2624 Figure 2 - Geological map for Iberian Pyrite Belt (Spain), including the main mineral deposits (Martín-Méndez et al. 2023). Different types of mineral deposits in the IPB include mineralization in VMS, stockworks, gossans and Cu-rich shales. Mn is also extracted from small open pits linked to hydrothermal mineralizations and volcanism. More than 80 ore deposits and 100 mineral occurrences are located within the studied area in the IPB. We can highlight several of the VMS ore deposits over 50 Mt. The Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB), mined since ancient times (Phoenicians to Romans) for Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag, Au, and Mn, hosts major deposits like Río Tinto, Aguas Teñidas, La Magdalena, and Sotiel (fig. 2). Its long mining history and geological richness highlight its strong potential for CRM exploration. 2. METHODOLOGY 2.1 Sampling and sample preparation The type of sample selected for the geochemical mapping of the study zone was residual soil, which followed the recommendations of the Geochemical Baseline Program (Salminen, et al. 1998). During the field campaign from spring 2016 to spring 2017 up to 6.197 soil samples were collected, at an average sampling density of two samples per km2 (a grid of 500 × 1000 m) in N-S profiles, and an average weight of 3 kg. They were taken from 2 to 20 cm depth when possible due to the poor development of soil in the Pyrite Belt. Samples were collected as composite samples from five pits within 100 m2 (Martín-Méndez, et al. 2023). Soil samples were firstly sieved to < 3 mm during the field campaign. For quality control purposes, a field duplicate was taken at every 30 sample site, with an offset. All samples were shipped to a central sample preparation facility at the Geological Survey of Spain (IGME) and were processed by the protocol described by Mackovych et al. (2022). 2.2 Chemical analyses and quality control Chemical analyses of 64 elements were carried out at Actlabs Laboratories Ltd. (Ontario, Canada), after a tetra-acid digestion, by a combination of inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy
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