Neoproterozoic carbonate lithofacies and ore distribution at the Kipushi Cu-Zn deposit, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Gayna River Zn camp, Northwest Territories, Canada.

The predominant spatial control on sulphide orebodies at the two significant base metal deposits is the architecture of Neoproterozoic carbonate lithofacies. At Gayna River, surface and subsurface mineralisation is limited to the peripheries of giant pinnacle reefs of an unusual type hitherto considered unique; at Kipushi, orebodies are associated with a lithological break previously interpreted as a fault but here reinterpreted as the steep depositional margin of a similar carbonate buildup. The zone of compositional and rheological contrast that generated where reef-flanking and overlying fine-grained terrigenous strata contact the Kipushi carbonate build-up appears to have focused later metalliferous fluid migration. The reinterpretation highlights the importance of considering sedimentary-stratigraphic controls on carbonate-hosted base metal deposits in mineral exploration programmes.
The predominant spatial control on sulphide orebodies at the two significant base metal deposits is the architecture of Neoproterozoic carbonate lithofacies. At Gayna River, surface and subsurface mineralisation is limited to the peripheries of giant pinnacle reefs of an unusual type hitherto considered unique; at Kipushi, orebodies are associated with a lithological break previously interpreted as a fault but here reinterpreted as the steep depositional margin of a similar carbonate buildup. The zone of compositional and rheological contrast that generated where reef-flanking and overlying fine-grained terrigenous strata contact the Kipushi carbonate build-up appears to have focused later metalliferous fluid migration. The reinterpretation highlights the importance of considering sedimentary-stratigraphic controls on carbonate-hosted base metal deposits in mineral exploration programmes.