Mineral matter and trace elements in coal / Минеральные вещества и микроэлементы в угле

Minerals are highly significant components of coal from both academic and practical perspectives. Minerals may react when the coal is burned, either forming an ash residue, or, in many cases, releasing volatile components, or as they need to be removed as slag from the blast furnace during metallurgical processing. Minerals in coal can also be a source of unwanted abrasion, stickiness, corrosion, or pollution associated with coal handling and use. Minerals in coal, in some cases, are major carriers of highly‐evaluated critical metals, such as Ga, Al, Nb, Zr, and rare earth elements, and these coals have the potential to be sources of raw material for industrial use. From the genetic point of view, minerals in coal are products of the processes associated with peat accumulation and rank advance, as well as other aspects of epigenetic processes, and, thus, the minerals in coal can provide information on the depositional conditions and geologic history of individual coal beds, coal‐bearing sequences, and regional tectonic evolution. <...>