Mineral Resources Chapter -5

Definition: Minerals are homogenous substances which occur naturally with a definite structure. They
may range from hard to soft. These are formed through various geological processes. Minerals are one
of the most important resources of a country. It provides the base for economic development. They are
found in solid, liquid and gaseous state ranging from hardest diamond to softest talc.
Importance of minerals
o Minerals are indispensable part of our lives. Almost everything that we use from a pin to a
building or ship is made up of minerals.
o The railway lines and the pavements of the roads, our implements and machinery too are made
up of minerals.
o Cars, buses, trains, aeroplanes, are manufactured from minerals and run on power resources
derived from the earth.
o Even the food we eat contains minerals.
o Human beings use minerals for their livelihood decoration, festivals and religious and
ceremonial rites.
Rocks are made up of homogenous substances called minerals. Certain rocks contain a single mineral
whereas a majority of rocks are made up of a combination of minerals. About 2000 minerals are
identified only a few are found abundance.

Formation of mineral depends upon chemical and physical conditions. It results in a wide range of
colours, hardness, crystal forms, luster and density

Minerals are usually found in ores. The term ore is the accumulation of any mineral mixed with other
elements. Minerals occur in these forms;
o In Igneous and Metamorphic rocks minerals are fond in the cracks, crevice, faults and joints.
The smaller occurrences are called veins and the larger occurrences are called lodes. They are
formed when the minerals in liquid form rise and solidify. Examples: tin, copper, zinc and lead.
o In sedimentary rocks a number of minerals occur in beds or strata or layers. They have been
formed due to the accumulation, deposition and concentration of minerals in layers or strata.
Coal comes under this category. In the arid regions due to evaporation minerals such as gypsum,
potash and sodium are formed in the sedimentary rocks.
o Due to weathering certain minerals are formed . Bauxite falls under this category.
o Certain minerals are formed in alluvial deposits in the valley floors and base of hills. These
deposits are called placer deposits.They do not get corroded due to running water. Gold,Silver
and Platinum belong to this type.
o Some minerals are found in the oceans. Common salt, magnesium and bromine belong to this
category. Ocean beds are rich in manganese nodules.

Diversity in the distribution of minerals

o Mineral resources in India are unevenly distributed.
o The peninsular rocks and the deccan region is rich in metallic and non-
metallic minerals and coal.
o Sedimentary rocks on the western and eastern flanks of Gujarat and Assam have rich reserves
of petroleum.
o In the arid region (Rajasthan) non-ferrous metals are found.
o The northern plains are devoid of minerals.
o The variations are due to differences in geological structure, time and processes.

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Differences between ferrous and Non-ferrous minerals.
Ferrous Non-ferrous
It contains iron It do not contain iron
It is used in the metallurgical industries It is used in the metallurgical, engineering and
electrical industries
India is rich in ferrous minerals India is deficient in Non-ferrous metals
Iron and manganese Copper and tin

Iron-ore
o It is the basic mineral and backbone of industrial development.
o India is rich in good quality iron-ore.
o It has fairly abundant reserves of iron-ore.
o There are two types of iron ore in India Hematite and Magnetite.
Hematite Magnetite
 It has an iron content of about 50-60%  It has an iron content of about 70%
 It is an important industrial iron.  It is the finest form of iron.
 It has excellent magnetic qualities.
 It is mainly used in the electrical industries
There are four important iron-ore belts in our country.
1. Orissa-Jharkhand belt: Iron-ore is mined( Badampahar mines) in Mayurbhanj and Kendunjhar
districts of Orissa and Singbhum district of Orissa in Gua and Noamundi.
2. Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur: It lies in Chhattisgarh and Maharastra. Hematite ore is mined in
Bailadila hills. It is used in the production of steel. Iron-ore from these mines are exported to
Japan and South Korea through Vishakapatnam port.
3. Bellary-Chikmaglur- Chitradurga-Tumkur(BCCT): It is located in Karnataka. It is found in
the famous Kudremukh mines which are one of the most important and largest mines in the
world. The ore is transported in the form of slurry through a pipeline to a port near Mangalore.
4. Maharastra-Goa belt: It includes Ratnagiri district of Maharastra and parts of Goa. Eventhough
the ores are not of high quality they are effectively exploited. The ores are exported through
Marmagao port.

