Three-dimensional Modeling of Ore-forming Elements and Mineralization Prognosis for the Yechangping Mo Deposit,Henan Province,China

Three-dimensional geochemical modeling of ore-forming elements is crucial for predicting deep mineralization.This approach provides key information for the quantitative prediction of deep mineral localization,three-dimensional fine interpolation,analysis of spatial distribution patterns,and extraction of quantitative mineral-seeking markers.The Yechangping molybdenum(Mo)deposit is a significant and extensive porphyry-skarn deposit in the East Qinling-Dabie Mo polymetallic metallogenic belt at the southern margin of the North China Block.Abundant borehole data on oreforming elements underpin deep geochemical predictions.The methodology includes the following steps:(1)Threedimensional geological modeling of the deposit was established.(2)Correlation,cluster,and factor analyses post delineation of mineralization stages and determination of mineral generation sequence to identify(Cu,Pb,Zn,Ag)and(Mo,W,mfe)assemblages.(3)A three-dimensional geochemical block model was constructed for Mo,W,mfe,Cu,Zn,Pb,and Ag using the ordinary kriging method,and the variational function was developed.(4)Spatial distribution and enrichment characteristics analysis of ore-forming elements are performed to extract geological information,employing the variogram and w(Cu+Pb+Zn+Ag)/w(Mo+W)as predictive indicators.(5)Identifying the western,northwestern,and southwestern areas of the mine with limited mineralization potential,contrasted by the northeastern and southeastern areas favorable for mineral exploration.

Development history and prospect of remote sensing technology in coal geology of China

Coal remote sensing technology was founded in the period of coal resources survey after the founding of People’s Republic of China.Aerophoto Grammetry&Remote Sensing Bureau of China National Administration of Coal Geology was established,specializing in the application and promotion of coal remote sensing technology.With the rapid development of coal geological exploration in China,coal remote sensing technology has evolved from coal geology based survey to comprehensive survey that factors in resources,environment,ecology and so on.This paper summarizes the general situation,theories,development process,key research and future of remote sensing technology for coal mining in China.Spanning over 50 years,the history of China’s coal remote sensing technology can be divided into five stages:aero-geological mapping,coal remote sensing theory experimental research,application research and promotion,architecture planning and productionisation,“3S”technology integration and application.This paper expounds the main technical progress,application fields,major projects and major achievements in various historical periods,and points out that the coal remote sensing has entered a unified development stage of“Aviation,Aerospace and Ground”,with a focus on high-resolution remote sensing,hyperspectral remote sensing,radar remote sensing,“3S”technology integration and multi-means comprehensive exploration and evaluation.In the future,coal remote sensing technology will develop rapidly in data mass,technology integration,evaluation intelligence,integration application programming,system visualization,etc.Coal remote sensing technology has entered the industrial development from technology application.

Current Status of the Research on Coal Geology in China

Coal is the main energy in China, which has already played and will continue to play an important role in the national economy. Coal geology, as a practical science, has an access to gradual development with the growth and prosperity of China. From the meaning of the coalfield geology, this paper introduces the research progress and status of coalfield geology, including the research on coal basin, stratigraphy of coal-bearing stratigraphic sequences, coal-forming process, structural geology of coalfields, and exploration and development status of coal resources. The paper specially focuses on coal-forming process, including coal formation in terrestrial facies and transgressive / regression events, and introduces new technology which has been applied to research progress in structural geology of coalfield. This paper puts forward a new comprehensive exploration system for coal exploration and reviews regional coal geological exploration results in recent years, such as coal-poor regions of seven provinces in southern China and the coal resources area in northwest China, which will be an important coal-producing area in the future .

Sequence Stratigraphy of the Jurassic Coal Measures in Northwestern China

The sequence stratigraphy of the Jurassic coal measures of northwestern China has been studied based on data from outcrop and borehole sections. Because of the geological background and the diversity of basin types, such as isochronisms of coal seams and recognition of key sequence boundaries, it is rare to summarize and correlate sequence structure and framework. The types and recognition characteristics of the sequence boundaries of the Jurassic coal measures are revealed by comparing climatic characteristics, structural styles and the base level cycle. A total of five third-order sequences and 15 systems tracts have been subdivided and the sequence stratigraphic framework has been reconstructed confirming that the thick coals accumulated in the late stage of transgression system tracts of sequence I （SQ I） and sequence III （SQ III）. This idea is of important academic significance for instructing coal resources exploration, and enhancing geological effects of prospecting engineering. It is also of practical significance for guaranteeing construction of the large-scale coal production base in northwestern China, accelerating the westward development of the coal industry stratagem.

