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Abstract
With the aim of better understanding geochemistry of coal, 71 Late Permian whole-seam coal channel samples from western
Guizhou Province, Southwest China were studied and 57 elements in them were determined. The contents of Al, Ca, Co, Cr,
Cu, Fe, Ga, Hf, K, Li, Mn, Mo, Nb, Ni, Sn, Ta, Ti, Th, U, V, Zr, and REEs in the Late Permian coals from western Guizhou
Province are higher than the arithmetic means for the corresponding elements in the US coals, whereas As, Ba, Br, F, Hg, P, Se,
and Tl are lower. Compared to common Chinese coals, the contents of Co, Cr, Cu, Ga, Hf, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Sc, Sn, Ti, U, V, Zn,
and Zr in western Guizhou coals are higher, and As, F, Hg, Rb, Sb, Tl, and W are lower. Five groups of elements may be
classified according to their mode of occurrence in coal: The first two, Group A, TmYbLuYErHoDyTbCeLaNd
PrGdSm, and Group B, AsSrKRbBaFAshSiSnGaHfAlTaZrBeThNa, have high positive correlation
coefficients with ash yield and they show mainly inorganic affinity. Some elements from Group B, such as Ba, Be, Ga, Hf, and
Th, are also characterized by significant aluminosilicate affinity. In addition, arsenic also exhibits high sulfide affinity (r SFeN
0.5). The elements, which have negative or lower positive correlation coefficients with ash yield (with exceptions of Bi, Cs, Nb,
Mn, Se, and Ti), are grouped in other four associations: Group C, CrVMoUCdTl; Group D, HgLiScTiEuNbCs
W; Group E, BiSb; and Group F, CoNiCuPbZnMgSeCaMnSFe. The correlation coefficients of some elements,
including Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Li, Mo, Ni, P, S, Sc, U, V, and Zn, with ash yield are below the statistically significant value. Only
Cr and Cu are negatively correlated to ash yield ( 0.07 and 0.01, respectively), showing intermediate (organic and inorganic)
affinity. Manganese and Fe are characterized by carbonate affinity probably due to high content of epigenetic veined ankerite in
some coals. Phosphorus has low correlation coefficients with any other elements and is not included in these six associations.
There are five possible genetic types of enrichment of elements in coal from western Guizhou Province: source rock, volcanic
ash, low-temperature hydrothermal fluid, groundwater, and magmatic hydrothermal inputs.
D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Major and trace elements; Coal; Late Permian; Guizhou Province; China
* Corresponding author. China University of Mining and Technology, D11, Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China. Tel./
fax: +86 10 62341868.
E-mail address: dsf@mail.edu.cn (S. Dai).
0166-5162/$ - see front matter D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.coal.2004.07.003
120 S. Dai et al. / International Journal of Coal Geology 61 (2005) 119137
123
124
Table 1 (continued)
Sample Sample location Ga Gd Hf Hg Ho K, % La Li Lu Mg, % Mn Mo Na, % Nb Nd Ni P Pb Pr Rb
No.
XR-1 Xingren Coalfield 5.7 2.4 1.2 0.1 0.4 0.26 13 70 0.2 0.06 31 1.0 0.04 7.2 11 12 100 9.5 3.0 7.6
XR-2 Xingren Coalfield 5.5 3.5 1.3 0.11 0.7 0.27 17 58 0.3 0.05 108 0.7 0.04 8.5 14 8.1 725 10 3.7 8.2
XR-3 Xingren Coalfield 11 3.8 2.3 0.13 0.6 0.93 20 63 0.2 0.33 720 16 0.07 14 19 22 131 9.4 4.9 28
XR-4 Xingren Coalfield nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
XR-5 Xingren Coalfield 16 4.3 4.9 0.22 0.8 0.27 37 111 0.4 0.14 170 77 0.32 34 26 44 314 10 7.1 9.1
XR-6 Xingren Coalfield 9.9 3.7 2.6 0.15 0.8 0.22 20 86 0.3 0.09 116 44 0.14 30 18 24 122 6.8 4.8 8.0
125
126
Table 1 (continued)
Sample Sample location St,d, % Sb Sc Se Si, % Sm Sn Sr Ta Tb Th Ti Tl Tm U V W Y Yb Zn Zr
No.
