Types of Mineral Resources
• Mineral resources are basically classified into two categories: Metallic minerals and Non-metallic minerals. Metallic minerals are sources of metals. Ex- Iron ore, copper, gold ore.
• Metallic minerals are further divided into ferrous and non-ferrous metallic minerals. All those minerals which have iron content are ferrous such as haematite, and magnetite and those which do not have iron content are non-ferrous such as copper ore, bauxite.
• Non-metallic minerals are either organic in origin such as fossil fuels called mineral fuels which are derived from buried animals and plants life such as coal and petroleum. Other types of nonmetallic minerals are inorganic in origin such as mica, limestone graphite.
Distribution of minerals in India
• In India, GSI [Geological Survey of India], IBM [Indian Bureau of Mines], Department of Mines and Geology in various states are responsible for surveying & exploration of minerals. Minerals are concentrated in three broad belts in India:
(1) North-Eastern plateau region
(2) South-Western Plateau region
(3) NorthWestern region
(1) NE belt covers Chotanagpur [Jharkhand], Odisha Plateau, West Bengal and parts of Chhattisgarh. It has a variety of minerals i.e. iron ore, coal, manganese, bauxite, & mica.
(2) SW belt extends over Karnataka, Goa & contiguous Tamil Nadu uplands and Kerala. This belt is rich in ferrous metals and bauxite. It contains high grade iron ore, manganese & limestone. This belt packs in coal deposits except for Neyveli lignite.
(3) NW belt extends along Aravali in Rajasthan and part of Gujarat and minerals are associated with Dharwar system of rocks. Copper, and zinc have been major minerals. Rajasthan is rich in building stones i.e. sandstone, granite, & marble. Gypsum and Fuller’s earth deposits are extensive.
Ferrous Minerals
• Iron ore: Odisha is largest producer of iron ore among all states in India. important mines in Odisha are Gurumahisani, Sulaipet, Badampahar [Mayurbhaj], Kiruburu [Kendujhar] and Bonai [Sundergarh]. important mines in Jharkhand are Noamundi and Gua are located in East & West Singhbhum districts. Dantewara and Bailadila. Dalli, and Rajhara in Durg are important mines of iron ore located at Chattisgarh. In Karnataka, iron ore deposits occur in Sandur-Hospet area of Bellary district, Baba Budan hills and Kudremukh in Chikmagalur district,the districts of Chandrapur, Bhandara & Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, Karimnagar, Warangal, Kurnool, Cuddapah & Anantapur districts of Andhra Pradesh, Salem & Nilgiris districts of Tamil Nadu are other iron mining regions.
• Manganese: Balaghat mines of Madhya Pradesh are leading producer of Manganese ore in India followed by Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa & Jharkhand.
Non-ferrous Minerals
• Bauxite: Odisha [Kalahandi, Sambalpur, Koraput] is leading producer of Bauxite.
• Mica: Andhra Pradesh is largest producer of Mica in India followed by Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.
• Copper: Copper deposits mainly occur in Singhbhum district in Jharkhand, Balaghat district in Madhya Pradesh and Jhunjhunu and Alwar districts in Rajasthan.
Conventional sources of Energy-Coal, petroleum & Natural gas
• Coal: Jharkhand has highest coal reserves in India but largest producer of coal is Chattisgarh. Coal occurs in Gondwana and Tertiary deposits. important coal fields in Jharkhand are Raniganj, Jharia, Bokaro, Giridih, & Karanpura. Jharia is largest coal field followed by Raniganj. most important coal mining centres are Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh [part of Singrauli coal field lies in Uttar Pradesh], Korba in Chhattisgarh, Talcher & Rampur in Odisha.
• Petroleum: Rajasthan is leading producer of petroleum in India followed by Gujarat and Assam. In India, oil is found in Assam [Digboi, Naharkatiya & Moran] Gujarat [Mehsana, kalol, lunej, kosamba], Mumbai High and in river basins of Godavari and Krishna. There are two types of refineries in India: [a] field based and [b] market based. Digboi is an example of field based and Barauni is an example of market based refinery. There are 23 refineries in India in which Jamnagar refinery have highest capacity.
• Nuclear Energy Resources: Important minerals used for nuclear energy are Uranium and Thorium. Uranium deposits occur in Dharwar rocks in several locations along Singbhum Copper belt. This is found in Udaipur, Alwar & Jhunjhunu districts of Rajasthan, Durg district of Chhattisgarh, Bhandara district of Maharashtra and Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. Thorium is mainly obtained from monazite and ilmenite in beach sands along coast of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Non- conventional Energy resources
• Solar Energy: Photovoltaic technology converts sunlight directly into electricity. Solar energy is fast becoming popular in rural and remote areas. Some big solar power plants are being established which will minimise dependence of rural households on firewood and dung cakes and will contribute to environmental conservation and adequate supply of manure in agriculture.
• Wind Energy: India has great potential of wind power. largest wind farm cluster is located in Tamil Nadu from Nagarcoil to Madurai.
• Geothermal Energy: Geo thermal energy refers to heat and electricity produced by using heat from interior of Earth. Geothermal energy exists because, Earth grows progressively hotter with increasing depth.
• Tidal Energy: Oceanic tides can be used to generate electricity. During high tide water flows into inlet and gets trapped when gate is closed. After tide falls outside flood gate, water retained by floodgate flows back to sea via a pipe that carries it through a power-generating turbine.
• Biogas: Shrubs, farm waste, animal & human waste are used to produce biogas for domestic consumption in rural areas. Decomposition of organic matter yields gas, which has higher thermal efficiency in comparison to kerosene, dung cake & charcoal. Biogas is by far most efficient use of cattle dung.