ORIGINAL PAPER Petrographic, mineralogy, and geochemistry of coals of Pabedana, Kerman Province, Central Iran S. M. Moosavirad & J. Rasouli & M. R. Janardhana & M. R. Moghadam & M. Shankara Received: 23 December 2011 / Accepted: 25 June 2012 # Saudi Society for Geosciences 2012 Abstract This paper discusses the result of the detailed investigations carried out on the coal characteristics, includ- ing coal petrography and its geochemistry of the Pabedana region. A total of 16 samples were collected from four coal seams d2, d4, d5, and d6 of the Pabedana underground mine which is located in the central part of the Central-East Iranian Microcontinent. These samples were reduced to four samples through composite sampling of each seam and were analyzed for their petrographic, mineralogical, and geo- chemical compositions. Proximate analysis data of the Pabe- dana coals indicate no major variations in the moisture, ash, volatile matter, and fixed carbon contents in the coals of different seams. Based on sulfur content, the Pabedana coals may be classified as low-sulfur coals. The low-sulfur con- tents in the Pabedana coal and relatively low proportion of pyritic sulfur suggest a possible fresh water environment during the deposition of the peat of the Pabedana coal. X- ray diffraction and petrographic analyses indicate the pres- ence of pyrite in coal samples. The Pabedana coals have been classified as a high volatile, bituminous coal in accordance with the vitrinite reflectance values (58.75– 74.32 %) and other rank parameters (carbon, calorific value, and volatile matter content). The maceral analysis and re- flectance study suggest that the coals in all the four seams are of good quality with low maceral matter association. Mineralogical investigations indicate that the inorganic frac- tion in the Pabedana coal samples is dominated by carbo- nates; thus, constituting the major inorganic fraction of the coal samples. Illite, kaolinite, muscovite, quartz, feldspar, apatite, and hematite occur as minor or trace phases. The variation in major elements content is relatively narrow between different coal seams. Elements Sc,, Zr, Ga, Ge, La, As, W, Ce, Sb, Nb, Th, Pb, Se, Tl, Bi, Hg, Re, Li, Zn, Mo, and Ba show varying negative correlation with ash yield. These elements possibly have an organic affinity and may be present as primary biological concentrations either with tissues in living condition and/or through sorp- tion and formation of organometallic compounds. Keywords Coal rank . Petrography . Mineralogy . Geochemistry . Pabedana . Central Iran Introduction In Iran, most of the coal deposits are confined to two major basins, one in northern part called Alborz basin and another in Central part of Iran named Kerman basin. There are several studies on the coal deposits of Alborz basin. Much of the present knowledge on the geological aspects of Iranian coal are due to the works of Teichmuller (1982), Zadeh Kabir (1991), Razavi Armagani and Moinsadat (1994), Shariat Nia (1994), Stasiuk et al. (2003), Yazdi and Shiravani (2004), and Goodarzi et al. (2006) on the Alborz coal deposits. Studies on the various geological aspects of Kerman basin have not received any attention. Among the several coal seams of the S. M. Moosavirad (*) : M. R. Moghadam Kerman Coal Company, University of Applied Science and Technology, Kerman, Iran e-mail: s.m.moosavirad@gmail.com J. Rasouli Department of Earth Science, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran M. R. Janardhana Department of Earth Science, Yuvaraja’ s College, University of Mysore, Mysore 570005, India M. Shankara Department of Studies in Earth Science, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore 570006, India Arab J Geosci DOI 10.1007/s12517-012-0618-2