XR-1 Xingren Coalfield 2.02 0.4 3.4 0.8 3.38 2.5 9.6 66 0.3 0.4 4.4 0.2 0.04 0.2 1.4 29 0.3 14 1.1 26 74
XR-2 Xingren Coalfield 1.25 0.3 3.3 0.9 2.39 3.2 5.3 121 0.4 0.6 4.5 0.08 0.02 0.3 1.5 22 0.3 23 1.8 21 67
XR-3 Xingren Coalfield 3.54 0.9 7.2 1.8 4.94 3.8 9.2 231 1.1 0.6 5.4 0.41 0.19 0.2 14 94 0.6 20 1.5 19 144
XR-4 Xingren Coalfield nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
XR-5 Xingren Coalfield 3.05 1.0 4.1 3.8 5.12 4.8 7.9 243 3.5 0.6 7.0 0.35 0.51 0.4 77 249 1.5 25 2.4 90 329
XR-6 Xingren Coalfield 2.22 0.4 4.9 1.7 2.89 3.3 5.9 100 1.0 0.6 4.7 0.29 0.30 0.3 29 116 0.7 26 1.9 28 196
QL-7 Qinglong Coalfield 1.89 0.2 2.7 0.4 1.59 1.2 5.6 48 0.3 0.2 2.3 0.19 0.02 0.1 1.3 36 0.1 8 0.7 46 65
127
d
From Ren et al. (1999).
128 S. Dai et al. / International Journal of Coal Geology 61 (2005) 119137
The arithmetic means of concentrations for Al, Ca, only about 100 m2, although it has led to the serious
Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ga, Hf, K, Li, Mn, Mo, Nb, Ni, Sn, endemic arsenosis. Unfortunately, now it is very
Ta, Ti, Th, U, V, Zr, and REEs in the Late Permian difficult to collect such high-As coal samples from
coals from western Guizhou Province are higher than the study area, because the mines that produced
arithmetic means for the corresponding elements in high-As coal had been closed for years.
the US coals, as reported by Finkelman (1993) (Table The fluorine content in coals from western
1), and As, Ba, Br, F, Hg, P, Se, and Tl are lower and Guizhou Province ranges form 17 to 500 Ag/g, with
the remainder elements have arithmetic means that are an average of 83 Ag/g, which is lower than that of
about equal. The arithmetic means of concentrations the world average (150 Ag/g; Swaine, 1990) and
for Co, Cr, Cu, Ga, Hf, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Sc, Sn, Ti, U, about equal to that of common Chinese coals (82 Ag/
V, Zn, and Zr in western Guizhou coals are higher g; Luo et al., 2004). The highest content of fluorine
than those of common Chinese coals as reported by (500 Ag/g) in the No. 9 coal seam from the Zhijin
Zhao et al. (2002), and As, F, Hg, Rb, Sb, Tl, and W Coalfield of western Guizhou Province was attrib-
are lower and in the remaining trace elements are uted to the synsedimentary volcanic ash. During
equal. The contents of rare earth elements in western epidemiology investigations, we found that the local
Guizhou coals are higher than those in common residents from western Guizhou Province are accus-
Chinese coals as reported by Ren et al. (1999). tomed to not only using furnaces without chimneys
It was reported that, in the coals without marine to dry corn, to cook, and to keep warm indoors, but
influence on the depositional paleoenvironment, the also to using a yellow clay for a coal-burning
content of Th is higher than that of U (Dai, 2002); additive in the furnace and as a binder in briquette-
however, the arithmetic mean of Th (6.5 Ag/g) is less making. This clay contains a very high fluorine
than that of U (14 Ag/g) in western Guizhou Late content, ranging from 101 to 2456 Ag/g, with an
Permian coals. This is likely attributed to the average of 1028 Ag/g. Almost every family in
relatively significant marine influences on coal as villages from western Guizhou Province uses the
reported by Hao (2000). Moreover, the basaltic mixture of coal and clay (the ratio is from 4:1 to 2:1)
volcanic ash fall during the Late Permian period also as their daily primary fuel. Taking the ratio of coal to
could lead to the higher U in coal. For example, the clay into account, the fluorine content in the mixture
content of U (50 Ag/g) is much higher than that of Th can be figured out as more than 300 Ag/g (Dai et al.,
(12 Ag/g) in the No. 9 coal seam in the Zhijin 2004b), which is much higher than that in coals
Coalfield, western Guizhou Province, which was not alone from the western Guizhou Province (83 Ag/g).
