International Journal of Coal Geology 61 (2005) 119 137

www.elsevier.com/locate/ijcoalgeo

Concentration and distribution of elements in Late Permian coals

from western Guizhou Province, China
Shifeng Daia,b,*, Deyi Rena, Yuegang Tanga, Mei Yuea, Liming Haoa
a
China University of Mining and Technology, D11, Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China
b
Key Laboratory of Coal Resources, Ministry of Education, D11, Xueyuan Road, Beijing, 100083, China
Received 10 May 2004; accepted 26 July 2004
Available online 12 October 2004

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
1. Introduction
Guizhou province, located in Southwest China,
contains a major coal resource for China. Western
Guizhou province is the area of endemic arsenosis
and endemic fluorosis related to coal combustion
(Zheng et al., 1999; Finkelman et al., 2002).
Moreover, this area, named the bgolden triangleQ
(He et al., 1993), is enriched with many noble
metallic ore deposits, such as gold, antimony,
arsenic, mercury, and thallium. Geochemistry data
for the Late Permian coals from western Guizhou
Province have been reported by Hou et al. (1995),
Belkin et al. (1997), Zhang (1999), Zheng et al.
(1999), Zhuang et al. (2000), Zhang et al. (2002),
Zhou et al. (2000), Dai (2002), Sun (2003), and Dai
et al. (2003a,b, 2004a,b). The purpose of this paper
is to investigate the concentration, modes of
occurrence, and the origin of major and trace
elements in the Late Permian coals from the western
Guizhou Province.
2. Geological setting
Tectonically, western Guizhou Province has a
complicated geological setting because of extensive
faulting (Zhou et al., 2000). The geological evolution
is characterized by the frequent volcanic activity
during the Late Permian (Chen et al., 2003) and
epigenetic low-temperature hydrothermal fluid alter-
ation of coal seams, which could account for some of
the geochemical and mineralogical anomalies of coals
from western Guizhou Province (Dai et al., 2003a;
Dai et al., 2004a).
There are more than 50 coal seams in total,
including both workable and unworkable seams
within the coal-bearing strata in the study area.
The Late Permian paleogeography in the area varied
from alluvial and fluvial plains through paralic
deltas and tidal flats, and shallow marines to abyssal
basins (Hao, 2000). Western Guizhou Province
contains Late Permian coal-bearing strata. Permian
coal-bearing strata in the area include the Upper
Permian Emeishan Formation (P1e), the Late Per-
mian Longtan Formation (P2l), the Late Permian
Changxin Formation (P2ch), and the Late Permian
Dalong Formation (P2d). The Emeishan Formation
mainly consists of tholeiite, volcanic breccia, and
tuff, and, in places, marine limestone layers. The
Longtan Formation is the major coal-bearing for-
mation and consists of sandstone, siltstone, mud-
stone, over 10 limestone layers, and over 30 coal
seams, with a total thickness of about 300 m. The
sedimentary environment of the Longtan Formation
varied from lagoons and tidal flats through lower
delta plains to tidal flats and carbonate subtidal
flats. The thickness of the Changxin Formation is
130 m on average and represents shallow marine
and paralic delta sedimentary environments. The
Dalong formation, with a thickness of about 51 m,
mainly consists of interbanded silica rocks and
mudstones, and its sedimentary environment is
subtidal facies.
3. Methods of study
A sampling program was designed to reflect the
distribution and the production of coal resources.
The study area and sample locations are presented in
Fig. 1. A total of 71 Late Permian whole-seam
channel samples (approximately 15-cm across and
10-cm deep) were taken from mined areas, excluding
dirt partings thicker than 1 cm. All samples were
collected and stored in plastic bags to ensure as little
contamination and oxidation as possible. The collec-
tion of samples was in accordance with the Chinese
Standard for Collecting Channel Samples GB482-79
(Han, 1996).
The samples for geochemical analysis were all
crushed and ground to less than 200 mesh. High-
resolution inductively coupled-plasma mass spec-
trometry (HR ICP-MS) was used to analyze the
contents of many trace elements in coal, except for:
mercury, by cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrom-
etry (CV-AAS); fluorine, by ion-selective electrode
(ISE); boron, by inductively coupled-plasma atomic
emission spectrometry (ICP-AES); selenium and
antimony, by atomic fluorescence spectrometry
(AFS); bromine, by instrumental neutron activation
analysis (INAA); and Si, Al, Ca, K, Na, Fe, Mn,
Mg, Ti, and P by X-ray fluorescence analysis
(XRF). Ash yield and the content of total sulfur
were determined according to ASTM standard
(1991).
 S. Dai et al. / International Journal of Coal Geology 61 (2005) 119137 121

4. Results and discussion In comparison with the Earths crust (Tayor,

4.1. Concentration of elements in the Late Permian
coals
The concentration of trace and major elements of
71 Late Permian whole-seam channel samples from
western Guizhou Province is presented in Table 1.
1964), the following elements are much higher in
the Late Permian coals from western Guizhou
Province: As, B, Bi, Cd, Li, Mo, Sb, Se, Sn, U,
and Yb. The value of EF (enrichment factor: the ratio
of element content in coal to the Clarke value) for
each of these elements in the Late Permian coals is
more than or equal to 2.

Fig. 1. Study area and sample location in western Guizhou Province.

 122
Table 1
Concentrations of elements in the Late Permian whole-seam coal channel samples from western Guizhou Province (unit in Ag/g unless noted as %)
Sample Sample location Ash, Al, As B Ba Be Bi Br Ca, % Cd Ce Co Cr Cs Cu Dy Er Eu F Fe,
No. % % %
XR-1 Xingren Coalfield 13.03 1.97 4.0 nd 81 0.6 0.2 nd 0.20 0.1 27 2.4 33 0.5 58 2.1 1.2 0.4 52 1.32
XR-2 Xingren Coalfield 11.43 1.85 5.8 nd 73 0.5 0.2 nd 1.36 0.1 33 1.8 13 0.4 41 3.6 2.1 0.4 111 0.58
XR-3 Xingren Coalfield 27.10 3.91 10.5 nd 273 1.0 0.3 nd 2.29 0.2 43 6.1 19 2.5 30 3.2 1.7 0.9 144 2.98
XR-4 Xingren Coalfield nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 65 nd
XR-5 Xingren Coalfield 22.33 3.6 5.7 nd 109 2.1 0.3 nd 0.14 1.1 70 8.8 64 2.3 97 3.8 2.5 0.8 97 2.46

