Minerals
and Resources
·
Most toothpaste are made white
with titanium oxide, which comes from minerals called rutile, limonite and
anatase
·
The sparkle in some toothpaste
comes from mica.
What
is a mineral?
1.
Geologists define mineral as a
“homogenous, naturally occurring substance with a definable internal structure.
2.
Minerals are found in varied
forms in nature, ranging from the hardest diamond to the softest talc.
3.
Rocks are combinations of
homogenous substances called minerals
MODE
OFOCCURRENCE OFMINERALS
1.
Where are these minerals found?
2.
Minerals are usually found in
“ores”. The term ore is used to describe an accumulation of any mineral mixed
with other elements.
3.
Minerals generally occur in
these forms:
4.
In igneous and metamorphic rocks
minerals may occur in the cracks, crevices, faults or joints.
5.
The smaller occurrences are
called veins
6.
And the larger are called
lodes.
7.
In most cases, they are formed
when minerals in liquid/ molten and gaseous forms are forced upward through
cavities towards the earth’s surface.
8.
They cool and solidify as they
rise.
9.
Major metallic minerals like
tin, copper, zinc and lead etc. are obtained from veins and lodes
10.
In sedimentary rocks a number
of minerals occur in beds or layers.
11.
Formed as a result of deposition,
accumulation and concentration in horizontal strata
12.
Another mode of formation
involves the decomposition of surface rocks,
13.
And the removal of soluble
constituents
14.
Leaving a residual mass of
weathered material containing ores
15.
Bauxite is formed this way
Certain
minerals may occur as alluvial deposits in sands of valley floors and the base
of hills.
1.
These deposits are called
‘placer deposits
2.
Generally contain minerals,
which are not corroded by water
3.
Gold, silver, tin and platinum
are most important among such minerals.
4.
The ocean waters contain vast
quantities of minerals, but most of these are too widely diffused to be of
economic significance.
5.
However, common salt, magnesium
and bromine are largely derived from ocean waters.
6.
The ocean beds, too, are rich
in manganese nodules.
7.
India is fortunate to have
fairly rich and varied mineral resources
8.
Peninsular rocks contain most
of the reserves of coal, metallic minerals, mica and many other non-metallic
minerals.
9.
Sedimentary rocks on the
western and eastern flanks of the peninsula, in Gujarat and Assam have most of
the petroleum deposits.
10.
Rajasthan with the rock systems
of the peninsula, has reserves of many non-ferrous minerals
11.
The vast alluvial plains of
north India are almost devoid of economic minerals. These variant
12.
Ferrous Minerals
13.
Ferrous minerals account for
about three fourths of the total value of the production of metallic minerals.
14.
They provide a strong base for
the development of metallurgical industries.
Iron Ore
1.
Iron ore is the basic mineral
and the backbone of industrial development.
2.
India is endowed with fairly
abundant resources of iron ore
3.
India is rich in good quality
iron ores
4.
Magnetite is the finest iron
ore with a very high content of iron up to 70 per cent
5.
Hematite ore is the most important
industrial iron ore in terms of the quantity used,
6.
Has slightly lower iron content
than magnetite. (50-60 per cent)
7.
Kudre in Kannada means horse.
The highest peak in the western ghats of Karnataka resembles the face of a
horse. The Bailadila hills look like the hump of an ox, and hence its name.
The
major iron ore belts in India are:
1.
Orissa-Jharkhand belt:
2.
In Orissa high grade hematite
ore is found in Badampahar mines in the Mayurbhanj and Kendujhar districts. In
the adjoining Singbhum district of Jharkhand haematite iron ore is mined in Goa
and Noamundi.
3.
Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur belt
4.
Lies in Chhattisgarh and
Maharashtra
5.
Very high grade haematites are
found in the famous Bailadila range of hills in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh.
6.
The range of hills comprise of
14 deposits of super high grade hematite iron ore.
7.
It has the best physical
properties needed for steel making
8.
Iron ore from these mines is
exported to Japan and South Korea via Vishakhapatnam port.
9.
Bellary-Chitradurga-Chikmaglur-Tumkur
beltin Karnataka has large reserves of iron ore
10.
The Kudermukh mines located in
the Western Ghats of Karnataka are a 100 per cent export unit
11.
Kudremukh deposits are known to
be one of the largest in the world
12.
The ore is transported as
slurry through a pipeline to a port near Mangalore.
13.
Maharashtra-Goa beltincludes
the state of Goa and Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra.
14.
Though, the ores are not of
very high quality, yet they are efficiently exploited.
15.
