Trace elements in the lignite-bearing area of Lofoi, Florina basin, Western Greek Macedonia, Greece

Drill core samples of two boreholes from the Lofoi lignite-bearing area of Miocene-Pliocene age were analyzed for their trace element contents. The methods used were Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA), Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES), and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). The results showed that all studied elements occur in concentrations within the reported ones for different coal-bearing basins of Greece. The elements Co, U, Sb, Th, Cs, As, Li, Mo, Y, Cu, Ni, Cr, Pb, Yb, Be, Rb, V, and Lu are enriched in the ashes when compared to their average concentration on the Earth's crust. The enrichment of elements encountered in silicic rocks as well as mafic and ultramafic rocks implies that there are two different types of rocks influencing the formation of the lignite deposit. Very strong (r 0.8) to intermediate (0.65 r 0.8) correlation is observed for the REE as well as for the elements Mo with As, Cu with Sb, Sc with Ni, Co, and V, and Rb with Ga, which is expected for these elements. Intermediate to strong positive correlation is also observed for the elements Th with Zn, Y with Be, Cr with As, Sb with Yb, As with Y, Zn with both Yb and Eu, as well as Cu with Th; this could only be attributed to the hypothesis that both silisic and mafic-ultramafic rocks influenced the formation of the deposit.