influenced by marine water but by the synsedimentary Therefore, the endemic fluorosis in western Guizhou
basaltic volcanic ash. Province is likely attributed to the high content of
Although, as reported by some authors, western fluorine in the clay, rather than to fluorine in coal
Guizhou Province is the area of endemic arsenosis alone.
related to coal combustion, it is worth pointing out
that the arithmetic mean of As (3.9 Ag/g) from 4.2. Geochemical associations
western Guizhou Province is lower than that in
Chinese coals and US coals, 5 and 24 Ag/g, Cluster analysis allowed to classify the elements
respectively, as reported by Zhao et al. (2002) and studied (with the exception of P) into six associations
Finkelman (1993) (Table 1). Ren et al. (1999) and (Fig. 2).
Belkin et al. (1997) found the highest arsenic-bearing Group A: Thulium, Yb, Lu, Y, Er, Ho, Dy, Tb, Ce,
samples (up to 3.2%) in Haizhi Township from La, Nd, Pr, Gd, and Sm associate together (Fig. 2).
Xingren County, southwest Guizhou Province. How- The correlation coefficients of TmYb (1.00), LuY
ever, such high-As coal samples are not whole-seam (0.97), ErHo (1.00), DyTb (0.98), CeLa (0.99),
channel, but lump samples, and such coal seams are NdPr (0.99), and GdSm (0.98) are all higher than
unworkable in the study area. In addition, the 0.97. Elements in this group have relatively high
occurrence of such high As coal is restricted to an positive correlation coefficients with ash yield, rang-
outcrop area (including the mouth of the well) of ing from 0.43 to 0.69 (Table 2).
S. Dai et al. / International Journal of Coal Geology 61 (2005) 119137
Fig. 2. Dendrogram produced by hierarchical cluster analysis of analytical data from 71 samples (cluster method, centroid clustering; interval, Pearson correlation; transform values,
maximum magnitude of 1), r o=F0.20.
129
130 S. Dai et al. / International Journal of Coal Geology 61 (2005) 119137
correlations between ash yield and Ca+Mg and Fe Manganese, Sr, and Fe were also characterized by
are not observed (Fig. 3). The high ash content is carbonate affinity (Table 2), probably attributed to
related probably mainly with the alluminosilicate high content of epigenetic veined ankerite in some
rather than the carbonate and Fe-bearing minerals, Late Permian coals from western Guizhou Province.
which is illustrated in Fig. 3. The correlation For example, the concentrations of Mn and Fe are as
coefficients of the elements with ash yield in the high as 937 Ag/g and 2.32% in the No. 11 whole-seam
third group vary from 0.21 to 0.5: As (0.44), Ca coal channel sample from the Dafang Coalfield,
(0.26), Cd (0.30), Cs (0.46), Eu (0.35), Mg (0.33), western Guizhou Province. The No. 11 coal seam
Nb (0.44), Nd (0.43), Pb (0.31), Sb (0.22), Sm has a high content of ankerite (10.2 vol.%). Based on
(0.47), Ti (0.40), Tl (0.30), and W (0.23). Arsenic, 34 test spots of SEM-EDX on veined ankerite in the
Cd, Cs, Eu, Nd, Sm, and Ti have also showed No. 11 coal seam, the content of Mn and Fe can be up
aluminosilicate affinity (r AlSiN0.2; Table 2). In to 0.48% and 12.5%, respectively.
