Leonardite is usually associated with low quality brown coal and is mined from the margins of such coal deposits. It is the source for the Aldrich humic acid sold as a reagent. There are numerous other sources of humic acids and the structure and properties of of the humic acids obtained will vary extensively with the source they have been separated from. Exemeples of standardized humic and fulvic acids obtained from soils and natural waters, along with many informations about their structure and chemical properties, separation methods and literature references can be found on the site of the International Humic Substances Society (www.humicsubstances.org). I hope this helps.