India is endowed with a rich variety of mineral

  resources due to its varied geological structure.

Chapter 7 Bulk of the valuable minerals are products of
pre-palaezoic age (Refer: Chapter 2 of Class XI,
Textbook: “Fundamentals of Physical
Geography” and are mainly associated with
metamorphic and igneous rocks of the
peninsular India. The vast alluvial plain tract
of north India is devoid of minerals of economic
use. The mineral resources provide the country
with the necessary base for industrial
development. In this chapter, we shall discuss
the availability of various types of mineral and


energy resources in the country.

 A mineral is a natural substance of organic

or inorganic origin with definite chemical and
 physical properties.

 



On the basis of chemical and physical
properties, minerals may be grouped under two
main categories of metallics and non-metallics
which may further be classified as follows :

Fig. 7.1 : Classification of Minerals

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 As, it is clear from the Fig. 7.1 metallic The North-Eastern Plateau Region
minerals are the sources of metals. Iron ore,
This belt covers Chhotanagpur (Jharkhand),
copper, gold produce metal and are included
Odisha Plateau, West Bengal and parts of
in this category. Metallic minerals are further
Chhattisgarh. Have you ever thought about
divided into ferrous and non-ferrous metallic the reason of major iron and steel industry
minerals. Ferrous, as you know, refers to iron. being located in this region? It has variety of
All those minerals which have iron content are minerals viz. iron ore coal, manganese,
ferrous such as iron ore itself and those which bauxite, mica.
do not have iron content are non-ferrous such
as copper, bauxite, etc.
Non-metallic minerals are either organic
in origin such as fossil fuels also known as Find out the specific region where these
mineral fuels which are derived from the minerals are being extracted.
buried animal and plant life such as coal and
petroleum. Other type of non-metallic
The South-Western Plateau Region
minerals are inorganic in origin such as mica,
limestone and graphite, etc. This belt extends over Karnataka, Goa and
Minerals have certain characteristics. contiguous Tamil Nadu uplands and Kerala.
These are unevenly distributed over space. This belt is rich in ferrous metals and bauxite.
There is inverse relationship in quality and It also contains high grade iron ore, manganese
quantity of minerals i.e. good quality minerals and limestone. This belt lacks in coal deposits
are less in quantity as compared to low except Neyveli lignite.
quality minerals. The third main This belt does not have as diversified
characteristic is that all minerals are mineral deposits as the north-eastern belt.
exhaustible over time. These take long to Kerala has deposits of monazite and thorium,
develop geologically and they cannot be bauxite clay. Goa has iron ore deposits.
replenished immediately at the time of need. The North-Western Region
Thus, they have to be conserved and not
misused as they do not have the second crop. This belt extends along Aravali in Rajasthan and
part of Gujarat and minerals are associated with
     Dharwar system of rocks. Copper, zinc have
been major minerals. Rajasthan is rich in
Most of the metallic minerals in India occur in building stones i.e. sandstone, granite, marble.
the peninsular plateau region in the old Gypsum and Fuller’s earth deposits are also
crystalline rocks. Over 97 per cent of coal extensive. Dolomite and limestone provide raw
reserves occur in the valleys of Damodar, Sone, materials for cement industry. Gujarat is known
Mahanadi and Godavari. Petroleum reserves for its petroleum deposits. You may be knowing
are located in the sedimentary basins of Assam, that Gujarat and Rajasthan both have rich
Gujarat and Mumbai High i.e. off-shore region sources of salt.
in the Arabian Sea. New reserves have been
located in the Krishna-Godavari and Kaveri
basins. Most of the major mineral resources Why and where Dandi March was
occur to the east of a line linking Mangaluru organised by Mahatma Gandhi?
and Kanpur.
Minerals are generally concentrated in The Himalayan belt is another mineral belt
three broad belts in India. There may be some where copper, lead, zinc, cobalt and tungsten
sporadic occurrences here and there in isolated are known to occur. They occur on both the
pockets. These belts are : eastern and western parts. Assam valley has

Mineral and Energy Resources 73

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mineral oil deposits. Besides oil resources are
also found in off-shore-areas near Mumbai
Coast (Mumbai High).
In the following pages you will find the
spatial pattern of some of the important
minerals.

