International Journal of Coal Geology 58 (2004) 119 – 124
www.elsevier.com/locate/ijcoalgeo
Coal facies studies in Brazil: a short review
Zuleika Carretta Corrêa da Silva
Rua Ecßa de Queiroz, 682/402, 90670-020, Porto Alegre RS, Brazil
Received 1 January 2003; accepted 3 September 2003
Abstract
Coal facies studies in Brazil have been done for south Brazilian coal measures over the last 20 years using different methods
for reconstructing paleoenvironments of peat formation and deposition. The first studies were based on Teichmüller’s concept of
macerals; from 1984 to 1993, microlithotypes and palynomorphs were used according to the methodology described by
Hacquebard and Donaldson. In the 1990s, a new method of interpreting paleoenvironments implementing organic
geochemistry, sequence stratigraphy and the use of biomarkers has become more common in the literature, as well as the
use of Diessel’s Gelification Index (GI) and Tissue Preservation Index (TPI).
D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Coal facies; Macerals; Microlithotypes; Gelification Index; Tissue Preservation Index; Sequence stratigraphy
1. Introduction
South Brazilian Gondwana coals occur in the
States of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and
Paraná, associated with sedimentary rocks of the Rio
Bonito Formation, Guatá Group, and are considered
to be of Lower Permian age (Artinskian/Kungurian)
of the Paraná basin.
They consist in the following deposits:
– Candiota, Capané, Iruı́, Leão-Butia, Charqueadas,
Morungava and Santa Terezinha, in the State of Rio
Grande do Sul;
– Santa Catarina Coalfield, with six main coal seams,
in the State of Santa Catarina;
– Rio Tibagi, Telemaco Borba, Figueira, Cambuı́ and
Sapopema, in the State of Paraná.
E-mail address: [email protected] (Z.C. Corrêa da Silva).
0166-5162/$ - see front matter D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.coal.2003.09.006
Other small coal basins occur in the State of São
Paulo.
2. Facies analysis on Brazilian coal deposits
Over the last 20 years, facies analysis on Brazilian
coals has used different methods to reconstruct the
paleoenvironments of peat formation, including sedimentology and stratigraphy, coal petrography using
microlithotypes and maceral compositions, palynology, paleobotany and, more recently, organic geochemistry, including biomarkers, and sequence
stratigraphy.
The term coal facies has been used in many
papers on southern Brazilian coal measures (Corrêa
da Silva and Wolf (1978, 1980); Corrêa da Silva,
1981; Corrêa da Silva and Paim, 1981; Corrêa da
Silva et al. (1982, 1984); Poppe, 1984; Piccoli et al.,
120
Z.C. Corrêa da Silva / International Journal of Coal Geology 58 (2004) 119–124
1985; Corrêa da Silva, 1991; Cazzulo-Klepzig et al.,
1995) concerning the primary genetic types of coal,
which are dependent on the milieux under which the
peats originated (Teichmüller, 1975).
The method of Hacquebard and Donaldson (1969)
of interpreting paleoenvironments using microlithotypes and palynological analysis was introduced by
Corrêa da Silva (1984) in the Santa Rita basin, Rio
Grande do Sul, and applied by other authors in many
coal fields in the State of Rio Grande do Sul (Araujo,
1990; Henz, 1987; Henz and Corrêa da Silva, 1987;
Lima, 1984; Matos, 1984; Corrêa da Silva et al., 1984;
Marques-Toigo and Corrêa da Silva, 1984). An example of the application of this methodology is shown
in Fig. 2.
The use of palynological data, maceral and
microlithotype composition associated to sedimentology and stratigraphy has been presented by Pic-
Fig. 1. Predominant depositional environments during the formation of SR1, SR2 and SR3 coal seams, Santa Rita – Charqueadas coalfield, RS,
Brazil (after Piccoli et al., 1985).
Z.C. Corrêa da Silva / International Journal of Coal Geology 58 (2004) 119–124
coli et al. (1985) and Corrêa da Silva and Marques
Toigo (1985) and presented in Fig. 1.
