Maharashtra.

Though, the ores are not of

very high quality, yet they are efficiently
exploited. Iron ore is exported through
Marmagao port.
Manganese
Manganese is mainly used in the
manufacturing of steel and ferro-manganese
alloy. Nearly 10 kg of manganese is required
to manufacture one tonne of steel. It is also
used in manufacturing bleaching powder,
insecticides and paints.

Andhra Others
Pradesh 2%
10%
Fig. 5.2: Iron ore mine
Karnataka
The major iron ore belts in India are: 12%

• Odisha-Jharkhand belt: In Odisha high Madhya

Pradesh
grade hematite ore is found in Badampahar 33%
mines in the Mayurbhanj and Kendujhar
districts. In the adjoining Singbhum
Odisha
district of Jharkhand haematite iron ore is
16%
mined in Gua and Noamundi.
• Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur belt lies in
Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Very high
grade hematites are found in the famous Maharashtra
Bailadila range of hills in the Bastar district 27%
of Chhattisgarh. The range of hills Fig. 5.3: Production of Manganese showing
comprise of 14 deposits of super high state-wise share in per cent, 2018–19
grade hematite iron ore. It has the best
physical properties needed for steel
Dig a little deeper: Superimpose the maps
making. Iron ore from these mines is
showing distribution of iron ore, manganese,
exported to Japan and South Korea via
coal and iron and steel industry. Do you see
Vishakhapatnam port.
any correlation. Why?
• Ballari-Chitradurga-Chikkamagaluru-
Tumakuru belt in Karnataka has large
reserves of iron ore. The Kudremukh mines Non-Ferrous Minerals
located in the Western Ghats of Karnataka India’s reserves and production of non-
are a 100 per cent export unit. Kudremukh ferrous minerals is not very satisfactory.
deposits are known to be one of the largest However, these minerals, which include
in the world. The ore is transported as copper, bauxite, lead, zinc and gold play a
slurry through a pipeline to a port near vital role in a number of metallurgical,
Mangaluru. engineering and electrical industries. Let us
• Maharashtra-Goa belt includes the state study the distribution of copper and
of Goa and Ratnagiri district of bauxite.

MINERALS AND ENERGY RESOURCES 45

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Copper Madhya
Pradesh
India is critically deficient in the reserve and Maharashtra
3%
Others
6% 1%
production of copper. Being malleable, ductile
and a good conductor, copper is mainly used Chhattisgarh
6%
in electrical cables, electronics and chemical
Gujarat
9%

Odisha
65%
Jharkhand
10%

Fig. 5.5: Production of Bauxite showing state-wise

Fig. 5.4: Copper mines at Malanjkhand share in per cent, 2018–19

industries. The Balaghat mines in Madhya Odisha was the largest bauxite producing
Pradesh, Khetri mines in Rajasthan and state in India in 2016-17. Panchpatmali
Singhbhum district of Jharkhand are leading deposits in Koraput district are the most
producers of copper. important bauxite deposits in the state.
Bauxite
Though, several ores
contain aluminium, it
is from bauxite, a
clay-like substance
that alumina and
later aluminium is
obtained. Bauxite
deposits are formed
by the decomposition
of a wide variety of
rocks rich in
aluminium silicates.
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.
India’s bauxite
deposits are mainly Fig.5.6: Bauxite Mine
found in the
Amarkantak plateau, Maikal hills and the Dig a little deeper: Locate the mines of
plateau region of Bilaspur-Katni. Bauxite on the physical map of India.

MINERALS AND ENERGY RESOURCES 47

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 Rock Minerals
Limestone is found in association with rocks
After the discovery of aluminium composed of calcium carbonates or calcium
Emperor Napoleon III wore buttons and and magnesium carbonates. It is found in
hooks on his clothes made of aluminium sedimentary rocks of most geological
and served food to his more illustrious formations. Limestone is the basic raw
guests in aluminium utensils and the material for the cement industry and
less honourable ones were served in gold essential for smelting iron ore in the blast
and silver utensils. Thirty years after this furnace.
incident aluminium bowls were most
common with the beggars in Paris. Dig a little deeper: Study the maps to explain
why Chota Nagpur is a storehouse of minerals.

Non-Metallic Minerals
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 centimeters
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.
Mica deposits are found in the northern
edge of the Chota Nagpur plateau. Koderma
Gaya – Hazaribagh belt of Jharkhand is the
leading producer.
In Rajasthan, the major mica producing Fig. 5.7: Production of Limestone showing
area is around Ajmer. Nellore mica belt of state-wise share in per cent, 2018–19
Andhra Pradesh is also an important producer
in the country.

