Distribution of Rare Metals and REEs in Brown Coal Deposits of the Upper and Middle Amur Region

Abstract

The distribution of REEs and rare metals in the Paleocene and Lower–Middle Miocene brown coals of the Zeya–Bureya Basin is analyzed. The migration of minor elements on the NW flank of the basin (the Sergeevskoe deposit), in the mode of the static state of orogens in the Paleocene and Miocene, in the course of active expansion of the sedimentation area occurred with uniform development of denudation plains and with the steady processes of peat accumulation. The high dynamic activity of the region on the SE margin of the Zeya–Bureya Basin (the Yerkovetskoe deposit) provided contrasting forms of coupling in the flexure–uplift system and an uneven character of localization of ore components. It is shown that coals of the Sergeevskoye deposit are enriched in Be, Sc, V, Ga, Rb, Nb, Ta, and REE + Y and may be considered as a promising complex rare-metal raw material.