Organic geochemistry (Corrêa da Silva et al.,
1985a,b) and the use of biomarkers became a common
practice for determining environments of peat formation (Corrêa da Silva et al., 1996) and maturation of
the organic matter.
The use of Tissue Preservation Index (TPI)/Gelification Index (GI) ratios of Diessel (1986) and
Kalkreuth and Leckie (1989) has been used to
establish the paleoenvironments of the Candiota
coals by Ade (1993), Silva (1994), Silva et al.
(1997), Ade et al. (1999), and Ade (1999) (Table 1).
TPI/GI ratios combined with sequence stratigraphy
analysis has been done by Alves and Ade (1996), also
in the Candiota region.
Recent studies on the palynonogical content of
Gondwana coals in the State of Rio Grande do Sul
(Meyer, 1999 (for Candiota coals) and Cazzulo-
121
Klepzig, 2001) indicated the presence of organicwalled microfossils included in the Achritarcha
group, besides elements such as Tetraporina, Brazilea, Quadrisporites, Portalites, Maculatasporites,
Pilasporites and Botryococcus. This assemblage indicates the presence of shallow, fresh- or brackishwater bodies.
Based on the composition of the microflora and
their botanical affinities as well as on sequence
stratigraphy data, new interpretations of the peatforming environments were presented by CazzuloKlepzig (2001).
The facies models are given below in pictorial
form.
2.1. Piccoli et al. (1985)
Method: Palynology, maceral and microlithotype
composition, sedimentology and stratigraphy (Fig. 1).
Table 1
Author
Method
Depositional
environment
Area
ASTM
rank
Rr %
Ade (1993)
TPI/GI
Candiota
sub-bit. A
0.40
Alves and Ade
(1996)
Corrêa da Silva
(1984)
TPI/GI Sequence
Stratig.
Palynology
microlitho-type
analysis
Palynology
microlitho-type
analysis
Maceral and
microlitho-type
analysis organic
geochemistry;
ultimate analysis
Limnotelmatic,
telmatic
Limnotelmatic,
telmatic
Open moor,
reed moor,
forest moor
Limnic
Candiota
sub-bit. A
0.40
Santa Rita
sub-bit. A
0.43 – 0.50
Candiota
sub-bit. A
0.40 – 0.51
Transition from
humic to sapropelitic
facies suggesting
deposition in
subaquatic
conditions strongly
influenced by algal
remains (boghead)
or by spores (cannel)
Limnic,
hydro-hygrophylous;
towards limnotelmatic
on the roof
Changes from limnic,
open-moor to
forest-terrestrial moor
Boghead-type:
Leão (RS) and
B. Branco (SC);
Cannel-type: Ribeirão
Novo and Marins, PR
Leão and
Marins: sub-bituminous
Barro Branco and
Harmonia: high
vol. Bitumin.
Leão: 0.49 – 0.52
Barro Branco:
0.80 – 0.88
Harmonia: 1.1
R. Novo: 0.41
Marins: 0.45
2-AO-01-RS
borehole,
Northern RS
High Volatile
Bituminous C to A
0.54 – 0.67 and
0.90
Charquea-das-Santa
Rita Basins
Sub-bituminous B
0.43 – 0.50
Corrêa da Silva
(1993)
Corrêa da Silva
and Paim (1981)
Corrêa da Silva
et al. (1996)
Palynology maceral
analysis, organic
geochem.
Piccoli et al.
(1985)
Sedimentation,
palynology macerals
122
Z.C. Corrêa da Silva / International Journal of Coal Geology 58 (2004) 119–124
Fig. 2. Lateral and vertical coal facies changes in the Charqueadas – Santa Rita coalfield, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (after Corrêa da Silva et al.,
1984).
2.2. Corrêa da Silva et al. (1984)
Method: Palynology and microlithotype composition (Fig. 2).
2.3. Silva et al. (1997)
Method: TGI/GI ratios (Fig. 3).
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