Mineral Resources:

There are two types of minerals, metallic and non-metallic.

Types of mining:

Open cast:

Some minerals like coal lie near the surface and can be scooped up using giant excavators and power
shovels which are then carried away into lorries or railway wagons to be carried away.

Adit:

Adit means an opening or a passage so this type of mining involves digging horizontal tunnels into a side
of a valley or a hill to reach the mineral deposit that is inside. It is done in hilly districts where a mineral
seam is exposed on a hill side.

Shaft:

Vertical shafts are dug down to the minerals, especially for coal. Expensive and dangerous.

Metallic minerals:

 Iron ore
 Copper
 Antimony
 Chromite
 Celestite
 Manganese
 Gold
 Silver
 Tin
 Bauxite

Non-metallic minerals:

 Coal
 Sulphur
 Rock Salt
 Barite
 Gypsum
 Soapstone
 Fluorite
 Limestone
 Marble
 Clays

Difference between Metallic and Non-Metallic:

 Metallic Non-Metallic

Economically more valuable Economically less valuable

Generally hard, tough and shiny Softer, rough and not shiny

Can change shape without breaking Break easily

Can be stretched and compressed Cannot be stretched or compressed

Good thermal and electrical conductors Poor thermal and electrical conductors

More reactive with water and acid Less reactive

Organizations for mining in Pakistan:

 Geological Survey of Pakistan in 1947 to investigate mineral deposits.

 Pakistan Mineral Corporation in 1974 to explore and market all minerals.
 Resource Development Corporation in 1974 to investigate and develop copper mines at
Sandink Balochistan.
 Gemstone Corporation of Pakistan in 1979 to develop gemstone resources.

Description and uses of metallic and non-metallic minerals:

Rock Salt:

 20-100 m thick
 White and pink rocks.
 Salt is overlain by gypsum and clay
 Used for cooking and preservation purposes and for manufacture of soda ash, caustic soda and
other sodas for laundries, textiles and tanning

Brine: In Chemical and fertilizer industry.

Limestone:

 Widespread in Pakistan
 Main raw material for cement
 Used in manufacture of soap, paper, plants, bleaching powder, glass and lime.
 Used to treat sugarcane waste to produce alcohol fuel.
 Painted on barks of trees to counter pests and termite attacks.

Coal:

 Low quality in Pak. Used mainly in brick kilns

 A small percentage is used in power generation
 Thermal power stations run by it.
Natural gas: Gas is used for domestic and industrial uses.

Gypsum:

 Grey, white and pink color.

 Manufacture of paints and fertilizers.
 Used to make cement and plaster of paris.
 Spread on saline soil to help land reclamation

Marble:

 Found in bands of white, grey, yellow and brown.

 Used in buildings and for making chips for flooring and decorative pieces.

Clays:

 China clay used in ceramic industry for cement and other industrial uses.
 Fire clay in pottery and chemicals and bricks.

Magnetite:

 Used in manufacture of cement, fertilizer, rayon, paper pulp, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Sulphur: in chemical industries for sulpheric acids, paints, explosive materials, rayon and fertilizers.

Chromite:

 Gives hardness and electrical resistance to steel.

 Used for bridges and railways carriages.
 Used to make engineering tools and stainless steel.

Iron ore: Steel making, construction and transport industry.

Copper:

 Electrical wires and other electrical appliances it is used in to carry current.

 To make alloys, water pipes and tanks.

Manganese:

 Used in making dry batteries and paints

 Vital alloy in steel making.

Bauxite: used in utensils, tins, cans etc.

MARINE FISHING:
Types of Fishing:

Marine fishing:

 Pakistan has a coastline divided into Sindh (30%) and the Makran (70%) coasts.
 In Sindh, Karachi is main fishing centre.
 On the Makran coast, fishing ports are small, often no more than villages like Jiwani. Gwader is
the most important fishing port on this coast.

1. Subsitance fishing:
 Family consume fish they catch.
 Fish is the main component of their diet.
 Subsistence fishermen use conventional techniques like the traditional net, a small wooden sail
boat etc. to fish.

2. Commercial fishing:
 Fish is sold in markets.
 Fishing communities depend on fishing as their sole source of income.

Types of Marine Catch:

 Sharks
 Drums
 Croakers
 Cat Fish
 Skates
 Rays

Inland fishing:

 Is practiced in almost all rivers and lakes in the country.

 The large reservoirs behind Dams, the lakes of Sindh and irrigation channels are all utilized for
fish farming.
 Dug ponds have also been made for this purpose.