Ferrous Mineral
Ferrous minerals such as iron ore,
manganese, chromite, etc., provide a strong
base for the development of metallurgical
industries. Our country is well-placed in
respect of ferrous minerals both in reserves
and production.
Iron Ore
India is endowed with fairly abundant
resources of iron ore. It has the largest reserve
of iron ore in Asia. The two main types of ore
found in our country are haematite and
magnetite. I t h a s g r e a t d e m a n d i n
international market due to its superior Can you find out its reason?
quality. The iron ore mines occur in close
proximity to the coal fields in the north-
eastern plateau region of the country which parts of Shivamogga, Chitradurg and
adds to their advantage. Tumakuru districts. The districts of
About 95 per cent of total reserves of iron Chandrapur, Bhandara and Ratnagiri in
ore is located in the States of Odisha, Maharashtra, Karimnagar and Warangal
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Goa, district of Telangana, Kurnool, Cuddapah and
Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Anantapur districts of Andhra Pradesh, Salem
In Odisha, iron ore occurs in a series of hill and Nilgiris districts of Tamil Nadu are other
ranges in Sundergarh, Mayurbhanj and Jhar. iron mining regions. Goa has also emerged as
The important mines are Gurumahisani, an important producer of iron ore.
Sulaipet, Badampahar (Mayurbhaj), Kiruburu
(Kendujhar) and Bonai (Sundergarh). Similar Manganese
hill ranges, Jharkhand has some of the oldest Manganese is an important raw material for
iron ore mines and most of the iron and steel smelting of iron ore and also used for
plants are located around them. Most of the manufacturing ferro alloys. Manganese
important mines such as Noamundi and Gua deposits are found in almost all geological
are located in Poorbi and Pashchimi formations, however, it is mainly associated with
Singhbhum districts. This belt further extends Dharwar system.
to Durg, Dantewara and Bailadila. Dalli, and Odisha is the leading producer of
Rajhara in Durg are the important mines of Manganese. Major mines in Odisha are
iron ore in the country. In Karnataka, iron ore located in the central part of the iron ore belt
deposits occur in Sandur -Hospet area of of India, particularly in Bonai, Kendujhar,
Ballari district, Baba Budan hills and Sundergarh, Gangpur, Koraput, Kalahandi
Kudremukh in Chikkamagaluru district and and Bolangir.

74 India : People and Economy

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Fig. 7.2 : India – Metallic Minerals (Ferrous)

Mineral and Energy Resources 75

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 Karnataka is another major producer and alloyable, malleable and ductile. It is also mixed
here the mines are located in Dharwar, Ballari, with gold to provide strength to jewellery.
Belagavi, North Canara, Chikkmagaluru, The Copper deposits mainly occur in
Shivamogga, Chitradurg and Tumakuru. Singhbhum district in Jharkhand, Balaghat
Maharashtra is also an important producer of district in Madhya Pradesh and Jhunjhunu and
manganese, which is mined in Nagpur, Alwar districts in Rajasthan.
Bhandara and Ratnagiri districts. The Minor producers of Copper are Agnigundala
disadvantage to these mines is that they are in Guntur District (Andhra Pradesh), Chitradurg
located far from steel plants. The manganese
and Hasan districts (Karnataka) and South Arcot
belt of Madhya Pradesh extends in a belt in
district (Tamil Nadu).
Balaghat-Chhindwara-Nimar-Mandla and
Jhabua districts. Non-metallic Minerals
Telangana, Goa, and Jharkhand are other
minor producers of manganese. Among the non-metallic minerals produced in
India, mica is the important one. The other
Non-Ferrous Minerals minerals extracted for local consumption are
limestone, dolomite and phosphate.
India is poorly endowed with non-ferrous
metallic minerals except bauxite. Mica
Mica is mainly used in the electrical and
Bauxite
electronic industries. It can be split into very
Bauxite is the ore, which is used in thin sheets which are tough and flexible. Mica
manufacturing of aluminium. Bauxite is found in India is produced in Jharkhand, Andhra
mainly in tertiary deposits and is associated Pradesh, Telanganga and Rajasthan followed
with laterite rocks occurring extensively either by Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Madhya
on the plateau or hill ranges of peninsular India Pradesh. In Jharkhand, high quality mica is
and also in the coastal tracts of the country. obtained in a belt extending over a distance of
Odisha happens to be the largest producer about 150 km, in length and about 22 km, in
of Bauxite. Kalahandi and Sambalpur are the width in lower Hazaribagh plateau. In Andhra
leading producers. The other two areas which Pradesh, Nellore district produces the best
have been increasing their production are
quality mica. In Rajasthan, mica belt extends
Bolangir and Koraput. The patlands of
for about 320 kms from Jaipur to Bhilwara
Lohardaga in Jharkhand have rich deposits.
and around Udaipur. Mica deposits also occur
Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and
in Mysuru and Hasan districts of Karanataka,
Maharashtra are other major producers.
Coimbatore, Tiruchirapalli, Madurai and
Bhavanagar, and Jamnagar in Gujarat have the
Kanniyakumari in Tamil Nadu, Alleppey in
major deposits. Chhattisgarh has bauxite
deposits in Amarkantak plateau while Katni- Kerala, Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, Purulia and
Jabalpur area and Balaghat in M.P. have Bankura in West Bengal.
important deposits of bauxite. Kolaba, Thane,
Ratnagiri, Satara, Pune and Kolhapur in Energy Resources
Maharashtra are important producers. Tamil Mineral fuels are essential for generation of
Nadu, Karnataka and Goa are minor producers power, required by agriculture, industry,
of bauxite. transport and other sectors of the economy.
Mineral fuels like coal, petroleum and natural
Copper gas (known as fossil fuels), nuclear energy
Copper is an indispensable metal in the minerals, are the conventional sources of
electrical industry for making wires, electric energy. These conventional sources are
motors, transformers and generators. It is exhaustible resources.