Iron ore is exported through
Marmagao port.
Manganese
1.
Manganese is mainly used in the
manufacturing of steel and ferro-manganese alloy
2.
Nearly 10 kg of manganese is
required to manufacture one tonne of steel.
3.
It is also used in
manufacturing bleaching powder, insecticides and paints.
4.
Orissa is the largest producer
of manganese ores in India.
5.
It accounted for one-third of
the country’s total production in 2000-01
Non-Ferrous Minerals
India’s
reserves and production of non- ferrous minerals is not very satisfactory
However,
these minerals, which include copper, bauxite, lead, zinc and gold play a vital
role in a number of metallurgical, engineering and electrical industries
Copper
1.
India is critically deficient
in the reserve and production of copper.
2.
Being malleable, ductile and a
good conductor, copper is mainly used in electrical cables, electronics and
chemical
3.
The Balaghat mines in Madhya
Pradesh produce 52 per cent of India’s copper
4.
The Singbhum district of Jharkhand is also a leading producer of copper.
5.
The Khetri mines in Rajasthan are also famous.
Bauxite
1.
Though, several ores contain
aluminium, it is from bauxite, a clay-like substance that alumina and later
aluminium is obtained
2.
Bauxite deposits are formed by
the decomposition of a wide variety of rocks rich in aluminium silicates
3.
Aluminium is an important metal
because it combines the strength
4.
Of metals such as iron, with
extreme lightness and also with good conductivity and great malleability.
5.
India’s bauxite deposits are
mainly found in the Amarkantak plateau, Maikal hills and the plateau region of
Bilaspur- Katni.
6.
Orissa is the largest bauxite
producing state in India with 45 per cent of the country’s total production
7.
In 2000-01. Panchpatmali
deposits in Koraput district are the most important bauxite deposits in the
state.
After the
discovery of aluminium Emperor Napoleon III wore buttons and hooks on his
clothes made of aluminium
Served
food to his more illustrious guests in aluminium utensils
The less
honourable ones were served in gold and silver utensils.
Thirty
years after this incident aluminium bowls were most common with the beggars in
Paris.
Non-Metallic
Minerals
1.
Mica is a mineral made up of a
series of plates or leaves. It splits easily into thin sheets.
2.
These sheets can be so thin
that a thousand can be layered into a mica sheet of a few centimetres high.
3.
Mica can be clear, black,
green, red yellow or brown.
4.
Due to its excellent
di-electric strength, low power loss factor, insulating properties and
resistance to high voltage, mica is one of the most indispensable minerals used
in electric and electronic industries.
5.
Mica deposits are found in the
northern edge of the Chota Nagpur plateau
6.
Koderma Gaya – Hazaribagh belt
of Jharkhand is the leading producer.
7.
In Rajasthan, the major mica
producing area is around Ajmer. Nellore mica belt of Andhra Pradesh is also an
important producer in the country.
Rock
Minerals
1.
Limestoneis found in
association with rocks composed of calcium carbonates or calcium and magnesium
carbonates.
2.
It is found in sedimentary
rocks of most geological formations
3.
Limestone is the basic raw
material for the cement industry and essential for smelting iron ore in the
blast furnace.
CONSERVATION
OF MINERALS
1.
The total volume of workable
mineral deposits is an insignificant fraction i.e. one per cent of the earth’s
crust.
2.
Required millions of years to
be created and concentrated.
3.
Mineral resources are,
therefore, finite and non-renewable. Rich mineral deposits are our country’s
extremely valuable but short-lived possessions.
4.
Improved technologies need to
be constantly evolved to allow use of low grade ores at low costs
Energy
Resources
1.
Energy can be generated from
fuel minerals like coal, petroleum, natural gas, uranium and from electricity
2.
Energy resources can be
classified as conventional and nonconventional sources
3.
Conventional sources include:
firewood, cattle dung cake, coal, petroleum, natural gas and electricity (both
hydel and thermal)
4.
Non-conventional sources
include solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, biogas and atomic energy.
5.
Firewood and cattle dung cake
are most common in rural India. According to one estimate more than 70 per cent
energy requirement in rural households is met by these two
6.
Continuation of these is
increasingly becoming difficult due to decreasing forest area
Conventional
Sources of Energy
1.
Coal: In India, coal is the
most abundantly available fossil fuel. It provides a substantial part of the
nation’s energy needs. It is used for power generation,
2.
Decaying plants in swamps produce
peat. Which has a low carbon and high moisture contents and low heating
capacity
3.
Lignite is a low grade brown
coal, which is soft with high moisture content
4.