addition, arsenic is characterized by sulfide affinity
(r SFeN0.5; Table 2), and this could indicate that As 4.4. Genetic types of element-enriching in western
mainly occurs in sulfide in coal. Guizhou coals
The fourth group (Table 2) includes elements with
correlation coefficients below the statistically signifi- There are many factors controlling the enrichment
cant value (F0.20): Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Li, Mo, Ni, P, of elements in coal (Yudovich et al., 1985; Swaine,
S, Sc, U, V, and Zn. Only Cr and Cu are negatively 1990; Finkelman, 1993; Eskenazy, 1996; Palmer and
correlated to ash yield ( 0.07 and 0.01, respec- Lyons, 1996; Hower et al., 1997, 1999; Ren et al.,
tively). They probably have intermediate (organic and 1999; Bouska et al., 2000; Dai et al., 2003a). Based on
inorganic) affinity. Depending on the type of the the coal geology in western Guizhou Province and our
organic or mineral form they are found in various recent studies (Dai, 2002; Dai et al., 2003a,b; Dai et
associations. Gluskoter et al. (1977), Kuhn et al. al., 2004a,b), five possible genetic types of element-
(1980), Querol et al. (1992), and Kortenski and enriching in coal are proposed to account for the
Sotirov (2002) also reported data for similar affinity element concentration in the Late Permian coals from
for some of these elements. western Guizhou Province: source rock; low-temper-
It should be noted that no elements with a high ature hydrothermal fluid, volcanic ash, ground water,
negative correlation coefficient with ash yield were and magmatic hydrothermal inputs.
found in Late Permian coals from western Guizhou
Province. Generally, elements that show high neg- 4.4.1. Source rocks
ative correlation coefficient with ash yield probably The source rocks in the west of coal basin are
associate with organic matter. The affinity of element basalts in which the concentration of Co, Cr, Zn, Ga,
in Late Permian coals from Western Guizhou Mn, Ni, U, V, and Zn is high compared with other
Province is some different from the data reported rocks (Table 3). The concentration of these elements
by Gluskoter et al. (1977), Miller and Given (1987), in the source rocks of the study coal basin is similar to
Pareek and Bardhan (1985), Eskenazy (1996), that of world basalts as reported by Vinogradov
Querol et al. (1996, 1997a), Crowley et al. (1997), (1962) (Table 3). In comparison with Chinese coals
Vassilev et al. (2001), and Kortenski and Sotirov and US coals, the Late Permian coals from western
(2002), whose studies showed that some elements, Guizhou province are enriched in Co, Cr, Zn, Ga, Hf,
such as As, Be, Mg, Ge, Mo, W, In, Sb, P, Cr, and Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Sn, Ti, U, V, Zn, and Zr as described
Zr in some coals, mainly have organic affinity. The above, and this probably attributed to the high
affinity characteristics of elements in coals from the contents of these elements in the basaltic source rocks
study area are probably due to the low-temperature with exceptions of Hf, Li, Mo, Sn, Ti, and Zr. The
hydrothermal fluids and volcanic influences, which source rock is an important geological factor for the
could lead to the inorganic enrichment of trace enrichment of trace elements in the Late Permian
elements that overlapped the organic affinity of coals that were not influenced by volcanic ash, low-
elements in coal. temperature hydrothermal fluids, and groundwater.
