Chapter : 7

What Are Mineral And Energy Resources ?

• Due to variation in geological structure, we can find variation in availability of minerals in India. For
e.g., Chota Nagpur plateau have abundance of mineral reserves and northern plains are total deprived
of it.
• A mineral is a natural occurring substance with certain chemical and physical properties.
• An easy classification of minerals can be:

Minerals

Metallic Mineral

• Ferrous (e.g.) Iron, Manganese, etc.

• Non-ferrous (e.g.) Copper, Bauxite, etc.
Non-metallic Mineral

• Fuel Mineral (e.g.) Coal, Petroleum, Natural gas, etc.

• Other non-metallics (e.g.) Mica, Limestone, Graphite etc.
• Broadly Minerals can be classified as Metallic (which have metallic composition like (Iron and
Bauxite) and Non-metallic minerals (Organic minerals have no metallic composition like fossil fuels).
• Metallic minerals can be further divided into ferrous minerals (which contain iron) and non-ferrous
metallic (metals other than iron like copper and bauxite).

Characteristics Of Minerals

• Minerals are not evenly distributed over earth.

• Superior quality minerals are found in less quantity and the low-grade minerals are found in
abundance.
• All minerals have unique lustre, density, permeability, malleability and crystalline structure.
• Superior quality minerals are found in less quantity and the low-grade minerals are found in
abundance.
• All minerals have unique lustre, density, permeability, malleability and crystalline structure.
• All minerals are exhaustible. This means they are limited in amount and we should use them in
sustainable way.

Distribution Of Minerals In India

• Minerals are uniquely distributed in India as coal is distributed in river valleys of central south India,
Crude oil off shore reserves are in Mumbai High and on shore are in Assam.
• Mountainous belt of Himalayan region is too popular for copper, lead, zinc, cobalt and tungsten.
• Major mineral belts of India are as under:
 Mineral
Mineral Region
Belt

Iron Ore,
Manganese,
Coal, Bauxite, Mainly
Mica, Chromite, Chotanagpur
Copper, Beryl plateau and
North
etc. This belt Jharkhand
Eastern
Accounts for plateau region
Plateau
90% of consist of
Belt
country's 93% Jharkhand, West
iron ore Bengal and
production and Odisha states.
84% coal
production

Covers mainly
South This belt is rich
southern states
Western in garnet Iron
of Karnataka,
Plateau ore, manganese,
Goa, Tamil
Belt limestone
Nadu, Kerela.

Rajasthan and Rajasthan and

North
Gujarat along Gujarat along
Western
the Aravalli the Aravalli
Belt
Range Range

Ferrous Mineral

These are the minerals which contain iron (Fe). For e.g., iron ore, manganese, chromite, etc. and most
commonly used in Iron and steel industries.

Iron Ore

• Iron ore varies in term of quality. Most commonly available iron ore in India are magnetite,
haematite, limonite and Siderite. The quality decreases from magnetite to siderite.
• One-fourth of the world's finest iron-ore deposit is found in India.
• The sequence of India states producing iron-ore from highest to lowest is Odisha, Chhattisgarh,
Karnataka, Jharkhand.
• The detailed distribution state wise is as under:
 State Mines

Sundergarh, Mayurbhanj,
Odisha Sundergarh, Kendujhar and
koraput.

Datewada, Kanker, Durg,

Chhattisgarh
Bailadila-Rowghat hill ranges

Bellary, Chitradurga,
Chikmagalur, Bijapur, Dharwar,
Karnataka
Tumkur, Uttar Kanara, Dakshin
Kanara and Shimoga.

Noamundi, Gua mines,

Singhbum, Ranchi, Dhanbad,
Jharkhand
Hazaribagh, Santhal Pargana,
Durg, Dantewara and Bailadila

Chandrapur, Bhandara and

Ratnagiri in Maharashtra,
Andhra
Karimnagar and Warangal
Pradesh
district of Telangana, Kurnool,
Cuddapah and Anantapur

Tamil Nadu Salem and Nilgiris

Tamil Nadu
districts

Manganese

• Manganese is used in making steel. Nearly 10 kg of manganese is required to manufacture one tonne
of steel.
• Manganese is also used in manufacturing bleaching powder, insecticides and paints.
• The state wise distribution of manganese is as under:
 State Mines

Bonai, Kendujhar, Sundergarh,

Odisha Gangpur, Koraput, Kalahandi
and Bolangir.