The principal lignite reserves
are in Neyveli in Tamil Nadu and are used for generation of electricity.
5.
Coal that has been buried deep
and subjected to increased temperatures is bituminous coal.
6.
It is the most popular coal in
commercial use.
7.
Metallurgical coal is high
grade bituminous coal which has a special value for smelting iron in blast
furnaces
8.
Anthracite is the highest
quality hard coal
9.
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.
10.
Damodar valley (West Bengal-Jharkhand).
Jharia, Raniganj, Bokaro are important coalfields.
11.
The Godavari, Mahanadi, Son and
Wardha valleys also contain coal deposits.
12.
Tertiary coals occur in the
north eastern states of Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.
Petroleum
1.
Petroleum or mineral oil is the
next major energy source in India after coal.
2.
It provides fuel for heat and
lighting, lubricants for machinery and raw materials for a number of
manufacturing industries.
3.
Act as a “nodal industry” for
synthetic textile, fertiliser and numerous chemical industries
4.
Most of the petroleum
occurrences in India are associated with anticlines and fault traps in the rock
formations of the tertiary age
5.
In regions of folding,
anticlines or domes, it occurs where oil is trapped in the crest of the upfold
6.
The oil bearing layer is a
porous limestone or sandstone through which oil may flow.
7.
Petroleum is also found in
fault traps between porous and non-porous rocks. Gas, being lighter usually
occurs above the oil.
8.
About 63 per cent of India’s
petroleum production is from Mumbai High, 18 per cent from Gujarat and 16 per
cent from Assam
9.
Digboi, Naharkatiya and
Moran-Hugrijan are the important oil fields in the state.
Natural Gas
1.
Natural gas is an important
clean energy resource found in association with or without petroleum.
2.
Natural gas is considered an
environment friendly fuel because of low carbon dioxide emissions
3.
Large reserves of natural gas
have been discovered in the Krishna- Godavari basin.
4.
The 1700 km long
Hazira-BijaipurJagdishpur cross country gas pipeline links Mumbai High and
Bassien with the fertilizer
Electricity
1.
Electricity has such a wide
range of applications in today’s world that, it’s per capita consumption is
considered as an index of development
2.
There are over 310 thermal power
plants in India
3.
Nuclear or Atomic Energy is
obtained by altering the structure of atoms
4.
Uranium and thorium, which are
available in Jharkhand and the Aravali ranges of Rajasthan
5.
Generating atomic or nuclear
power. The Monazite sands of Kerala are also rich in thorium.
6.
Non-Conventional Sources of
Energy
7.
The growing consumption of
energy has resulted in the country becoming increasingly dependent on fossil
fuels such as coal, oil and gas.
8.
The growing consumption of
energy has resulted in the country becoming increasingly dependent on fossil
fuels such as coal, oil and gas.
9.
India is a tropical country. It
has enormous possibilities of tapping solar energy
10.
Photovoltaic technology
converts sunlight directly into electricity
11.
The largest solar plant of India
is located at Madhapur, near Bhuj, where solar energy is used to sterlise milk
cans.
Wind power
1.
India now ranks as a “wind
super power” in the world
2.
The largest wind farm cluster
is located in Tamil Nadu from Nagarcoil to Madurai
3.
Apart from these, Andhra
Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra and Lakshadweep have important
wind farms. Nagarcoil and Jaisalmer are well known for effective use of wind
energy in the country.
Biogas
1.
Shrubs, farm waste, animal and
human waste are used to produce biogas for domestic consumption in rural areas
2.
Decomposition of organic matter
yields gas, which has higher thermal efficiency.
Tidal
Energy
1.
Oceanic tides can be used to
generate electricity. Floodgate dams are built across inlets.
2.
During high tide water flows into
the inlet and gets trapped when the gate is closed.
3.
After the tide falls outside
the flood gate, the water retained by the floodgate flows back to the sea via a
pipe that carries it through a power-generating turbine
4.
In India, the Gulf of Kuchchh,
provides ideal conditions for utilising tidal energy. A 900 mw tidal energy
power plant is set up here by the National Hydropower Corporation
Geo Thermal
Energy
1.
Geothermal energy refers to the
heat and electricity produced by using the heat from the interior of the Earth
2.
Shallow depths. Groundwater in
such areas absorbs heat from the rocks and becomes hot.
3.
There are several hundred hot
springs in India,
4.
Two experimental projects have
been set up in India to harness geothermal energy
5.
Manikarn in Himachal Pradesh
and the other is located in the Puga Valley, Ladakh.
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