Author: Manuj Notebook: Environment and Geography

Created: 28 July 2015 at 1:07:48 PM

Updated: 22 May 2021 at 1:29:53 PM

Minerals in India
Manuj Jindal IAS AIR 53
Minerals are three major types:

1. Metallic
2. Non-metallic
3. Energy Minerals

Origin of Minerals

Geological activity is responsible for minerals’ origin.

Three main geological events in India that lead to the origin of specific minerals
here:

1. Shield Regions:
These are cratonic regions or really old regions which could have been fold
mountains before and now have eroded over time.
Most non-metallic and metallic minerals found here
Eg: Chotanagpur plateau and Dharwad
Shield Regions:
2. Rift Valley-Gondwana Time Beds:
Submergence of dense forests lead to the production of energy minerals
here — mostly coal
Eg: Damodar valley and Mahanadi valley
Rift valley regions and coal deposits:
3. Marine Transgression:
Submergence of land under water is marine transgression.
In forests, when wood submerges under land and pressure — coal created;
forest submergence and marine organisms submergence in marine area
under pressure and temperature, petroleum is formed.
Petroleum found here
Eg: Gulf of Khambhat and Gulf of Kutcch
Marine transgression regions and petroleum reserves:
Four areas:
1. Brahmaputra-Shillong Shelf (sedimentary reserve)
2. Bengal-Bangladesh Shelf
3. KG Basin
4. Saurashtra Shelf
5 Major mineral regions of India:

1. North — Chotanagpur Plateau

1. Chhotanagpur plateau (Odisha and Jharkhand) — Kyanite (100%), Iron
(90%), Chromium (90%), Mica (75%), Coal (70%) Manganese, copper,
limestone
2. Assam — petroleum reserve; Lignite coal
2. Central Belt of India
1. Chhattisgarh region — Extension of Chhota nagpur plateau
Iron, limestone in Chhattisgarh
Godavari-Wardha valley: coal field
3. South-East
1. East KN: Bellary-Hospet region- iron
2. AP: Cuddapah, Kurnool
3. Nellore (AP) – mica, Manganese, lignite coal
4. Telangana: Bauxite
5. TN: Neyveli – lignite coal
4. South West
1. KN: Dharwad
2. Shimoga, chitradurg, Tumkur, Chikmaglur
3. Iron, Manganese, limestone
4. Goa: iron
5. MH: Ratnagiri - iron
5. Rajasthan and Gujarat region
1. GJ and RJ: Petroleum
2. Salt from kutchh and Pyala lake of RJ (depression in ground which fills up
with water occasionally. When dries up, you get salt leftovers)
3. Lake Sambhar, Lake Didwana – Gypsum, Borax
Types of Iron Ore

1. Hematite <— India’s more iron ore is this (2nd largest producer after Russia)
1. Used in Iron and Steel industries
2. Less iron content than magnetite
2. Magnetite <— Russia largest producer
Electronics
3. Limonite
Pigment of manufacturing of paints
4. Siderite
Source of Magnesium and Manganese

IRON RESERVES:
MANGNESE RESERVES (found near Iron reserves; it is used in forging with iron — added
to iron when forged, helps in giving more flexibility to iron and doesn’t break by adding
manganese):

MICA (used in electronic industry; thermal properties; India has largest reserves of Mica in
the world):
COPPER:

BAUXITE (found in areas of Lateritic soil; Bauxite is the main source for Aluminum):

LIMESTONE (used in iron steel industry to purify iron in the blast furnace):
CHROMITE (used to make steel — stainless or corrosion proof):

INDIAN COAL
Mostly Bituminous Coal and not Anthracite as formed in a later period

