Chapter 5 : Minerals and Energy Resources

Introduction to Minerals

Importance of Minerals:

• Minerals are essential for daily life, used in everything from pins to buildings, ships, railways, and machinery.
• Transport (cars, buses, trains, planes) and food contain minerals; they are vital for livelihood, decoration, and ceremonies.
• Example: Toothpaste uses silica, limestone, phosphate minerals, fluoride (from fluorite), titanium oxide (rutile, ilmenite), and mica for sparkle.
• Human body requires minerals (0.3% of nutrient intake) to utilize other nutrients effectively.

What is a Mineral?

• Geologists define a mineral as a "homogenous, naturally occurring substance with a definable internal structure."
• Found in varied forms, from hardest (diamond) to softest (talc), due to physical and chemical conditions during formation.
• Rocks are combinations of minerals; some (e.g., limestone) have one mineral, while most have several in varying proportions.

Study of Minerals:

• Geographers: Focus on mineral distribution and economic activities.
• Geologists: Study formation, age, and physical/chemical composition.

Mode of Occurrence of Minerals

Ores:

• Minerals are found in "ores" (accumulations mixed with other elements), viable for extraction if concentrated enough.
• Formation type affects mining ease and cost.

Occurrences:

• Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks: Minerals in cracks, crevices, faults, or joints (veins: smaller; lodes: larger). Formed when molten/gaseous minerals cool upward (e.g., tin, copper, zinc, lead).
• Sedimentary Rocks: In beds/layers due to deposition and concentration (e.g., coal, iron ore, gypsum, potash/sodium salts via evaporation).
• Decomposition: Surface rock weathering leaves residual ores (e.g., bauxite).
• Placer Deposits: Alluvial deposits in valley floors/hill bases, resistant to corrosion (e.g., gold, silver, tin, platinum).
• Ocean Waters: Contain minerals like salt, magnesium, bromine; ocean beds have manganese nodules, but most are too diffuse for economic use.

Interesting Fact:

• Rat-Hole Mining: In Meghalaya, coal, iron ore, limestone, and dolomite are mined in narrow tunnels by families. Declared illegal by National Green Tribunal.

Distribution of Minerals in India

Overview:

• India has rich, varied mineral resources, unevenly distributed due to geological differences.
• Peninsular rocks: Coal, metallic minerals, mica, non-metallic minerals.
• Sedimentary rocks (Gujarat, Assam): Petroleum deposits.
• Rajasthan: Non-ferrous minerals.
• North Indian alluvial plains: Nearly devoid of economic minerals.
• Economic viability depends on ore concentration, extraction ease, and market proximity.

Ferrous Minerals

Iron Ore:

• Backbone of industrial development; India has abundant resources.
• Magnetite: Finest ore, up to 70% iron, magnetic properties (electrical industry).
• Hematite: Most used industrially, 50-60% iron.
• 2018-19 Production: 97% from Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Jharkhand; 3% from other states.
• Major Belts:
  • Odisha-Jharkhand: High-grade hematite in Badampahar (Mayurbhanj, Kendujhar), Gua, Noamundi (Singhbhum).
  • Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur (Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra): Super high-grade hematite in Bailadila (Bastar), exported to Japan/South Korea via Vishakhapatnam.
  • Ballari-Chitradurga-Chikkamagaluru-Tumakuru (Karnataka): Kudremukh mines (Western Ghats), 100% export, slurry pipeline to Mangaluru port.
  • Maharashtra-Goa: Lower quality ores, exported via Marmagao port.

Manganese:

• Used in steel, ferro-manganese alloy (10 kg per tonne of steel), bleaching powder, insecticides, paints.
• Leading producers: Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka.

Non-Ferrous Minerals

Copper:

• India deficient in reserves/production; used in electrical cables, electronics, chemical industries (malleable, ductile, good conductor).
• Leading producers: Balaghat (Madhya Pradesh), Khetri (Rajasthan), Singhbhum (Jharkhand).

Bauxite:

• Clay-like, yields alumina then aluminium; formed by decomposition of aluminium silicate rocks.
• Aluminium: Strong, light, conductive, malleable; used in industries.
• Deposits: Amarkantak plateau, Maikal hills, Bilaspur-Katni plateau; Odisha (largest producer, Panchpatmali in Koraput).

Non-Metallic Minerals

Mica:

• Plates/leaves, splits into thin sheets; used in electric/electronic industries (di-electric strength, low power loss, insulation).
• Deposits: Chota Nagpur plateau (Koderma Gaya-Hazaribagh, Jharkhand), Ajmer (Rajasthan), Nellore (Andhra Pradesh).

Limestone:

• Calcium carbonate/magnesium carbonate in sedimentary rocks; raw material for cement, essential for iron ore smelting.
• Leading producers: Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh.

Hazards of Mining

• Health: Miners inhale dust/noxious fumes, risk pulmonary diseases; collapsing roofs, inundation, fires in coal mines.
• Environment: Contaminated water sources, land/soil degradation, stream/river pollution from waste/slurry, air pollution from dust.

