Establishing a geochemical baseline for the Lower Carboniferous stratigraphy of the Rathdowney Trend, Irish Zn-Pb orefield

Carbonate-hosted Zn-Pb mineralisation within strata of the Irish Midlands can be subdivided between deposits forming on either Lower Carboniferous basin margin. Those on the southern side, known as the Rathdowney or Lisheen trend deposits, are hosted within the Waulsortian Mudbank formation and have been exploited for over 35 Mt of massive sphalerite-galena-pyrite ore since the 1960s. Additional occurrences of Irish-style mineralisation along the Rathdowney trend are numerous; however, questions remain regarding the extent and geochemical signature of the accompanying alteration haloes as, until now, no geochemical baseline was established.