WVGESTrace Minerals in West Virginia Coals

Click Here To Go To Trace Elements Framed Home Page Monazite:
Cerium-Lanthanum-Thorium-Neodymium-Yttrium Phosphate
(Ce, La, Th, Nd, Y)PO4
Monazite is a rare igneous mineral present in granite which weathers free, and because of its great resistance to chemical attack, is concentrated as a detrital mineral in sands.  Monazite in coal occurs as micron-size, and smaller, detrital grains introduced into the coal swamp as a windblown or waterborne detrital mineral, and very rarely in volcanic ash falls, and because of its great resistance is unaffected by acids in the swamp. Cerium in coal is primarily a component of the mineral monazite and correlations between Ce and other rare earth elements present in monazite suggest that these elements are also primarily present in monazite.  The very high correlation between Ce and La strongly suggests that these two elements are primarily in monazite, and in the 2:1 ratio shown in the graph because of their similar atomic weights.  Other trace element components of monazite, Th, Nd, Dy and Gd also correlate with Ce at 6:1 for Ce:Th ( = 3.5:1 corrected for differing atomic weights), Ce:Nd = 2:1, Ce:Dy = 10:1 and Ce:Gd also at 10:1. These elements do not correlate with Ce as well and are probably present in other minerals as well.  Yttrium displays a bifurcating graph, probably showing its presence in both monazite and xenotime.
 
Lanthanum vs. Cerium plot (r = +0.9569), click on graph for a larger version Thorium vs. Cerium plot (r = +0.8880), click on graph for a larger version
Neodymium vs. Cerium plot (r = +0.7192), click on graph for a larger version Dysprosium vs. Cerium plot (r = +0.6740), click on graph for a larger version
Gadolinium vs. Cerium plot (r = +0.5625), click on graph for a larger version Yttrium vs. Cerium plot (r = +0.5466), click on graph for a larger version