus | |
| P | ⓘ Apatite | Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Cl | Chlorine | |
| Cl | ⓘ Apatite | Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) |
| K | Potassium | |
| K | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Ca | ⓘ Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| Ca | ⓘ Apatite | Ca5(PO4)3(Cl/F/OH) |
| Ti | Titanium | |
| Ti | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| Ti | ⓘ Rutile | TiO2 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Biotite | K(Fe2+/Mg)2(Al/Fe3+/Mg/Ti)([Si/Al/Fe]2Si2O10)(OH/F)2 |
| Fe | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Fe | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality
AfricaContinent
African PlateTectonic Plate
- Lufilian ArcVolcanic Arc
Central AfricaRegion
DR Congo
- ⭔KatangaProvince
This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to
visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders
for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.
References
[1]Fourie, Heike; Kisters, Alexander; Basson, Ian James (2025) Deformation, alteration and implicit 3D geomodelling of deposit-scale controls of vein-hosted copper mineralization of the Frontier Mine, Democratic Republic of Congo. Mineralium Deposita, 60 (7). 1409-1431 doi:10.1007/s00126-025-01351-1
