东天山觉罗塔格构造带火山岩的铅同位素组成及意义

笔者报道了东天山觉罗塔格构造带中企鹅山群、雅满苏组火山岩和土屋铜矿的斜长花岗斑岩及铜矿石的铅同位素组成,进一步讨论了该成矿带的构造演化。企鹅山群火山岩的铅同位素位于地球演化线的右侧,与北半球铅同位素演化线相比,具有弱富集的特征。斜长花岗斑岩及铜矿石的铅同位素分布在企鹅山群范围之内,与之相似。雅满苏组比企鹅山群富放射成因铅,也具有弱富集的特征。在铅构造模式图解中,企鹅山群位于地幔演化线上,雅满苏组位于造山带演化线附近。雅满苏组的铅同位素具有线性排列特征,位于企鹅山群和中天山花岗岩之间,指示两端员混合的趋势。企鹅山群和雅满苏组火山岩都随着流体交代作用的加强,越来越贫放射成因铅,指示交代地幔楔的流体应主要来自蚀变洋壳,而没有泥质沉积物的参与。雅满苏组比企鹅山群富放射成因铅主要是由于其陆壳基底厚度较大,较强的陆壳混染造成的。     

Every Cloud has a Silver Lining: Using Silver Concentration to Identify the Number of Sources of Lead used in Shang Dynasty Bronzes

The use of lead, some of which is characterized by a highly radiogenic signature, sharply distinguishes Bronze Age China from the rest of Eurasia. Scholars have long hypothesized that silver can offer an independent proxy to characterize lead minerals. The summary of silver distribution associated with Shang and Western Zhou bronzes in this paper reveals an important difference between the south (Sanxingdui, Hanzhong, Jinsha, Panlongcheng, Xin’gan) and the Central Plains. Correlating silver with lead content as well as with the isotopic signature indicates that south China and the Central Plains had different lead sources during the late Shang period, and also that the highly radiogenic and common lead used at Anyang come from geochemical environments which cannot be distinguished by the level of silver.     

Lead isotopes in sulfides from the Stillwater Complex, Montana: evidence for subsolidus remobilization

Isotopic ratios of Pb in sulfide minerals (primarily pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, and pentlandite) from a suite of samples from the platiniferous J-M Reef of the Stillwater Complex were measured to elucidate the temporal and genetic relationship between sulfides and host silicate minerals. Results indicate that sulfides and coexisting plagioclases are generally not in isotopic equilibrium, that both sulfides and feldspars record highly radiogenic initial ratios at 2.7 Ga, and that a component of “post-emplacement” radiogenic Pb has mixed with common Pb in the sulfides. A model involving introduction of radiogenic Pb carried by fluids derived from sources external to the complex is favored. Analyses of the lead isotopic composition of sulfides in veins which cut the complex indicate that a significant fraction of the radiogenic lead which was added to the sulfides was externally derived during an extensive hydrothermal episode, associated with Proterozoic regional metamorphism around 1.7 Ga. The possibility that some fractions of the radiogenic Pb may have been derived from primary minerals altered during the low-grade metamorphism cannot be discounted. The amount of radiogenic lead added is variable and in some cases negligible. There is a good correlation between the lead isotope composition and the nature of the secondary mineral assemblage. Sulfides and plagioclases in samples that show little or no alteration of the primary minerals are generally in isotopic equilibrium and preserve isotope ratios consistent with magmatic crystallization at 2.7 Ga. Samples with the most radiogenic sulfides contain abundant secondary minerals (serpentine, talc, actinolite, chlorite and zoisite) associated with greenschist facies metamorphism. Some of the radiogenic Pb in the sulfides can be removed by progressive stepwise leaching. However, in most samples recrystallization of sulfides during metamorphism has mixed common Pb and radiogenic Pb throughout the crystal structure such that, in these samples, stepwise leaching does not recover initial Pb isotopic ratios. Plagioclases are much more resistant to low temperature recrystallization and in almost all cases, stepwise leaching reveals the initial lead isotopic composition. The reactivity of sulfides over a wide temperature range enhances their utility in understanding not only the processes involved in their formation at the time of magmatic emplacement but also postmagmatic processes which were important in the redistribution and enrichment of platinum group elements (PGE) within the ore zone. Received: 30 December 1998 / Accepted: 16 June 1999     