Nagpur, Bhandara and Ratnagiri

Maharashtra
districts

Dharwar, Ballari, Belagavi, North

Canara, Chikkmagaluru,
Karnataka
Shivamogga, Chitradurg and
Tumakuru

Madhya
Balaghat and Chhindwara
Pradesh

Non-ferrous Mineral

India has less reserves of non-ferrous minerals comparing with ferrous minerals.

Bauxite

• Bauxite is a source of alumina which later on aluminium is obtained.

• India’s total bauxite reserves are estimated at 27.40 crores tonnes.
• The major bauxite producing states in India are Odisha (1/3rd of national output), Jharkhand,
Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Goa in a
descending order of importance.
• The detail state wise distribution of bauxite is as under:

State Mines

Kalahandi, Bolangir, Koraput,

Odisha
Sundargarh and Sambalpur

Jharkhand Ranchi and Palamau

 State Mines

Jamnagar, Kaina, Sabarkantha,

Gujarat
Kachchh and Surat

Maharashtra Kolaba, Ratnagiri and Kolhapur

Amarkantak plateau area in

Madhya Shahdol district, Mandala and
Pradesh Balaghat districts and Katni area
of Jabalpur

Copper

• This non-ferrous metal is a soft, malleable and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical
conductivity. Thus, it is most commonly used in electrical cables, electronics and chemical industries.
• The metal is extracted from common ores like chalcopyrite.
• This distribution of copper is as follows:

State Mines

Jharkhand Hazaribagh and Singhbhum

Madhya Pradesh Betul and Balaghat

Rajasthan Jhunjhunu and Alwar

Non-metallic Minerals

• These minerals do not contain any metal and are usually found in sedimentary rocks. e.g., Mica,
limestone, dolomite and phosphate
• India is not fortunate of having sufficient amount of non-metallic minerals.
Mica

• Mica can be clear, black, green, red yellow or brown in colour.

• Mica has excellent di-electric strength, low power loss factor, insulating properties and resistance to
high voltage, thus used in electric and electronic industries.
• Distribution of Mica:
 State Mines

Koderma Gaya – Hazaribagh

Jharkhand
belt

Andhra
Nellore
Pradesh

Rajasthan Jaipur-Ajmer- Bhilwara belt

Karnataka Mysuru and Hasan districts

Energy Resources

• Minerals fuels are the non-renewable sources of generating energy. Foe e.g., coal, petroleum and
natural gas (known as fossil fuels), nuclear energy.
• This means we should reduce our dependency on these exhaustible resources and switch to green
energy sources.
Coal

• Coal is consumed in thermal power plants to generate energy and in blast furnaces to produce pig
iron.
• The amount of carbon decides the quality of coal. The four types of coal if Anthracite (More than 80%
carbon), Bituminous (carbon 60-80%), Lignite (less than 60%) and peat (Less than 50%).
• About 80 per cent of the coal deposits in India is of bituminous type and is of non-coking grade.
• In India coal occurs in rock series of two main geological ages, namely Gondwana, a little over 200
million years in age and in tertiary deposits which are only about 55 million years old.
• The distribution of coal in India is as under:

State Mines

Jharkhand Jharia,Bokaro and

(Gondwana coal) Giridih

West Bengal
Raniganj
(Gondwana coal)
 State Mines

Madhya Pradesh
Singrauli
(Gondwana coal)

Chhattisgarh
Korba
(Gondwana coal)

Odisha (Gondwana
Odisha
coal)

Meghalaya (Tertiary Darangiri, Cherrapunji,

Coal) Mewlong and Langrin

Assam (Tertiary Makum, Jaipur and

Coal) Nazira

Arunachal Pradesh
Namchik – Namphuk
(Tertiary Coal)

Petroleum

• The word 'Petroleum' has been derived from the word 'petra' which means rock and 'oleum' which
means oil. It is a dark, thick liquid, which is the product of decomposition of organic remains
embedded in the sedimentary rocks of the tertiary period.
• Crude oil or Petroleum when refined provides ample by products like such as fertiliser, synthetic
rubber, synthetic fibre, medicines, Vaseline, lubricants, wax, soap and cosmetics.
• Major Oil Fields of India are as under:
a) Mumbai High: An offshore oilfield discovered by ONGC in 1974, which is located in the Arabian Sea, 176
km west of the Mumbai coast. It is the mostproductive oilfield with a reserve of 5 crore tonnes of oil.

b) Assam-Arakan Belt: (runs from the extreme north-east of Assam to the eastern border of the
Brahmaputra and Surma Valley) Popular oil fields of this region are Digboi, Naharkatiya and Moran.

c) Gujarat Cambay Belt: (extends from Mahesana (Gujarat) in the north to the continental shelf off the coast
of Ratnagiri (Maharashtra) in the south. Oil fields of the region are Kalol, Mehsana, Nawagam, Kosamba and
Lunej.

