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The Lunpola oil shale is the largest oil shale resource in Tibet. Twenty-four samples were collected from this deposition to determine the platinum group element (PGE) characteristics. The total PGE contents in terrestrial oil shale are low (average 2.386 ng/g). The PGEs are enriched in the oil shale samples near the boundary between the oil shale and its underlying strata. The PGE enrichment may be the result of a change of oxic–anoxic conditions. The individual PGEs of oil shale samples from the Lunpola oil shale exhibit similar modes of occurrence, and their distributions are controlled mainly by Fe-bearing minerals (pyrite). The source of PGEs in the Lunpola oil shale is probably related to water chemistry and terrigenous supply. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Bilong Co oil shale, located in the South Qiangtang depression, northern Tibet Plateau, may record the Early Jurassic anoxic event in the eastern Tethys. New geochemical data from the Bilong Co oil shale section are presented in order to determine the mechanism of organic accumulation and to evaluate Early Jurassic anoxia in the eastern Tethys. In organic-rich oil shales, many redox proxies including the relationship of Mo to total organic carbon (TOC), Re/Mo ratios, and pyrite framboid size distribution suggest deposition under euxinic conditions. However, the correlation between TOC and P and Mo contents indicates that organic matter accumulation was controlled mainly by primary productivity. The Sr/Al ratios and clastic influx proxies such as Si, Ti, Th, Zr, and Al concentrations suggest a continuous supply of fresh water from a nearby continent during oil shale deposition. This supply could have initiated stratification of the water so that the upper zone became favourable for marine life. Increased primary productivity could have led to formation of anoxic/sulphidic bottom waters, which enhanced the preservation of organic matter. Deposition of organic-rich oil shales terminated when primary productivity decreased, leading to more oxic bottom water conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]