What is a Mineral?

 Maharashtra-Goa belt
A "homogenous, naturally occurring Manganese
substance with a definable internal  It is mainly used in the manufacturing

structure" is referred to as a mineral. of steel and ferromanganese alloy.

Nature contains a wide variety of  Nearly 10 kg of manganese is

minerals, from the softest talc to the required to manufacture 1 tonne of

hardest diamonds. Minerals are steel.
homogenous substance combinations  It is also used in manufacturing

that make up rocks. bleaching powder, insecticides, and

paints.
Mode of Occurrence of Minerals
Minerals are usually found in “ores”. The Non-Ferrous Minerals
term ore is used to describe an Non-ferrous minerals include copper,
accumulation of any mineral mixed with bauxite, lead, zinc and gold. These
other elements. Minerals generally occur minerals play a vital role in several
in the following forms: metallurgical, engineering and electrical
 Minerals can be found in the joints, industries. Copper
fractures, fissures, and cracks of  A malleable, ductile and good
igneous and metamorphic rocks. conductor of heat and electricity.
 Several minerals are found in beds or  Mainly used in electrical cables,
layers in sedimentary rocks. electronics and chemical industries.
 The minerals are also formed by the  The Balaghat mines in Madhya
breakdown of surface rocks and the Pradesh, the Khetri mines in
extraction of soluble components. Rajasthan and the Singhbhum district
 Alluvial deposits of minerals can also of Jharkhand are leading producers of
be found in the sands at the foot of copper.
hills and on valley floors. Bauxite
 There is a tonne of minerals in the  Bauxite deposits are formed by the
ocean. decomposition of a wide variety of
rocks rich in aluminum silicates.
Ferrous Minerals
 Aluminium is obtained from bauxite.
Ferrous minerals account for about three- Aluminium has good conductivity and
fourths of the total value of the production great malleability.
of metallic minerals. Iron Ore  Deposits are mainly found in the
 India is endowed with fairly abundant
Amarkantak plateau, Maikal hills and
resources of iron ore. the plateau region of Bilaspur-Katni.
 Magnetite is the finest iron ore with a
very high content of iron, up to 70%. It Non-Metallic Minerals
has excellent magnetic qualities.  Mica is a mineral made up of a series

 Hematite ore is the most important of plates or leaves. It can be clear,

industrial iron ore. It contains 50 to black, green, red, yellow or brown.
60% iron.  Mica is the most indispensable

The major iron ore belts in India are: mineral used in the electric and
 Odisha-Jharkhand belt electronic industries.
 Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur belt  It has excellent di-electric strength,

 Ballari-Chitradurga-Chikkamagaluru- low power loss factor, insulating

Tumakuru belt
 properties and resistance to high  Anthracite is the highest quality of
voltage. hard coal.
 Mica deposits are found on the  Jharia, Raniganj, and Bokaro are
northern edge of the Chota Nagpur important coalfields.
plateau. Petroleum
Rock Minerals  It provides fuel for heat and lighting,

 Limestone is found in rocks lubricants for machinery and raw

composed of calcium carbonates or materials for a number of
calcium and magnesium carbonates. manufacturing industries.
 It is the basic raw material for the  Petroleum refineries act as a “nodal

cement industry and essential for industry” for synthetic textile, fertilizer
smelting iron ore in the blast furnace. and numerous chemical industries.
 Mumbai High, Gujarat and Assam are
Conservation of Minerals major petroleum production areas in
One non-renewable resource is mineral India.
wealth. The creation and concentration of Natural Gas Natural gas is an important
minerals take thousands of years. Mineral clean energy resource. It is considered an
reserves are depleted as ores are environment-friendly fuel. The power and
extracted further. Therefore, it's critical to fertilizer industries are the key users of
take the required actions to enable the natural gas. Compressed Natural Gas
planned and sustainable use of mineral (CNG) is used in vehicles to replace liquid
resources. fuels. Large reserves of natural gas have
Energy Resources been discovered in the Krishna-Godavari
Energy resources can be classified as basin. Electricity Electricity is generated
 Conventional Sources: These mainly in 2 ways:
includes firewood, cattle dung cake, 1. By running water which drives hydro
coal, petroleum, natural gas, and turbines to generate Hydro
electricity. Electricity. It is a renewable resource
 Non-Conventional Sources: These of energy. India has a number of
includes solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, multi-purpose projects like the Bhakra
biogas and atomic energy. Nangal, Damodar Valley Corporation,
Let us discuss each of them in detail. the Kopili Hydel Project.
Conventional Sources of Energy 2. By burning other fuels such as coal,
Coal: petroleum and natural gas to drive
 It is the most abundantly available turbines to produce Thermal
fossil fuel. Power. It uses non-renewable fossil
 It is used for power generation, to fuels for generating electricity.
supply energy to the industry as well Non-Conventional Sources of Energy
as for domestic needs. Renewable energy sources like solar
 Lignite is a low-grade brown coal, energy, wind, tide, biomass and energy
which is soft with high moisture from waste material are called Non-
content. Conventional Energy Sources . Let’s
 Coal that has been buried deep and
discuss them one by one. Nuclear or
subjected to increased temperatures Atomic Energy Nuclear Energy is
is bituminous coal . obtained by altering the structure of
atoms. Uranium and Thorium are used for  Using non-conventional sources of
generating atomic or nuclear energy
power. Solar Energy Solar energy is
produced by the Sun’s light. Photovoltaic
technology converts sunlight directly into
electricity. Wind Power Wind Energy or
Power is the use of wind to generate
electricity. Wind turbines are used for this
purpose. The largest wind farm cluster is
located in Tamil Nadu from Nagercoil to
Madurai. Biogas One kind of biofuel that
is naturally produced when organic waste
breaks down is called biogas. The most
effective way to use cow dung is to create
biogas. It raises the manure's
quality. Tidal Energy Tidal energy is the
form of hydropower that converts the
energy obtained from tides into useful
forms of power, mainly electricity. In India,
the Gulf of Khambhat, the Gulf of
Kachchh in Gujarat on the western coast
and the Gangetic Delta in the Sunderban
regions of West Bengal provide ideal
conditions for utilising tidal energy. Geo-
Thermal Energy Geo-thermal energy is
the term used to describe the process of
producing heat and power from the
earth's interior. Geothermal energy is
extracted in India from Puga Valley in
Ladakh and Parvati Valley in Manikarn in
Himachal Pradesh.
Conservation of Energy Resources
Energy inputs are required by all areas of
the national economy, including
agriculture, industry, transportation,
commerce, and domestic use. Creating a
sustainable course for energy
development is important. The following
are some methods that each of us may
help conserve energy resources:
 Using public transport systems
instead of individual vehicles
 Switching off electricity when not in
use
 Using power-saving devices.