Chemical and Isotopic Characteristics of Gabbroic Xenoliths from Hannuoba,China

Nine pieces of gabbroic xenoliths from Hannuoba were examined for their major and trace elements and Nd,Sr and Pb isotopes.The results show that the gab-broic xenoliths are of more mafic basaltic composition .Their abundances show narrow variations in major elements.The trace element contents are highly variable in contrast with those of host basalts and lherzolite xenoliths.The gabbroic xenoliths are rich in Nd(0.51159-0.51249),Sr(0.70491-0.70768) and low in radiogenic Pb(16.283-17.046, 15.191-15.381 and 36.999-37.476),significantly different from basalts and lherzolites in isotopic space.The calculated Nd and Pb model ages are about 3.0-3.5 Ga.The rocks have relatively low equilibrium T(-850℃) and P(0.8-0.9 Gpa).They could be inter-preted to be the product of upper mantle melting at the boundary between the lower crust and the upper mantle.Their chemical and isotopic variations can be ascribed to different degrees of melting,segregation and long-term evolution.     

河西走廊成矿带区域成矿规律及找矿方向

河西走廊成矿带是分布于祁连地区最北部的Ⅲ级成矿单元(全国统一编号为Ⅲ-20), 目前共有235处矿产地, 形成了石油、煤、凹凸棒石黏土、萤石、石膏、芒硝、石灰岩、天然石英砂、铁、铜、金、钨等40余种矿产。该成矿带以沉积成矿作用为主, 其次为流体、岩浆、变质和表生成矿作用, 可分为11种矿床类型, 主要成矿期为华力西期、加里东期、燕山期和喜马拉雅期。河西走廊成矿带可进一步划分为2个成矿亚带, 分别为玉门—民乐成矿亚带和山丹—中卫—泾源成矿亚带。根据构造空间、成矿时间、成矿作用和矿种等四要素的耦合关系, 河西走廊成矿带厘定了10个矿床成矿系列, 包括4个沉积作用有关矿床成矿系列、3个流体作用有关矿床成矿系列、1个岩浆作用有关矿床成矿系列、1个变质作用有关矿床成矿系列和1个表生作用有关矿床成矿系列。通过细分成矿时段和细化成矿地质作用, 进一步解析出16个矿床成矿亚系列, 并建立了47个矿床式。根据区内地质、矿产、物探、化探和遥感信息, 河西走廊成矿带共圈出5个综合预测区, 为下一步找矿工作指出了方向。     

Tertiary basalts and peridotite xenoliths from the Hessian Depression (NW Germany), reflecting mantle compositions low in radiogenic Nd and Sr

A total of 17 alkali basalts (alkali olivine basalt, limburgite, olivine nephelinite) and quartz tholeiites, and of 10 peridotite xenoliths (or their clinopyroxenes) were analyzed for Nd and Sr isotopes. ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of all basalts and of the majority of ultramafic xenoliths plot below the mantle array with a large variation in Nd isotopes and a smaller variation in Sr isotopes. The tholeiites were less radiogenic in Nd than the alkali basalts. Volcanics from the Eifel and Massif Central regions contain Nd and Sr, which is more radiogenic than that of the basalts from the Hessian Depression. Nd and Sr isotopic compositions of all rocks from the latter area, with the exception of one tholeiite and one peridotite plot in the same field of isotope ratios as the Ronda ultramafic tectonite (SW Spain), which ranges in composition from garnet to plagioclase peridotite. The alkali basaltic rocks are products of smaller degrees of partial melting of depleted peridotite, which has undergone a larger metasomatic alteration compared with the source rock of tholeiitic magmas. For the peridotite xenoliths such metasomatic alteration is indicated by the correlation of their K contents and isotopic compositions. We assume that the upper mantle locally can acquire isotopic signatures low in radiogenic Nd and Sr from the introduction of delaminated crust. Such granulites low in radiogenic Nd and Sr are products of early REE fractionation and granite (Rb) separation.     