Hazards of Mining
Have you ever wondered about the efforts the miners make in making life comfortable
for you? What are the impacts of mining on
the health of the miners and the environment?
The dust and noxious fumes inhaled by
miners make them vulnerable to pulmonary
diseases. The risk of collapsing mine roofs,
inundation and fires in coalmines are a
constant threat to miners.
The water sources in the region get
contaminated due to mining. Dumping of waste
and slurry leads to degradation of land, soil, Fig. 5.8: Air pollution due to
and increase in stream and river pollution. generation of dust in mining areas

48 CONTEMPORARY INDIA – II

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 Stricter safety regulations and required millions of years to be created and
implementation of environmental laws are concentrated. The geological processes of
essential to prevent mining from becoming a mineral formation are so slow that the rates
“killer industry”. of replenishment are infinitely small in
comparison to the present rates of
CONSERVATION OF MINERALS consumption. Mineral resources are,
We all appreciate the strong dependence of therefore, finite and non-renewable. Rich
industry and agriculture upon mineral mineral deposits are our country’s extremely
deposits and the substances manufactured valuable but short-lived possessions.
from them. The total volume of workable Continued extraction of ores leads to
mineral deposits is an insignificant fraction increasing costs as mineral extraction comes
i.e. one per cent of the earth’s crust. We are from greater depths along with decrease
rapidly consuming mineral resources that in quality.

MINERALS AND ENERGY RESOURCES 49

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 A concerted effort has to be made in order
to use our mineral resources in a planned
and sustainable manner. Improved
technologies need to be constantly evolved to
allow use of low grade ores at low costs.
Recycling of metals, using scrap metals and
other substitutes are steps in conserving our
mineral resources for the future.

Dig a little deeper: Make a list of items where

substitutes are being used instead of minerals.
Where are these substitutes obtained from?

Energy Resources Fig. 5.9 (a): A view from inside of a coal mine
Energy is required for all activities. It is needed
to cook, to provide light and heat, to propel
vehicles and to drive machinery in industries.
Energy can be generated from fuel
minerals like coal, petroleum, natural gas,
uranium and from electricity. Energy
resources can be classified as conventional
and non-conventional sources. Conventional
sources include: firewood, cattle dung cake,
coal, petroleum, natural gas and electricity
(both hydel and thermal). Non-conventional
sources include solar, wind, tidal, geothermal,
biogas and atomic energy. Firewood and cattle
dung cake are most common in rural India. Fig. 5.9 (b): A view from outside of a coal mine
According to one estimate more than 70 per
cent energy requirement in rural households time of burial. Decaying plants in swamps
is met by these two ; continuation of these is produce peat. Which has a low carbon and
increasingly becoming dif ficult due to high moisture contents and low heating
decreasing forest area. Moreover, using dung capacity. Lignite is a low grade brown coal,
cake too is being discouraged because it which is soft with high moisture content. The
consumes most valuable manure which could principal lignite reserves are in Neyveli in Tamil
be used in agriculture. Nadu and are used for generation of
electricity. Coal that has been buried deep
Conventional Sources of Energy and subjected to increased temperatures is
Coal: In India, coal is the most abundantly bituminous coal. It is the most popular coal
available fossil fuel. It provides a substantial in commercial use. Metallurgical coal is high
part of the nation’s energy needs. It is used grade bituminous coal which has a special
for power generation, to supply energy to value for smelting iron in blast furnaces.
industry as well as for domestic needs. India Anthracite is the highest quality hard coal.
is highly dependent on coal for meeting its In India coal occurs in rock series of two
commercial energy requirements. main geological ages, namely Gondwana, a
As you are already aware that coal is little over 200 million years in age and in
formed due the compression of plant material tertiary deposits which are only about 55
over millions of years. Coal, therefore, is million years old. The major resources of
found in a variety of forms depending on the Gondwana coal, which are metallurgical coal,
degrees of compression and the depth and are located in Damodar valley (West Bengal-