132 S. Dai et al. / International Journal of Coal Geology 61 (2005) 119137
S. Dai et al. / International Journal of Coal Geology 61 (2005) 119137 133
Studies by Ren et al. (1999) and Ren et al. (2004) high. In addition, studies by Dai (2002) and Dai et al.
came to the same conclusion: coals from the Eogene (2003b) showed that, due to the source rocks, the
Shenbei Coalfield and Jurassic Beipiao Coalfield in background contents of platinum group elements in
Liaoning Province have high concentrations for Co, Late Permian coals from western Guizhou Province,
Cr, Cu, V, and Zn, because the source rocks for the which were not influenced by magmatic hydrothermal
two coalfields are basalts in which these elements are inputs, low-temperature hydrothermal fluids, and
synsedimentary volcanic ash, are much higher than
Table 3 those in the Paleozoic coals from North China.
Some elements in the source rocks, basalts, and western Guizhou
coals 4.4.2. Low-temperature hydrothermal fluid
a
Element Source Basalt Coal Element Source a
Basalt Coal Low-temperature hydrothermal fluids were the
rock rock most important factors for the enrichment of elements
Co 38 45 14 Ni 146 160 37 in coal from western Guizhou Province. Veined
Cr 223 200 32 Sn 0.9 1.5 5.9 minerals originated from low-temperature hydrother-
Cu 155 100 61 Ti 17,520 9000 27,000 mal fluids are well developed in the Late Permian
Ga 23 18 13 U 1.2 0.5 13
Hf 1.6 1.5 4.3 V 211 200 123
coals from the study area. These veined minerals,
Li 34 27 50 Zn 157 130 55 including quartz, calcite, ankerite, pyrite, and clay,
Mn 270 200 169 Zr 260 100 223 could lead to the enrichment of some elements in
Mo 3.2 1.4 8.2 coal. For example, the siliceous low-temperature
a
From Vinogradov (1962). hydrothermal fluid significantly dominates the ele-
134 S. Dai et al. / International Journal of Coal Geology 61 (2005) 119137
mental concentrations of the late Permian anthracitic ashes were emitted frequently during the Late Permian
(R o,max=3.58%) coal seam (No. 30) from the Zhijin age in western Guizhou Province (Chen et al., 2003;
Coalfield in western Guizhou Province. This whole- Hao, 2000). The No. 9 whole-seam coal channel
seam coal channel sample has a very high content of sample in the Zhijin Coalfield (ZJ-9), western
veined quartz (9.4 vol.%), whose isotope values of Guizhou Province has a very high content of Fe
d 30Si and d 18O are 0.6x and 15.4x, respectively, (4.34%), Cu (370 Ag/g), U (50 Ag/g), Mo (63 Ag/g),
indicating that the high content quartz originated Zn (34 Ag/g), and Zr (842 Ag/g) (Table 2). A typical
from siliceous low-temperature hydrothermal fluid powder XRD pattern of the No. 9 coal seam shows
(formation temperature 160220 8C). The veined that the main minerals are a-cristobalite, augite,
mineralizations are the dominant source of Fe, Cu, U, quartz, and trace amounts of calcite and kaolinite,
Pd, Pt, and Ir, which are as high as 2.31%, 356 Ag/g, but no Fe- and Cu-bearing minerals have been
8 Ag/g, 2.1 Ag/g, 2.4 Ag/g, and 0.006 Ag/g in the detected. The a-cristobalite and augite provide evi-
whole-seam channel sample of this coal seam, dence for the volcanic origin of the inorganic.
respectively. Particularly, a-cristobalite is indicative of high tem-
The siliceous and iron-rich calcium low-temper- perature. A study by Dai et al. (2003a) showed that
ature hydrothermal fluids also controlled the mineral- the sharp edges of a-cristobalite observed under
ogy and geochemistry of the late Permian No. 11 SEM-EDX indicate that a-cristobalite in the No. 9
anthracitic (R r=2.85%) coal seam from the Dafang coal seam is not detrital material of terrigenous origin.