India’s coal is mostly found in Gondwana formation (later than Carboniferous time)
Inferior in quality
Coking coal — not found in India —> Imported by India used for steel
production
Metallurgical coal — not found in India
These are Important for electricity generation
Volatile, Sulphur + moisture is high
Calorific value is low
Why import of coal?
Higher grade not available: Not enough high grade cocking coal
Selective Mining: Good and low grade coal found together – selective mining
= wasteful
Technology to purify it: Washing, dressing, blending, briquetting of inferior
coal needed
Processing: Washing – lower down ash content – waste removed – low
weight – transportation cost reduced
Open-caste mining – smuggling, air pollution
Illegal mining – ecologically dangerous
Deep mining techniques primitive = high casualty
Coal field contains Coal Bed Methane — CBM policy for exploration and
production in 1997
Policy does not allow simultaneous exploration of coal and CBM
CBM exploration and production allowed only in pure seam gas
bearing blocks
CBM blocks and coal blocks are separately auctioned by the govt.
Coal mines with Methane are dangerous for coal mining – allowed to
escape= wasteful
Poor connectivity from mines to consumer locations
 Efficiency of Indian coal mining is very low – lack of tech + equipment
Output per man shift = India (3), world avg. (7)
Coal import is increasing despite large reserve

ANTHRACITE:

BITUMINOUS COAL:

LIGNITE:
New Technology in Coal Mining
Underground Coal-Gassification
Underground coal gasification is a method to extract gas from deep, unrecoverable coal
reserves, where manual (labour) mining is impossible or costly.

They dig two wells:

1. Injection well: water+ oxygen+ gasification agent pumped from here

2. Production well: synthetic gas (syngas) comes out from here

Uses:

Syngas can be used in generating electricity, manufacturing of hydrogen &

fertilizers.
Sulphur, mercury, arsenic, tar, ash etc. by-products remain underground = less
pollution.
Needs less water than conventional mining and hydraulic fracking
Iron Ore
Distribution & Production

1. India produces 210 MT of iron ore. Domestic consumption is 110 MT. Karnataka
(25%) > Odisha (22%) > Chattisgarh (20%) > Goa (18%) > Jharkhand (14%).
2. Total reserves 25 bio tonnes, 14 bio good quality.
3. India is 5th largest iron ore exporter. Japan, China, S Korea major importers.
Types of Ores

1. Hematite: 60-70% Fe. Its reddish in color. Jharkhand, Odisha, Chattisgarh, MP, AP,
Goa, Maharastra, Karnataka.
2. Magnetite: 60-65% Fe and black in color, igneous or metamorphic. Karnataka
(Dharwar, Shimoga), AP (Bellary), TN (Salem, Tiruchillapalli).
3. Limonite: 35-50% Fe, yellow in color and is hydrated. W Bengal (Raniganj), UP
(Mirzapur), Uttarakhand (Garhwal), HP (Kangra).
4. Siderite: 10-30% Fe, carbonate of Fe.
Manganese
Distribution and Production

1. India has 2nd largest reserves (380 MT) after Zimbabwe and 5th largest producer
(2 MT) after Brazil, Gabon, SAF, Australia.
2. Odisha (40%), Maharastra (23%), MP (20%), Karnataka (14%) are the main
producers.

Uses

1. Steel making, bleaching powder, pesticides, paints, photography.

Copper
Distribution and Production
 1. In terms of reserves, Rajasthan > MP > Jharkhand. In terms of production, MP >
Rajasthan > Jharkhand.
2. India imports Cu from Zimbabwe, Australia, Japan, USA, Mexico.

Chromite
Distribution and Production

1. It is found in Odisha (99%). It is used in steel industry.

Lead
Distribution and Production

1. Rajasthan (Udaipur, Dungarpur) > AP. India imports 75% of its Pb from Australia,
Canada and Myanmar.

Zinc
Distribution and Production

1. Rajasthan produces 99%. India imports 80% of its Zn requirement from Australia,
Canada, Zaire.

Bauxite
Distribution and Production

1. Odisha (50%) > Gujarat (16%) > Jharkhand (12%) in production.

Gold
Distribution and Production

1. Karnataka (Kolar and Hutti) > AP (Ramgiri).

Mica
Distribution and Production

1. In reserves, Rajasthan (51%) > AP > Maharastra. In production, AP(Nellore belt)

(71%) > Rajasthan (Jaipur - Udaipur belt) (16%) > Jharkhand (12%).
2. India is largest producer and exporter in the world. Japan, USA, UK are the main
clients.