Metallogeny and lead isotopic composition of base metal sulfide deposits in the Rappen area,northern Sweden

Early Proterozoic volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Rappen district in northern Sweden were deposited at a destructive plate margin to the south of the Archaean craton of the western Baltic Shield. The volcano-sedimentary suite was intruded by two generations of early Proterozoic granites at ca. 1.89–1.85 Ga and ca.1.82–1.78 Ga, respectively, and metamorphosed at upper amphibolite facies conditions. Small stratabound iron, copper, and zinc deposits occur in felsic to mafic tuffs and arkosic sediments. Small deposits of molybdenum, tungsten, and uranium formed during the emplacement of the younger granites. The lead isotopic compositions of sulfide trace lead from the various deposits are highly heterogeneous. In the ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb–²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb diagram they fall on mixing arrays between little evolved early Proterozoic lead and highly radiogenic Caledonian lead. The least radiogenic lead isotopic compositions from the various deposits have a wide range of ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios and thus indicate variable involvement of Archaean crustal lead in the Proterozoic deposits. Deposits hosted by siliciclastic rocks have higher ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios than deposits hosted in mafic to felsic tuffites. The lead isotopic heterogeneity suggests that the lead in the various deposits was locally derived and, furthermore, that the sedimentary rocks in part originated from the Archaean craton to the north. Lead mixing arrays in the ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb–²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb diagram demonstrate that in Paleozoic time radiogenic lead was mobilized and transported in the basement. Source ages calculated from the mixing arrays (ca.1.9 Ga and ca.1.8 Ga) correspond to the age of the Early Proterozoic volcanism and metamorphism respectively. One group of deposits includes lead from at least three sources and illustrates that radiogenic lead was multiply mobilized and transported in the Proterozoic basement. It occurs in deposits that occur in zones that became permeable during the reactivations of the basement.     

桐柏地区变质杂岩和侵入岩类Pb同位素组成特征及其地质意义

桐柏地区存在两个铅同位素组成明显不同的基底块体,在桐柏－商城断裂北侧,基底岩石以高放射性成因铅同位素组成为特征,而桐柏－商城断裂南侧,基底岩石以低放射性成因铅同位素组成为特征,它们分别可与南阳盆地以西的北秦岭和南秦岭构造带中基底岩石的铅同位素组成相对比,从而证明桐柏地区是秦岭造山带的构造东延部分．同时,通过桐柏地区侵入岩铅同位素组成特征的分析表明,早古生代侵入岩浆主要来源于北秦岭高放射性成因铅同位素组成的块体,而中生代侵入岩浆则来源于南秦岭低放射性成因铅同位素组成的块体,指示在南阳盆地以东,相当于北秦岭构造块体的地壳深部存在南秦岭的陆壳物质,反映南秦岭的陆壳物质早期向北俯冲叠置于北秦岭块体之下,并作为北秦岭中生代花岗质岩浆的源区     

A Rubidium--Strontium Geochronological Study of the Willyama Complex, Broken Hill, Australia

Rubidium-strontium isotopic measurements are reported for total-rockand minerals from igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks fromthe Willyama Complex, Broken Hill, Australia. The results ofmeasurements on total-rocks and some minerals from the high-gradegneisses indicate that nearly complete strontium isotopic redistributionoccurred within individual rock units 164040 m. y. ago. Thisage is interpreted as that of the high-grade regional metamorphismwhich recrystallized the Willyama rocks to gneisses in the BrokenHill area. Analyses of total-rocks and some minerals from intrusivemuscovite granites and pegmatites give consistent ages of 154O5Om. y. indicating that these rocks were emplaced soon after thehigh-grade regional metamorphism. Rubidium-strontium isotopic analyses of all biotites, and ofmuscovites from pegmatites concordant in schists at Thackaringareveal a 500 m. y. metamorphic episode of lesser intensity accompaniedby pegmatite emplacement. This metamorphism was not of sufficientstrength to open the total-rock systems significantly to rubidiumand strontium isotopes. Biotites, however, appear to have losttheir radiogenic strontium almost completely at this time andit is probable that this event accounts for the observed disturbanceof the potash-feldspar rubidium-strontium systems in most gneissand muscovite granite samples investigated. There is a close similarity between the rubidium-strontium ageresults and the Broken Hill model lead ages. This supports thehypothesis of two-stage lead development and, with the strontiumisotope evidence, suggests that the region has evolved largelyas a closed chemical system since at least the high-grade metamorphism.     