76 India : People and Economy

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Fig. 7.3 : India – Minerals (Non-Ferrous)

Mineral and Energy Resources 77

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Coal important coal fields in this region are Raniganj,
Jharia, Bokaro, Giridih, Karanpura.
Coal is a one of the important minerals which Jharia is the largest coal field followed by
is mainly used in the generation of thermal Raniganj. The other river valleys associated
power and smelting of iron ore. Coal occurs in with coal are Godavari, Mahanadi and Sone.
rock sequences mainly of two geological ages, The most important coal mining centres are
namely Gondwana and tertiary deposits. Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh (part of Singrauli
About 80 per cent of the coal deposits in coal field lies in Uttar Pradesh), Korba in
India is of bituminous type and is of non-coking Chhattisgarh, Talcher and Rampur in Odisha,
grade. The most important Gondwana coal Chanda–Wardha, Kamptee and Bander in
fields of India are located in Damodar Valley. Maharashtra and Singareni in Telangana and
They lie in Jharkhand-Bengal coal belt and the Pandur in Andhra Pradesh.

     

Singareni collieries, the country’s premier coal production company, still uses canaries to detect the
presence of deadly carbon monoxide in underground mines. Miners collapse and often die even if
small quantities of the highly poisonous CO are present in the air. Though, miners speak lovingly of
the canaries, the underground experience is not at all pleasant for the birds. When lowered into
mines with CO presence, the birds show distress symptoms such as ruffling of feathers, pronounced
chirping and loss of life. These reactions occur even if 0.15 per cent of CO is present in the air. If the
content is 0.3 per cent the bird shows immediate distress and falls off its perch in two to three
minutes. A cage of birds is a good indicator in air containing more than 0.15 per cent CO, said a coal
miner.
The sophisticated hand held CO detectors introduced by the company can detect CO concentrations
from as low as 10 ppm to as high as 1,000 ppm. But despite this, the miners trust the birds, who
have saved the lives of several of their predecessors.
Deccan Chronicle, 26.08.2006

Fig.7.4 : Neyveli Coalfield

78 India : People and Economy

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 Fig. 7.5 : India – Conventional Energy Resources

Activity: Collect information about cross country natural gas pipelines laid by GAIL (India)
under ‘one nation one grid’.
Mineral and Energy Resources 79

