WORLD COAL QUALITY INVENTORY--ARGENTINA

Coal samples have been obtained from major and minor coal-producing regions around the world and coal quality data from analyses of these samples will be compiled in the U.S. Geological Survey's World Coal Quality Inventory (WoCQI). Occurrences of coal and other organic-enriched strata are widely distributed in Argentina, however, worldwide, Argentina ranks 34th in coal reserves. These reserves are estimated to be 465 million metric tons of which 460 million metric tons occur in the Rio Turbio and Pico Quemado mines. Argentine coal, mainly from Rio Turbio, is used for metallurgy and minor rural domestic use and Pico Quemado closed in the 1950s.

There are no recent analytical data on Argentine coal. Therefore, as a part of WoCQI, samples from Rio Turbio and Pico Quemado were submitted to the USGS Coal Laboratory for major-, minor-, and trace-element content. Proximate and ultimate analyses and sulfur form-data were obtained from commercial laboratories. The quality of mineable coal in Argentina is inferred from only a few samples collected from an active underground face at Rio Turbio; the limited number of samples precludes meaningful discussion or statistical treatment of the data.

Compared to most U.S. coal samples, Argentine coal has relatively high CaO (8.2-12 wt%), MgO (1.3-1.6 wt%), and Fe203 (6.6-11.1 wt%). Most of the trace elements are present at relatively low concentrations with the exception of boron (121-185 ppm) which is considerably higher than the U.S. average of 49 ppm. Concentrations of the elements of environmental and human health concern (As, Be, Cd, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Te, and U) are all relatively low. Na, P, and Cl content are low and indicate a low potential for technological problems such as fouling and corrosion. Values of gold and silver were below analytical detection limits.