浙江省诸暨至龙泉一带金矿床的铅同位素地球化学研究

本文研究了浙江省诸暨至龙泉一带金矿床的铅同位素地球化学特征。通过研究铅同位素组成、源区特征值和模式年龄,对该区金矿床得出以下两点认识:1.该区金矿床铅同位素组成在区域上具有一定的变化趋势,并可分为二大类,即正常铅和弱放射性成因异常铅,它们反映了一定的物源特征;2.该区金矿床的区域成矿时代为400—700Ma,结合区域成矿地质特征,可以证明该区金矿床主要为变质热液矿床。     

Error propagation in equations for geochemical modeling of radiogenic isotopes in two-component mixing

This paper presents error propagation equations for modeling of radiogenic isotopes during mixing of two components or end-members. These equations can be used to estimate errors on an isotopic ratio in the mixture of two components, as a function of the analytical errors or the total errors of geological field sampling and analytical errors. Two typical cases (“Small errors” and “Large errors”) are illustrated for mixing of Sr isotopes. Similar examples can be formulated for the other radiogenic isotopic ratios. Actual isotopic data for sediment and basalt samples from the Cocos plate are also included to further illustrate the use of these equations. The isotopic compositions of the predicted mixtures can be used to constrain the origin of magmas in the central part of the Mexican Volcanic Belt. These examples show the need of high quality experimental data for them to be useful in geochemical modeling of magmatic processes.     

Tracing crustal contamination of the Cenozoic basalts with OIB-affinity in northern marginal region of North China Craton: An Os perspective

The Cenozoic basalts with OIB-affinity in northern marginal region of the North China Craton are thought to experience minor even no crustal contamination during the magma evolution. The whole-rock Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf isotopes are attributed to a two-component mixing between depleted and enriched mantle sources, while the major element variations are controlled by the fractional crystallization of olivine and clinopyroxene. However, in this study, the new Os isotopic data proposes an opposite model for the Cenozoic basalts in northern marginal region of the North China Craton. In this model, the Jining basalts were contaminated by the Archean mafic rocks during the magma storage and ascent. The crustal contamination process is supported by (1) the highly radiogenic Os isotopic compositions, and (2) the positive correlation between ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os and 1/Os of the Jining basalts. By modeling the Os isotopic composition of the basalts, an incorporation of < 10% mafic granulites/amphibolites to the parental magma can successfully explain the initial values of highly radiogenic Os. In contrast, the unradiogenic and uniform Os isotopic compositions of the Chifeng basalts suggest negligible crustal contamination. Os isotopic data acts as an indicator of crustal contamination during magma evolution, providing us a novel insight into the evolution of the intra-continental OIB-like basalts worldwide.©2021 China Geology Editorial Office.     

陕西略阳铜厂铜矿床Sr,Pb同位素组成特征及其意义

结合岩体产出环境,时代及其与碧口火山岩的关系,认为铜厂石英闪长岩体是由碧口火山岩的局部熔融作用形成的。铜厂铜矿硫化物Ｐｂ同位素特征显示出以浅源的地壳铅为主,并与碧口火山岩铅同位素组成的壳源端员重合,指示矿质与碧田火山岩之间存在密切关系。由于岩体与火山岩的同源性,所以脉状铜矿石既可能来自岩体也可能来自围岩。     

Concentration, isotopic composition, and sources of lead in Southern Ocean air during 1999/2000, measured at the Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station, Tasmania

Southern Ocean aerosols were collected at the Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station from onshore air under baseline conditions between February 1999 and April 2000. Thermal ionization techniques (TIMS) and isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS) were used to measure the isotopic composition and concentration of lead in the air giving concentrations as low as 0.6 ± 0.1 pg · m⁻³. Air collected under baseline conditions for 12 months (May 1999-April 2000) yielded an overall lead concentration of 11.0 ± 0.2 pg · m⁻³ and isotopic composition of ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb = 1.154, ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁷Pb = 2.387 and ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 17.93. The range in isotopic ratios was consistent with the mixing of lead from major population centers in the Southern Hemisphere in the mid to high latitudes, except for the presence of highly radiogenic lead in some samples. Contributions from radiogenic lead of up to ∼0.8% were observed. Three periods with the highest percentage contribution of radiogenic lead (>0.5%) were investigated in more detail, and 4-d back-trajectories and radon concentrations were used to help identify the sources. The sources are probably associated with the mining and processing of uranium rich ores in southern Africa and possibly South Australia.     