S. Dai et al. / International Journal of Coal Geology 61 (2005) 119137

XR-6 Xingren Coalfield 13.70 2.21 2.8 nd 49 1.9 0.2 nd 0.36 0.3 42 4.9 25 2.2 33 3.6 2.2 0.6 94 1.71
QL-7 Qinglong Coalfield 7.90 1.29 4.7 nd 16 0.3 0.2 nd 0.04 0.1 16 2.1 28 0.1 62 1.2 0.7 0.2 37 1.28
QL-8 Qinglong Coalfield nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 32 nd
QL-12 Qinglong Coalfield nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 43 nd
QL-15 Qinglong Coalfield 25.33 1.72 8.6 nd 160 1.5 0.7 nd 8.56 0.3 14 3.8 56 0.6 22 2.1 1.1 0.5 134 3.15
PA-17 Puan Coalfield 20.40 1.62 5.5 nd 11 0.7 0.4 nd 5.82 0.1 11 3.4 37 0.1 9 3.8 2.5 0.2 37 0.50
PA-17-2 Puan Coalfield 14.90 2.66 5.3 nd 120 1.2 0.3 nd 0.74 0.1 26 2.0 27 0.6 37 2.7 1.6 0.4 32 0.80
PA-18 Puan Coalfield 14.00 1.92 4.8 nd 53 0.9 1.3 nd 0.91 0.1 26 3.2 38 2.0 39 3.0 1.7 0.4 31 1.34
PA-24 Puan Coalfield 16.00 2.33 3.5 nd 37 2.2 0.3 nd 1.33 0.3 57 4.1 54 0.3 21 4.1 2.2 0.7 57 1.64
ZJ-5 Zhijin Coalfield 30.08 8.05 4.6 43 355 3.0 2.1 6.0 0.19 0.1 195 1.6 139 3.4 50 10.2 5.2 3.1 60 1.34
ZJ-6 Zhijin Coalfield 22.53 1.7 nd nd 98 0.6 0.9 nd 0.05 0.2 142 63 109 bdl 121 2.7 1.2 1.9 86 2.71
ZJ-9 Zhijin Coalfield 35.02 4.04 4.9 66 202 1.9 2.1 7.2 0.22 0.2 167 2.1 113 1.3 370 9.5 5.3 2.2 500 4.34
ZJ-14 Zhijin Coalfield 10.90 1.77 2.0 nd 36 3.0 0.2 nd 0.43 0.2 46 10 36 0.3 32 2.6 1.4 0.6 84 0.30
ZJ-16 Zhijin Coalfield 18.16 2.51 nd nd 98 0.9 0.6 nd 0.16 0.1 59 13.0 41 bdl 47 3.1 1.1 1.5 nd 4.56
ZJ-16-1 Zhijin Coalfield 18.97 3.01 4.2 nd 87 1.3 0.3 nd 0.31 0.1 31 11 20 0.3 36 1.8 0.8 0.5 55 2.58
ZJ-16-2 Zhijin Coalfield 8.50 1.58 1.6 nd 18 0.5 0.5 nd 0.04 0.1 18 1.9 23 0.1 13 1.1 0.5 0.3 17 1.02
ZJ-16-3 Zhijin Coalfield 9.93 1.5 2.9 nd 45 1.9 0.6 nd 0.24 0.2 63 6.2 36 0.6 83 3.1 1.5 0.7 54 0.23
ZJ-17 Zhijin Coalfield 7.93 1.67 2.1 nd 18 2.0 0.4 nd 0.08 0.2 22 2.7 38 0.1 31 1.2 0.6 0.3 29 0.11
ZJ-21 Zhijin Coalfield 13.17 2.59 2.1 nd 49 2.4 0.4 nd 0.06 0.1 57 4.7 20 0.3 14 3.7 2.0 0.8 157 0.50
ZJ-23 Zhijin Coalfield 8.01 0.61 3.1 46 84 1.2 0.7 nd 0.05 0.3 19 4.0 23 bdl 43 2.4 1.7 0.5 110 7.27
ZJ-23-1 Zhijin Coalfield 14.93 1.5 2.9 nd 32 2.8 0.4 nd 0.16 0.2 31 4.8 22 0.5 27 2.6 1.6 0.5 48 4.66
ZJ-23-2 Zhijin Coalfield 11.93 2.54 1.2 nd 62 1.8 0.4 nd 0.05 0.2 26 17 33 0.4 83 2.1 1.4 0.5 62 0.11
ZJ-23-3 Zhijin Coalfield 72.76 0.91 nd nd 84 0.8 0.4 nd 0.06 bdl 28 0.4 15 bdl 50 1.2 0.5 0.4 nd 0.88
ZJ-23-4 Zhijin Coalfield 42.16 2.08 nd 45 127 1.4 0.7 3.4 0.09 0.4 48 39.0 34 0.4 49 2.4 1.2 0.9 nd 2.09
ZJ-23-5 Zhijin Coalfield 16.20 0.73 nd nd 84 1.4 0.7 nd 0.06 bdl 36 0.7 22 bdl 45 1.9 1.1 0.7 nd 5.37
ZJ-26 Zhijin Coalfield 25.01 4.06 0.5 57 231 7.8 0.5 5.2 0.31 0.6 179 4.3 9.2 1.6 121 5.8 2.7 1.1 70 0.36
ZJ-27 Zhijin Coalfield 23.33 3.61 3.7 nd 97 3.3 0.6 nd 0.31 0.2 125 6.5 25 0.5 73 5.4 2.7 0.9 89 1.59
ZJ-27-1 Zhijin Coalfield 18.39 2.05 nd nd 383 1.9 0.4 nd 0.34 0.3 57 3.0 27 bdl 50 4.0 2.7 0.6 nd 0.76
ZJ-28 Zhijin Coalfield 14.47 1.2 nd nd 113 0.2 0.5 nd 0.24 bdl 39 2.8 16 bdl 116 2.0 0.8 0.8 73 3.47
ZJ-29 Zhijin Coalfield 27.11 1.21 nd 73 813 5.3 0.3 nd 2.68 8.2 79 119 9 bdl 50 4.1 2.7 0.8 120 1.06
ZJ-30 Zhijin Coalfield 15.84 1.09 1.1 51 95 1.0 0.4 4.4 0.07 bdl 33 1.3 13 1.4 356 2.5 1.3 1.0 50 2.01
ZJ-32 Zhijin Coalfield 12.14 1.51 nd nd 319 3.6 0.3 nd 0.55 0.1 31 6.2 5 bdl 17 2.0 1.0 0.3 81 0.51
ZJ-34 Zhijin Coalfield 38.06 7.74 0.3 58 329 5.2 0.8 3.3 0.20 0.5 459 2.2 8.3 3.8 119 12.1 6.5 3.4 70 1.07
NY-4 Nayong Coalfield 23.50 2.2 2.8 nd 48 0.7 0.3 nd 0.07 0.2 28 35 43 0.3 119 2.8 1.7 0.7 59 1.21
NY-5 Nayong Coalfield 20.60 3.27 3.6 nd 79 1.2 0.2 nd 0.10 0.1 46 11 38 0.2 94 2.1 1.1 0.9 31 0.60
NY-6 Nayong Coalfield 11.4 2.03 0.9 nd 38 1.0 0.3 nd 0.04 0.2 19 6.5 34 0.1 47 1.7 0.9 0.4 27 0.85
NY-16 Nayong Coalfield nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 57 nd
NY-31 Nayong Coalfield 26.5 2.14 3.1 nd 93 2.0 0.4 nd 4.86 0.2 48 22 37 0.6 78 2.4 1.2 0.6 150 0.94
NY-32 Nayong Coalfield 64 13.69 5.4 nd 402 12.5 1.2 nd 0.24 0.3 111 2.6 9.0 2.0 27 8.0 4.1 0.6 378 0.35
ZZ-9 Zhuzang Coalfield nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 26 nd
ZZ-23 Zhuzang Coalfield 6.17 1.39 1.6 nd 23 0.5 0.3 nd 0.06 0.1 19 1.6 18 0.2 52 1.0 0.5 0.3 36 0.42
PJ-3 Panjiang Coalfield 13.83 1.65 2.8 nd 22 1.7 0.4 nd 0.9 0.1 22 13 30 0.1 45 2.7 1.6 0.4 31 0.74
PJ-5 Panjiang Coalfield 15.67 1.65 3.3 nd 49 1.7 0.2 nd 0.84 0.1 30 26 20 0.2 99 2.7 1.6 0.6 24 0.34
PJ-16 Panjiang Coalfield 17.9 1.65 5.2 nd 53 1.3 0.2 nd 2.03 0.2 20 14 33 0.2 65 1.5 0.7 0.5 40 1.32
DF-3 Dafang Coalfield 26.1 4.67 7.2 nd 190 2.5 0.3 nd 2.09 0.4 86 2.2 47 2.1 18 7.0 4.2 1.2 321 0.99
DF-8 Dafang Coalfield nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 35 nd

