Minerals and Energy Resources

Minerals are an indispensable part of our lives. Justify.

• Almost everything we use, from a tiny pin to a towering

building or a big ship, all are made from minerals.

• The railway lines and the tarmac (paving) of the roads, our
implements and machinery too are made from minerals.

• Life processes cannot occur without minerals. Although our

mineral intake represents only about 0.3 per cent of our total
intake of nutrients.

• they are so potent and so important that without them we would

not be able to utilise the other 99.7 per cent of foodstuffs.

• In all stages of development, human beings have used minerals

for their livelihood, decoration, festivities, religious and
ceremonial rites

Minerals :-homogenous, naturally occurring substance with a

definable internal structure
Hardest diamond and Softest talc
Mode of occurrence of minerals

In veins and lodes

• Igneous and metamorphic rocks minerals may occur in the cracks,

crevices, faults or joints.

• The smaller occurrences are called veins and the larger are
called lodes.

• Major metallic minerals like tin, copper, zinc and lead etc.

In Beds and Layers

• Formed as a result of deposition, accumulation and

concentration in horizontal strata.

• Coal and some forms of iron ore have been concentrated as a

result of long periods under great heat and pressure.

• Group of sedimentary minerals include gypsum, potash salt and

sodium salt.
 • These are formed as a result of evaporation especially in arid
regions

Bauxite
Decomposition of surface rocks, and the removal of soluble
constituents, leaving a residual mass of weathered material

Placer deposits

• Certain minerals may occur as alluvial deposits in sands of

valley
floors and the base of hills.

• generally contain minerals, which are not corroded by water.

• Gold, silver, tin and platinum

Ocean Waters
• manganese nodules
• common salt, magnesium and bromine

Why minerals are unevenly distributed in India ?

• India is fortunate to have fairly rich and varied mineral resources

• peninsular rocks contain most of the reserves of coal, metallic

minerals, mica and many other non-metallic minerals.

• Sedimentary rocks on the western and eastern flanks of the

peninsula, in Gujarat and Assam have most of the petroleum
deposits

• Rajasthan with the rock systems of the peninsula, has reserves of

many non-ferrous minerals.

• The vast alluvial plains of north India are almost devoid of

economic minerals.

• These variations exist largely because of the differences in the

geological structure, processes and time involved in the formation
of minerals.
When mineral ‘deposit’ or ‘reserve’ turns into a mine?
the ease of extraction and closeness to the market play an important
role in affecting the economic viability of a reserve and deposits if it
meets these criteria then only a mineral ‘deposit’ or ‘reserve’ turns
into a mine.

Iron

• Iron ore is the basic mineral and the backbone of industrial

development

• India is endowed with fairly abundant resources of iron ore.

India is rich in good quality iron ores.

• Magnetite is the finest iron ore with a very high content of iron
up to 70 per cent.

• It has excellent magnetic qualities, especially valuable in the

electrical industry.

• Hematite ore is the most important industrial iron ore in terms

of the quantity used, but has a slightly lower iron content than
magnetite. (50-60 per cent).
 • In 2018–19 almost entire production of iron ore (97%) accrued
from Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Jharkhand. The
remaining production (3%) was from other states.

The major iron ore belts in India are:

• Odisha-Jharkhand belt
• Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur
• Ballari-Chitradurga-Chikkamagaluru- Tumakuru belt
• Maharashtra-Goa belt

Statements

• Manganese is mainly used in the manufacturing of steel

• Kudremukh mines (Iron ore ) is in Karnataka

• Badampahar mines is in Odisha

• Aluminium is an important metal because it combines the

strength of metals such as iron, with extreme lightness and also
with good conductivity and great malleability.
 • Limestone is the basic raw material for the cement industry

Copper Mines
• The Balaghat mines in Madhya Pradesh,
• Khetri mines in Rajasthan
• Odisha was the largest bauxite producing state in India in 2016-17.

Q-Mica is one of the most indispensable minerals used in electric

and electronic industries.

• Mica is a mineral made up of a series of plates or leaves. It splits

easily into thin sheets

• These sheets can be so thin that a thousand can be layered into a

mica sheet of a few centimetres high

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

• 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.
Why Conservation of minerals are important ?

• The total volume of workable mineral deposits is an

insignificant fraction i.e. one per cent of the earth’s crust.

• We are rapidly consuming mineral resources that required

millions of years to be created and concentrated.