Research on Potential Fertilization of Coal Gangue in the Weibei Coalfield,China

Based on the systematic analysis of the coal gangue in Weibei Coalfield, such as petrologic characteristics, chemical composition, nutrient elements, deleterious elements, and the transformation, and compared with the soil element content background values of Loess Plateau and national harmful materials controlling standards, we conclude that the coal gangue in the Weibei Coalfield has huge potential to be used as clay fertilizer.

Resources Conditions of Coalbed Methane Districts in China

The China National Administration of Coal Geology accomplished an assessment of coalbed methane resources of China in 1988. The total amount of coalbed methane resources in China is 14336.944 billion m3, occurring in recoverable coal seams and beneath weathering zones, with coalbed methane content equal to or higher than 4 m3 per ton and buried depths smaller than 2000 m, among which there are 967.51 billion m3 of predicted reserves and 13369.434 billion m3 of future reserves. The resources in coal reservoirs with methane content of more than 8 m3 per ton are 12444.087 billion m3, and those with methane content between 4 to 8 m3 per ton are 1892.856 billion m3. There are 35 districts in which the resources abundance is higher than 150 million m3/km2, 49 districts with the abundance between 50 million and 150 million m3/km2, and 31 districts with the abundance less than 50 million m3/km2. There is 9256.078 billion m3 of methane occurring in coal seams with buried depths less than 1500 m, and 5080.866 billion m3 in coal seams with buried depths between 1500 and 2000 m. There are 28 large-scale districts in which coalbed methane resources are more than 100 billions m3, 28 medium-scale districts with coalbed methane resources between 20 billion and 100 billion m3 and 59 small-scale districts with resources amount less than 20 billion m3. The Jincheng area is one of the most favourable districts for coalbed methane resources in China.

Distribution Characteristics of Sulfur and the Main Harmful Trace Elements in China's Coal

To promote the rational development and use of clean coal resources in China, data on the regional and age distribution of sulfur, arsenic and other harmful elements in Chinese coal was broadly collected, tested for content, and analyzed. Coal in northwestern China is characterized by low to extremely low levels of sulfur; the coal of the Taiyuan Formation in northern China mainly has high-sulfur content; that of the Shanxi Formation is mainly characterized by low sulfur coal; and the Late Permian coal in southern China has overall higher sulfur content; other regions have low sulfur coal. The average content of harmful trace elements in the bulk of China＇s coal is similar to the corresponding content in the coal of the North America and the rest of the world, whereas the content of various elements （Hg, Sb and Se） is different in magnitude to the corresponding percentage in the crust. The average content of the elements Cr, Se, Co, Be, U, Br in Late Permian coal in S China ranks first in the country whereas the average content of Hg and CI in the coals of Late Carboniferous to Early Permian age in N China are the highest. The average content of Mn in Early and Middle Jurassic coal is higher in NW China. The high content of harmful elements in some coal should cause particular concern both in the development and utilization of coal.

The Status Quo and Outlook of Chinese Coal Geology and Exploration Technologies

Coal is China＇s dominant energy resource. Coal geological exploration is the basis of sustainable development of coal industry. Since the late 1990s, the advances in Chinese coal geology and exploration techniques have been shown in the following aspects. （1） The basic research of coal geology has changed from traditional geological studies to earth system science; （2） Breakthroughs have been achieved in integrated exploration techniques for coal resources; （3） Evaluation of coal and coalbed methane resources provides important basis for macropolicy making for China＇s coal industry and construction of large coal bases; （4） Significant advances have been made in using information technology in coal geological exploration and 3S （GPS, GIS, RS） technology. For the present and a period of time in the future, major tasks of Chinese coal geological technology are as follows： （1） solving resources replacement problem in eastern China and geological problems of deep mining; （2） solving problem of integrated coal exploration of complex regions in energy bases of central China, and resources problems induced by coal exploitation; （3） making efforts to enhance the level of geological research and resources evaluation of coal-accumulation basins in western China; （4） strengthening geological research of clean coal technologies; （5） strengthening geological research of the problems in modern coal mining and safe production; （6） promoting information technology in coal resources and major geological investigations.