S. Dai et al. / International Journal of Coal Geology 61 (2005) 119137

DF-11 Dafang Coalfield 25.8 2.09 4.4 nd 85 2.4 0.4 nd 2.56 0.4 24 25 34 0.2 74 3.1 1.4 0.5 45 2.32
BJ-2 Bijie Coalfield 20 3.03 8.3 nd 29 0.6 0.3 nd 1.83 0.1 39 6.6 38 0.2 59 2.7 1.7 0.6 37 1.65
BJ-16 Bijie Coalfield nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd 52 nd
BJ-18 Bijie Coalfield 20.6 1.57 4.3 nd 24 0.3 0.5 nd 2.65 0.1 15 7.5 26 0.1 58 1.5 0.8 0.3 27 2.88
LZ-1-1 Liuzhi Coalfield 24.8 0.7 nd nd 23 nd 0.2 nd 10.16 nd nd 26 nd nd 7.2 nd nd nd nd 2.54
LZ-1-2 Liuzhi Coalfield 18.41 0.6 nd nd 25 0.8 0.3 nd 0.39 nd nd 33 nd nd 51 nd nd nd nd 0.41
LZ-1-3 Liuzhi Coalfield 12.9 1.1 nd nd 25 0.6 0.3 nd 0.16 nd nd 15 nd nd 33 nd nd nd nd 2.77
LZ-4-1 Liuzhi Coalfield 34.9 2.56 nd nd 317 1.7 0.6 nd 0.29 nd nd 21 21 nd 118 nd nd nd nd 1.9
LZ-7-3 Liuzhi Coalfield 8 0.46 nd nd 14 1.2 0.3 nd 1.57 nd nd 17 nd nd 50 nd nd nd nd 0.98
LZ-7-5 Liuzhi Coalfield 7.27 0.81 nd nd 15 2.5 0.2 nd 0.09 nd nd 16 0.02 nd 11 nd nd nd nd 0.04
LZ-7-7 Liuzhi Coalfield 8.82 0.9 nd nd 23 1.4 0.3 nd 0.76 nd nd 14 nd nd 20 nd nd nd nd 0.12
LZ-7-9 Liuzhi Coalfield 7.7 0.84 nd nd 14 1.3 0.3 nd 0.16 nd nd 15 nd nd 17 nd nd nd nd 0.18
LZ-7-12 Liuzhi Coalfield 16.6 0.55 nd nd 19 0.7 0.5 nd 0.23 nd nd 23 7.6 nd 44 nd nd nd nd 6.18
LZ-7-13 Liuzhi Coalfield 45.15 2.19 nd nd 97 nd 0.7 nd 4.9 nd nd 19 108 nd 46 nd nd nd nd 7.63
LZ-8-1 Liuzhi Coalfield 13.27 1.25 nd nd 84 1.8 0.3 nd 0.06 nd nd 30 6.1 nd 55 nd nd nd nd 1.99
LZ-8-2 Liuzhi Coalfield 6.32 0.62 nd nd 84 2.7 0.3 nd 0.05 nd nd 20 1.9 nd 51 nd nd nd nd 0.49
LZ-13-1 Liuzhi Coalfield 27.98 1.14 nd nd 84 3.9 0.6 nd 0.11 nd nd 12 26 nd 44 nd nd nd nd 6.28
LZ-21 Liuzhi Coalfield 16.49 1.18 nd nd 138 7.6 0.3 nd 0.05 nd nd 25 2.7 nd 18 nd nd nd nd 1.17
LZ-28-1 Liuzhi Coalfield 32.85 2.53 nd nd 619 1.6 0.5 nd 0.23 nd nd 24 9.4 nd 51 nd nd nd nd 2.83
LZ-28-2 Liuzhi Coalfield 8.72 0.8 nd nd 84 12 0.3 nd 0.08 nd nd 17 nd nd 16 nd nd nd nd 0.44
Min 6.17 0.46 0.3 43 11 0.2 0.2 3.3 0.04 0.02 11 0.4 0.02 0.1 7 1.0 0.5 0.2 17 0.04
Max 72.76 13.69 11 73 813 12 2.1 7.2 10.16 8.2 459 119 139 3.8 370 12 6.5 3.4 500 7.63
AM 20.06 2.24 3.9 55 119 2.2 0.5 4.9 1.04 0.4 60 14 32 0.8 61 3.4 1.8 0.8 83 1.83
GM 17.21 1.77 3.1 54 71 1.5 0.4 4.7 0.31 0.2 41 7.5 21 0.5 45 2.8 1.5 0.6 61 1.11
SDV 12.52 2.03 2.2 11 147 2.4 0.4 1.5 1.95 1.2 73 18 28 1.0 63 2.4 1.3 0.7 90 1.78
Clark valuea 8.23 1.8 2.8 425 2.8 0.17 2.5 4.15 0.2 60 25 100 3 55 3 2.8 1.2 625 5.596
USA coalb 24 49 170 2.2 b1.0 17 0.46 0.47 21 6.1 15 1.1 16 0.4 98 1.3
Chinese coalc 5 63 82 2 0.8 9 0.2 49.82d 7 12 1 13 0.72d 140
EF 0.27 2.15 19.51 0.28 0.78 2.78 1.97 0.25 1.98 0.99 0.54 0.32 0.28 1.11 1.12 0.66 0.64 0.13 0.33
(continued on next page)

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

S. Dai et al. / International Journal of Coal Geology 61 (2005) 119137

QL-7 Qinglong Coalfield 3.4 1.3 0.9 0.1 0.2 0.04 8 43 0.1 0.04 31 1.4 0.04 7.0 6.4 14 70 4.1 1.8 1.7
QL-8 Qinglong Coalfield nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
QL-12 Qinglong Coalfield nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
QL-15 Qinglong Coalfield 6.4 2.6 1.8 0.14 0.4 0.38 6.5 80 0.1 0.11 751 20 0.06 16 8.2 22 109 9.6 1.9 13
PA-17 Puan Coalfield 5.7 2.5 2.1 0.05 0.8 0.04 5.6 21 0.4 0.03 488 0.7 0.04 7.7 4.9 9.3 65 8.3 1.2 1.5
PA-17-2 Puan Coalfield 6.6 2.6 1.8 0.08 0.5 0.22 13 150 0.2 0.05 62 0.9 0.05 7.0 11 14 148 13 2.9 6.5
PA-18 Puan Coalfield 6.3 2.8 1.6 0.11 0.6 0.15 12 64 0.2 0.08 139 1.0 0.07 11 11 16 109 23 3.0 4.8
PA-24 Puan Coalfield 9.4 4.6 4.7 0.09 0.8 0.08 27 36 0.3 0.06 147 37 0.04 46 25 20 179 6.8 6.7 3.6
ZJ-5 Zhijin Coalfield 65 20 10 nd 1.8 2.16 99 36 0.5 0.44 77 6.9 1.1 17 66 4.0 799 20 40 78
ZJ-6 Zhijin Coalfield 17 10 nd nd 0.5 0.55 78 11 0.2 0.09 70 0.7 0.05 15 57 48 249 19 21 nd
ZJ-9 Zhijin Coalfield 32 14 10 nd 2.2 1.08 85 4.5 0.7 0.23 116 63 0.21 18 54 5.5 450 13 29 42
ZJ-14 Zhijin Coalfield 6.6 3.5 1.6 0.05 0.5 0.15 21 33 0.2 0.07 46 0.7 0.17 17 20 17 122 6.8 5.3 3.8
ZJ-16 Zhijin Coalfield 18 5.9 nd nd 0.5 0.26 31 139 0.2 0.1 77 2.2 0.22 15 26 18 760 5.0 8.8 nd
ZJ-16-1 Zhijin Coalfield 8.6 2.4 1.1 0.08 0.3 0.23 14 77 0.1 0.1 93 2.6 0.32 15 14 32 118 9.3 3.5 6.9
ZJ-16-2 Zhijin Coalfield 3.8 1.4 0.5 0.05 0.2 0.04 9 65 0.1 0.1 31 0.4 0.15 5.1 7.3 8.0 105 6.1 2.0 1.1
ZJ-16-3 Zhijin Coalfield 6.1 4.3 1.0 0.04 0.5 0.21 30 24 0.2 0.06 39 0.5 0.08 9.7 27 16 96 11 7.4 6.9
ZJ-17 Zhijin Coalfield 7.0 1.9 0.8 0.09 0.2 0.04 10 66 0.1 0.02 7.8 0.5 0.18 7.5 11 11 74 5.9 2.6 1.4
ZJ-21 Zhijin Coalfield 5.7 4.5 1.5 0.13 0.7 0.12 28 96 0.2 0.05 15 4.4 0.32 14 23 11 44 4.6 6.2 4.2
ZJ-23 Zhijin Coalfield 6.5 2.4 nd nd 0.6 0.18 14 12 0.5 0.02 70 6.9 0.07 15 8.1 13 271 3.8 3.2 nd
ZJ-23-1 Zhijin Coalfield 6.2 3.1 2.9 0.1 0.5 0.1 13 39 0.2 0.04 85 8.7 0.17 25 15 11 52 9.0 3.9 4.2
ZJ-23-2 Zhijin Coalfield 6.4 1.9 1.2 0.03 0.4 0.18 12 56 0.2 0.05 15 1.9 0.29 14 13 25 144 6.9 3.1 5.4
ZJ-23-3 Zhijin Coalfield 5.2 2.6 nd nd 0.3 0.13 15 81 0.1 0.02 70 1.4 0.16 5.0 10 11 92 2.5 4.0 nd
ZJ-23-4 Zhijin Coalfield 15 3.3 3.7 nd 0.5 0.41 23 152 0.2 0.08 116 15 0.09 15 1.9 89 218 13 9.5 23
ZJ-23-5 Zhijin Coalfield 5.8 3.3 nd nd 0.4 0.18 19 40 0.2 0.02 70 2.1 0.12 15 14 56 271 3.5 5.4 nd
ZJ-26 Zhijin Coalfield 29 11 8.7 nd 1.2 1.13 100 17 0.9 0.2 116 0.1 0.13 15 60 12 437 10 29 48
ZJ-27 Zhijin Coalfield 16 9.3 4.4 0.14 1.0 0.32 50 107 0.3 0.11 101 9.6 0.37 40 62 16 210 16 16 8.5
ZJ-27-1 Zhijin Coalfield 26 4.9 nd nd 0.9 0.35 33 2.9 0.5 0.09 62 32 0.18 16 19 7.9 140 4.3 8.3 nd
ZJ-28 Zhijin Coalfield 9.2 3.5 nd nd 0.3 0.13 19 13 0.2 0.08 116 1.7 0.08 19 17 105 253 9.6 6.0 nd
ZJ-29 Zhijin Coalfield 9.7 6.0 nd nd 1.0 0.17 44 14 0.6 0.16 116 1.9 0.07 15 21 160 188 5.0 10.1 nd
ZJ-30 Zhijin Coalfield 8.8 4.7 1.8 nd 0.6 0.06 16 22 0.4 0.02 62 4.0 0.08 4.8 15 4.0 127 24 4.6 25
ZJ-32 Zhijin Coalfield 7.2 2.5 nd nd 0.4 0.27 17 0.1 0.2 0.05 116 4.1 0.13 15 11 12 249 1.3 4.5 nd
ZJ-34 Zhijin Coalfield 100 16 55 nd 2.6 1.26 350 55 3.0 0.5 77 7.5 1.14 64 169 6.0 559 20 44 78
NY-4 Nayong Coalfield 5.7 3.1 1.0 0.06 0.6 0.07 13 29 0.2 0.22 7.8 0.6 0.04 5.9 15 46 105 12 3.5 3.3
NY-5 Nayong Coalfield 9.0 3.4 1.1 0.11 0.4 0.08 21 49 0.1 0.15 62 0.3 0.2 12 22 26 196 8.3 5.6 3.5
NY-6 Nayong Coalfield 5.1 2.0 0.8 0.04 0.3 0.04 9.3 44 0.1 0.12 8 0.6 0.13 4.1 8.8 13 105 8.5 2.3 1.3
NY-16 Nayong Coalfield nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
NY-31 Nayong Coalfield 6.5 3.7 0.5 0.05 0.4 0.35 23 14 0.1 0.36 620 0.6 0.13 13 20 29 533 11 5.3 11
NY-32 Nayong Coalfield 53 7.7 19 0.1 1.5 1.21 55 84 0.5 0.1 10 1.7 0.84 42 36 8.9 127 48 11 33
ZZ-9 Zhuzang Coalfield nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
ZZ-23 Zhuzang Coalfield 3.3 1.3 0.6 0.14 0.2 0.06 9.6 56 0.1 0.04 39 2.3 0.15 5.9 7 17 70 7.7 1.9 2.1
PJ-3 Panjiang Coalfield 5.1 2.5 1.1 0.05 0.5 0.05 11 20 0.2 0.13 287 1.5 0.04 5.9 10 26 179 11 2.6 2.1
PJ-5 Panjiang Coalfield 4.6 2.9 1.0 0.07 0.5 0.05 14 11 0.2 0.07 85 1.1 0.04 5.6 14 50 100 9.3 3.7 2.6
PJ-16 Panjiang Coalfield 5.2 2.0 1.0 0.05 0.3 0.09 9.3 14 0.1 0.19 635 1.5 0.04 6.2 9 26 223 9.1 2.3 3.7
DF-3 Dafang Coalfield 25 8.7 5.9 0.05 1.4 0.46 38 76 0.6 0.11 225 5.1 0.33 80 47 12 236 8.9 11 11
DF-8 Dafang Coalfield nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd

