ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Biogeochemistry
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1523669
Significant contribution of seawater infiltration and hydrothermal activity on lithium enrichment in the Ceshui Formation coal of the LianShao Coalfield, Hunan Province, South China
Provisionally accepted
- 1Key Laboratory of Tectonics and Petroleum Resources of Ministry of Education, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China
- 2Changsha Nonferrous Metallurgical Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd., Changsha., Changsha, China
- 3Urumqi geological brigade, Geological Bureau, Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous Gerion, Urumqi, China
- 4Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
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The Ceshui Formation is one of the most important coal-bearing formation of the Lower Carboniferous in China, especially in South China. This study investigates the mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of the Lower Carboniferous Ceshui Formation coal from the studied area, Lianshao Coalfield, Hunan Province, with special emphasis on significant lithium enrichment in the studied area. The Ceshui Formation bituminous from the Toushi open-pit mine is characterized by medium-low ash yield, low volatile matter yield and low sulfur content. Minerals occurring in the coal are mainly composed of kaolinite, tobelite and calcite, followed by quartz, anatase, ankerite, microcline, siderite and illite, with a trace amount of pyrite. Compared with the average values in worldwide coals, Li is significantly enriched in the Ceshui Formation coals in the studied area, occurring mainly in kaolinite and secondarily in chlorite. The closer to the roof and floor, the higher the concentration of Li.
Keywords: Lithium enrichment in coal, infiltration of seawater, hydrothermal fluids, Ceshui Formation coals, Toushi open-pit coal mine
Received: 07 Nov 2024; Accepted: 26 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li, Wang, Zhang, Wumaier, Zhuang, Querol, Moreno and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jing Li, Key Laboratory of Tectonics and Petroleum Resources of Ministry of Education, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China
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