Chapter 3

Mineral and Power Resources

 Minerals: Naturally-occurring substances with a definite chemical composition

are called minerals.
 Classification of Minerals on the Basis of Composition
 Metallic minerals
 Contain metal in raw form.
 A few examples are iron ore, bauxite and manganese ore.
 Metallic minerals can be of the following two types:
 Ferrous: Minerals which contain iron e.g. iron ore,
chromites and manganese.
 Non-ferrous: Minerals which do not contain iron but
may contain other metals such as gold, silver, copper or
lead.
 Non-metallic minerals
 Mineral fuels such as petroleum and coal are non-metallic minerals.
 Other examples of non-metallic minerals are mica, limestone and
gypsum.

 Extraction of Minerals
Minerals can be extracted by the following procedures.
 Mining: It is the process of taking out minerals from rocks that are buried
under the earth’s surface. It is of the following two types:
 Open-cast mining: Process by which minerals lying at shallow
depths are extracted by removing the surface layer.
 Shaft mining: Reaching the mineral deposits lying at great depths
by making deep bores called shafts.
 Drilling: Deep wells bored to take out minerals such as petroleum and
natural gas lying far below the earth’s surface.
 Quarrying: Simply digging out minerals lying near the surface.

 Distribution of Minerals
 Minerals occur in different types of rocks such as igneous rocks,
metamorphic rocks and sedimentary rocks.
 Metallic minerals are found in igneous and metamorphic rocks.
 Non-metallic minerals are found in sedimentary rocks.
 Distribution of Minerals Per Continent
 Asia
 Large deposits of iron ore are found in India and China.
 Malaysia, China and Indonesia are among the world’s leading tin
producers.
 Asia has deposits of bauxite, nickel, copper, zinc and manganese.
 Europe
 Large deposits of iron ore are found in Russia, Sweden, Ukraine and
France.
 Mineral deposits such as lead, copper, manganese, zinc and nickel are
found in Russia and Europe.
 North America
 Gold, nickel, uranium, iron ore and copper are found in the
Canadian Shield Region.
 Coal is found in the Appalachian region.
 Copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver are found in the Appalachian
region.
 South America
 Brazil is the largest producer of iron ore in the world.
 Bolivia and Brazil are among the largest producers of tin in the
world.
 Peru and Chile are the leading producers of copper.
 Mineral oil is found in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Columbia and
Venezuela.
 Large deposits of silver, zinc, chromium, bauxite, platinum,
diamond and gold are found in South America.
 Africa
 Largest producer of diamonds, gold and platinum.
 Large portion of world’s gold is produced in South Africa,
Zimbabwe and Zaire.
 Oil is found in Nigeria, Angola and Libya.
 Iron ore, copper, uranium, chromium, bauxite and cobalt are also
found in Africa.
 Australia
 Largest producer of bauxite in the world.
 Leading producer of diamond, gold, iron ore, nickel and tin.
 Antarctica
  Deposits of coal in the Transantarctic Mountains and iron near the
Prince Charles Mountains of East Antarctica are forecasted.
 Gold, iron ore, oil and silver are also found in commercial
quantities.
 Distribution of Minerals in India
 Iron: Mainly found in Orissa, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Goa,
Maharashtra and Karnataka.
 Bauxite: Major producing states are Orissa, Jharkhand, Gujarat,
Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
 Mica: Mainly found in Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Andhra
Pradesh.
 Copper: Mainly produced in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh, Jharkhand and Rajasthan.
 Manganese: Mainly found in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
 Limestone: Mainly produced in Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh,
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.
 Gold: Kolar in Karnataka has deposits of gold.
 Salt: India is one of the leading producers and exporters of salt. It is
obtained from lakes, rocks and seas.

 Uses of Minerals
 Minerals which are usually hard are used in gems.
 Copper is used in many things, right from coins to pipes.
 Silicon, which is used in the computer industry, is obtained from
quartz.
 Aluminum, which is obtained from its ore bauxite, is used in
automobiles, airplane, buildings and kitchen cookware.

 Conservation of Minerals
 Reducing wastage in the process of mining contributes towards the
conservation of minerals.
 Recycling of metals can also help in the conservation of mineral
resources.

 Power Resources
They can be categorized as conventional and non-conventional resources.
 Conventional sources
 Firewood
 More than fifty per cent of the energy used in villages comes
from firewood.
 It is used for heating and cooking.

 Coal
 Most abundantly found fossil fuel.
 Used in iron and steel industries, steam engines and as domestic
fuel.
 Thermal power: Electricity produced from coal.
 Leading coal producers: China, Germany, USA, Russia,
South Africa and France.
 In India, Dhanbad, Raniganj, Jharia and Jharkhand are the major
coal-producing belts.

 Petroleum
 Found between layers of rocks and is drilled from oil fields.
Then, it is sent to refineries where products such as petrol,
diesel, wax, kerosene, lubricants and plastics are produced.
 Petroleum and its other derivatives are called Black Gold because
they are very valuable.
 Leading petroleum producers: Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia,
Qatar, U.S.A, Venezuela, Russia and Algeria.
 In India, it is produced in Digboi in Assam, Bombay High in
Mumbai and the deltas of Krishna and Godavari rivers.

 Natural Gas
 Found with petroleum deposits.
 Used as industrial as well as domestic fuel.
 Major producers: Norway, Russia, U.K and the Netherlands.
 In India, it is produced in Jaisalmer, Tripura and the Krishna-
Godavari delta.

 Hydel Power
 One-fourth of world’s electricity is produced by hydel power.
 Leading producers: Paraguay, Brazil, Norway and China.
 In India, it is produced in Bhakra Nangal, Gandhi Sagar,
Damodar Valley and Nagarjuna Sagar projects.
 Non-conventional Sources of Energy
 Solar Energy
 Solar energy trapped from the sun is used in solar cells for
producing electricity.
 It is used in solar heaters, solar cookers and solar dryers. It is also
used for community lighting and traffic signals.

 Wind Energy
 Inexhaustible source of energy.
 Wind mills have always been used for grinding grains and lifting
water.
 A speedy wind rotates the wind mill, which is connected to a
generator for producing electricity.
 Located in coastal regions and mountain passes where strong
winds blow.
 Major wind energy producers: Germany, the Netherlands,
UK, Denmark, UK, Spain and USA.

 Nuclear Power
 Obtained from the energy stored in the nuclei of atoms of
naturally-occurring radioactive elements such as thorium and
uranium.
 The fuels undergo nuclear fission in nuclear reactors and emit
power.
 Major producers: Europe and USA.
 In India, nuclear power stations are located at
1. Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu
2. Tarapur in Maharashtra
3. Narora in Uttar Pradesh
4. Kaiga in Karnataka

 Geothermal Energy
 Heat energy obtained from earth is called geothermal energy.
 In the form of hot springs, geothermal energy has been used for
several years for cooking, heating and bathing.
 Major producers: USA, New Zealand, Philippines, Iceland
and Central America.
  In India, geothermal plants are located in Puga Valley in Ladakh
and Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh.

 Tidal Energy
 Energy produced from tides is called tidal energy.
 Can be harnessed by building dams at narrow openings of the
sea.
 Major producers: France, Russia and Gulf of Kachchh in
India.

 Biogas
 Organic wastes such as animal materials, dead plants, kitchen
wastes and animal dung can be converted into a gaseous fuel
called biogas.
 An excellent fuel for lighting and cooking. It produces a huge
amount of organic manure each year.