Conservation of Mineral Resources

• Planned, sustainable use needed; improved technologies for low-grade ores, recycling metals, using substitutes (e.g., plastics from petroleum).
• Substitutes reduce mineral depletion, but many are derived from petroleum or synthetic sources.

Energy Resources

Overview:

• Energy needed for cooking, lighting, heating, transport, industry.
• Types: Conventional (firewood, dung cake, coal, petroleum, natural gas, electricity) and Non-conventional (solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, biogas, atomic).
• Rural India: >70% energy from firewood/dung cake, depleting forests and reducing agricultural manure.

Conventional Sources of Energy

Coal:

• Most abundant fossil fuel in India; used for power, industry, domestic needs.
• Forms: Peat (low carbon, high moisture), Lignite (brown, high moisture, Neyveli, Tamil Nadu), Bituminous (commercial, metallurgical), Anthracite (highest quality).
• Geological Ages: Gondwana (200M years, Damodar valley, Jharia, Raniganj, Bokaro, Godavari, Mahanadi, Son, Wardha valleys); Tertiary (55M years, Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland).
• Heavy industries/thermal plants located near coalfields due to coal’s bulk and weight loss (ash).

Petroleum:

• Second major energy source; fuels heat/lighting, lubricants, raw material for textiles, fertilizers, chemicals.
• Found in tertiary rock formations (anticlines, fault traps); porous limestone/sandstone holds oil, gas above.
• Major areas: Mumbai High, Gujarat (Ankeleshwar), Assam (Digboi, Naharkatiya, Moran-Hugrijan).

Natural Gas:

• Found with petroleum; used for power, heating, chemical/fertilizer industries, CNG (transport), PNG (cooking).
• Reserves: Mumbai High, Cambay basin, Krishna-Godavari basin.
• GAIL’s HVJ pipeline (1,700 km) links Mumbai High/Bassein to industries; gas grid expanded to 18,500 km, aiming for 34,000 km.

Electricity:

• Per capita consumption indicates development; generated via hydro (water turbines) and thermal (coal, petroleum, gas).
• Hydro: Renewable, from multi-purpose projects (e.g., Bhakra Nangal, Damodar Valley, Kopili Hydel).
• Thermal: Non-renewable, uses fossil fuels.

Non-Conventional Sources of Energy

Need:

• Fossil fuel dependency, rising prices, shortages, and environmental issues drive need for renewables.
• India has abundant sunlight, water, wind, biomass for renewable energy.

Nuclear Energy:

• From altering atom structure; uranium (Jharkhand, Aravalli, Rajasthan), thorium (Monazite sands, Kerala).
• 6 Nuclear Power Stations: Tarapur (Maharashtra), Rawatbhata (Rajasthan), Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu), Narora (Uttar Pradesh), Kakrapar (Gujarat), Kaiga (Karnataka).

Solar Energy:

• Tropical India ideal for solar; photovoltaic tech converts sunlight to electricity.
• Popular in rural/remote areas, reducing firewood/dung use, aiding agriculture and environment.
• Major plants: Bhadla (Rajasthan), Kamuthi (Tamil Nadu), Charanka (Gujarat).

Wind Power:

• High potential; largest wind farm cluster in Tamil Nadu (Nagarcoil to Madurai).
• Other areas: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Lakshadweep; notable sites: Nagarcoil, Jaisalmer.

Biogas:

• From shrubs, farm/animal/human waste; higher efficiency than kerosene/dung/charcoal.
• Gobar gas plants provide energy and improved manure; set up at municipal/cooperative/individual levels.

Tidal Energy:

• Uses oceanic tides via floodgate dams; water drives turbines during tide changes.
• Ideal areas: Gulf of Khambhat, Gulf of Kuchchh (Gujarat), Sundarban delta (West Bengal).

Geothermal Energy:

• Uses Earth’s internal heat; hot groundwater/steam drives turbines.
• Experimental projects: Parvati Valley (Manikaran, Himachal Pradesh), Puga Valley (Ladakh).

Conservation of Energy Resources

• Energy vital for economic development; rising consumption needs sustainable approach.
• India less energy-efficient; promote conservation, renewables.
• Actions: Use public transport, switch off unused electricity, use power-saving devices, adopt non-conventional sources.
• “Energy saved is energy produced.”

Crossword Answers

Across:

• 1. Iron Ore (ferrous mineral)
• 2. Limestone (cement industry raw material)
• 3. Magnetite (finest iron ore, magnetic)
• 4. Anthracite (highest quality hard coal)
• 5. Bauxite (aluminium ore)
• 6. Copper (Khetri mines)
• 7. Gypsum (formed by evaporation)

Down:

• 8. Gold (placer deposit)
• 9. Hematite (Bailadila iron ore)
• 10. Mica (electrical industry)
• 11. Tertiary (geological age of NE coal)
• 12. Tin (veins and lodes)