RECENT DEVELOPMENTS ON THE ORIGIN OF MINERAL MATTER IN COAL.

This study attempts to quantify some of the various origins of mineral matter. Data developed for the Upper Freeport coal bed indicates that mineral matter other than pyrite and calcite is primarily derived from the vegetal matter that ultimately became coal. Cathodoluminesence was used to verify that the quartz in the Upper Freeport coal is dominantly authigenic and not detrital in origin. Sulfur variability in coal beds of the central Appalachian Basin was investigated stratagraphically.