Natural resources of Pakistan

Natural resources, which form a major part of any country's economy, is divided into many types in Pakistan. The first category of natural resources is power resources, which are ready for consumption only after they have gone through the processing stage. Such processes are inclusive of procedures like refining, sterilization and even distillation. nother category of natural resources are sustaina!le natural resources, which consist mostly of raw materials that are used in the primary stages of the production process. "aterials #natural resources$ such as tim!er or raw materials that are used in the manufacture of paper, varnishes industries etc could !e categorized in the realm of sustaina!le resources. %ast !ut not the least, the third category of natural resources constitutes the metallic minerals and the non&metallic minerals. The metallic minerals are inclusive of metals like gold, silver, iron and copper. s far the non&metallic minerals, these include gypsum, limestone, mar!le china clay, sulphur and soapstone. Pakistan's principal natural resources are ara!le land, water, and e'tensive natural gas and oil reserves. !out ()* of Pakistan's total land area is under cultivation and is watered !y one of the largest irrigation systems in the world. The most important crops are cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, maize, sorghum, millets, pulses, oil seeds, !arley, fish, fruits and vegeta!les, which together account for more than +,* of the value of total crop output.. The Salt -ange in Punja! Province has large deposits of pure salt. Pakistan has e'tensive energy resources, including fairly siza!le natural gas reserves, oil reserves, coal, gypsum, limestone, chromites, iron ore, rock salt, silver, gold, precious stones, gems, mar!les, tiles, copper, sulfur, fire clay, silica sand, and large hydropower potential. .owever, the e'ploitation of energy resources has !een slow due to a shortage of capital and domestic and international political constraints.

/hromite mining The mines are located in 0ho! 1istrict in 2aluchistan, specifically in
"uslim!agh, 3hanozai, Nisai and 4wal. The chromite mined is e'ported to the Peoples -epu!lic of /hina. "ost of it is of metallurgical grade, 56* /r(78, with a chrome to iron ratio of 89:. Pakistan /hrome "ines was awarded /hromite leases !y the 4overnment of fghanistan in :;+,. These leases were never cancelled.

Khewra Salt Mines is a salt mine located in 3hewra, <helum 1istrict, Punja! in Pakistan, a!out :6= kilometres from >slama!ad and (6= kilometres from %ahore. >t attracts up to 5=,=== visitors per year and is the second largest salt mine in the world. Situated in the foothills of the Salt -ange, the 3hewra Salt "ines are the oldest in the South sia

Salt has !een mined at 3hewra since 8(= 2/, in an underground area of a!out ::= s?. km. 3hewra salt mine has estimated total of ((= million tones of rock salt deposits. The current production from the mine is 8(,,=== tons salt per annum. The mine&head !uildings have :; stories, with :: !elow ground. 7nly ,=* salt is e'tracted and ,=* is left as pillers to keep the mountain. The salt&mine is ()) meters a!ove sea level and e'tends around +8= meters inside the mountains from the mine& mouth. The cumulative length of all tunnels is more than 5= km. Salt occurs in a Pre&/am!rian deposit in the form of an irregular dome like structure. There are seven thick salt seams with a cumulative thickness of a!out :,= meters. t places the rock salt is ;;* pure. Salt is transparent, white, pink, reddish to !eef&color red. There are !eautiful alternate !ands of red and white color salt.

The northern Highlands

The northern highlands include parts of the .indu 3ush, the 3arakoram -ange, and the .imalayas. This area includes such famous peaks as 3( #"ount 4odwin usten, at ),6:: meters the second highest peak in the world$. "ore than one&half of the summits are over 5,,== meters, and more than fifty peaks reach a!ove 6,,== meters. Travel through the area is difficult and dangerous, although the government is attempting to develop certain areas into tourist and trekking sites. 2ecause of their rugged topography and the rigours of the climate, the northern highlands and the .imalayas to the east have !een formida!le !arriers to movement into Pakistan throughout history.

3(, at ),6:; meters #(),(,: ft$, is the world's second highest peak South of the northern highlands and west of the >ndus -iver plain are the Safed 3oh -ange along the fghanistan !order and the Sulaiman -ange and 3irthar -ange, which define the western e'tent of the province of Sindh and reach almost to the southern coast. The lower reaches are far more arid than those in the north, and they !ranch into ranges that run generally to the southwest across the province 2alochistan. North&south valleys in 2alochistan and Sindh have restricted the migration of peoples along the "akran /oast on the ra!ian Sea east toward the plains. Several large passes cut the ranges along the !order with fghanistan. mong them are the 3hojak Pass, a!out eighty kilometres northwest of @uetta in 2alochistanA the 3hy!er Pass, forty kilometres west of Peshawar and leading to 3a!ulA and the 2roghol Pass in the far north, providing access to the Bakhan /orridor. %ess than one&fifth of Pakistan's land area has the potential for intensive agricultural use. Nearly all of the ara!le land is actively cultivated, !ut outputs are low !y world

standards. /ultivation is sparse in the northern mountains, the southern deserts, and the western plateaus, !ut the >ndus -iver !asin in Punja! and northern Sindh has fertile soil that ena!les Pakistan to feed its population under usual climatic conditions.

The Indus plain

Satellite image of the >ndus 1elta The name >ndus comes from the Sanskrit word sindhu, meaning ocean, from which also come the words Sindh, .indu, and >ndia. The >ndus, one of the great rivers of the world, rises in southwestern Ti!et only a!out :6= kilometres west of the source of the Sutlej -iver, which joins the >ndus in Punja!, and the 2rahmaputra, which runs eastward !efore turning southwest and flowing through 2angladesh. The catchment area of the >ndus is estimated at almost : million s?uare kilometres, and all of Pakistan's major riversCthe 3a!ul, <helum, /hena!, -avi, and Sutlej&&flow into it. The >ndus -iver !asin is a large, fertile alluvial plain formed !y silt from the >ndus. This area has !een inha!ited !y agricultural civilizations for at least ,,=== years.

>rrigation in the Punja! plains The upper >ndus 2asin includes Punja!A the lower >ndus 2asin !egins at the Panjnad -iver #the confluence of the eastern tri!utaries of the >ndus$ and e'tends south to the coast. >n Punja! #meaning the Dland of five watersD$ are the >ndus, <helum, /hena!, -avi, and Sutlej rivers. The Sutlej, however, is mostly on the >ndian side of the !order. >n the southern part of the province of Punja!, the 2ritish attempted to harness the irrigation power of the water over :== years ago when they esta!lished what came to !e known as the /anal /olonies. The irrigation project, which facilitated the emergence of intensive

cultivation despite arid conditions, resulted in important social and political transformations.

Pakistan has two major river dams9 the Tar!ela 1am on the >ndus, near the early 2uddhist site at Ta'ila, and the "angla 1am on the <helum, where Punja! !orders zad 3ashmir !uilt as part of the >ndus 2asin Project.The Barsak 1am on the 3a!ul -iver near Peshawar is smaller. These dams, along with a series of headworks and !arrages !uilt !y the 2ritish and e'panded since independence, are of vital importance to the national economy and played an important role in calming the raging floodwaters of :;;(, which devastated large areas in the northern highlands and the Punja! plains. Satellite image of the Tar!ela 1am