Coalfield in northwestern Guizhou Province. The No. Moreover, the distribution pattern of rare earth
11 coal seam has very high contents of veined ankerite elements in the No. 9 coal seam is similar to that of
(10.2 vol.%) and veined quartz (11.4 vol.%), whose intermediate-basic volcanic rocks that have no Eu
formation temperatures are 85 and 180 8C, respec- discrepancy (Dai et al., 2003a). In addition to
tively, as determined by fluid inclusions. Besides Fe, common minerals in coal, a volcanic-influenced
Mg, and Ca (2.32%, 0.61%, and 2.56%, respectively), material (VIM) derived from volcanic ash, detrital
the veined ankerite is the dominant source of Mn, Cu, material of terrigenous origin, and organic matter in
Ni, Pb, and Zn, which are as high as 0.09%, 74 Ag/g, the No. 9 coal seam was identified under polarized-
34 Ag/g, 185 Ag/g, and 289 Ag/g in this coal seam, light reflectance microscopy and scanning electron
respectively. In addition, the veined mineralizations microscopy equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray
are the main carrier of Pd, Pt, and Ir, which are 1.6, (EDX) analyzer. Elements, such as Fe and Cu in the
0.2, and 0.007 Ag/g, respectively, in this whole-seam No. 9 coal seam, do not occur as sulfides but are
coal channel sample. Our study showed that Pd, Pt, highly enriched in VIM in this coal seam, in sharp
and Ir can be up to 10, 1.2, and 0.05 Ag/g, contrast to many other coal seams in China. The
respectively, in the silicate association of this coal geochemical and mineralogical anomalies of the coal
seam. Our research results agree with the study by seam are attributed to synsedimentary volcanic ash.
Zhang et al. (2002), which shows that Ba, Co, Cr, Hg, The VIM is the main carrier of Fe, Cu, U, Mo, Zn, and
Ni, Rb, Sn, Sr, and Zn have high concentrations in Zr in this coal seam.
calcite mineralizations from low-temperature hydro-
thermal fluids in the Late Permian coals from south- 4.4.4. Groundwater
west Guizhou Province. The concentrations of As, Cd, Groundwater input plays in almost every coal
Mo, Se, Tl, Pb, and Zn are higher in pyrite formed basin in the enrichment of some elements in coal
from low-temperature hydrothermal fluid than in other (Ren et al., 1999). The elements concentrated in coal
genetic types of pyrite (Zhang et al., 2002). depend on the chemical properties of the ground-
water, the water table dynamics related to the coal
4.4.3. Volcanic ash seam, and chemical properties of the country rocks.
Our study shows that synsedimentary volcanic ash A study by Zhang et al. (2002) showed that the
significantly affected the concentration and mode of veined pyrite (Sample No. Py-C) deposited from
occurrences of associated elements in coal from ground water is enriched in Se (236 Ag/g) because
western Guizhou Province. The basaltic volcanic there are Se-rich Au and Sb ores nearby in Western
S. Dai et al. / International Journal of Coal Geology 61 (2005) 119137 135
Guizhou Province. In Late Permian coals from means for the corresponding elements in the US
Western Guizhou Province, calcite veins (Sample coals, and As, Ba, Br, F, Hg, P, Se, and Tl are lower.
No. Ca-B) originating from groundwater contain The contents of Co, Cr, Cu, Ga, Hf, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni,
high content of Sb (76 Ag/g) and Se (5.1 Ag/g) Sc, Sn, Ti, U, V, Zn, and Zr in western Guizhou coals
because there are Sb- and Se-rich Au ores and Sb are higher than those in common Chinese coals, and
ore, which make groundwater rich in Sb and Se As, F, Hg, Rb, Sb, Tl, and W are lower. The endemic
(Zhang et al., 2002). fluorosis in western Guizhou Province is likely
attributed to the high content of fluorine in a clay
4.4.5. Magmatic hydrothermal inputs that is used as an additive for coal-burning and as a
Ren et al. (1999) reported that the enrichment of binder in briquette-making, and the distribution of
trace elements in coal due to magmatic hydro- high As coals are very local in western Guizhou
thermal inputs extensively occurs in China because Province.