Temporal Geochemical Evolution of Neogene Magmatism in the Baguio Gold–Copper Mining District (Northern Luzon, Philippines)

Baguio, in the Central Cordillera of Northern Luzon, is a district that displays porphyry copper and epithermal gold mineralization, associated with Early Miocene–Pliocene–Quaternary calc‐alkaline and adakitic intrusions. Systematic sampling, K‐Ar dating, major and trace elements, and Sr, Nd, Pb isotopic analyses of fresh magmatic rocks indicate three magmatic pulses: an Early Miocene phase (21.2–18.7 Ma), a Middle–Late Miocene phase (15.3–8 Ma) and finally a Pliocene–Quaternary event (3–1 Ma). The first phase emplaced evolved calc‐alkaline magmas, essentially within the Agno Batholith complex, and is thought to be related to the westward‐dipping subduction of the West Philippine Basin. After a quiescence period during which the Kennon limestone was deposited, magmatic activity resumed at 15.3 Ma, in connection with the start of the subduction of the South China Sea along the Manila Trench. It emplaced first petrogenetically related and relatively unradiogenic low‐K calc‐alkaline lavas and intermediate adakites. Temporal geochemical patterns observed from 15.3 to 1 Ma include progressive enrichment in K and other large ion lithophile elements, increase in radiogenic Sr and Pb and corresponding decrease in radiogenic Nd. These features are thought to reflect the progressive addition to the Luzon arc mantle wedge of incompatible elements largely inherited from South China Sea sediments. The origin of the long quiescence period, from 8 to 3 Ma, remains problematic. It might represent a local consequence of the docking of the Zambales ophiolitic terrane to Northern Luzon. Then, magmatic activity resumed at 3 Ma, emplacing chemically diversified rocks ranging from low K to high K and including a large proportion of adakites, especially during the Quaternary (dacitic plugs). The authors tentatively relate this diversity to the development of a slab tear linked with the subduction of the fossil South China Sea ridge beneath the Baguio area.     

Continental crust and lithospheric mantle interaction beneath North China: isotopic evidence from granulite xenoliths in Hannuoba, Sino-Korean craton

Mafic granulite and pyroxenite xenoliths from Cenozoic alkaline basalts at Hannuoba, Hebei Province, North China have been selected for a systematic geochemical and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic study, which provides a unique opportunity to explore nature of the lower crust and the interaction between the continental crust and lithospheric mantle beneath an Archean craton. The major, compatible and incompatible elements and radiogenic isotopes of these xenoliths suggest great chemical heterogeneity of the lower crust beneath the Hannuoba region. Petrological and geochemical evidences indicate a clear cumulate origin, and most likely, they are related to basaltic underplating in different geological episodes. However, the Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic compositions of the xenoliths reveal a profound enriched source signature (EM I) with some influence of EM II, which implies that some portion of pre-existing, old metasomatized subcontinental lithospheric mantle could have played an important role in their genesis. It is suggested that the interaction between continental crust and subcontinental mantle as manifested by basaltic underplating would be closely related to regional tectonic episodes and geodynamic processes in the deep part of subcontinental lithospheric mantle.     

藏西班公湖斑岩铜矿带成矿斑岩地球化学及Pb、Sr、Nd同位素特征

对班公湖铜矿带2个具有代表性的斑岩铜矿床--多不杂铜矿床和尕尔穷铜矿床进行了详细的岩石地球化学和Pb、Sr、Nd同位素特征研究表明,与冈底斯铜矿带相比,该铜矿带含矿斑岩大离子不相容元素的富集程度相对减弱,而高场强元素和重稀土元素的亏损程度明显减轻,轻、重稀土元素的分馏程度减弱,且具有Eu的弱正异常,岩石在氧化性上更强一些;从Pb、Sr、Nd同位素特征来看,班公湖铜矿带含矿斑岩更富含放射性成因铅,~(143)Nd/~(144)Nd比值明显降低,其源区更接近印度洋沉积物区域,表明该铜矿带含矿斑岩的岩浆源区更浅,有更多的地壳物质加入;班公湖铜矿带含矿斑岩形成的构造环境属于活动大陆边缘区域,而冈底斯铜矿带明显偏离了活动大陆边缘区域,表明班公湖斑岩铜矿带形成于碰撞后地壳隆升阶段,而冈底斯铜矿带则形成于碰撞后地壳伸展阶段.     

