Mercury Distribution in Coals and Carboniferous Rocks.

A study was made of the prevalence of mercury in coals and carboniferous rocks of the eastern Donetsk coal basin, using the method of regional geochemical profiling. In the coal beds of this region a total of 20 haloes of disseminated (0. 1-1 g/ton) and concentrated (1-100 g/ton) mercury mineralization were discovered, which were confined to sections with visible cinnabar content, to zones of tectonic dislocations, and to favorable ore-controlling structures. It is concluded that these sections of disseminated and concentrated mercury mineralization in coals may be regarded as primary dissemination haloes around hidden hydrothermal mercury deposits.