of the widespread magmatic activity in Mesozoic Five groups of elements may be classified accord-
and Cenozoic time. Magma intrusions and related ing to the mode of occurrence in coal: TmYbLu
hydrothermal activity were especially common YErHoDyTbCeLaNdPrGdSm, AsSr
during the Yanshan Orogenesis of the Mesozoic KRbBaFSiSnGaHfAlTaZrBeThNa,
period (Ren et al., 1999). However, only one case CrVMoUCdTl, HgLiScTiEuNbCsW,
of the enrichment of trace elements in coal due to BiSb, and CoNiCuPbZnMgSeCaMnS
magmatic hydrothermal inputs was confirmed in Fe associations. The first two associations contain
western Guizhou Province. The high content of Ir elements with high positive correlation coefficients
(0.008 Ag/g) in the sample QZ01 in the Zhongying with ash yield, and the elements from the remaining
Mine of the Qinglong Coalfield from western four associations (with exceptions of Bi, Cs, Mn, Nb,
Guizhou Province is considered to be a result of Se, and Ti) have negative or lower positive correlation
the intrusive diabase whose Rb/Sr isotopic age is coefficients with ash yield.
115.5158 Ma (Dai et al., 2003b). Because of the There are five possible genetic types of enrichment
magmatic hydrothermal inputs, there are a variety of elements in coal: source rock, volcanic ash, low-
of coal ranks, from subB (subbituminous B), temperature hydrothermal fluid, groundwater, and
through subA, hvCb (high volatile C bituminous), magmatic hydrothermal inputs. Low-temperature
hvBb, hvAb, mvb (medium volatile bituminous), hydrothermal fluid is the most important geological
and semianthracite, to anthracite, in a single coal factor that dominates the enrichment of elements in
seam within several kilometers (Han and Yang, Late Permian coals from western Guizhou Province.
1980). Not only the content of Pt (0.035 Ag/g), but
also other minor toxic elements are much higher
(for example: As=260 Ag/g, Se=200 Ag/g, Mo=66 Acknowledgements
Ag/g) in the pyrite sample (QZ011) whose pyritic
d 34S value is 1.8x, suggesting a magmatic hydro- This research was supported by the National
thermal origin (Zhang, 1999). However, in other Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 4020
coalfields from western Guizhou Province, such 2014), the National Major Fundamental Research
genetic enrichment of elements in coals was not and Development Project (No. 2003CB214607), and
observed. the Hi-tech Research and Development Program of
China (No. 2004AA649200). The authors wish to
thank Drs. Robert B. Finkelman, Yuzhuang Sun,
5. Conclusions Rongshu Zeng, and Kunli Luo for their constructive
suggestions. We are grateful to Mr. Shiwen Jiang
The contents of Al, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ga, Hf, K, for his support in underground whole-seam coal
Li, Mn, Mo, Nb, Ni, Sn, Ta, Ti, Th, U, V, Zr, and channel sampling. Special appreciation is also given
REEs in the Late Permian coals from western to Drs. C.A. Palmer, J. Hower, and another
Guizhou Province are higher than the arithmetic anonymous reviewer for their great improvement
136 S. Dai et al. / International Journal of Coal Geology 61 (2005) 119137
of this paper. We would like to thank Dr. Xiaoqiang Finkelman, R.B., 1993. Trace and minor elements in coal. In: Engel,
Hou for his revision of the manuscript that M.H., Macko, S.A. (Eds.), Organic Geochemistry. Plenum, New
York, pp. 593 607.
improved the manuscript. Finkelman, R.B., Orem, W., Castranova, V., Tatu, C.A., Belkin,
H.E., Zheng, B., Lerch, H.E., Maharaj, S.V., Bates, A.L., 2002.
Health impacts of coal and coal use: possible solutions.
International Journal of Coal Geology 50, 425 443.
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