Manganese
o It is used in the production of steel, insecticides, paints and bleaching powder.
o It is also used in the production of ferro-manganese alloy.
o 10kg of manganese is needed to produce 1 tonne of steel.
o Orissa is the largest producer of manganese in India.
Non-Ferrous minerals
Copper:
o India is deficient in Copper reserve and production.
o It is malleable ductile and good conductor of electricity.
o It is used in electrical, electronic and chemical industries.
o Balaghat mines in MP, Khetri in Rajasthan and Singbhum dist in Jharkhand.

Bauxite
o It is obtained from rocks that are rich in aluminium silicates.
o It is a good conductor of electricity malleable and ductile.
o Orissa is the largest producer of aluminium in India.
o Panchpatmali is an important bauxite mine in India.
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 o It is also mined in Amarkantak plateau,maikal hills and in bilaspur.
Non-metallic minerals
Mica
o It is made up of leaves or plates.
o It can be easily split into in sheets.
o It occurs in red, brown, green, yellow and black
o It is an important mineral in electrical industry because it can resist high voltage, has good
insulating properties and excellent di electric strength.
o It is used in electrical and electronic industries.
o Mica deposits are found in northern Choota Nagpur plateau, Ajmer in Rajasthan and Nellore in
Andhra Pradesh.
o Koderma-Gaya-Hazaribagh is an important mica belt of India.
Rock minerals
Limestone
o Limestone is found in Calcium and Magnesium carbonate rocks.
o It is the basic material for the cement industry.
o It is also used in smelting iron.
o It is found in the sedimentary rocks of geological age.
Conservation of minerals
 Recycling of metals can be done
 Efforts should be taken to improve the technology so that even the low grade ores can be used.
 Follow sustainable development.
Energy resources
o Energy is required in all activities.
o Energy is generated from fuel minerals such as coal, petroleum, natural gas, electricity and
uranium.
o It is used to cook, provide light and heat and to drive machines and vehicles.
o There are two types of energy they are conventional and non-conventional sources of
energy.
Conventional Non-conventional
 These sources of energy have been  These sources of energy are
used for a long time developed recently.
 These are non-renewable sources of  They are renewable sources of
energy energy
 Examples : Coal, Petroleum, Natural  Examples : Wind, solar, tidal and
gas, thermal and Hydro electricity Biogas.

Firewood and cattle dung are used in rural areas. About 70% of the energy requirements are met by
these two.
Since the forest area is decreasing, the use of firewood is discouraged.
The use of cattle dung is discouraged because it consumes most valuable manure which can be used
in agriculture.

Conventional sources of energy

Coal
o Coal is the most abundantly found fuel in our country.

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 o It is used for power generation, to supply energy to the industries and for domestic use.
o It is formed due to the compression of plant material over millions of years.
o It is found in sedimentary rocks beneath the earth’s surface.
o It is found in variety of forms depending on the degrees of compression, depth and time of
burial.
o It can be divided into four types.They are Peat, Bituminous, Anthracite and Lignite.
o Peat is obtained by the decaying of plant material in swamps.It has low carbon content and
high moisture content. It produces more smoke and burns like wood.
o Lignite is a low grade brown coal. It is soft and contains high moisture. It is mined in
Neyveli in Tamil Nadu. It is mainly used for generating power.
o Bituminous is formed when the plant material is subjected to high temperature. It is the most
popular coal for commercial use . It is mainly used in the metallurgical industries.
o Anthracite is the best quality coal. It is hard black and compact.

o There are two rock series in which coal occurs.

o They are Gondwana and Tertiary
o Gondwana coal occurred before 200 millions ago. It is found in the states of West Bengal
and Jharkhand.
o Tertiary coal occurred before 55 millions ago. They are found in some of the North eastern
states of Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland.
o As coal is a bulky and weight losing substance the industries which need coal for processing
are located nearby the coal fields.
Petroleum
o It is the second important energy resource of India.
o It provides fuel for heating and lighting, lubricants for machineries and raw materials for a
number of industries.
o Petroleum refineries act as nodal industry for synthetic fibres, textiles, fertilizers and chemical.
o Most of the occurrences of petroleum are found in the anticlines and fault traps between the
porous and non-porous layers.
o 63% of india’s petroleum production is in Mumbai high.
o 18% in Gujarat(Ankeleshwar)
o 16% in Assam (Digboi, Naharkatiya and Moran-Hugrijan)
o Petroleum emits very less smoke compared to coal. It does not leave any ash or residue. It
can be used upto the last drop.
Natural gas
o It is an important energy found with or without the association of petroleum.
o It is a raw material in the Petro-chemical industry.
o It is an environmental friendly fuel because it emits less smoke.it is considered as the
fuel of the present century.
o Reserves of natural gas are found in Krishna-Godavari basin, Gulf of Cambay, A&N islands and
Mumbai high.
o The 1700 km HVJ pipeline links Munbai high and Bassien with the northern and western
industrial complex of India.
o It is used in the power and fertilizer industry.
Electricity
o Electricity is generated by two ways. Hydro and thermal.
o Hydroelectricity is produced from running water. Water is released at a great force from a high
place and turbines are placed below which is connected to a powerful generator. Thus electricity

