Geochemistry of rare earth elements and yttrium in Late Permian coals from the Zhongliangshan coalfield, southwestern China

Abstract

Rare earth elements and yttrium (REY) in coal deposits are considered promising alternative sources for these resources owing to their increasing global demand. This paper reports the geochemical characteristics of REY in the Late Permian coals from an underground K1a seam section of the Zhongliangshan coalfield in Chongqing, southwestern China. The mineralogy, degree of enrichment, distribution patterns, modes of occurrence, and sediment origin of REY were investigated. Compared with the average of world coals, the concentration of REY in the K1a coals were normal, dominated by light REY (LREY), with less medium and heavy REY (MREY, HREY). The fractionation degree of the MREY and HREY are higher than that of LREY in most K1a coal samples, deduced from the mixed enrichment type of REY, mainly including M-H-type, and a few L-M type and H-type. In addition, the combination of anomalies of Ce, Eu, Gd, and Al₂O₃/TiO₂ parameters, the terrigenous materials in the K1a coal were derived from the felsic-intermediate rocks at the top of the Emeishan basalt sequence, and the samples were affected by seawater intrusion during early peat accumulation. Although the minerals primarily consist of kaolinite, illite, pyrite, and small amounts of quartz, calcite and anatase, REY are correlated with ash yield, SiO₂, and Al₂O₃, revealing that the REY mainly occur in aluminosilicate minerals, especially kaolinite and illite. Meanwhile, REY positively relate to P₂O₅ and Zr, which may exist in phosphate-containing minerals or zircon. Furthermore, most samples in the K1a coal or ash do not reach the cut-off grade for the beneficial recovery of REY. With the exception of central Guizhou, southwestern Chongqing, and the junction of western Guizhou and northeastern Yunnan, the REY content in coals from southwestern China are high, and its by-products are suitable as potential REY sources.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

rare earth elements and yttrium / Zhongliangshan K1a coal / sediment source / modes of occurrence / geochemical characteristics

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Acknowledgments

We thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their comments to improve the manuscript. This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. U1903207, 42172191, 41972176, and 42002184), Natural Science Foundation of Hebei (No. D2021402013), Fundamental research Funds of China University of Mining and Technology (No. 2020CXNL11), and Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.

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