湘中锡矿山锑矿床成矿物质来源的同位素示踪

本文利用放射成因同位素（Pb、Sr)和轻稳定同位素（C、O）对锡矿山超大型锑矿床的成矿物质来源进行了示踪，从物源角度揭示了其在规模成矿、元素发生超常富集的原因。研究表明，锡矿山锑矿床的成矿物质不可能是来自赋矿围岩；深部地幔和基底都卷入了该矿的成矿作用；富Sb的交代型地幔和富Sb的元古界基底为其大规模成矿提供了充足的矿源，两者是形成锡成山超大型锑矿床的前提条件。     

西藏甲玛铜多金属矿床S、Pb、H、O同位素特征及其指示意义

西藏甲玛铜多金属矿床是中国近年来发现的特大型铜铅锌多金属矿床之一,其产出的环境和形成机理为国内外矿床学家所关注。对甲玛铜多金属矿床中代表性岩（矿）石样品进行了S、Pb、H和O同位素分析,并从成矿系统中“源”的角度对其变化规律和成因意义进行了探讨。研究结果表明,甲玛铜多金属矿床的围岩和矿石中δ34S值变化于-4.9‰～0.5‰,在硫同位素直方图上呈塔式分布,成矿热液δ34SΣS在0值附近,与矿区内斑岩体的δ34S组成（-0.2‰～-0.7‰）十分接近。表明了矿石中硫的来源单一,主要来源于岩浆。矿石铅同位素变化范围较大,明显分为两组：第一组样品富放射性成因铅,其206Pb/204Pb变化范围为18.603～18.752,207Pb/204Pb变化范围为15.610～15.686,208Pb/204Pb变化范围为38.910～39.135;第二组样品具有低放射性成因铅特征,其206Pb/204Pb变化范围为18.130～18.270,207Pb/204Pb变化范围为15.470～15.480,208Pb/204Pb变化范围为38.140～38.850。各同位素比值相对稳定,变化范围较小。将含矿斑岩的岩石铅与矿石铅进行综合投图,两种类型的铅并非单阶段正常铅,而是混合铅,有放射性成因铅的加入。可能存在不同的源区或在演化过程中有不同源区物质的混入。氢氧同位素研究结果显示,氢同位素的来源主要为深部的花岗岩体,而氧同位素由于后期大气降水增多、水/岩比值升高,导致含矿石英脉中δ18OH2O降低。因此推断甲玛铜多金属矿床成矿流体早期以深源流体为主,随着成矿过程的演化,大气降水所占的比例也越来越大。     

Evaluation of drilling priorities using lead isotopes at the Lady Loretta lead-zinc-silver deposit, Australia

The weathered surface expression of the Lady Loretta lead-zinc-silver deposit outcrops almost continuously over a distance of about 4 km. Lead isotope ratios have been determined for samples, some of which contain > 4000 ppm Pb, from geochemically anomalous areas in order to assign drilling priorities to the anomalies.Twelve of the 43 samples analyzed contain isotopically homogeneous lead with ratios (²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb 0.9532–0.9549) similar to the expected targets for major ore deposits in the Mount Isa-McArthur River metallogenic province (²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb 0.955–0.962). Three main zones of interest can be outlined on the basis of lead isotopic data. The top priority is assigned to a 100-m-long section of the ironstone which coincides with the known outcrop of the ore. Lower priority for drilling is given to the two other zones which outcrop over smaller areas and have more radiogenic lead in their immediate surroundings. Several samples with anomalously high lead contents (> 1000 ppm) contain more radiogenic lead (²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb < 0.950) which was most likely derived from the weathering country rocks by supergene leaching and redeposition. Of the 22 samples containing ≥ 380 ppm Pb, lead isotopic analyses would have reduced the number deserving further attention to 10. Lead isotopic analyses in the early stages of exploration could have assisted in minimizing exploration expenditure at Lady Loretta.