Pit and drill core at Kansanshi.  -  Following the briefing, the group boarded two mine fitted 4WD buses to travel first to the Main Pit (above) for an overview presentation, before going down into the mine to study the ore and hosts with mine geologists Elly Shaw, John Fleming, Donald Chinyuki and Louis van Heerden.   From there, they were subsequently taken to the Northwest Pit, before returning to the Exploration office for lunch and a session in the adjacent core yard (bottom right) where a series of drill holes illustrated the host rocks and mineralisation.   The lower left image is an example of the key form of ore, the 'Kansanshi-type veins' composed chiefly of quartz (grey) carbonate (white) and sulphide (chalcopyrite-pyrite-pyrrhotite), tarnished examples of which are indicated by the arrowheads.
  In the mid-afternoon, they said their thanks for a very interesting, enlightening and instructive day, and departed from the Exploration office on the Tour bus, to drive the 180 km to Chingola, on the badly potholed sealed highway, with the aim of reaching the destination, the Protea Hotel Chingola, by sundown.   Photographs by Mike Porter.