REE characteristics of the coal in the Erlian Basin, Inner Mongolia, China, and its economic value

The rare earth elements(REE)content of the coal in the Erlian Basin was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS),and it turns out that the REE content from different geological age shows a significant difference:The REE content of the coal in the Jurassic Alatanheli Group is from 152.05×10^(−6) to 1416.21×10^(−6),with an average value of 397.31×10^(−6),and the relative concentration factor shows enriched;the REE content of the coal in Early Cretaceous Baiyanhua Group is from 20.65×10^(−6) to 102.53×10^(−6),the mean value is 49.06×10^(−6),and the relative concentration factor shows normally.The REE distribution patterns samples in Jurassic and Cretaceous shows the difference:The REE pattern in Jurassic coal mainly manifests as H-type distribution,with the Y,Lu positive anomaly,it is speculated that the fluid carried REE ions into the coal-bearing basin,and the heavy REE gather in the coal due to the different chemical properties of each REE.The REE occurrence mode is presumed to be mainly organic.Flat type is the REE main distribution pattern in Cretaceous coal.The REE patterns in clastic rocks of the roof,parting and floor of coal seam are similar to the REE patterns in the coal and the most possible reason is that the REE main source is from the clastic rock.It showed that the coal of the Early Jurassic,especially of Amugulen coalfield has resource value.

Coordinated Exploration Model and its Application to Coal and Coal-associated Deposits in Coal Basins of China

China is a top world producer of coal resources with numerous coal-rich basins country-wide that also contain coalbed methane(CBM),an unconventional natural gas resource.Recent exploration of coal and CBM resources has also led to the discovery of rare,precious,and scattered metal minerals,including sandstone-type U and Ga–Ge–Li.High-grade and industrial-value deposits have been discovered in the Ordos,Junggar,and other basins across China during exploration for coal resources.Application of coordinated exploration theories and techniques in multiple energy and coal-associated ore deposits,such as coal and unconventional natural gas in coal,achieves efficient and practical exploration of natural resources.Based on the systematic study of accumulation and occurrence of coal and coal-associated mineral resources in coal basins,the basic idea of coordinated exploration for coal and coal-associated deposits is proposed,and multi-targets and multi-methods based on a coordinated exploration model of coal-associated deposits is developed.Coordinated exploration expands the main exploration objective from coal seams to coal-associated series,extending the exploration target from targeting coal only to coal-associated deposits.Entrance times for exploration are decreased to realize coordinated exploration for coal,unconventional natural gas and syngenetic/associated mineral resources in coal by implementing a’one-time approach’―one time in and out of a coal seam to minimize disturbance and time needed for extraction.According to the differences of geological background in China’s coal basins,four coordinated exploration model types,including co-exploration of coal and coal-associated unconventional natural gas,coal and solid minerals,coal and metal minerals,and coal with water resources are established.Other models discussed include a multi-target coordinated exploration model for the combination of coal,coal-associated gas,solid minerals,and metal minerals accordingly.The exploration techniques of coal and coal-associated resources include regional geological investigation and research and synthetic application of other techniques including seismic surveys,drilling,logging,and geochemical exploration.Particularly,applying the’multi-purpose drill hole’or reworking coalfield drill holes into parameter wells,adding sample testing and logging wells,determining gas-bearing layers by logging and gas content measurement,jointly measuring multiple logging parameters,sampling,and testing of coal-strata help in the exploration and evaluation of coal resources,coal-associated unconventional natural gas resources,and coal-associated element minerals.Accordingly,a system of integrated Space–Air–Ground exploration techniques for coordinated exploration of coal and coal-associated minerals is established.This includes high-resolution,hyperspectral remote-sensing technique,high-precision geophysical exploration and fast,precise drilling,testing of experimental samples,as well as coordinated exploration and determination methods of multi-target factors,multi-exploration means,multi-parameter configuration and optimization,big data fusions and interpretation techniques.In recent years,the application of this integrated system has brought significant breakthroughs in coal exploration in Inner Mongolia,Xinjiang and other provinces,discovering several large,ten-billionton coalfields,such as the Eastern Junggar and Tuha basins,and also in exploration and development of CBM from lowrank coals in Fukang,Xinjiang,discovery the Daying U Deposit in Inner Mongolia,the Junggar Ultralarge Ga Deposit,Lincang,Yunnan,and the Wulantuga,Inner Mongolia,Ge-bearing coal deposits,and the Pingshuo Ultralarge Li–Ge Deposit.

