This dataset evaluates geologic trends in and controls on rare earth element (REE)-enrichment of coal in eastern Utah. 1945 bituminous coal samples from 68 mine, core, and outcrop localities from the Blackhawk Formation (n = 378) and Ferron Sandstone (n = 1567) in eastern Utah were geochemically evaluated using portable X-ray fluorescence (n = 1945) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (n = 100) to quantify REE content. Using coal as a secondary REE source could bolster global REE production, leveraging existing coal infrastructure to alleviate CM supply chain bottlenecks and couple traditional coal geology with the innovative resource needs of the future.

Last modified

• 08/22/2025

Creator

• Fausett, Peyton Douglas
• Birgenheier, Lauren P.
• Coe, Haley H.
• Morris, Emily
• Fernandez, Diego
• Wilcock, Laura

Subject

• coal resources
• economic geology
• sedimentology
• stratigraphy

Language

• English

Identifier

• https://doi.org/10.7278/S5d-049t-t7jh

Keyword

• Uinta Region
• rare earth elements
• coal

Date created

• 2022-05-26 to 2024-07-16

Location

• Utah, Utah, United States

Resource type

• Dataset

Source

• USGS

License

• Public Domain – This data is free of copyright restrictions (e.g. government sponsored data).