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Home » Indian Geography » Indian Economic & Human Geography » Mineral Resources

Mineral Resources

  • India is endowed with a rich variety of minerals
    • Large size and diverse geological formations have favored India in providing a wide variety of minerals
    • It has been estimated that nearly 100 minerals are known to be present in India, of which 30 may be considered important
Classification
  1. METALLIC MINERALS
    • These contain metals in them. Iron ore, copper, Manganese, Nickel, etc. are important examples
    • These are further divided into
    • Ferrous Minerals
      • These have iron content in them
      • Iron-ore, Manganese, chromite, tungsten, nickel, cobalt are important examples
    • Non-Ferrous Minerals
      • These do not have iron content
      • Gold, silver, copper, lead, bauxite, tin, magnesium are important examples
  1. NON-METALLIC MINERALS
    • These do not contain metal
    • Limestone, nitrate, potash, dolomite, mica, gypsum are important examples
    • Coal and petroleum are also non-metallic minerals. They are used as fuel and hence are known as mineral fuels
METALLIC MINERALS
  • These provide a solid base to metallurgical industries in the country

 

  1. Iron Ore
    • It is a metal of universal use, and backbone of modern civilization
    • Iron is taken out in form of ore, and different types of ore contains varying proportion of iron
      • Haematite: this has around 70% of metallic content
        • Found in Dharwad and Cuddapah rock systems of peninsular India
        • Most of it is found in states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh
        • In western section, major concentration is in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa
      • Magnetite
        • Second best ore, with metallic content varying from 60-70%
        • These have magnetic quality, and occur in Dharwad and Cuddapah systems
        • Most reserves are found in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu and Kerala
      • Limonite
        • These are inferior ores, which contain 40-60% iron metal
        • These are found in Raniganj coal field, Garhal in Uttarakhand, Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh and Kangra valley of Himachal Pradesh
      • Siderite
        • These contain concentration less than 40%
        • It contains many impurities and hence mining not economically viable
      • Reserves
        • Haematite and Magnetite are two most important iron ores in India
        • About 97% of magnetite ore resources are located in four states of Karnataka(73%), Andhra Pradesh(14%), Rajasthan(5%) and Tamilnadu(4.9%)
        • Major source of Haematite are located in Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh
      • Production and distribution
        • India is the 4th largest world producer ofiron ore
        • The major iron ore belts in India are listed below:
        • Odisha-Jharkhand belt
        • Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur belt in Chattisgarh
        • Ballari-Chitradurga-Chikkamagaluru-Tumakuru belt in Karnataka
        • Maharashtra-Goa belt
  • Orissa is the largest producer of Iron ore in India. Orissa accounts for over half of India’s iron ore production, produced 120 million tonnes during the 2019/2020 year.
  1. Manganese
    • It is an important mineral for making iron and steel; and it acts as a basic raw material for manufacturing alloys
    • India has second largest manganese ore reserves in the world after Zimbabwe
    • The total Manganese ores are distributed in Odisha(44%), Karnataka(22%), Madhya Pradesh(13%), Maharashtra(8%), Andhra Pradesh(4%) and Jharkhand & goa(3% each),
    • India is fifth largest producer of manganese ore after Brazil, Gabon, South Africa and Australia
    • Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are the major Manganese producing states
    • Over 4/5th of total production is consumed within the country, and less than 1/5th is exported
  2. Copper
    • Copper ore is found in ancient as well as in younger rock formations and occurs as veins, as dissemination and as bedded deposits
    • Mining for copper is a costly affair, as most ores contain a small percentage of the metal
    • Against the international average of metal content(in the ore) of 2.5%, Indian Ore grade averages less than 1%
    • Rajasthan has around 50% of total copper ore in the country; followed by Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand
    • The rest are accounted for by Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim, Tamilnadu, Uttarakhand and West Bengal
    • When it comes to production, Madhya Pradesh is the largest producer of copper in India, followed by Rajasthan
    • The production of copper ore in the country always falls short of our requirements and India has to import copper from other countries; of which the major supply comes from USA, Canada, Zimbabwe, Japan and Mexico
  1. Nickel
    • It doesn’t occur free in nature and is found in association with copper
    • The important occurrences of Nickiliferous limonite are found in Jajapur district of Odisha
      • Nickel is found in Sulphide form in Jharkhand
      • Other important occurrences of Nickel are in Karnataka, Kerala and Rajasthan
    • About 92% of resources of Nickel are present in Odisha
      • Rest are distributed in Jharkhand, Nagaland and Karnataka
  1. Lead and Zinc
    • Lead is a widely used metal due to its malleability, softness, heaviness and bad heat conductivity
      • It doesn’t occur freely in nature, rather it occurs as a cubic sulphide known as galena
      • Galena is found in veins in limestones, calcareous slates and sandstones
    • Zinc is a mixed ore containing lead and zinc and is found in veins in association with galena and other sulphide ores
    • Rajasthan is endowed with the largest resources of lead-zinc ore, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra
    • Resources are also established in Gujarat, Meghalaya, Odisha, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and West Bengal
    • Almost entire production comes from Rajasthan
  2. Bauxite
    • This is an important ore for making Aluminium
    • Among states, Odisha accounts for 52% of country’s resources of bauxite followed by Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, Madhya pradesh and Jharkhand
    • When it comes to production, Odisha is the largest producer followed by Chattisgarh
  3. Gold
    • It is a valuable metal, used for making ornaments and is an international currency due to universal use
    • In term of metal content, Karnataka has the highest reserves followed by Rajasthan, reserves followed by Rajasthan, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand
    • In terms of production, Karnataka is the largest producer followed by Andhra Pradesh
    • Apart from the gold mines in the above mentioned areas, some gold is collected from the sands and gravels of several rivers
      • Such deposits are called placer deposits
    • Alluvial gold is obtained from sands of Subarnarekha, and other rivers in Kerala
  4. Silver
    • The chief ore mineral of silver are agentine, stephanite, pyargyrite
    • It is also found mixed with several other metals such as copper, lead, gold, zinc, etc
    • The main production comes from Zawar mines in Udaipur district of Rajasthan
    • Some silver is produced in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh as well