S. Dai et al. / International Journal of Coal Geology 61 (2005) 119137

DF-11 Dafang Coalfield 6.2 3.7 1.5 0.05 0.5 0.16 10 13 0.1 0.61 937 1.0 0.13 13 10 34 65 185 2.7 3.7
BJ-2 Bijie Coalfield 7.7 3.1 1.6 0.1 0.6 0.04 19 24 0.2 0.08 232 1.2 0.04 8.7 18 18 162 12 4.7 2.2
BJ-16 Bijie Coalfield nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
BJ-18 Bijie Coalfield 4.0 1.9 0.6 0.07 0.3 0.04 7.2 13 0.1 0.35 581 0.7 0.04 3.0 7 19 79 10 1.7 1.5
LZ-1-1 Liuzhi Coalfield 9.6 nd nd nd nd 0.13 nd nd nd 0.12 784 nd 0.04 4.3 nd 56 71 9.1 nd nd
LZ-1-2 Liuzhi Coalfield 1.8 nd nd nd nd 0.04 nd nd nd 0.02 115 nd 0.03 3.2 nd 64 57 12 nd nd
LZ-1-3 Liuzhi Coalfield 13 nd nd nd nd 0.11 nd nd nd 0.03 70 nd 0.04 4.0 nd 56 196 15 nd nd
LZ-4-1 Liuzhi Coalfield 15 nd nd nd nd 0.91 nd nd nd 0.19 115 nd 0.12 15 nd 64 204 20 nd nd
LZ-7-3 Liuzhi Coalfield 6.6 nd nd nd nd 0.04 nd nd nd 0.02 138 nd 0.04 3.4 nd 63 68 12 nd nd
LZ-7-5 Liuzhi Coalfield 0.4 nd nd nd nd 0.04 nd nd nd 0.02 65 nd 0.05 3.0 nd 67 56 12 nd nd
LZ-7-7 Liuzhi Coalfield 1.3 nd nd nd nd 0.04 nd nd nd 0.02 187 nd 0.05 3.7 nd 67 95 14 nd nd
LZ-7-9 Liuzhi Coalfield 1.5 nd nd nd nd 0.04 nd nd nd 0.02 70 nd 0.04 4.3 nd 70 90 11 nd nd
LZ-7-12 Liuzhi Coalfield 27 nd nd nd nd 0.04 nd nd nd 0.02 115 nd 0.04 4.5 nd 48 284 10 nd nd
LZ-7-13 Liuzhi Coalfield 42 nd nd nd nd 0.52 nd nd nd 0.18 371 nd 0.2 15 nd 141 521 17 nd nd
LZ-8-1 Liuzhi Coalfield 13 nd nd nd nd 0.28 nd nd nd 0.08 115 nd 0.08 3.0 nd 88 112 9.2 nd nd
LZ-8-2 Liuzhi Coalfield 6.6 nd nd nd nd 0.11 nd nd nd 0.05 65 nd 0.05 4.1 nd 76 82 18 nd nd
LZ-13-1 Liuzhi Coalfield 29 nd nd nd nd 0.47 nd nd nd 0.16 115 nd 0.05 15 nd 79 257 35 nd nd
LZ-21 Liuzhi Coalfield 6.6 nd nd nd nd 0.48 nd nd nd 0.1 68 nd 0.06 5.0 nd 62 108 17 nd nd
LZ-28-1 Liuzhi Coalfield 13 nd nd nd nd 0.69 nd nd nd 0.12 115 nd 0.41 19 nd 59 319 34 nd nd
LZ-28-2 Liuzhi Coalfield 2.3 nd nd nd nd 0.14 nd nd nd 0.04 63 nd 0.04 5.0 nd 66 60 20 nd nd
Min 0.4 1.3 0.5 0.03 0.2 0.04 5.6 0.1 0.1 0.02 7.8 0.1 0.03 3.0 1.9 4.0 44 1.3 1.2 1.1
Max 100 20 55 0.22 2.6 2.16 350 152 3.0 0.61 937 77 1.14 80 169 160 799 185 44 78
AM 13 4.7 4.3 0.09 0.7 0.3 32 50 0.3 0.12 169 8.2 0.16 14 23 37 201 15 7.9 13
GM 8.4 3.7 2.0 0.08 0.6 0.17 20 32 0.2 0.08 95 2.4 0.1 10 16 25 153 11 5.2 6.4
SDV 16.2 4.0 9.1 0.04 0.5 0.39 52.1 39 0.4 0.12 213 16.1 0.22 14.1 27 33 173 23.0 9.5 19.0
Clark valuea 15 5.4 3 0.08 1.2 2.09 30 20 0.5 2.33 100 1.5 2.36 20 28 75 105 12.5 8.2 90
USA coalb 5.7 0.73 0.17 0.18 12 16 0.14 0.11 43 3.3 0.08 2 9.5 14 430 11 21
Chinese coalc 9 2.4 0.15 26.09d 14 0.52d 77 4 14 22.06d 14 206 13 8
EF 0.87 0.86 1.42 1.11 0.56 0.14 1.07 2.49 0.62 0.05 1.69 5.50 0.07 0.72 0.83 0.49 1.91 1.18 0.96 0.14
(continued on next page)