Analysis on Structural Control of Coal Distribution in the Northern Qaidam Basin,NW China

The distribution of the Jurassic coal measures in the northern Qaidam Basin is obviously controlled by the regional structures. Based on the existing data of coalfield exploration and combined with the analysis of coalfield basement structures, features of the main faults, and the distribution of coal measures, this paper brings forward a scheme of coalfield tectonic divisional units and the definition of the coal-controlling structural styles in the northern Qaidam Basin. The structure control of the distribution of coal measures is further discussed. Several stages of regional tectonic activities since the Indosinian has led to the distribution of coal measures into the characteristics of zonation from the north to south and block from east to west. The results indicate that the structural deformations are the most intense in the front of the three uplifted belts, which are characterized by the combination of thrusts. The coal measures are uplifted to the shallow formations, and are easy to be exploited, but the scale of mines is small because of serious damages by the coal distribution. On the contrary, the stress and strain are weak in the three depressions, with the coal-controlling structural styles being mainly the thrust-fold and thrust-monocline combinations. The distribution of coals in the depressions is relatively stable. The shallower part of the depression will become the key areas for exploration and development of coal resources in the northern Qaidam Basin.

The Method and Practice of Constructing 3D Geological Model from Coalfield Exploration 2D Maps

3D geological modeling is an inevitable choice for coal exploration to adapt to the transformation of coal mining for green, fine, transparent and Intelligent mining. In the traditional Coalfield exploration geological reports, the spatial expression form for the coal seams and their surrounding rocks are 2D maps. These 2D maps are excellent data sources for constructing 3D geological models of coal field exploration areas. How to construct 3D models from these 2D maps has been studying in coal exploration industry for a long time, and still no breakthrough has been achieved so far. This paper discusses the principle, method and software design idea of constructing 3D geological model of an exploration area with 2D maps made by AutoCAD/MapGIS. At first, the paper analyzes 3D geological surface expression mode in 3D geological modeling software. It is pointed out that although contour method has unique advantages in coal field exploration, TIN (Triangular Irregular Network) is still the standard configuration of 3D modeling software for coal field. Then, the paper discusses the method of 2D line features obtaining elevation and upgrading 2D curve to 3D curve. Next, the method of semi-automatic partition is introduced to build the boundary ring of the surface patch, that is, the user clicks and selects the line feature to build the outer boundary ring of the surface patch. Then, Auto-process method for fault line inside of the outer boundary ring is discussed, it including construction of fault ring, determining fault ring being normal fault ring or reverse fault ring and an algorithm of dealing with normal fault ring. An algorithm of dealing with reverse fault ring is discussed detailly, the method of expanding reverse fault ring and dividing the duplicate area in reverse fault into two portions is introduced. The paper also discusses the method of extraction ridge line/valley line, the construction of fault plane, the construction of stratum and coal body. The above ideas and methods have been initially implemented in the “3D modeling platform for coal field exploration” software, and applied to the 3D modeling practice of data from several coal field exploration areas in Ningxia, Shanxi, Qinghai, etc.

New Progress in High-Precision and High-Resolution Seismic Exploration Technique in Coal Industry of China

In the past twenty years, the proportion of coal in primary-energy consumption in China is generally between 71.3% and 76.5%. The output of coal was 1.374 billion tons in 1996, and 1.21 tons in 1998, which ranked first in the world. Now coal is mined mainly with mechanization in China, which is planned to reach 80% in major State-owned coal mines in 2000 according to the planning of the government (Li et al., 1998; Tang Dejin, 1998).

Characteristics of Coalbed Methane Resources of China

The paper deals with the coalbed methane gas-bearing characteristics such as the gas content, theoretical gas saturation, gas concentration and abundance, as well as coal reservoir characteristics such as the adsorption, desorption and permeability of China's coal reservoirs. The paper also introduces the resources of coalbed methane with a gas content ≥ 4 m3/t and their distribution in China.

Discovery of Kilometer-Scale Uplift and Exhumation Related to the Late Indosinian Movement in the Northern Ordos Basin, North China

The tectonic response of the Ordos Basin to Indosinian movement mainly occurred in the southwestern part of the basin due to the Late Triassic collisional Qinling orogeny to the south.The orogeny resulted in intense uplift and exhumation of the southwestern section of the Ordos Basin,where the upper and middle parts of the Upper Triassic Yanchang Formation were exhumated and the magnitude of exhumation progressively decreased to the northeast(Liu Chiyang et al.,2008).However,little attention has been paid to the influence of Indosinian movement to the northern Ordos Basin.In this study,stratigraphic observations and new apatite fission track(AFT)data are integrated to characterize the effect of Indosinian movement in the northern Ordos Basin.

