Discovery of anomalous molybdenum enrichment in ordovician and silurian stone coal: Relevance, origin and recommendations

Chemosphere. 2023 Jan 28:137975. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.137975. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTMolybdenum (Mo) is a strategic element but has a notably low concentration at the Earth's surface. Consequently, competition for molybdenum resources at the national strategic level has begun to emerge, and in recent years, large-scale mining has led to the gradual depletion of molybdenum deposit resources. Here, thirty-four element enrichment patterns of Ordovician and Silurian stone coals in central China are reported. Molybdenum is the most enriched element, with an average of 208 mg/kg (58.2-440 mg/kg), which is 99 times the global hard coal average, and this molybdenum enrichment is associated with Ba-Ga-U-Cr-Na-K--Cu-Se-Zn enrichment and elevated SiO2, CaO, K2O, MgO, Na2O, MnO and P2O5 concentrations. These analyses reveal four stone coal samples with molybdenum concentrations of 260, 312, 403 and 440 mg/kg, which meet the grade for the molybdenum mineral exploitation formulated standard, indicating that the Ordovician and Silurian stone coal deposits should be considered promising alternative sources of molybdenum. The crude reserve estimate of molybdenum is approximately 29.2 × 104 tons. The anomalous molybdenum in the studied stone coal was sourced from a complex combination of hydrothermal fluids, original biomass and terrigenous materials. The unique paleogeographic location and geological structure in central China resulted in the anomalous molybdenum concentrat...
Source: Chemosphere - Category: Chemistry Authors: Source Type: research