Distribution and enrichment mode of Li in the No. 11 coal seam from Pingshuo mining district, Shanxi province

One hundred and fifteen bench-coal samples were taken from the No. 11 Coal Seam of the Carboniferous in Pingshuo Mining District. These samples were analyzed by ICP-MS, X-ray powder diffraction, SEM-EDX methods. The results indicate that the average Li content reaches 368.84 mg/kg. It is as much as 30 times higher than that of the world coals and 11 times higher than that of Chinese coals. The calculated total Li reserves reach to 259 kt, that is equivalent to, 56 kt Li2O in the No. 11 coal seam in the Pingshuo Mining District. The minerals in the coals are mainly clay, pyrite, and a minor amount of oxide and other minerals. The lithium tends to occur in clay minerals and mainly associated with inertinite maceral. The majority of Li in the No. 11 coal might have migrated from the underlying Yinshan Oldland or bauxite of the Benxi formation by absorption mechanism. The bauxite of the Benxi formation may be the most possible source of Li in the coal from the Pingshuo District.