Concentration, Distribution, and Occurrence of REEs in Coals from Chongqing, Southwest China

The concentration, distribution, and occurrence of rare earth elements (REEs) in coals as well as stone coals in different geological periods from Chongqing were studied. The results show that the REE content in coals from Chongqing is much higher than that of the ordinary Chinese coals, the Late Paleozoic coals from North China, US coals, and the world coals. Although the concentration of light rare earth elements (LREE) is higher than that of heavy rare earth elements (HREE), the ratio of LREE to HREE is as low as 5.11. The REE content decreases with the coal-formation periods from old to new. The REE content in the Sinian stone coal is the highest, but it is the lowest in Early Jurassic coals. The similar REE contents in bituminous coals and anthracite show that the metamorphism has a little influence on REE content in coal. In addition, silicate association dominates the occurrence mode of REEs in coals from Chongqing.