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 is produced. There are a number of hydro electric projects which produce electricity in our
country.(Bhakra-Nangal, Damodar, Kopili)
o Thermal electricity is produced by burning coal, petroleum and Natural gas. The steam produced
by burning coal is used to operate turbines and generators. There are 310 thermal power plants in
our country.

Non- Conventional source of energy

Nuclear or Atomic energy

o It is obtained by altering the structure of atoms. When alteration is made energy is released
in the form of heat which is used to generate power.
o Uranium and Thorium are used to generate power. They are found in Rajasthan and
Jharkhand.
o In Kerala Monazite sands are rich in thorium.
o There are six nuclear power plants in our country. They are Tarapur in Maharastra, Kalpakkam in
Tamil Nadu, Rawatbhata near Kota in Rajasthan, Narora in Uttar Pradesh, Kakrapara in Gujarat
and Kaiga in Karnataka.

o India is blessed with abundant sunlight ,water, wind and biomass.

o Solar energy: Photo voltaic energy converts sunlight into electricity. It can be used ror
various purposes. It has a bright future in India because of the following reasons.
o India is a tropical country and has ample sunshine.
o It has the potential to generate 20MW of electricity.
o About 70% of our energy comes from thermal power such as coal, petroleum and so on. Soon
they will get exhausted. So it has a bright future.
o It is pollution free, eco-friendly, renewable and found in abundance.
o The largest solar plant is located at Madhapur near Bhuj in Gujarat which is used to sterilize milk
cans.
o Use of solar energy in the rural areas will give rise to the reduction of firewood and cattle dung
cake which in turn contributes the addition of manure in agriculture.

Wind power: India ranks as a super power in generating electricity from wind.
o The largest wind farm cluster is found in Nagercoil to Madurai.
o Apart from these Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharastra and Lakshadweep
have important wind farms.
o Nagercoil and Jaisalmer have abundant wind farms in our country.

Bio gas: Shrubs, farm waste, animal and human waste are used to produce bio gas for domestic
purpose in rural areas.
o Decomposition of organic matter yields more gas compared to kerosene or coal.
o They are set up at municipal, cooperative and individual level.
o The plants using cattle dung are known as Gobar gas plants in rural India
o It is useful to the farmer to provide energy and manure.

Tidal energy: Oceanic tides are used to produce electricity.

o Floodgate dams are built across inlets. During high tide water flows into the inlet and gets
trapped. Once when the tide falls the water flows back to the sea via a pipe that carries it through
a turbine.
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 o Gulf of Kuchch , Gulf of Khambat and western coast of Gangetic delta in Sunderban region
provides ideal condition for the generation of tidal energy.
o A 900 mw tidal energy plant is set up here by the national Hydropower Corporation

Geo Thermal energy:

o Geo Thermal energy is produced by using the heat from the interior of the earth.
o Earth grows progressively hotter as the depth increases.
o Temperatures are found at shallow depths. Groundwater in such areas absorbs heat from rocks
and becomes hot. It is so hot that when it rises up it turns into steam. This steam is used to drive
turbines and produce electricity.
o Two experimental projects have been set up at Parvati valley in Himachal Pradesh and Puga
valley in Ladakh.
Conservation of Energy Resources.
o Energy is required for economic development. Every sector such as agriculture, industry and
transport needs input from energy.
o It is necessary to develop a sustainable path of energy development.
o Emphases on greater use of Non-Conventional energy resources are some measures to conserve
energy.
o Use power saving devices.
o Checking of power equipments regularly.
o Switch off electricity when not required.
o Use public transport system than individual vehicles.