Strategic elements in the Fort Cooper Coal Measures: potential rare earth elements and other multi-product targets

Mineral matter in coals has been found to host valuable elements including germanium, lithium and rare-earth elements (REE), but such content of Australian coals remains under-explored. The aim of this paper is to provide a proof-of-concept study that determines elemental concentrations in the mineral matter of the high-ash, Fort Cooper Coal Measures (FCCM), Bowen Basin, Queensland. Coal in the FCCM has good coking properties but has not been extensively explored owing to its high ash content. This study performs a preliminary assessment of the elements from the coal portion that would typically become waste after washing or combustion. Given that the needs for industrial extraction methods will change over time, cataloguing and documenting the elemental composition of coal may assist future development of multiple products for the benefit of both the coal and mineral industries. This preliminary study has revealed similar elevations of REE and higher-than-average crustal concentrations of lithium, bismuth and scandium in some of the samples. Further analyses will be required on a larger dataset to better understand elemental associations and explore spatial patterns of elemental content that may indicate localised enrichments. Understanding the potential of valuable elements in the FCCM may stimulate interest in multiple-product-coal (or elemental-coal) mining in this under-exploited resource and further encourage the reduction of waste from other Australian coals at the wash-plant stage.研究证实，煤炭中的矿物质赋存着锗、锂及稀土元素（rare-earth elements, REE）等有价元素，但澳大利亚煤炭中此类元素的赋存状态仍有待深入探究。本研究旨在开展概念验证研究，测定昆士兰州鲍恩盆地（Bowen Basin）弗特库珀煤系（Fort Cooper Coal Measures, FCCM）高灰分煤炭中矿物质的元素浓度。弗特库珀煤系中的煤炭具备优良的炼焦性能，但因灰分较高，尚未得到大规模勘探与开发。本研究针对煤炭经洗选或燃烧后通常会成为废弃物的组分中的元素展开了初步评估。考虑到工业提取技术的需求会随时间迭代演进，对煤炭元素组成进行编目与存档，可为未来开发多用途产品提供参考，助力煤炭与矿物行业的协同发展。本次初步研究发现，部分样本中稀土元素出现显著富集，且锂、铋、钪的浓度均高于地壳平均水平。后续需基于更大规模的数据集开展进一步分析，以深入解析元素间的共生关系，并探究元素含量的空间分布特征，从而识别局部富集区域。明晰弗特库珀煤系中有价元素的开发潜力，可激发该待开发资源开展多联产煤炭（或元素型煤炭）开采的意愿，同时进一步推动在洗选环节减少澳大利亚其他煤炭所产生的废弃物。