Enrichment of U–Se–Mo–Re–V in coals preserved within marine carbonate successions: geochemical and mineralogical data from the Late Permian Guiding Coalfield, Guizhou, China

We present multi-element data on the super-high-organic-sulfur (SHOS; 5.19 % on average) coals of Late Permian age from Guiding, in Guizhou Province, China. The coals, formed on restricted carbonate platforms, are all highly enriched in S, U, Se, Mo, Re, V, and Cr, and, to a lesser extent, Ni and Cd. Although the Guiding coals were subjected to seawater influence, boron is very low and mainly occurs in tourmaline and mixed-layer illite/smectite. Uranium, Mo, and V in the coal are mainly associated with the organic matter. In addition, a small proportion of the U occurs in coffinite and brannerite. The major carrier of Se is pyrite rather than marcasite. Rhenium probably occurs in secondary sulfate and carbonate minerals. The U-bearing coal deposits have the following characteristics: the formation age is limited to Late Permian; concentrations of sulfur and rare metals (U, Se, Mo, Re, V, and in some cases, rare earth elements and Y) are highly elevated; the U-bearing coal beds are intercalated with marine carbonate rocks; organic sulfur and rare metals are uniformly distributed within the coal seams; and the combustion products (e.g., fly and bottom ash) derived from the coal deposits may have potential economic significance for rare metals: U, Se, Mo, Re, V, rare earth elements, and Y.