Natural Gas

• Natural gas, a fossil fuel comprised mostly of methane, is one of the cleanest burning alternative
fuels.
 • The Gas Authority of India Limited was set up in 1984 as a public sector undertaking to transport and
market natural gas.
• Apart from the oilfields, the eastern coast of India Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh), Tripura,
Rajasthan and off-shore wells in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Non-conventional Energy Sources

The sources of energy which are not exhaustible and are ecologically safe are termed as non-conventional
sources of energy. Foe e.g. solar, wind, hydro geothermal and biomass.

Nuclear Energy Resources

• It is a result of recent development, Nuclear energy has immense potential in India.

• Uranium is most common ore of Nuclear energy in India and is found in Singbhum Copper belt,
Udhaipur-Alwar- Jhunjhunu belt of Rajasthan.
• Some part of uranium is also found in Durg district of Chhattisgarh, Bhandara district of Maharashtra
and Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh.
• Another ore of Nuclear energy is Thorium and is found in monazite and ilmenite in the beach sands
along the coast of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre is India's premier nuclear research facility, headquartered in
Trombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• The list of India’s major Nuclear Power Plants is as under:

Nuclear Power Plant Mines

Tarapur Maharashtra

Rawatbhata Rajasthan

Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu

Narora Uttar Pradesh

Kaiga Karnataka

Kakarapara Gujarat

Kudankulam Tamil Nadu

Solar Energy

Solar energy is generated through two ways:

a) Solar Electricity using Photo-Voltaic (PV) Cells: Photo-voltaic (PV) technology converts sunlight
directly into electricity using specially designed fabricated cells arranged in suitable arrays.

b) Solar Thermal Technology: This system works when sun rays fall on the panel mounted on roof top at a
suitable angle to absorb maximum solar energy.

Benefits of Solar Energy

• It is renewable, green and cost-efficient source of energy.

• India, being tropical country has vast potential of tapping solar energy in the states of Gujarat and
Rajasthan.

Project State Capacity

Bhadla
Jodhpur, Rajasthan 2,250MW
Solar Park

Shakti
Sthala solar Tumakuru district,
2,050MW
power Karnataka
project

Ultra-Mega Kurnool district,

1,000MW
Solar Park Andhra Pradesh

Rewa Solar
Rewa, Madhya
Power 750MW
Pradesh
Project

Kamuthi
solar Ramanathapuram
648MW
power district, Tamil Nadu
plant

Wind Energy

• Wind energy is green and sustainable source of energy. The initial cost of setting up a wind farm is
high but regular cost is comparatively lower.
 • Wind energy can be harnessed in the areas of high wind velocity like coastal India and Western
desert part of India.
• When wind blows it moves the wind mill which is connected to a turbine. Thus, kinetic energy of
wind is transferred to electric energy.

Tidal and Wave Energy

• It is generated from the periodic rise and fall of waters of the ocean, sea and gulf.
• India’s long coastline i.e., 7,516.6 km enables it to harness huge amount of energy. But due to its
limitations like high set up coast, threat to marine ecosystem and location limits it is still a potential
resource for us.

Geothermal Energy

• The heat of the earth when comes out, is used to run turbines. This way earth’s heat energy is
changed into electrical energy.
• The advantages of using geo-thermal source of energy are it is ecological friendly, affordable and
constantly available.
• India has more than 300 hot springs, located in different parts of the country.
• Famous hot spring sites in India are Manikaran in Parvati Valley of Himachal Pradesh and Puga Valley
of Ladakh.
Bio Energy

• This system uses animal dung, household waste, municipal and agricultural waste and turn it into
electrical energy.
• Apart from generating power, this system helps in organic waste management too.
• Bio gas or Gobar gas system is more useful in rural areas in comparison with urban areas, where self-
reliant bio gas plants function smoothly.
• One such plant in Okhla near New Delhi turn municipal waste into source of energy.

Mineral Conservation

• Reducing the dependency on exhaustible minerals and replacing them with renewable minerals is
the need of an hour.
• Using 3R method in mineral conservation is must at all the levels.