3. IMPORTANCE OF MINERALS
Day to day articles: Articles those we
use in our day to day life are made of
some of the minerals
Even food that we eat contains minerals
For the development of the country, we
need varieties of minerals.
4. MINERALS & ITS FORMS
Mineral means homogeneous naturally occurring
substance with definable internal structure. Minerals
are found in varied forms in nature.
Minerals are generally found in “ores” form in rocks.
The term ore is used to describe an accumulation
of any mineral mixed with other elements.
The type of formation or structure in which they are
found determines the relative ease with which
mineral ores may be mined. It is, therefore, important
for us to understand the main types of formations in
which minerals occur.
5. MINERALS & ITS FORMS
Minerals generally occur in following forms:
Veins & Loads: Formed in igneous and metamorphic rocks in cracks, faults
and joints. If occurs in small known as ‘veins’ and in large size known as
‘loads’. Generally found in liquid form but as they rise, they cool. Ex. tin,
copper, zinc and lead
Beds & Layers: They occur in sedimentary rocks. They are formed in
horizontal strata by deposition and accumulation process. Ex. Coal, gypsum,
potash salt & sodium salt. In arid region it is formed by evaporation process.
Residual Weathered mass material: It occurs due to decomposition of surface
rocks and the removal of soluble constitutes and mineral is left behind. Ex.
Bauxite
Alluvial Deposits: It occurs in sands of river valley and at the base of hills.
They are also called ‘placer deposits’. Ex. silver, gold, tin and platinum
Ocean water: Ocean water contains various minerals and oceanic beds are
also great source of minerals. Ex. Common salt, magnesium, bromine and
manganese nodules.
6. INDIA IS RICH IN MINERALS
These variations are occurred due to vast
availability and distribution of geographical
condition.
Peninsula Rocks – coal and iron
Sedimentary rocks – petroleum deposits
and non-ferrous minerals
Alluvial plains – economic minerals
Mountains and coastal area
7. IRON ORE
Basic mineral and backbone of industrial development
Magnetite: 1. 70% iron content 2. Excellent magnetic
qualities 3. Good for electrical industries
Hematite: 1. 50-60% iron content 2. Less magnetic qualities
3. Important industrial iron ore
The major iron ore belts
Odisha-Jharkhand belt
Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur belt
Ballari-Chitradurga-Chikkamagaluru- Tumakuru belt
Maharashtra-Goa belt
Basic raw material for iron and steel industry
8. MANGANESE & COPPER
MANGANESE
Used in Iron and steel industry, bleaching powder, insecticide and paints
Odisha is the largest producer of manganese ores in India. It accounted
for one-third of the country’s total production in 2000-01.
COPPER
It is malleable, ductile and good conductor.
Used in electrical cable, electronics and chemical industry
Places found - The Balaghat mines in Madhya Pradesh, Khetri mines in
Rajasthan and Singhbhum district of Jharkhand are leading producers of
copper.
9. MICA
It splits easily in thin sheets and found in different colours.
It is non-metallic mineral, found in series of plates and
leaves.
It has excellent di-electric strength, low power loss factor,
insulating properties and resistance to high voltage so it
used in electrical and electronics industries.
Important places where it is found are Chota Nagpur
Plateau, Gaya-Hazaribagh belt and Ajmer in Rajasthan
and Nellore in Andhra Pradesh are major mica producing
areas.
10. BAUXITE & LIMESTONES
BAUXCITE
Important source of Aluminum. It contains alumina.
Formed by the decomposition procedure of various rocks that
contain aluminum silicates.
Aluminum is strong and light weight, good conductor as well
malleable.
Found in the Amarkantak plateau, Maikal hills and the plateau
region of Bilaspur-Katni, Panchpatmali deposits in Koraput and
Odisha
LIMESTONE
It is found with combination with rocks composed of Calcium
carbonates or Magnesium carbonates.
It is found in Sedimentary rocks.
It is used in cement industry and essential for smelting of iron.
11. MINING AS KILLER INDUSTRY
The dust and noxious fumes inhaled by the
miners make vulnerable to respiratory
diseases.
Frequent accidents in mining lead to increase
in death rate.
Pollutant mixed with soil and water makes
them unsafe for living being.
Due to mining, forests are cut and that leads to
environmental problems.
12. CONSERVATION OF MINERALS
The total volume of workable mineral deposits is an insignificant
fraction i.e. one per cent of the earth’s crust. We are rapidly
consuming mineral resources that required millions of years to be
created and concentrated.