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 Tertiary coals occur in Assam, Arunachal production commenced in 1976. Oil and
Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland. It is natural gas have been found in exploratory
extracted from Darangiri, Cherrapunji, wells in Krishna-Godavari and Kaveri basin
Mewlong and Langrin (Meghalaya); Makum, on the east coast.
Jaipur and Nazira in upper Assam, Namchik – Oil extracted from the wells is crude oil and
Namphuk (Arunachal Pradesh) and Kalakot contains many impurities. It cannot be used
(Jammu and Kashmir). directly. It needs to be refined. There are two
Besides, the brown coal or lignite occur in types of refineries in India: (a) field-based and
the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, (b) market-based. Digboi is an example of field-
Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir. based and Barauni is an example of market-
based refinery.
Petroleum
Natural Gas
Crude petroleum consists of hydrocarbons of
liquid and gaseous states varying in chemical Natural Gas is found with petroleum deposits
composition, colour and specific gravity. It is and is released when crude oil is brought to
an essential source of energy for all internal the surface. It can be used as a domestic and
combustion engines in automobiles, railways industrial fuel. It is used as fuel in power
and aircraft. Its numerous by-products are sector to generate electricity, for heating
processed in petrochemical industries, such as purpose in industries, as raw material in
fertiliser, synthetic rubber, synthetic fibre, chemical, petrochemical and fertiliser
medicines, vaseline, lubricants, wax, soap and industries. With the expansion of gas
cosmetics. infrastructure and local city gas distribution
(COD) networks, natural gas is also emerging
as a preferred transport fuel (CNG) and
cooking fuel (PNG) at homes. India’s major
Petroleum is referred to as liquid gold gas reserves are found in the Mumbai High
because of its scarcity and diversified uses. and allied fields along the west coast which
are supplemented by finds in the Cambay
Crude petroleum occurs in basin. Along the East Coast, new reserves of
sedimentary rocks of the tertiary period. Oil natural gas have been discovered in the
exploration and production was Krishna-Godavari basin.
systematically taken up after the Oil and
Natural Gas Commission was set up in Non-Conventional Energy Sources
1956. Till then, Digboi in Assam was the
Fossil fuel sources, such as coal, petroleum,
only oil producing region but the scenario
natural gas and nuclear energy use
changed after 1956. In recent years, new oil
exhaustible raw materials. Sustainable
deposits have been found at the extreme energy resources are only the renewable
western and eastern parts of the country. energy sources like solar, wind, hydro-
In Assam, Digboi, Naharkatiya and Moran geothermal and biomass. These energy
are important oil producing areas. The sources are more equitably distributed and
major oilfields of Gujarat are Ankaleshwar, environment-friendly. The non-conventional
Kalol, Mehsana, Nawagam, Kosamba and energy sources will provide more sustained,
Lunej. Mumbai High which lies 160 km off eco-friendly cheaper energy after the initial
Mumbai was discovered in 1973 and cost is taken care of.

80 India : People and Economy

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Fig. 7.6 : India – Oil Refineries

Mineral and Energy Resources 81

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 How are the developed
countries of the world
utilising non-conventional
energy resources? Discuss.

Nuclear Energy Resources renamed as the Bhabha Atomic Research

Centre in 1967. The important nuclear power
Nuclear energy has emerged as a viable source projects are Tarapur (Maharashtra),
in recent times. Important minerals used for the Rawatbhata near Kota (Rajasthan), Kalpakkam
generation of nuclear energy are uranium and (Tamil Nadu), Narora (Uttar Pradesh), Kaiga
thorium. Uranium deposits occur in the Dharwar (Karnataka) and Kakarapara (Gujarat).
rocks. Geographically, uranium ores are known
to occur in several locations along the Singbhum Solar Energy
Copper belt. It is also found in Udaipur, Alwar
and Jhunjhunu districts of Rajasthan, Durg Sun rays tapped in photovoltaic cells can be
district of Chhattisgarh, Bhandara district of converted into energy, known as solar energy.
Maharashtra and Kullu district of Himachal The two effective processes considered to be
Pradesh. Thorium is mainly obtained from very effective to tap solar energy are
monazite and ilmenite in the beach sands along photovoltaics and solar thermal technology.
the coast of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. World’s Solar thermal technology has some relative
richest monazite deposits occur in Palakkad advantages over all other non-renewable
and Kollam districts of Kerala, near energy sources. It is cost competitive,
Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and environment friendly and easy to construct.
Mahanadi river delta in Odisha. Solar energy is 7 per cent more effective than
Atomic Energy Commission was coal or oil based plants and 10 per cent more
established in 1948, progress could be made effective than nuclear plants. It is generally
only after the establishment of the Atomic used more in appliances like heaters, crop
Energy Institute at Trombay in 1954 which was dryers, cookers, etc. The western part of India