A Systematic Analysis of Coal Accumulation Process

Formation of coal seam and coal-rich zone is an integrated result of a series of factors in coal accumulation process. The coal accumulation system is an architectural aggregation of coal accumulation factors. It can be classified into 4 levels： the global coal accumulation super-system, the coal accumulation domain mega-system, the coal accumulation basin system, and the coal seam or coal seam set sub-system. The coal accumulation process is an open, dynamic, and grey system, and is meanwhile a system with such natures as aggregation, relevance, entirety, purpose-orientated, hierarchy, and environment adaptability. In this paper, we take coal accumulation process as a system to study origin of coal seam and coal-rich zone; and we will discuss a methodology of the systematic analysis of coal accumulation process. As an example, the Ordos coal basin was investigated to elucidate the application of the method of the coal accumulation system analysis.

Coalfield structure and structural controls on coal in China

The occurrence of coal-bearing strata in a variety of coal-bearing basins of China is characterized by late tectonic deformation and remarkable spatial and geochronologic differences.The main controlling factors,which determine the tectonic framework of coalfields,include the geodynamic environment,tectonic evolution,deep structures,tectonic stress,and lithologic combination of the coal measures.The Chinese continent has experienced multi-stage tectonic movements since the Late Paleozoic.The spatial and temporal heterogeneity of its continental tectonic evolution,the complexity of its basement properties,and its stratigraphic configurations control the tectonic framework of its coalfields’present complex and orderly patterns.The concept of coal occurrence structural units is proposed in this paper and is defined as the structural zoning of coal occurrence.China’s coalfields are divided into five coal occurrence structural areas,and the structural characteristics of the coalfields in five main coal occurrence areas throughout the country are summarized.Based on the analysis of the relationship between the structure characteristics and occurrence of coal in these coalfields,the coal-controlling structures are divided into six groups:extensional structural styles,compressional structural styles,shearing and rotational structural styles,inverted structural styles,sliding structural styles,and syn-depositional structural styles.In addition,the distribution of coal-controlling structural styles is briefly summarized in this paper.

The Openness Degree Study of the Jiaoshiba Shale Gas, Sichuan Basin, China–Potential Factor Responsible for Reversed Isotope Series

Objective Reversed alkane δ;C and δ;H values in many prolific shale plays all over the world have aroused much attention in the study of the formation mechanism of reversed isotope series in alkanes in the past few years（Zou Caineng et al., 2016）. Although many researchers have put forward different hypotheses, the mechanism has not been well understood yet. The openness degree of oil and gas system

Classification of Mineral Resources Associated and Accompanied with Coal Measures

The paper discusses the concept of mineral resources associated with coal measures. A rational and scientific classification of such mineral resources becomes more necessary with the development of science and technology. A classification scheme is proposed based on compositions and physical properties and the utilization of these associated minerals.

Origin of the Gas Hydrate and Free Gas in the Qilian Permafrost,Northwest China:Evidence from Molecular Composition and Carbon Isotopes

The Qilian permafrost of the South Qilian Basin(SQB)has become a research focus since gas hydrates were discovered in 2009.Although many works from different perspectives have been conducted in this area,the origin of gas from gas hydrate is still controversial.Molecular composition and carbon isotope of 190 samples related to gas hydrates collected from 11 boreholes allowed exploration of genetic type,thermal maturity,biodegradation,as well as gas-source correlation of alkane gases from gas hydrates and free gases.Results indicate that alkane gases biodegraded after the formation of natural gas.According to differences in carbon isotopes of methane and their congeners(CH4,C2H6,C3H8),the thermal maturity(vitrinite reflectance,VRo)of most alkane gases ranges from 0.6%to 1.5%,indicating a mature to high mature stage.The thermal maturity VRo of a small part of alkane gas(in boreholes DK5 and DK6)is higher than 1.3%,indicating a high mature stage.Alkane gases were mainly produced by secondary cracking,consisting of crude oilcracking gases and wet gases cracking to dry gases.Genetic types of alkane gases are primarily oil-type gases generated from shales and mudstones in the upper Yaojie Formation of Jurassic,with less coal-type gases originated from the mudstones in the Triassic Galedesi Formation and the lower Yaojie Formation of Jurassic.Carbon dioxides associated with alkanes from gas hydrates and free gases indicate the thermal decomposition and biodegradation of organic matter.The origins of natural gases from gas hydrates and free gases shed light on the evaluation of petroleum resource potential,deeply buried sediments,and petroleum resource exploration in the SQB.