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

S. Dai et al. / International Journal of Coal Geology 61 (2005) 119137

QL-8 Qinglong Coalfield nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
QL-12 Qinglong Coalfield nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
QL-15 Qinglong Coalfield 3.44 3.8 4.2 1.9 2.54 2.1 5.2 262 0.5 0.4 2.4 0.14 0.28 0.2 10 117 0.3 15 1.0 43 251
PA-17 Puan Coalfield 0.89 0.5 4.8 0.7 4.16 1.4 8.3 70 0.8 0.5 7.5 0.2 0.02 0.4 3.0 26 0.8 27 2.5 5.6 145
PA-17-2 Puan Coalfield 1.02 0.6 4.4 1.1 3.48 2.4 7.2 116 0.9 0.4 8.0 0.13 0.03 0.2 2.0 23 0.7 17 1.4 36 112
PA-18 Puan Coalfield 1.82 6.1 5.4 2.6 3.24 2.6 6.8 82 0.6 0.5 5.9 0.2 0.03 0.2 3.3 36 0.4 17 1.5 9.2 98
PA-24 Puan Coalfield 2.05 0.4 4.1 1.4 3.44 4.7 6.0 68 2.6 0.7 6.8 0.29 0.24 0.3 24 116 0.5 24 2.0 30 360
ZJ-5 Zhijin Coalfield 1.38 0.2 16 0.1 19.79 14 6.1 295 0.8 1.7 12 1.73 0.47 0.8 28 574 3.3 47 3.2 38 840
ZJ-6 Zhijin Coalfield 3.77 bdl 12 1.7 9.22 9.1 2.6 65 0.8 0.8 5.3 0.86 0.24 0.2 19 259 2.2 13 1.1 21 262
ZJ-9 Zhijin Coalfield 0.32 1.4 19 5.0 7.84 8.9 5.7 94 1.2 1.2 12 2.1 0.16 0.7 50 432 4.0 79 4.2 34 842
ZJ-14 Zhijin Coalfield 0.34 0.2 3.6 0.8 2.94 3.7 4.9 75 1.1 0.4 4.0 0.23 0.02 0.2 1.2 44 0.2 17 1.2 21 82
ZJ-16 Zhijin Coalfield 4.69 bdl 14 1.2 3.74 4.4 2.6 98 1.7 0.7 5.6 0.33 0.22 0.2 13 111 1.5 bdl 1.1 12 133
ZJ-16-1 Zhijin Coalfield 2.74 0.7 5.1 1.6 3.79 2.7 4.8 99 0.6 0.3 3.7 0.47 0.10 0.1 0.9 66 0.4 9.2 0.6 27 82
ZJ-16-2 Zhijin Coalfield 1.48 1.6 2.1 0.7 1.77 1.4 3.2 23 0.5 0.2 2.0 0.11 0.01 0.1 0.5 21 0.1 6.0 0.4 9.1 36
ZJ-16-3 Zhijin Coalfield 0.44 1.5 2.8 1.2 2.99 4.6 8.9 79 0.4 0.5 3.3 0.23 0.03 0.2 0.7 46 0.4 16 1.1 39 69
ZJ-17 Zhijin Coalfield 0.35 0.9 2.7 0.7 2.21 2.3 4.4 28 0.4 0.2 2.4 0.2 0.01 0.1 0.7 47 0.2 8.1 0.5 21 54
ZJ-21 Zhijin Coalfield 0.89 0.9 3.8 0.9 3.33 4.3 5.6 83 0.8 0.6 4.8 0.17 0.04 0.3 1.9 44 0.5 24 1.7 2.0 102
ZJ-23 Zhijin Coalfield 2.59 nd 17 0.9 12.78 1.9 2.6 46 1.8 0.4 5.6 0.34 0.15 0.3 176 40 1.7 22 2.5 9.1 119
ZJ-23-1 Zhijin Coalfield 4.75 1.5 1.8 2.8 2.36 3.1 8.5 32 0.9 0.4 4.6 0.11 0.10 0.2 7.3 27 0.2 19 1.4 11 208
ZJ-23-2 Zhijin Coalfield 0.43 0.8 3.0 0.5 3.06 2.4 14 81 0.3 0.3 2.7 0.2 0.03 0.2 0.6 34 0.1 15 1.2 65 90
ZJ-23-3 Zhijin Coalfield 1.05 nd 6.5 0.3 2.17 1.6 0.6 65 0.3 0.3 3.8 0.16 0.04 0.1 16 141 0.7 6.2 0.6 4.1 68
ZJ-23-4 Zhijin Coalfield 2.66 0.4 11 2.0 3.13 3.1 2.6 65 0.8 0.4 6.4 0.48 0.21 0.2 6.0 320 1.5 13 1.2 25 230
ZJ-23-5 Zhijin Coalfield 5.93 nd 15 5.1 4.74 2.4 2.6 65 1.7 0.4 6.9 0.49 0.11 0.2 56 71 1.7 12 1.3 6.2 144
ZJ-26 Zhijin Coalfield 0.22 0.1 7.4 1.2 13.6 9.1 2.6 65 0.2 1.6 8.2 0.34 0.08 0.4 2.9 236 1.4 35 6.0 35 837
ZJ-27 Zhijin Coalfield 3.14 1.5 4.2 1.9 6.02 11 10 137 0.4 1.1 8.3 0.44 0.12 0.4 12 64 0.8 27 2.3 89 357
ZJ-27-1 Zhijin Coalfield 0.55 nd 6.9 4.4 4.02 2.6 0.7 128 0.3 0.7 3.6 0.13 0.14 0.4 0.1 436 1.2 29 2.9 8.7 265
ZJ-28 Zhijin Coalfield 0.40 nd 11 0.9 2.11 3.1 0.9 65 1.0 0.4 2.6 0.15 0.06 0.1 11 100 1.4 13 0.7 9.3 82
ZJ-29 Zhijin Coalfield 0.30 nd 7.4 3.2 6.92 3.5 0.5 896 0.8 0.8 3.2 0.11 0.10 0.3 9.8 137 0.8 46 2.9 226 95
ZJ-30 Zhijin Coalfield 0.41 0.1 11 0.1 4.18 3.0 0.4 22 0.8 0.9 2.7 0.07 0.13 0.2 8.0 124 1.0 19 2.2 19 60
ZJ-32 Zhijin Coalfield 0.46 nd 6.0 2.5 2.53 1.8 0.6 94 0.3 0.4 2.3 0.08 0.04 0.1 26 147 0.8 15 0.9 19 144
ZJ-34 Zhijin Coalfield 1.35 0.5 15 0.1 12.9 27 4.1 137 0.8 3.7 48 0.56 0.21 1.0 15 137 2.2 70 17.2 50 1852
NY-4 Nayong Coalfield 1.75 0.4 5.4 0.8 8.18 2.9 9.2 62 0.1 0.5 3.9 0.14 0.02 0.2 1.1 197 0.2 19 1.4 85 62
NY-5 Nayong Coalfield 0.95 0.3 5.8 0.7 6.1 4.1 5.5 110 0.6 0.4 4.3 0.32 0.01 0.1 1.2 253 0.3 12 0.9 16 81
NY-6 Nayong Coalfield 1.24 0.4 3.5 0.6 2.77 1.8 15 49 0.1 0.3 3.1 0.16 0.01 0.1 0.9 26 0.2 10 0.7 30 56
NY-16 Nayong Coalfield nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
NY-31 Nayong Coalfield 1.05 0.9 3.3 1.5 6.17 3.5 16 301 0.2 0.5 3.0 0.19 0.03 0.2 0.8 56 0.4 13 0.9 35 55
NY-32 Nayong Coalfield 0.54 2.5 2.0 4.3 16.24 7.0 26 333 6.5 1.3 43 0.35 0.15 0.5 4.3 18 0.4 42 3.5 14 661
ZZ-9 Zhuzang Coalfield nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
ZZ-23 Zhuzang Coalfield 0.65 0.8 3.0 1.1 1.41 1.3 8.9 44 0.4 0.2 2.5 0.14 0.01 0.1 0.8 24 0.2 6.1 0.4 42 41
PJ-3 Panjiang Coalfield 0.89 0.8 2.7 1.4 3.86 2.1 12 53 0.2 0.4 3.8 0.11 0.2 1.7 35 0.4 17 1.5 24 64
PJ-5 Panjiang Coalfield 0.56 1.0 3.2 1.0 5.25 2.8 5.7 55 0.1 0.4 3.7 0.17 0.02 0.2 1.4 115 0.2 16 1.4 49 63
PJ-16 Panjiang Coalfield 1.45 0.6 2.4 1.3 4.68 2.0 15 100 0.2 0.3 3.0 0.16 0.12 0.1 1.0 73 0.3 9 0.7 37 61
DF-3 Dafang Coalfield 1.86 0.5 3.9 1.1 5.57 9.7 11 177 2.7 1.2 8.1 0.3 0.13 0.6 11 56 1.2 45 4.1 73 416
DF-8 Dafang Coalfield nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
DF-11 Dafang Coalfield 0.46 0.3 2.6 6.0 5.96 2.8 16 111 0.2 0.6 3.0 0.11 0.02 0.2 0.9 30 0.3 18 1.1 289 101