The geological processes of mineral formation are so slow that the
rates of replenishment are infinitely small in comparison to the
present rates of consumption.
Mineral resources are, therefore, finite and non-renewable. Rich
mineral deposits are our country’s extremely valuable but short-
lived possessions.
Continued extraction of ores leads to increasing costs as mineral
extraction comes from greater depths along with decrease in
quality.
13. HOW TO CONSERV MINERALS?
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
14. TYPES OF ENERGY
RESOURCESConventional Source of Energy Non-conventional Source of Energy
1. The source that was known to men for
the longer period of time.
1. The source that is discovered recently
2. This is non-renewable source of
energy
2. This is renewable source of energy
3. This leads to lots of environmental
problems
3. It is eco-friendly source of energy
4. It does not need complex machinery. 4. It needs more complex technology.
5. Wood, cow dung, coal, petroleum are
some examples of this type
5. Solar, wind, tidal, biogas are some
examples of this type
15. COAL
Coal is abundantly available in India and for energy need we depend more on
coal.
Coal is formed due to compression of plant material over millions of years.
Forms of coal
Peat is formed by decaying of plants in swamps. It contains low carbon and high moisture
with low heating capacity
Lignite is a low grade brown coal, which is soft with high moisture content.
Coal that has been buried deep and subjected to increased temperatures is bituminous
coal.
It is the most popular coal in commercial use.
Metallurgical coal is high grade bituminous coal which has a special value for
smelting iron in blast furnaces. Anthracite is the highest quality hard coal.
By ages coal is divided into two types
Gondawana Coal that is 200 million years old and
Tertiary coal that is 55 million years old.
Remember coal is a bulky material, which loses weight on use as it is reduced to
ash. Hence, heavy industries and thermal power stations are located on or near
the coalfields
16. PETROLEUM
Mineral oil is second most important energy source in
India after coal.
It is used not only for heat and light but it also provides
important raw materials for various industries.
Oil refineries work as a nodal industry for synthetic
textile, fertilizer and numerous chemical industries.
Most of the oil occurrences in India are associated with
anticlines and faults in limestone or sandstones.
Oil sources in India Mumbai High – 63%, 18% - Gujarat
and 16% - Assam.
17. NATURAL GAS
It is important clean energy resource and found
with and without petroleum.
Ii is used as the source of energy as well as raw
material for various industries.
Huge natural gas stores have discovered in river
valleys and various gulfs.
HVJ is the most important gas pipeline which is
1700km. long and passes through important
industries.
18. ELECTRICITY
Electricity has such a wide range of applications in today’s world that,
it’s per capita consumption is considered as an index of development.
Electricity can be generated by various ways i.e. Hydro, Thermal and
Nuclear
Hydro electricity is generated by fast flowing water, which is a
renewable resource.
Thermal electricity is generated by using coal, petroleum and natural
gas. The thermal power stations use non-renewable fossil fuels for
generating electricity.
It is obtained by altering the structure of atoms. When such an
alteration is made, much energy is released in the form of heat and
this is used to generate electric power.
19. NONCONVENTIONAL ENERGY RESOURCES
Solar Energy
India is a tropical country. 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.
Wind Power
India has great potential of wind power. The largest wind farm cluster is located in Tamil
Nadu from Nagarcoil to Madurai.
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.
Decomposition of organic matter yields gas, which has higher thermal efficiency in
comparison to kerosene, dung cake and charcoal.
20. NONCONVENTIONAL ENERGY RESOURCES
Tidal Energy
Oceanic tides can be used to generate electricity. Floodgate dams are built
across inlets. During high tide water flows into the inlet and gets trapped
when the gate is closed.
After the tide falls outside the flood gate, the water retained by the floodgate
flows back to the sea via a pipe that carries it through a power-generating
turbine.
Geo Thermal Energy
Geo thermal energy refers to the heat and electricity produced by using the
heat from the interior of the Earth.
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.
21. CONSERVATION OF ENERGY RESOURCES
Energy is a basic requirement for economic development.
Every sector of the national economy – agriculture, industry,
transport, commercial and domestic – needs inputs of energy.
In this background, there is an urgent need to develop a
sustainable path of energy development. Promotion of energy
conservation and increased use of renewable energy sources
are the twin planks of sustainable energy.
India is presently one of the least energy efficient countries in
the world. We have to adopt a cautious approach for the
judicious use of our limited energy resources. After all,
“energy saved is energy produced”.