Distribution of Cenozoic Metalliferous Coal Deposits in the Zeya–Bureya Sedimentary Basin (Eastern Siberia): Tectonic Reconstruction and Paleogeographical Analysis

Abstract

The study has analyzed the distribution of noble metals, rare metals, and rare earth elements in Paleocene and Lower–Middle Miocene coals of the Zeya–Bureya sedimentary basin. The basin’s formation in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic has been reconstructed by detailed paleogeographical analysis of Cenozoic coal-bearing sequences based on the geodynamic features of the development of adjacent regions. Geological events at the turn of the Cretaceous and Paleogene have been considered. The metal content in the basin’s frame has been comprehensively analyzed. It has been demonstrated that the conditions for the migration and localization of trace elements occurred mainly due to the geodynamics that developed on the northwestern flank of the Zeya–Bureya basin, including static orogens in the Paleocene–Miocene, where sedimentation was actively expanding. Trace element migration, which encompassed denudation plains, occurred in stable processes of peat accumulation and localization of economically important components in waterflows associated with the plains. Contrasting conjugate forms in the flexure–uplift system and uneven localization of trace elements were controlled by the high level of geodynamic activity on the southeastern margin of Zeya–Bureya sedimentary basin. The presence of gold has been identified throughout the strata of Paleocene and Lower–Middle Miocene coal-bearing sediments in the Sergeevka, Yerkovtsy, and Raychikhinsk deposits. Coals of the Sergeevka deposit are enriched in Be, Sc, V, Ga, Rb, Nb, Ta, and REE + Y.