• The geological processes of mineral formation are so slow that

the rates of replenishment are infinitely small in comparison to
the present rates of consumption.

• Mineral resources are, therefore, finite and non-renewable.

• Rich mineral deposits are our country’s extremely valuable but

short-lived possessions.

• Continued extraction of ores leads to increasing costs as

mineral extraction comes from greater depths along with
decrease in quality.

• Recycling of metals, using scrap metals and other substitutes

are steps in conserving our mineral resources for the future.
 Q-Difference between conventional and non conventional sources
of energy

Non-Conventional Sources of
Aspect Conventional Sources of Energy
Energy

Energy sources that have been in use Newer energy sources, often
De nition
for a long time developed as alternatives

Solar energy, wind energy,

Coal, petroleum, natural gas, and
Examples geothermal energy, tidal energy, and
hydropower
biomass

Mostly non-renewable (except for Generally renewable and

Renewability
hydropower) inexhaustible

Environmental High pollution and greenhouse gas Low environmental impact, cleaner
Impact emissions sources

Cost and Cheaper to produce, but costs may Initial costs are high, but maintenance is
Infrastructure rise as resources deplete low and costs decrease over time

Widely used due to established Limited but increasing usage with

Usage in India
infrastructure government support

Not sustainable in the long term due Sustainable, offering long-term energy
Sustainability
to nite reserves solutions
fi
fi
Coal

• In India, coal is the most abundantly available fossil fuel.

• India is highly dependent on coal for meeting its commercial

energy requirements.

• It provides a substantial part of the nation’s energy needs. It is used

for power generation, to supply energy to industry as well as for
domestic needs

• Coal is of three types i.e. Lignite , Anthracite and bituminous

• Lignite is a low grade brown coal, which is soft with high moisture
content.

• Anthracite is the highest quality hard coal.

• Bituminous is most popular coal in commercial use. Metallurgical

coal is high grade bituminous coal which has a special value for
smelting iron in blast furnaces.

• 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.

• Gondwana located in Damodar valley ,West Bengal-Jharkhand.

• Tertiary coals occur in the north eastern states of Meghalaya,

Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.
Q-Why Petroleum act as a nodal industry ?

Petroleum or mineral oil is the next major energy source in India

after coal

It provides fuel for heat and lighting, lubricants for machinery and
raw materials for a number of manufacturing industries

Petroleum refineries act as a “nodal industry” for synthetic textile,

fertiliser and numerous chemical industries.

Mumbai High, Gujarat and Assam are major petroleum production

areas in India.

Ankeleshwar is the most important field of Gujarat

Assam is the oldest oil producing state of India. Digboi, Naharkatiya

and Moran-Hugrijan are the important oil fields in the state.

Why Natural gas is fuel for present century ?

• Cleaner Energy Source: Natural gas emits significantly fewer

pollutants compared to other conventional fossil fuels like coal and
oil. Its combustion produces less carbon dioxide, sulfur, and
nitrogen oxides, reducing air pollution and contributing to cleaner
environments.
• High Energy Efficiency: Natural gas has a high calorific value,
meaning it produces more energy per unit compared to other fuels.
This makes it a highly efficient fuel for power generation,
industrial processes, and domestic use.

• Versatile Uses: It is used in various sectors, from electricity

generation and heating to cooking and as a fuel for vehicles. This
versatility makes it a flexible source of energy.

• Abundant Reserves and Accessibility: Natural gas reserves are

widely available globally and are accessible through advancements
in extraction techniques like hydraulic fracturing and drilling,
ensuring a stable energy supply.

• Lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions: While it is still a fossil fuel,

natural gas produces about half the carbon dioxide emissions of
coal when burned, making it a preferred transitional fuel as the
world moves towards cleaner, renewable energy sources.

Statements

• The Monazite sands of Kerala is also rich in Thorium.

• Thermal Power Plant in Puga Valley, Ladakh.

• In India the Gulf of Khambhat, the Gulf of Kuchchh in Gujarat on
the western coast and Gangetic delta in Sunderban regions of West
Bengal provide ideal conditions for utilising tidal energy

• Photovoltaic technology converts sunlight directly into electricity.

• Uranium and Thorium, which are available in Jharkhand and the

Aravalli ranges of Rajasthan are used for generating atomic or
nuclear power.

• The largest wind farm cluster is located in Tamil Nadu from

Nagarcoil to Madurai.