82 India : People and Economy

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has greater potential for the development of
solar energy in Gujarat and Rajasthan. The first successful (1890) attempt to tap
the underground heat was made in the city
Wind Energy of Boise, Idaho (U.S.A.), where a hot water
Wind energy is absolutely pollution free, pipe network was built to give heat to the
surrounding buildings. This plant is still
inexhaustible source of energy. The mechanism
working.
of energy conversion from blowing wind is
simple. The kinetic energy of wind, through
turbines is converted into electrical energy. The
permanent wind systems such the trade winds, Bio-energy
westerlies and seasonal wind like monsoon have
been used as source of energy. Besides these, Bio-energy refers to energy derived from biological
local winds, land and sea breezes can also be products which includes agricultural residues,
used to produce electricity. municipal, industrial and other wastes. Bio-
India, already has started generating wind energy is a potential source of energy conversion.
energy. In Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and It can be converted into electrical energy, heat
Karnataka, favourable conditions for wind energy energy or gas for cooking. It will also process the
waste and garbage and produce energy. This will
exist.
improve economic life of rural areas in developing
Tidal and Wave Energy countries, reduce environmental pollution,
enhance self-reliance and reduce pressure on fuel
Ocean currents are the store-house of infinite
wood. One such project converting municipal
energy. Since the beginning of seventeenth and
waste into energy is Okhla in Delhi.
eighteenth century, persistent efforts were made
to create a more efficient energy system from    
the ceaseless tidal waves and ocean current. The challenge of sustainable development
Large tidal waves are known to occur requires integration of quest for economic
along the west coast of India. Hence, India has development with environmental concerns.
great potential for the development of tidal Traditional methods of resource use result
energy along the coasts but so far these have into generating enormous quantity of waste
not yet been utilised. as well as create other environmental
problems. Hence, for sustainable development
Geothermal Energy
calls for the protection of resources for the
When the magma from the interior of earth, future generations. There is an urgent need
comes out on the surface, tremendous heat is to conserve the resources. The alternative
released. This heat energy can successfully be energy sources like solar power, wind, wave,
tapped and converted to electrical energy. Apart geothermal energy are inexhaustible resource.
from this, the hot water that gushes out through These should be developed to replace the
the geyser wells is also used in the generation exhaustible resources. In case of metallic
of thermal energy. It is popularly known as minerals, use of scrap metals will enable
Geothermal energy. This energy is now recycling of metals. Use of scrap is specially
significant in metals like copper, lead and
considered to be one of the key energy sources
zinc in which India’s reserves are meagre. Use
which can be developed as an alternate source.
of substitutes for scarce metals may also
The hot springs and geysers are being used
reduce their consumption. Export of
since medieval period. In India, a geothermal strategic and scarce minerals must be
energy plant has been commissioned at reduced, so that the existing reserve may be
Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh. used for a longer period.

Mineral and Energy Resources 83

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 
 Choose the right answers of the following from the given options.
(i) In which one of the following States are the major oil fields located?
(a) Assam (c) Rajasthan
(b) Bihar (d) Tamil Nadu
(ii) At which one of the following places was the first atomic power station
started?
(a) Kalpakkam (c) Rana Pratap Sagar
(b) Narora (d) Tarapur
(iii) Which one of the following minerals is known as brown diamond?
(a) Iron (c) Manganese
(b) Lignite (d) Mica
(iv) Which one of the following is non-renewable source of energy?
(a) Hydel (c) Thermal
(b) Solar (d) Wind power
 Answer the following questions in about 30 words.
(i) Give an account of the distribution of mica in India.
(ii) What is nuclear power? Mention the important nuclear power stations
in India.
(iii) Name non-ferrous metal. Discuss their spatial distribution.
(vi) What are non-conventional sources of energy?
 Answer the following questions in about 150 words.
(i) Write a detailed note on the Petroleum resources of India.
(ii) Write an essay on hydel power in India.

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