S. Dai et al. / International Journal of Coal Geology 61 (2005) 119137

BJ-2 Bijie Coalfield 2.31 1.0 5.3 1.4 4.53 3.6 6.1 133 0.4 0.5 5.3 0.18 0.04 0.3 1.7 78 0.4 18 1.6 49 92
BJ-16 Bijie Coalfield nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd nd
BJ-18 Bijie Coalfield 3.65 1.7 3.1 1.3 4.34 1.5 8.1 117 0.1 0.3 3.1 0.13 0.02 0.1 0.8 28 0.1 9.4 0.7 31 39
LZ-1-1 Liuzhi Coalfield 3.08 nd 8.9 nd 2.36 nd 0.3 826 0.8 nd nd 0.03 nd nd nd 114 1.2 22 nd 27 32
LZ-1-2 Liuzhi Coalfield 0.89 nd 4.0 nd 7.43 nd nd 65 0.2 nd nd 0.05 nd nd nd 148 1.4 10 nd 56 36
LZ-1-3 Liuzhi Coalfield 3.67 nd 8.4 nd 2.95 nd 0.7 138 0.8 nd nd 0.03 nd nd nd 111 1.2 15 nd 42 38
LZ-4-1 Liuzhi Coalfield 2.49 nd 9.4 nd 11.29 nd 2.6 138 0.8 nd nd 0.69 nd nd nd 320 2.2 18 nd 149 837
LZ-7-3 Liuzhi Coalfield 1.35 nd 5.0 nd 1.55 nd nd 138 0.3 nd nd 0.03 nd nd nd 139 0.6 15 nd 45 24
LZ-7-5 Liuzhi Coalfield 0.32 nd 3.2 nd 2.5 nd nd 46 0.1 nd nd 0.03 nd nd nd 153 0.5 13 nd 47 26
LZ-7-7 Liuzhi Coalfield 0.41 nd 4.5 nd 2.62 nd nd 119 0.1 nd nd 0.05 nd nd nd 152 0.8 15 nd 44 36
LZ-7-9 Liuzhi Coalfield 0.38 nd 4.5 nd 2.52 nd nd 65 0.2 nd nd 0.04 nd nd nd 151 0.7 14 nd 35 32
LZ-7-12 Liuzhi Coalfield 7.05 nd 15 nd 2.9 nd 0.9 65 1.7 nd nd 0.03 nd nd nd 57 1.7 16 nd 38 32
LZ-7-13 Liuzhi Coalfield 8.64 nd 23 nd 9.99 nd 2.6 542 2.0 nd nd 0.36 nd nd nd 230 2.6 97 nd 133 837
LZ-8-1 Liuzhi Coalfield 2.35 nd 6.7 nd 3.38 nd 0.4 65 0.8 nd nd 0.1 nd nd nd 204 1.1 19 nd 148 78
LZ-8-2 Liuzhi Coalfield 0.68 nd 4.7 nd 1.88 nd nd 25 0.2 nd nd 0.04 nd nd nd 146 0.8 19 nd 49 38
LZ-13-1 Liuzhi Coalfield 6.87 nd 16 nd 7.12 nd 2.6 225 1.7 nd nd 0.33 nd nd nd 71 2.1 30 nd 137 209
LZ-21 Liuzhi Coalfield 1.59 nd 6.7 nd 5.36 nd 0.4 73 0.8 nd nd 0.13 nd nd nd 136 1.2 97 nd 47 128
LZ-28-1 Liuzhi Coalfield 3.56 nd 15 nd 10.1 nd 2.6 138 0.8 nd nd 0.28 nd nd nd 110 1.4 97 nd 561 1169
LZ-28-2 Liuzhi Coalfield 0.85 nd 5.0 nd 2.83 nd 0.1 65 0.2 nd nd 0.05 nd nd nd 147 0.7 21 nd 40 98
Min 0.22 0.1 1.8 0.1 1.41 1.2 0.1 22 0.1 0.2 2.0 0.03 0.01 0.1 0.1 18 0.1 6.0 0.4 2.0 24
Max 8.64 6.1 23 6.0 19.79 27 26 896 6.5 3.7 48 2.1 0.51 1.0 176 574 4.0 97 17 561 1852
AM 1.96 1.0 6.8 1.7 5.11 4.4 5.9 135 0.8 0.6 6.5 0.27 0.11 0.3 14 123 0.9 24 2.0 55 224
GM 1.32 0.7 5.5 1.2 4.19 3.3 3.6 95 0.5 0.5 4.8 0.17 0.06 0.2 3.9 87 0.6 19 1.4 33 118
SDV 1.8 1.1 4.9 1.4 3.74 4.4 5.1 158 1.0 0.6 8.5 0.34 0.12 0.2 28.6 110 0.8 21 2.5 82 328
Clark valuea 0.2 22 0.05 28.15 6 2 375 2.00 5.4 9.6 0.57 0.43 4.8 2.7 135 1.5 33 0.9 70 165
USA coalb 1.2 4.2 2.8 1.7 1.3 130 0.22 0.3 3.2 0.08 1.2 2.1 22 1 8.5 0.95 53 27
Chinese coalc 2 3 2 4.09d 2 136 0.7 0.58d 6 0.05 0.4 3 21 2 8 1.78d 35 52
EF 4.87 0.31 33.04 0.18 0.72 2.96 0.36 0.42 0.12 0.68 0.47 0.25 0.05 5.05 0.91 0.62 0.73 2.20 0.79 1.36
bdl, below detection limit; nd, not detected; Min: minimus of concentrations; Max, maximum of concentrations; AM, arithmetic mean; GM, geometric mean; SDV, standard deviation
of the arithmetic mean; EF, enrichment factor=AM/Clark value.
a
From Tayor (1964).
b
From Finkelman (1993).
c
From Zhao et al. (2002).

