Origin of Mineral Matter in Coal

Mineral matter originates from the inorganic constituents of the vegetation which acted as the precursor to coal and from the mineral matter that was transported to the coal bed from a remote site (Chapters 3 and 4). Thus, mineral matter in coal has often been classified as inherent and extraneous mineral matter (Francis, 1961 Stach et al., 1982 Spears and Zheng, 1999). 

There has been considerable discussion and conjecture about the origin of the so-called inherent and extraneous mineral matter in coal. Indeed, it is in regard to this particular aspect of coal technology 

The intimate interrelationship between coal and mineral matter can only be adequately explained if it is accepted that the mineral matter became part of the coal matrix either during the early stages of coalification in the peat bog or at some early stage of the subsequent maturation process. 

Kaolinite, illite, sericite, clay minerals with mixed-layer structure tonstein  

Deposited in Fissures, Cleats, and Cavities (Coarsely Intergrown) 

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Simultaneously with the efforts to determine the origin of mineral matter in coal, systematic efforts were underway to estimate the quantitative distribution of trace and minor elements in American coals. The early analyses were performed on high-temperature ashes, and as a consequence, the investigators had to be content with determining the nonvolatile metallic oxides. However, with the advent of the low temperature asher and improvisations and advances in wet chemical, radiochemical, and instrumental analytical techniques, we not only can analyze nondecomposed mineral matter but also can study the composition of whole coal. 

Neuzil S. G., Supardi, Cecil C. B., Kane J. S., and Soedjono K. (1993) Inorganic geochemistry of domed peat in Indonesia and its implication for the origin of mineral matter in coal. In Modem and Ancient Coal-forming Environments, Geological Society of America Special Paper 286 (eds. J. C. Cobb and C. B. Cecil), pp. 23-44. 

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