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Minerals

The document provides an overview of minerals, their modes of occurrence, classifications, and the importance of conservation. It details various types of minerals, including metallic and non-metallic, and discusses energy resources, both conventional and non-conventional. The document emphasizes the need for sustainable practices in energy and mineral conservation to ensure availability for future generations.

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2 views

Minerals

The document provides an overview of minerals, their modes of occurrence, classifications, and the importance of conservation. It details various types of minerals, including metallic and non-metallic, and discusses energy resources, both conventional and non-conventional. The document emphasizes the need for sustainable practices in energy and mineral conservation to ensure availability for future generations.

Uploaded by

tweetystarnyeo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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• Minerals

• Mode of Occurrence of Minerals


• Classification of Minerals
→ Metallic minerals
♠ Ferrous minerals
♠ Non-Ferrous minerals
→ Non-Metallic minerals
• Conservation of Minerals
• Energy Resources
• Conservation sources of Energy
• Non-Conventional Sources of Energy
• Conservation of Resorces

Minerals

• Mineral as a “homogenous, naturally occurring substance with a


definable internal structure.

• These are found in varied forms in nature, ranging from the


hardest diamond to the softest talc.

Mode of Occurrence of Minerals

• Minerals are usually found in 'ores'.


→ The accumulation of any mineral mixed with other elements is
called ore.

• Minerals generally occur in these forms:

→ In 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. Example: tin, copper,
zinc and lead etc.
→ In sedimentary rocks, a number of minerals occur in beds or
layers. Example: Coal, iron, gypsum, potash salt, sodium salt etc.

→ Minerals also found in the decomposition of surface rocks, and


the removal of soluble constituents, leaving a residual mass of
weathered material containing ores. Example: Bauxite.

→ Minerals may occur as alluvial deposits in sands of valley floors


and the base of hills known as ‘placer deposits’. Example: Gold,
silver, tin and platinum etc.

→ The ocean waters contain vast quantities of minerals. Example:


Common salt, magnesium and
bromine etc.

Classification of Minerals

• Minerals can be classified into three types:


→ Metallic Minerals
→ Non-Metallic Minerals
→ Energy Minerals

Metallic Minerals

• These minerals contain metals.


• These are of three types:

→ Ferrous minerals
♠ These minerals contain iron.
♠ It accounts for about three- fourths of the total value of the
production of metallic minerals.
♠ They provide a strong base for the development of
metallurgical industries.

Iron Ore
• It is the basic mineral and the backbone of industrial
development.
• Magnetite is the finest iron ore with a very high content of iron
up to 70 percent.
• 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 percent).
• India is rich in good quality iron ores.
• The major iron ore belts in India are:
→ Odisha-Jharkhand belt
→ Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur belt in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra
→ Bellary-Chitradurga-Chikmaglur-Tumkur belt in Karnataka
→ Maharashtra-Goa belt in Goa and Ratnagiri district of
Maharashtra.

Manganese

• It is mainly used in the manufacturing of steel and ferro-


manganese alloy.
• It is also used in manufacturing bleaching powder, insecticides
and paints.
• Orissa is the largest producer of manganese ores in India.

→ Non-Ferrous Minerals

♠ These minerals do not contain iron.


♠ They play role in a number of metallurgical, engineering and
electrical industries.
♠ Example of Non-ferrous minerals includes copper, bauxite,
lead, zinc and gold.

Copper

• It is malleable, ductile and a good conductor, therefore, copper


is mainly used in electrical cables, electronics and chemical
industries.
• The Balaghat mines in Madhya Pradesh, Khetri mines in
Rajasthan and Singhbhum district of Jharkhand are leading
producers of copper.

Bauxite

• It is a clay-like substance from which alumina and later


aluminium is obtained.
• 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.
• In India, mainly found in the Amarkantak plateau, Maikal hills
and the plateau region of Bilaspur-Katni.

Non-Metallic Minerals

• These minerals do not contain metal.

Mica

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


• It can be clear, black, green, red yellow or brown.
• Mica is one of the most indispensable minerals used in electric
and electronic industries due to its excellent di-electric strength,
low power loss factor, insulating properties and resistance to high
voltage,
• Leading producer are northern edge of the Chota Nagpur
plateau. Koderma Gaya – Hazaribagh belt of Jharkhand.
• Also produce in Ajmer, Rajasthan. Nellore mica belt of Andhra
Pradesh.

Limestone
• Limestone is found in association with rocks composed of
calcium carbonates or calcium and magnesium carbonates.
• It is the basic raw material for the cement industry and essential
for smelting iron ore in the blast furnace.

Conservation of Minerals

Why to conserve minerals?

• Mineral deposits are present in very less quantity in the world


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

• The geological processes of mineral formation are so slow while


the consumttion rate is very fast therefore, mineral resources are
finite and non-renewable.

• So, we have to conserve minerals so that it is available for


future generation.

How to conserve minerals?

• A joint 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.

