Lead isotope data from selected galena occurrences in the North Eifel and North Sauerland,Germany

The isotopic ratios of Pb have been determined from 33 galena samples collected from a variety of occurrences in the north Eifel and north Sauerland. On the basis of the data presented, it is not possible to distinguish between the isotopic characteristics of galena-Pb from veins, carbonate cavity-filling and sandstone-hosted disseminated mineralisation in the north Eifel. In the north Sauerland, Saxonian (late Mesozoic-Tertiary) disseminated Pb mineralisation in Cretaceous-Tertiary sediments is generally more radiogenic than Saxonian vein mineralisation in Paleozoic country rocks. Variscan vein-type mineralisation (Ramsbeck, Ebbe Mountains) proved to have the least radiogenic Pb. The results are discussed in terms of potential sources of the Pb, and are compared to other data reported from European deposits.