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,
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
arithmetic means for the corresponding elements in
the US coals, as reported by Finkelman (1993) (Table
1), and As, Ba, Br, F, Hg, P, Se, and Tl are lower and
the remainder elements have arithmetic means that are
about equal. The arithmetic means of concentrations
for Co, Cr, Cu, Ga, Hf, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Sc, Sn, Ti, U,
V, Zn, and Zr in western Guizhou coals are higher
than those of common Chinese coals as reported by
Zhao et al. (2002), and As, F, Hg, Rb, Sb, Tl, and W
are lower and in the remaining trace elements are
equal. The contents of rare earth elements in western
Guizhou coals are higher than those in common
Chinese coals as reported by Ren et al. (1999).
It was reported that, in the coals without marine
influence on the depositional paleoenvironment, the
content of Th is higher than that of U (Dai, 2002);
however, the arithmetic mean of Th (6.5 Ag/g) is less
than that of U (14 Ag/g) in western Guizhou Late
Permian coals. This is likely attributed to the
relatively significant marine influences on coal as
reported by Hao (2000). Moreover, the basaltic
volcanic ash fall during the Late Permian period also
could lead to the higher U in coal. For example, the
content of U (50 Ag/g) is much higher than that of Th
(12 Ag/g) in the No. 9 coal seam in the Zhijin
Coalfield, western Guizhou Province, which was not
influenced by marine water but by the synsedimentary
basaltic volcanic ash.
Although, as reported by some authors, western
Guizhou Province is the area of endemic arsenosis
related to coal combustion, it is worth pointing out
that the arithmetic mean of As (3.9 Ag/g) from
western Guizhou Province is lower than that in
Chinese coals and US coals, 5 and 24 Ag/g,
respectively, as reported by Zhao et al. (2002) and
Finkelman (1993) (Table 1). Ren et al. (1999) and
Belkin et al. (1997) found the highest arsenic-bearing
samples (up to 3.2%) in Haizhi Township from
Xingren County, southwest Guizhou Province. How-
ever, such high-As coal samples are not whole-seam
channel, but lump samples, and such coal seams are
unworkable in the study area. In addition, the
occurrence of such high As coal is restricted to an
outcrop area (including the mouth of the well) of
only about 100 m2, although it has led to the serious
endemic arsenosis. Unfortunately, now it is very
difficult to collect such high-As coal samples from
the study area, because the mines that produced
high-As coal had been closed for years.
The fluorine content in coals from western
Guizhou Province ranges form 17 to 500 Ag/g, with
an average of 83 Ag/g, which is lower than that of
the world average (150 Ag/g; Swaine, 1990) and
about equal to that of common Chinese coals (82 Ag/
g; Luo et al., 2004). The highest content of fluorine
(500 Ag/g) in the No. 9 coal seam from the Zhijin
Coalfield of western Guizhou Province was attrib-
uted to the synsedimentary volcanic ash. During
epidemiology investigations, we found that the local
residents from western Guizhou Province are accus-
tomed to not only using furnaces without chimneys
to dry corn, to cook, and to keep warm indoors, but
also to using a yellow clay for a coal-burning
additive in the furnace and as a binder in briquette-
making. This clay contains a very high fluorine
content, ranging from 101 to 2456 Ag/g, with an
average of 1028 Ag/g. Almost every family in
villages from western Guizhou Province uses the
mixture of coal and clay (the ratio is from 4:1 to 2:1)
as their daily primary fuel. Taking the ratio of coal to
clay into account, the fluorine content in the mixture
can be figured out as more than 300 Ag/g (Dai et al.,
2004b), which is much higher than that in coals
alone from the western Guizhou Province (83 Ag/g).
Therefore, the endemic fluorosis in western Guizhou
Province is likely attributed to the high content of
fluorine in the clay, rather than to fluorine in coal
alone.
4.2. Geochemical associations
Cluster analysis allowed to classify the elements
studied (with the exception of P) into six associations
(Fig. 2).
Group A: Thulium, Yb, Lu, Y, Er, Ho, Dy, Tb, Ce,
La, Nd, Pr, Gd, and Sm associate together (Fig. 2).
The correlation coefficients of TmYb (1.00), LuY
(0.97), ErHo (1.00), DyTb (0.98), CeLa (0.99),
NdPr (0.99), and GdSm (0.98) are all higher than
0.97. Elements in this group have relatively high
positive correlation coefficients with ash yield, rang-
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
Table 2
Element affinities deduced from the calculation of Pearsons
correlation coefficients between the content of each element in coal
and ash yield or selected major elements
Correlation with ash yield
Group 1: r ash=0.701.00 Al (0.88), Ba (0.85), Be (0.79), F (0.75),
Ga (0.85), Hf (0.84), K (0.79), Rb (0.78), Si (0.93), Sr (0.79),
Ta (0.72), Th (0.84), Zr (0.74)
Group 2: r ash=0.50.69 Bi (0.51), Ce (0.56),Dy (0.69), Er (0.63),
Gd (0.59),Ho (0.66), La (0.59), Lu (0.55), Mn (0.67), Na (0.66),
Se (0.57),Sn (0.67), Pr (0.50), Tb (0.69), Tm (0.59), Y(0.62),
Yb (0.59)
Group 3: r ash=0.210.5 As (0.44), Ca (0.26), Cd (0.30), Cs (0.46),
Eu (0.35), Mg (0.33), Nb (0.44), Nd (0.43), Pb (0.31), Sb (0.22),
Sm (0.47), Ti (0.40), Tl (0.30), W (0.23)
Group 4: r ash= 0.20 to 0.20 Co (0.12), Cr ( 0.07), Cu ( 0.01),
Fe (0.14), Hg (0.10), Li (0.11), Mo (0.07), Ni (0.09), P (0.08),
S (0.10), Sc (0.07), U (0.13), V (0.13), Zn (0.14)
Aluminosilicate affinity
r AlSiN0.7 Ba, Be, Ga, Hf, Th
r AlSiN0.5 Ce, Dy, Er, F, Gd, Ho, K, La, Lu, Na, Pr, Rb, Sn, Sr,
Ta, Tb, Tm, Y, Yb, Ir
r AlSiN0.2 As, Bi, Cd, Cs, Eu, Nb, Nd, Se, Sm, Ti
Carbonate affinity
r CaMg=0.71.0 Mn
r CaMg=0.50.7 no elements
r CaMg=0.20.5 Sr, Fe
Sulfide affinity
r SFeN0.71.0 no elements
r SFe=0.50.7 As
r SFe=0.20.5 Cd, Cs, Hg, Mo, Sb, Tl, U
Correlation coefficients between selected major elements
SiAl=0.86; CaMg=0.30; CaFe=0.27; MgFe=0.34; SFe=0.86
Group B: Strontium, K, Rb, Ba, F, Si, Sn, Ga, Hf,
Al, Ta, Zr, Be, Th, and Na also have very high
positive correlation coefficients with ash yield (Table
2). These elements, together with As, are clustered in
the second association (Fig. 2).
The elements, which have negative or lower
positive correlation coefficients with ash yield (with
exceptions of Bi, Cs, Mn, Nb, Se, and Ti), are
classified in the other four associations.
Group C: CrVMoUCdTl association (Fig.
2). Elements from this association have correlation
coefficients with ash yield ranging from 0.07 to
0.30 (Table 2). The correlation coefficient between
U and Mo (0.97) is the highest within this
association.
Group D: HgLiScTiEuNbCsW associa-
tion. Elements from this group have correlation
coefficients with ash yield ranging from 0.07 to 0.23
with exceptions of Ti, Eu, Nb, and Cs (Table 2).
Group E: BiSb association. Their correlation
coefficient is 0.86.
Group F: CoNiCuPbZnMgSeCaMnS
Fe association. This group includes elements with
correlation coefficients with ash yield ranging from
0.01 to 0.26, with exceptions of Pb, Mg, Se, and Mn
(Table 2).
Phosphorus has low correlation coefficients with
any of the above elements and is not included in these
six associations.
4.3. Affinity of the elements
The correlation of the element concentrations with
ash yield may provide preliminary information for
their organic or inorganic affinity (Kortenski and
Sotirov, 2002). Four group elements are classified
according to their correlation coefficients with ash
yield (Table 2).
The first group has a very high positive correlation
coefficient with ash yield (N0.7; Al, Ba, Be, F, Ga,
Hf, K, Rb, Si, Sr, Ta, Th, and Zr; Table 2 and Fig. 3)
and includes elements with high inorganic affinity.
Most of these elements normally relate with alumi-
nosilicate minerals. The correlation coefficient (0.93)
between ash yield and Si is highest probably due to
not only clay minerals and clastic silicate minerals,
but also the veined quartz, which generally developed
in the Late Permian coals from western Guizhou
Province. Barium, Be, Ga, Hf, Th are also highly
characterized by aluminosilicate affinity (r AlSiN0.7;
Table 2).
The second group (Table 2) includes elements
with prevailing inorganic affinity. Elements from
this association have positive correlation coefficients
with ash yield, which vary from 0.51 to 0.69 (Bi,
Mn, Na, Se, Sn, Y, and REEs; Table 2). REEs
and Na also have clear aluminosilicate affinity
(r AlSiN0.5; Table 2).
Beaton et al. (1991), Querol et al. (1992, 1996,
1997a,b), Eskenazy (1996), Warwick et al. (1997),
Zhang (1999), and Kortenski and Sotirov (2002) also
reported data for similar affinity of some elements
from the first and second groups. Clear positive
 S. Dai et al. / International Journal of Coal Geology 61 (2005) 119137
correlations between ash yield and Ca+Mg and Fe
are not observed (Fig. 3). The high ash content is
related probably mainly with the alluminosilicate
rather than the carbonate and Fe-bearing minerals,
which is illustrated in Fig. 3. The correlation
coefficients of the elements with ash yield in the
third group vary from 0.21 to 0.5: As (0.44), Ca
(0.26), Cd (0.30), Cs (0.46), Eu (0.35), Mg (0.33),
Nb (0.44), Nd (0.43), Pb (0.31), Sb (0.22), Sm
(0.47), Ti (0.40), Tl (0.30), and W (0.23). Arsenic,
Cd, Cs, Eu, Nd, Sm, and Ti have also showed
aluminosilicate affinity (r AlSiN0.2; Table 2). In
addition, arsenic is characterized by sulfide affinity
(r SFeN0.5; Table 2), and this could indicate that As
mainly occurs in sulfide in coal.
The fourth group (Table 2) includes elements with
correlation coefficients below the statistically signifi-
cant value (F0.20): Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Li, Mo, Ni, P,
S, Sc, U, V, and Zn. Only Cr and Cu are negatively
correlated to ash yield ( 0.07 and 0.01, respec-
tively). They probably have intermediate (organic and
inorganic) affinity. Depending on the type of the
organic or mineral form they are found in various
associations. Gluskoter et al. (1977), Kuhn et al.
(1980), Querol et al. (1992), and Kortenski and
Sotirov (2002) also reported data for similar affinity
for some of these elements.
It should be noted that no elements with a high
negative correlation coefficient with ash yield were
found in Late Permian coals from western Guizhou
Province. Generally, elements that show high neg-
ative correlation coefficient with ash yield probably
associate with organic matter. The affinity of element
in Late Permian coals from Western Guizhou
Province is some different from the data reported
by Gluskoter et al. (1977), Miller and Given (1987),
Pareek and Bardhan (1985), Eskenazy (1996),
Querol et al. (1996, 1997a), Crowley et al. (1997),
Vassilev et al. (2001), and Kortenski and Sotirov
(2002), whose studies showed that some elements,
such as As, Be, Mg, Ge, Mo, W, In, Sb, P, Cr, and
Zr in some coals, mainly have organic affinity. The
affinity characteristics of elements in coals from the
study area are probably due to the low-temperature
hydrothermal fluids and volcanic influences, which
could lead to the inorganic enrichment of trace
elements that overlapped the organic affinity of
elements in coal.
131
Manganese, Sr, and Fe were also characterized by
carbonate affinity (Table 2), probably attributed to
high content of epigenetic veined ankerite in some
Late Permian coals from western Guizhou Province.
For example, the concentrations of Mn and Fe are as
high as 937 Ag/g and 2.32% in the No. 11 whole-seam
coal channel sample from the Dafang Coalfield,
western Guizhou Province. The No. 11 coal seam
has a high content of ankerite (10.2 vol.%). Based on
34 test spots of SEM-EDX on veined ankerite in the
No. 11 coal seam, the content of Mn and Fe can be up
to 0.48% and 12.5%, respectively.
4.4. Genetic types of element-enriching in western
Guizhou coals
There are many factors controlling the enrichment
of elements in coal (Yudovich et al., 1985; Swaine,
1990; Finkelman, 1993; Eskenazy, 1996; Palmer and
Lyons, 1996; Hower et al., 1997, 1999; Ren et al.,
1999; Bouska et al., 2000; Dai et al., 2003a). Based on
the coal geology in western Guizhou Province and our
recent studies (Dai, 2002; Dai et al., 2003a,b; Dai et
al., 2004a,b), five possible genetic types of element-
enriching in coal are proposed to account for the
element concentration in the Late Permian coals from
western Guizhou Province: source rock; low-temper-
ature hydrothermal fluid, volcanic ash, ground water,
and magmatic hydrothermal inputs.
4.4.1. Source rocks
The source rocks in the west of coal basin are
basalts in which the concentration of Co, Cr, Zn, Ga,
Mn, Ni, U, V, and Zn is high compared with other
rocks (Table 3). The concentration of these elements
in the source rocks of the study coal basin is similar to
that of world basalts as reported by Vinogradov
(1962) (Table 3). In comparison with Chinese coals
and US coals, the Late Permian coals from western
Guizhou province are enriched in Co, Cr, Zn, Ga, Hf,
Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Sn, Ti, U, V, Zn, and Zr as described
above, and this probably attributed to the high
contents of these elements in the basaltic source rocks
with exceptions of Hf, Li, Mo, Sn, Ti, and Zr. The
source rock is an important geological factor for the
enrichment of trace elements in the Late Permian
coals that were not influenced by volcanic ash, low-
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

Fig. 3. Relationship between some elements and ash yield.