Energy Resources

• Energy is needed to cook, to provide light and heat, to propel


vehicles and to drive machinery in industries.
• It can be generated from fuel minerals like coal, petroleum,
natural gas, uranium and from electricity.
• Energy resources can be classified as
→ Conventional sources: include firewood, cattle dung cake, coal,
petroleum, natural gas and electricity
→ Non-conventional sources: include solar, wind, tidal,
geothermal, biogas and atomic energy.

Conventional sources of Energy

• Coal

→ It is the most abundantly available fossil fuel.

→ It is used for power generation, to supply energy to industry as


well as for domestic needs.

→ Coal is formed due the compression of plant material over


millions of years.

→ There are various types of coals (on the degrees of


compression and the depth and time of burial):
♠ Peat: Low carbon and high moisture contents and low heating
capacity.
♠ Lignite: Low grade brown coal, which is soft with high moisture
content.
♠ Bituminous: Buried deep and subjected to increased
temperatures. Most popular coal in commercial
use.
♠ Anthracite: Highest quality hard coal.

→ In India, coal occurs in Gondwana and tertiary rock stages.

→ The major resources of Gondwana coal are located in


♠ Damodar valley (West Bengal-Jharkhand).
♠ Jharia, Raniganj, Bokaro
♠ The Godavari, Mahanadi, Son and Wardha valleys.

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


Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

• Petroleum

→ It provides fuel for heat and lighting, lubricants for machinery


and raw materials for manufacturing industries.

→ Petroleum refineries act as a “nodal industry” for synthetic


textile, fertiliser and numerous chemical industries.

→ About 63 per cent of India’s petroleum production is from


Mumbai High, 18 per cent from Gujarat and 16 per cent from
Assam.

• Natural Gas

→ It is used as a source of energy as well as an industrial raw


material in the petrochemical industry.

→ It is considered an environment friendly fuel because of low


carbon dioxide emissions.

→ Natural gas have been discovered in the Krishna- Godavari


basin, Mumbai High and allied fields, Gulf of Cambay. Andaman
and Nicobar islands.

• Electricity

→ It has a wide range of applications in today’s world.

→ Electricity is generated mainly in two ways:


♠ by running water which drives hydro turbines to generate hydro
electricity
♠ by burning other fuels such as coal, petroleum and natural gas
to drive turbines to produce thermal power.

→ Hydro electricity is generated by fast flowing water


♠ It is a renewable resource.
♠ Multi-purpose projects like the Bhakra Nangal, Damodar Valley
corporation, the Kopili Hydel Project etc. produce hydro
electricity.

→ Thermal electricity is generated by using coal, petroleum and


natural gas.
♠ The thermal power stations use non-renewable fossil fuels for
generating electricity.

Non-Conventional Sources of Energy

• Nuclear or Atomic Energy

→ It is obtained by altering the structure of atoms.

→ It is used to generate electric power.

→ Uranium and Thorium are available in Jharkhand and the


Aravalli ranges of Rajasthan.

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

• Solar Energy

→ India is a tropical country, therefore it has enormous


possibilities of tapping solar energy.

→ Photovoltaic technology converts sunlight directly into


electricity.
→ Solar energy is fast becoming popular in rural and remote areas
which help in minimising the dependence of rural households on
firewood and dung cakes that will contribute to environmental
conservation and adequate supply of manure in agriculture.

• Wind Power

→ India has great potential of wind power.

→ Largest wind farm cluster is located in Tamil Nadu from


Nagarcoil to Madurai.

→ Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra and


Lakshadweep have important wind farms.

→ Nagarcoil and Jaisalmer are well known for effective use of wind
energy in the country.

• Biogas

→ Shrubs, farm waste, animal and human waste are used to


produce biogas for domestic consumption in rural areas.

→ Biogas plants using cattle dung are known as ‘Gobar gas plants’
in rural India.

→ Biogas provide twin benefits to the farmer in the form of energy


and improved quality of manure.

• Tidal Energy

→ Oceanic tides can be used to generate electricity.

→ 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.

• Geo Thermal Energy

→ The heat and electricity produced by using the heat from the
interior of the Earth is called Geo thermal Energy.

→ Groundwater in high tempratures area absorbs heat from the


rocks and becomes hot.
♠ It is so hot that when it rises to the earth’s surface, it turns into
steam.
♠ This steam is used to drive turbines and generate electricity.

→ Two experimental projects have been set up in India to utilize


geothermal energy:
♠ Parvati valley near Manikarn in Himachal Pradesh
♠ Puga Valley, Ladakh.

Conservation of Resources

• Energy is a basic requirement for economic development.

• There is an urgent need to develop a sustainable path of energy


development.

• There are two ways for adopting the path of sustainable


development of energy:
→ Promotion of energy conservation
→ increased use of renewable energy sources

• Some steps in this direction are:


→ Using public transport systems instead of individual vehicles
→ Switching off electricity when not in use
→ Using power-saving devices
→ Using non-conventional sources of energy.

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