Геохимические и изотопные критерии медных руд Уральской горно-металлургической области эпохи бронзы
Geochemical and Isotopic Criteria of Copper Ores from the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Region during the Bronze Age

Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the issues of determining the geochemical and isotopic markers of copper ores used as raw material for metal production during the Bronze Age in the Ural Mining and Metallurgical region. As a result of ISP-MS analyses of ore samples from ancient mines, the authors compiled two reference databases of background samples with diagnostic combinations of accessory elements and corresponding signatures of lead isotope ratios. The study of Pb isotopic ratios made it possible to organize the entire series into two separate groups. The first category included sedimentary ores of copper, sandstones, and slates of the Tatarian strata of the Permian period in the steppe Cis-Ural. The second group included ores from various formations, including pyrites (of the Uralic, Cyprian, and other types), porphyritic, and skarn deposits associated with the older geological structures of the Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous age of volcanic and post-volcanic origin in the eastern slopes of the Urals and the Mugodzhary Range. The determination of the elemental composition of ore materials made it possible to establish geochemical indicators of certain geological and genetic types of copper ore production objects developed during the Bronze Age. As a result of Factor Analysis and Principal Component Analysis of the obtained data, the authors established statistically reliable associations among accessory elements resistant to pyrometallurgical treatment, demonstrating a high degree of internal correlation.

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