The Kalahari Copperbelt, which extends from Zambia across northwest Botswana into Namibia, is considered to be a broad time equivalent of the Central African Copperbelt, with a similar style of mineralization. However, at shallower depths (<25 m), chrysocolla and malachite exist in significant proportions in certain geological areas.As illustrated in Figure 1, the project is located in the Ghanzi-Chobe Fold Belt which forms part of the Kalahari Copper Belt. The Ghanzi Group, which overlies the lowest stratigraphic unit (the Kwebe Formation), consists of three formations, namely the Ngwako Pan, the D'Kar, and the Mamuno Formation (Hall, 2012).Mineralization already occurs in the first 10 m of the D'Kar Formation and is characterized by low-sulphur, low-iron copper sulphides (chalcocite and bornite). The overall genesis of the mineralization resulted from hydrothermal convection cells generated by the high heat flow associated with the thinning, extended continental crust during basin formation. The fluids circulating in these hydrothermal convection cells leached base metals from the underlying Kgwebe formation and produced large volumes of metal-enriched calcareous and siliceous fluids. These fluids then percolated upwards into the highly permeable Ngwako Pan Formation sediments and through them into the base of the less permeable D'Kar Formation, depositing the base metals in disseminated blebs or within thin parallel calcareous and siliceous veins.Two major areas (Area 1 and Area 2) have been identified in the project that are parallel in a southwest-northeast orientation and are approximately 1 km apart. The degree of mineral oxidation in Area 1 is significantly higher than in Area 2, and this is attributed to an observed difference in bedding orientation within the deposits (Hall, 2012).The geologists initially defined three zones in the orebody based on the occurrence of various copper-bearing minerals: the upper zone (0-25 m), middle zone (25-35 m), and the lower zone (>35 m). This definition served its purpose in planning the test work that was required and predicting the relative copper grades and recoveries that could be expected from each zone. On completion of the variability test work the definitions became less relevant when the predictive models were developed based on the mineral content of the ore.Development of a geometallurgical model for a copper concentrator by M. Valenta* and B. Mulcahy* The purpose of executing a project in a stagewise fashion is to evaluate all potential options in a cost-effective manner and develop an understanding of the project drivers, thereby minimizing overall project risk to the client. Among the more valuable tools for this exercise are production and financial models that can be used to quantify the sensitivity of the project to the critical parameters.The mine and concentrator used in this case study are located on the Kalahari Copper Belt, which extends from Zambia through northern Botswana into Namibia. This area of Africa has seen very little industrial deve...