This study uses coal petrography, micro-FTIR, mineralogical, and geochemical analyses to determine the coal characteristics and controlling factors of elemental enrichments in the Isaalan coal (NW Turkey). The obtained data show that this subbituminous coal has a relatively low ash yield (avg. 19%), high hydrogen content (avg. 5.4%) and total S content (avg. 2.4%), on an air-dry basis. The maceral composition, along with micro-FTIR data on ulminite, suggests that lignin- and resin-rich vegetation was predominant The coal facies data imply the precursor peat was accumulating under, mesotrophic anoxic conditions where water level was high and fluctuating. The mineralogical composition of the bulk coal samples is composed mainly of quartz, pyrite, and clay minerals and lesser amounts of feldspars and carbonates.