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.

This study is focused on the El Milagro mine (Asturias, Spain) and is part of a large‐scale effort on the measurement of the lead isotopic composition of Spanish copper ores from prehistoric mines in the provinces of Asturias and León, from which no data were available until recently. Lead isotopic values are compared to the published lead data from the El Aramo mine in the same region. The results show that both mines have a very similar lead isotopic composition, apart from some highly radiogenic samples in the El Milagro mine, which are clearly different from those previously reported for the Iberian Peninsula.

This paper continues the characterization of the lead isotopic fingerprint of ancient copper mines in the north‐west of Spain. In this work, the lead isotopic compositions found in copper ores from the La Profunda mine are presented. Azurites and malachites sampled from this deposit were subjected to lead isotope analysis by multicollector ICP–MS. The results showed a clear radiogenic lead signature compatible with the presence of uranium‐rich minerals (such as zeunerite) in the same mining complex. Moreover, a rare copper artefact, found in the galleries of the mine during its modern exploitation, was also analysed and showed that local mineral was used for its manufacturing.

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