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
(R o,max=3.58%) coal seam (No. 30) from the Zhijin
Coalfield in western Guizhou Province. This whole-
seam coal channel sample has a very high content of
veined quartz (9.4 vol.%), whose isotope values of
d 30Si and d 18O are 0.6x and 15.4x, respectively,
indicating that the high content quartz originated
from siliceous low-temperature hydrothermal fluid
(formation temperature 160220 8C). The veined
mineralizations are the dominant source of Fe, Cu, U,
Pd, Pt, and Ir, which are as high as 2.31%, 356 Ag/g,
8 Ag/g, 2.1 Ag/g, 2.4 Ag/g, and 0.006 Ag/g in the
whole-seam channel sample of this coal seam,
respectively.
The siliceous and iron-rich calcium low-temper-
ature hydrothermal fluids also controlled the mineral-
ogy and geochemistry of the late Permian No. 11
anthracitic (R r=2.85%) coal seam from the Dafang
Coalfield in northwestern Guizhou Province. The No.
11 coal seam has very high contents of veined ankerite
(10.2 vol.%) and veined quartz (11.4 vol.%), whose
formation temperatures are 85 and 180 8C, respec-
tively, as determined by fluid inclusions. Besides Fe,
Mg, and Ca (2.32%, 0.61%, and 2.56%, respectively),
the veined ankerite is the dominant source of Mn, Cu,
Ni, Pb, and Zn, which are as high as 0.09%, 74 Ag/g,
34 Ag/g, 185 Ag/g, and 289 Ag/g in this coal seam,
respectively. In addition, the veined mineralizations
are the main carrier of Pd, Pt, and Ir, which are 1.6,
0.2, and 0.007 Ag/g, respectively, in this whole-seam
coal channel sample. Our study showed that Pd, Pt,
and Ir can be up to 10, 1.2, and 0.05 Ag/g,
respectively, in the silicate association of this coal
seam. Our research results agree with the study by
Zhang et al. (2002), which shows that Ba, Co, Cr, Hg,
Ni, Rb, Sn, Sr, and Zn have high concentrations in
calcite mineralizations from low-temperature hydro-
thermal fluids in the Late Permian coals from south-
west Guizhou Province. The concentrations of As, Cd,
Mo, Se, Tl, Pb, and Zn are higher in pyrite formed
from low-temperature hydrothermal fluid than in other
genetic types of pyrite (Zhang et al., 2002).
4.4.3. Volcanic ash
Our study shows that synsedimentary volcanic ash
significantly affected the concentration and mode of
occurrences of associated elements in coal from
western Guizhou Province. The basaltic volcanic
ashes were emitted frequently during the Late Permian
age in western Guizhou Province (Chen et al., 2003;
Hao, 2000). The No. 9 whole-seam coal channel
sample in the Zhijin Coalfield (ZJ-9), western
Guizhou Province has a very high content of Fe
(4.34%), Cu (370 Ag/g), U (50 Ag/g), Mo (63 Ag/g),
Zn (34 Ag/g), and Zr (842 Ag/g) (Table 2). A typical
powder XRD pattern of the No. 9 coal seam shows
that the main minerals are a-cristobalite, augite,
quartz, and trace amounts of calcite and kaolinite,
but no Fe- and Cu-bearing minerals have been
detected. The a-cristobalite and augite provide evi-
dence for the volcanic origin of the inorganic.
Particularly, a-cristobalite is indicative of high tem-
perature. A study by Dai et al. (2003a) showed that
the sharp edges of a-cristobalite observed under
SEM-EDX indicate that a-cristobalite in the No. 9
coal seam is not detrital material of terrigenous origin.
Moreover, the distribution pattern of rare earth
elements in the No. 9 coal seam is similar to that of
intermediate-basic volcanic rocks that have no Eu
discrepancy (Dai et al., 2003a). In addition to
common minerals in coal, a volcanic-influenced
material (VIM) derived from volcanic ash, detrital
material of terrigenous origin, and organic matter in
the No. 9 coal seam was identified under polarized-
light reflectance microscopy and scanning electron
microscopy equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray
(EDX) analyzer. Elements, such as Fe and Cu in the
No. 9 coal seam, do not occur as sulfides but are
highly enriched in VIM in this coal seam, in sharp
contrast to many other coal seams in China. The
geochemical and mineralogical anomalies of the coal
seam are attributed to synsedimentary volcanic ash.
The VIM is the main carrier of Fe, Cu, U, Mo, Zn, and
Zr in this coal seam.
4.4.4. Groundwater
Groundwater input plays in almost every coal
basin in the enrichment of some elements in coal
(Ren et al., 1999). The elements concentrated in coal
depend on the chemical properties of the ground-
water, the water table dynamics related to the coal
seam, and chemical properties of the country rocks.
A study by Zhang et al. (2002) showed that the
veined pyrite (Sample No. Py-C) deposited from
ground water is enriched in Se (236 Ag/g) because
there are Se-rich Au and Sb ores nearby in Western
 S. Dai et al. / International Journal of Coal Geology 61 (2005) 119137
Guizhou Province. In Late Permian coals from
Western Guizhou Province, calcite veins (Sample
No. Ca-B) originating from groundwater contain
high content of Sb (76 Ag/g) and Se (5.1 Ag/g)
because there are Sb- and Se-rich Au ores and Sb
ore, which make groundwater rich in Sb and Se
(Zhang et al., 2002).
4.4.5. Magmatic hydrothermal inputs
Ren et al. (1999) reported that the enrichment of
trace elements in coal due to magmatic hydro-
thermal inputs extensively occurs in China because
of the widespread magmatic activity in Mesozoic
and Cenozoic time. Magma intrusions and related
hydrothermal activity were especially common
during the Yanshan Orogenesis of the Mesozoic
period (Ren et al., 1999). However, only one case
of the enrichment of trace elements in coal due to
magmatic hydrothermal inputs was confirmed in
western Guizhou Province. The high content of Ir
(0.008 Ag/g) in the sample QZ01 in the Zhongying
Mine of the Qinglong Coalfield from western
Guizhou Province is considered to be a result of
the intrusive diabase whose Rb/Sr isotopic age is
115.5158 Ma (Dai et al., 2003b). Because of the
magmatic hydrothermal inputs, there are a variety
of coal ranks, from subB (subbituminous B),
through subA, hvCb (high volatile C bituminous),
hvBb, hvAb, mvb (medium volatile bituminous),
and semianthracite, to anthracite, in a single coal
seam within several kilometers (Han and Yang,
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
Ag/g) in the pyrite sample (QZ011) whose pyritic
d 34S value is 1.8x, suggesting a magmatic hydro-
thermal origin (Zhang, 1999). However, in other
coalfields from western Guizhou Province, such
genetic enrichment of elements in coals was not
observed.
5. Conclusions
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
135
means for the corresponding elements in the US
coals, and As, Ba, Br, F, Hg, P, Se, and Tl are lower.
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 than those in common Chinese coals, and
As, F, Hg, Rb, Sb, Tl, and W are lower. The endemic
fluorosis in western Guizhou Province is likely
attributed to the high content of fluorine in a clay
that is used as an additive for coal-burning and as a
binder in briquette-making, and the distribution of
high As coals are very local in western Guizhou
Province.
Five groups of elements may be classified accord-
ing to the mode of occurrence in coal: TmYbLu
YErHoDyTbCeLaNdPrGdSm, AsSr
KRbBaFSiSnGaHfAlTaZrBeThNa,
CrVMoUCdTl, HgLiScTiEuNbCsW,
BiSb, and CoNiCuPbZnMgSeCaMnS
Fe associations. The first two associations contain
elements with high positive correlation coefficients
with ash yield, and the elements from the remaining
four associations (with exceptions of Bi, Cs, Mn, Nb,
Se, and Ti) have negative or lower positive correlation
coefficients with ash yield.
There are five possible genetic types of enrichment
of elements in coal: source rock, volcanic ash, low-
temperature hydrothermal fluid, groundwater, and
magmatic hydrothermal inputs. Low-temperature
hydrothermal fluid is the most important geological
factor that dominates the enrichment of elements in
Late Permian coals from western Guizhou Province.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the National
Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 4020
2014), the National Major Fundamental Research
and Development Project (No. 2003CB214607), and
the Hi-tech Research and Development Program of
China (No. 2004AA649200). The authors wish to
thank Drs. Robert B. Finkelman, Yuzhuang Sun,
Rongshu Zeng, and Kunli Luo for their constructive
suggestions. We are grateful to Mr. Shiwen Jiang
for his support in underground whole-seam coal
channel sampling. Special appreciation is also given
to Drs. C.A. Palmer, J. Hower, and another
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
Hou for his revision of the manuscript that
improved the manuscript.
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