50 CONTEMPORARY INDIA – II

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Collect infor mation about thermal/hydel
power plants located in your state. Show
them on the map of India.
Non-Conventional Sources of Energy
The growing consumption of energy has
resulted in the country becoming increasingly
dependent on fossil fuels such as coal, oil and
gas. Rising prices of oil and gas and their
potential shortages have raised uncertainties
about the security of energy supply in future,
which in turn has serious repercussions on the Fig. 5.10: Solar operated electronic milk
testing equipment
growth of the national economy. Moreover,
increasing use of fossil fuels also causes
serious environmental problems. Hence, there Collect information about newly established
is a pressing need to use renewable energy solar power plants in India.
sources like solar energy, wind, tide, biomass
Wind power
and energy from waste material. These are
called non-conventional energy sources. India has great potential of wind power. The
India is blessed with an abundance of largest wind farm cluster is located in Tamil
sunlight, water, wind and biomass. It has the Nadu from Nagarcoil to Madurai. Apart from
largest programmes for the development of these, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat,
these renewable energy resources. Kerala, Maharashtra and Lakshadweep have
important wind farms. Nagarcoil and
Nuclear or Atomic Energy
Jaisalmer are well known for effective use of
It is obtained by altering the structure of wind energy in the country.
atoms. When such an alteration is made, much
energy is released in the form of heat and this
is used to generate electric power. Uranium and
Thorium, which are available in Jharkhand and
the Aravalli ranges of Rajasthan are used for
generating atomic or nuclear power. The
Monazite sands of Kerala is also rich in
Thorium.
Locate the 6 nuclear power stations and find
out the state in which they are located.
Solar Energy Fig. 5.11: Wind mills – Nagarcoil
India is a tropical country. It has enormous
Biogas
possibilities of tapping solar energy.
Photovoltaic technology converts sunlight Shrubs, farm waste, animal and human waste
directly into electricity. Solar energy is fast are used to produce biogas for domestic
becoming popular in rural and remote areas. consumption in rural areas. Decomposition
Some big solar power plants are being of organic matter yields gas, which has higher
established in different parts of India which thermal efficiency in comparison to kerosene,
will minimise the dependence of rural dung cake and charcoal. Biogas plants are
households on firewood and dung cakes, set up at municipal, cooperative and
which in turn will contribute to environmental individual levels. The plants using cattle dung
conservation and adequate supply of manure are known as ‘Gobar gas plants’ in rural India.
in agriculture. These provide twin benefits to the farmer in
the form of energy and improved quality of

54 CONTEMPORARY INDIA – II

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manure. Biogas is by far the most efficient geothermal gradient is high, high temperatures
use of cattle dung. It improves the quality of are found at shallow depths. Groundwater in
manure and also prevents the loss of trees such areas absorbs heat from the rocks and
and manure due to burning of fuel wood becomes hot. It is so hot that when it rises to
and cow dung cakes. the earth’s surface, it turns into steam. This
steam is used to drive turbines and generate
electricity.
There are several hundred hot springs in
India, which could be used to generate
electricity. Two experimental projects have been
set up in India to harness geothermal energy.
One is located in the Parvati valley near
Manikarn in Himachal Pradesh and the other
is located in the Puga Valley, Ladakh.

Conservation of Energy Resources

Energy is a basic requirement for economic
development. Every sector of the national
Fig. 5.12: Biogas Plant economy – agriculture, industry, transport,
commercial and domestic – needs inputs of
Tidal Energy energy. The economic development plans
Oceanic tides can be used to generate implemented since Independence necessarily
electricity. Floodgate dams are built across required increasing amounts of energy to
inlets. During high tide water flows into the remain operational. As a result, consumption
inlet and gets trapped when the gate is closed. of energy in all forms has been steadily rising
After the tide falls outside the flood gate, the all over the country.
water retained by the floodgate flows back to In this background, there is an urgent need
the sea via a pipe that carries it through a to develop a sustainable path of energy
power-generating turbine. development. Promotion of energy conservation
In India the Gulf of Khambhat, the Gulf and increased use of renewable energy sources
of Kuchchh in Gujarat on the western coast are the twin planks of sustainable energy.
and Gangetic delta in Sunderban regions of India is presently one of the least energy
West Bengal provide ideal conditions for efficient countries in the world. We have to
utilising tidal energy. adopt a cautious approach for the judicious
use of our limited energy resources. For
Geo Thermal Energy example, as concerned citizens we can do our
Geo thermal energy refers to the heat and bit by using public transport systems instead
electricity produced by using the heat from of individual vehicles; switching off electricity
the interior of the Earth. Geothermal energy when not in use, using power-saving devices
exists because, the Earth grows progressively and using non-conventional sources of energy.
hotter with increasing depth. Where the After all, “energy saved is energy produced”.

EXERCISES EXERCISES EXERCISES EXERCISES EXERCISES

1. Multiple choice questions.

(i) Which one of the following minerals is formed by decomposition of rocks,
leaving a residual mass of weathered material?
(a) coal (b) bauxite (c) gold (d) zinc
(ii) Koderma, in Jharkhand is the leading producer of which one of the following
minerals?
(a) bauxite (b) mica (c) iron ore (d) copper
MINERALS AND ENERGY RESOURCES 55

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