Abstract The Restigouche volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) Zn-Pb-Cu deposit in north-central New Brunswick is 490 m long, averages 90 m wide by 30 m thick, crops out at its southern end, and has a vertical depth of 183 m at its northern end. Within the study area, sandy-clayey brown basal tills range from about 1 m in thickness to nonexistent and are locally derived and transported only a few hundred meters in an easterly direction. Well-developed podzolic soils average about 40 cm in depth below the base of the humus layer. Conventional and selective leach geochemical methods were applied to humus and B horizon soil samples collected at 102 sites within a 1,000- × 500-m grid at the deposit. The principal objectives of the work were to investigate whether (1) the deposit was highlighted by conventional geochemical and/or selective leaching methods applied to either soil medium; (2) the selective leach response in either medium was superior to the conventional geochemical exploration approach, particularly over the deepest part of the deposit; and (3) one sample medium was superior to the other in either approach. All samples were sieved to <80 mesh (177 μm) after airdrying. Sodium pyrophosphate was used to dissolve preferentially the humic and fulvic component of the humus material and the results were compared to those obtained by a strong oxidizing attack using aqua regia. Two partial leaches were applied to the B horizon soil and the results were compared to those by a total attack using HF-HClO 4 -HNO 3 -HCl followed by LiBO 2 fusion of any residue. The two leaches comprise the enzyme leach, designed to dissolve selectively the most reactive forms of Mn oxides present in soils; and a variation of the reducing hydroxylamine hydrochloride leach designed to dissolve both amorphous Fe oxyhydroxides and Mn oxides. The various leaches were analyzed for ca. 30 to 50 elements by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) except for As, which was determined by quartz tube atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The shallow southern region of the deposit is easily located by the response of Pb, As, and Cu in humus and soil by all methods, the best contrast being shown by the hydroxylamine and enzyme selective leaches of soil, especially for Pb. The hydroxylamine leach for Ag is also excellent in defining this area, though Ag in humus by both methods is adequate. Zinc does not highlight the deposit itself, probably owing to its high mobility in the surficial environment. Other deposit-enriched elements in the soil, such as Sb and Bi, are diagnostic of the shallow deposit, particularly by the hydroxylamine leach. In general, at the southern end of the deposit humus provides a more constricted anomaly, whereas the shape of the anomaly in the B horizon extends several hundred meters to the east, probably a reflection of glacial movement (as seen in the tills) and/or ground-water movement. It is the humus rather than B horizon soil which locates deeply buried mineralization (>100 m) at the northern part of the deposit and most clearly by As. The pyrophosphate leach defines the deposit more closely than the aqua regia leach, but the latter provides more contrast. Lead in humus by both methods is also effective, aqua regia being superior, but both are inferior to the responses shown by As. Copper in humus also indicates mineralization in this area, as do Hg and Sb by the pyrophosphate leach. The fact that the B horizon is not anomalous in the ore elements suggests cycling from depth below this horizon and enrichment in humus by vegetation.