It has been found that the mercury concentration is different in coals, from different basins. Coals from platform-type basins, such as the Dnieper and Moscow Region basins, are characterized by a low background mercury content (n. 10** minus **7 minus n. 10** minus **6%). In coals from basins confined to depressions, such as the Lvor-Volynia and Ekibastuz basins, the mercury concentration is 1 to 2 orders of magnitude higher, while in coals from basins located in anlacogens and large inherited depressions complicated by deep faults in low-order structures, in which the coal-bearing and terrigenous rocks are subjected to intense low-temperature hydrothermal working, the mercury contents are several orders of magnitude higher.