25th International Meeting on Organic Geochemistry IMOG 2011

P-048
Relationship of lithium enrichment with macerals and organic
compounds of Coal Seam 6 from the Guanbanwusu Coal Mine,
Inner Mongolia
Yuzhuang Sun, Yanheng Li, Shiming Liu, Cunliang Zhao, Kankun Jin
Hebei University of Engineering, Handan, China (corresponding author:sun_yz@hotmail.com)
The thace elements in coals have been studied
by many coal geologists since long time [1, 2]. Both
useful and harmful elements have been reported by
many authors [2]. Lithium is the associated valuable
element in coal and is also a kind of very important
energy metals. Lithium has been named as ―new
energy metal‖ and ―metal to promote the world
advance‖. One gram lithium may release 3400 kWh
energy. Nuclear fusion energy is higher stage of
energy use after fission type reactor. A lithium reactor
to generate 10 billion kWh energy needs lithium only
10 tons [3](Metal, 2006).
The concentrations of lithium in coals have been
studied by some geologists [4]. US National
Committee for Geochemistry (1980) reported that the
average content of lithium in coas of the world is 15.6
mg/kg; Finkelman [4] reported that the average lithium
content in USA is 16 mg/kg. More statistic data about
lithium contents in coals were given by Sun et al. [5].
All data indicate that the lithium contents vary in
different coalfields. Except in China, average lithium
conntents in coals are lower than 20 mg/kg in all other
countries. Neither important progresses on the oreforming
theories of Li in coal were made nor coal
associated lithium ore deposits were discovered.
The Guanbanwusu Coal Mine is located at the
southern Inner Mongolia. The mine district is 1.94-km
long (N-S) and 1.82-km wide (W-E), with a total area
of 3.5 km2. Geologically, it belongs to the Junger
Coalfield. The coal-bearing sequences in the
Guanbanwusu Coal Mine include Benxi Formation
and Taiyuan Formation (both Pennsylvanian) and
Shanxi Formation (Lower Permian) with a total
thickness of 90–210 m. Coal reserves of the
Guanbanwusu Coal Mine amount to 92.4 Mt.
36 coal samples from Coal Seam 6 were taken
from the Guanbanwusu Coal Mine, Junger Coalfield,
Inner Mongolia, and the samples were analysed by
microscope, ICP-MS, GC and GC-MS analyses. The
results indicate that the lithium contents have reached
0.2829%. This content is higher than the Geology and
Ore Deposit Standard Specifications for Rare Metal
Mineral Exploration (>0.2%) of the People‘s Republic
of China (DZ/T 0203-2002). According to this
standard, lithium content has reached an associated
deposit in this mine.
The results of maceral analyses indicate that the
enrichment of lithium have positive relationship with
inertinite contents. The samples with high lithium
contents have also inertinite contents.
The results of GC and GC-MS analyses indicate
that the enrichment of lithium have positive
relationship with some aromatic compounds,
especially, with polycyclic aromatic sulfur compounds
and polycyclic aromatic oxygen compounds
References
[1] Dai, S. F., Ren, D. Y., Tang, Y. G., Yue, M. and Hao, L. M.
(2005) <strong>International</strong> Journal of Coal Geology 61, 119-137.
[2] Swaine, D. J. (1990) Trace Elements in Coals. Butterworth,
London, pp. 278.
[3] Metal (2006) Non-ferrous Metallurgy in China 2, 54-56 (in
Chinese).
[4] Finkelman, R. B. (1993) Organic Geochemistry. New York,
Plenum Press, pp. 593-607.
[5] Sun Yuzhuang, Li Yanhen, Zhao Cunliang, Lin Mingyue,
Wang Jinxi and Qin Shenjun (2010) Energy Exploration &
Exploitation 28(2), 97-104.
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