Lead Isotopic Analysis of Copper Ores From the Sierra El Aramo (Asturias, Spain)*

Abstract

This study presents the first ever lead isotope ratio data for copper ore samples (malachite and azurite) from the Sierra El Aramo (Asturias, northwestern Spain). The aim of this study was to supplement information in the existing reference database on the lead isotopic composition of Spanish ores. The Sierra El Aramo is particularly important because, while no data for the Asturian ores have been published so far, this northern province of Spain has played a significant role in terms of copper exploitation and metallurgy since the Copper Age.

Insights into a 20-ha multi-contaminated brownfield megasite: An environmental forensics approach

“…The separation was performed using a Pb Resin-B resin (TRISKEM international, Bruz, France), following the protocol described by De Muynck et al (2008). Detailed information about this protocol can be found elsewhere (Huelga-Suarez et al, 2012). The certified reference material SRM 981 (lead isotopic standard) from NIST (Gaithersburg, MD, USA) was used for the correction of instrumental mass discrimination.…”

Isotopic Composition of Lead in Copper Ores and a Copper Artefact from the La Profunda Mine (León, Spain)

“…Detailed information about such a protocol can be found elsewhere (Huelga‐Suarez et al . ). The purified Pb fractions thus obtained were diluted with 0.42 M HNO 3 , adjusting the Pb concentration to 400 μg l –1 for Pb isotope ratio measurements.…”

“…However, once again, the lead isotopic composition of ancient Spanish copper ore deposits is not complete, especially in the north‐western area, where no data was available until very recently (Huelga‐Suarez et al . , ). These two studies focused on the two main prehistoric copper mines of the province of Asturias (El Aramo and El Milagro), and it was observed that lead isotope ratios from both mines were clearly different from those previously reported for the rest of the Iberian Peninsula.…”

Defining the Lead Isotopic Fingerprint of Copper Ores from North-West Spain: The El Milagro Mine (Asturias)

“…The results are compared with previous lead data from the El Aramo mine (Huelga‐Suarez et al . ), the main prehistoric copper exploitation of this Spanish province.…”

“…; Huelga‐Suarez et al . ), which remain extensively undefined in terms of lead isotope composition. In this regard, this work is part of a large‐scale effort aimed at setting out lead isotope data from ancient copper mines in the north‐west of Spain.…”