Properties & Uses

1. It has insulating properties, can withstand high voltage and low power loss factor.

Limestone
Type

1. Dolomite: Contains ≥ 10% Mg and used in iron and steel industry. Odisha is leading
producer (30%) of dolomite followed by Chattisgarh (27%).

Distribution and Production

1. Rajasthan > MP > AP.

Gypsum
Uses

1. It is hydrated calcium sulphate and is used in cement, fertilizers industry. It is used

in plaster of paris and ceramics as well.

Distribution and Production

1. Rajasthan is the leading producer (99%).

Cattle
Distribution and Production

1. It has 2nd largest cattle heads (14%) in the world and largest (56%) buffalo heads.
2. MP > UP > Bihar > W Bengal in cattle heads.
3. In goats, Bihar > Rajasthan > W Bengal. Sheep are reared in Rajasthan > AP > TN >
Karnataka. In poultry, AP > Bihar > W Bengal > TN.

Coal
Distribution and Production

1. In reserves, Jharkhand (29%) > Odisha (25%) > Chattisgarh (16%) > W Bengal
(11%) > MP (8%) > AP (7%).
Uses

1. Bituminous coal is used in making coke and coal gas via destructive distillation.

Rare Earths:
The mineral monazite, occurring in beach sand and inland placer deposits along the
coastal tracts of India, is the major resource of rare earths in the country.
found in, eg: Kollam – Kerala
The mineral monazite, typically contains about 55 – 60% total Rare Earth Oxides and
about 9 – 10% Thorium Oxide.
Processing plant in Odisa (Orrisa Sands complex) at Chhatarpur

Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) is a government-owned corporation in India based in

Mumbai. It was incorporated as a private limited company and jointly owned by the
Government of India and Government of Travancore Cochin. Government of India took
control of IREL in 1963 under the administrative control of Department of Atomic Energy
(DAE). It was incorporated with the primary intention of taking up commercial scale
processing of monazite sand at its first unit namely Rare Earths Division(RED), Aluva,
Kerala for the recovery of thorium.
IREL commissioned its largest division called Orissa Sand Complex(OSCOM) at
Chhatrapur, Orissa.

Today IREL operates these four units with corporate office in Mumbai and produces/sells
six heavy minerals namely ilmenite, rutile, zircon, monazite, sillimanite, and garnet as
well as various value added products.

Crude
Production and Distribution
 1. Maharastra (65%) > Gujarat (18%) > Assam (15%).
2. Hazara - Bijapur - Jagdishpur pipeline is the longest pipeline in India.
3. Major refineries are at Koyali, Panipat, Mumbai, Manali, Mangalore.

Electricity
Hydro Electricity

1. Hirakud ==> Mahanadi. Gandhi Sagar ==> Chambal. Dool Hasti ==> Chenab in
Jammu. Jawahar Sagar ==> Rajasthan. Nagarjun Sagar ==> Krishna.
Nuclear Energy
Srikakulam - new reactor by 2016 in AP

Natural Gas --

In India, all natural gas found only with oil reserves — not separately
Highgest production in Bombay High > Gujarat > Assam > KG Basin > Kaveri Basin
India’s >80% import of natural gas from Qatar

LNG Terminals to make natural gas into LNG

1. first in Dahej by Petronet (GJ)

2. Hazara by Shell (GJ)
3. Kochi by Petronet
4. Dabhol (Ratnagiri Gas) by GAIL in MH

Uranium Reserves:

1. Jharkhand
Jadugoda
2. Meghalaya
Wahkyn
3. AP
1. Tumallapalle — Nalgonda (could be largest in the world)
2. Srisailam Forests in Nallamalla region
3. Lambapur — Peddagattu region
4. KN
Gogi
5. RJ
Rohil

Uranium Mining and processing

Uranium converted into “Yellow Cake” (Magnesium Diurnate)

Yellow Cake then converted into Uranium Dioxide — fuel for nuclear reactors (done
in Hyderabad)

Nuclear Energy Mechanism