Stone coal in China: a review

Stone coal is defined as a combustible, low-heat value, high-rank black shale of early Paleozoic (in a few cases, Permian) age, widely distributed in southern China. Attention has been focused on stone coals because (1) they can be used as fuel energy (for power plants and daily use in some villages) mainly in southern China; (2) they are enriched in critical elements and are currently industrially (economic extraction of V) and agriculturally (such as Se) utilized or have such a great potential (e.g. Au, platinum group elements, Mo, and Ni); (3) they are the sources for some toxic elements that have caused environmental pollution (e.g. SO2 emission during their combustion) and endemic diseases such as selenoisis and fluorosis; and (4) they can provide useful information for geological events and regional geological setting (e.g. hydrothermal activities). This article reviews stone coal’s definition; occurrence and distribution; petrologic properties, mineralogy, and geochemistry; adverse impacts on environment and human health; and by-products of critical elements as well as major challenges remaining from point of view of determining element enrichment mechanisms, utilization of critical elements, and control of toxic elements released during stone coal utilization.