 

 

 

  1. Mica
    • Its insulating properties, have made it a valuable mineral in electrical and electronics industry
    • Major mica bearing ores occur in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Rajasthan
    • Andhra Pradesh leads with 41% share in country’s mica resources followed by Rajasthan, Odisha, Maharashtra, Bihar and Jharkhand
    • India has monopoly in the production of mica, producing about 60% of world’s total production
    • Andhra Pradesh is the largest Mica producing state of India, followed by Rajasthan and Jharkhand
    • India is not only the largest producer but also the largest exporter of mica in the world
  1. Limestone
    • This is associated with rocks composed of either calcium carbonate
    • They are of sedimentary origin, and exist in almost all geological sequences from pre-cambrian to recent except in Gondwana
    • Karnataka is the leading state having 28% of total resources, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Meghalaya and Chhattisgarh
    • Over three-fourths of the total limestone of India is produced by six states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamilnadu and Karnataka
  2. Dolomite
    • Limestone with more than 10% of magnesium is called dolomite
    • This resource is distributed in states of Madhya Pradesh(29%), Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Odisha, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra
    • Chhattisgarh is the largest dolomite producing state of India, and it contributes more than 30% of total production of the country
    • The economic uses of Dolomite are chiefly Metallurgical; as refractories, as flux in blast furnaces
  3. Asbestos
    • This has great commercial value due to its fibrous structure, capacity to be fragmented to filaments and great tensile strength
    • Two sates of Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh produce almost the whole of asbestos in India; along with minor production from Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Nagaland
  4. Kyanite
    • This occurs in metamorphic aluminous rocks and is used in metallurgical, ceramic, refractory, electrical, glass and cement industries
    • India has the largest deposit of Kyanite in the world
    • Statewise, the share of Andhra Pradesh alone is more than 78% of the resources, followed by Karnataka(13%) and Jharkhand(6%)
      • Remaining 3% resources are in Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu and West Bengal
    • Jharkhand is the largest producer of kyanite, followed by Maharashtra
  5. Gypsum
    • It is a hydrated sulphate of calcium, which occurs as white opaque or transparent mineral in beds, in sedimentary formations such as limestones, sandstones and shales
    • It is mainly used in making ammonia sulphate fertiliser and in cement industry
      • It is used to make plaster of Paris and moulds in ceramic industry
    • Of the states, Rajasthan accounts for 81% resources and Jammu & Kashmir 14% of resources
      • The remaining 5% resources are in Tamilnadu, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh
    • Rajasthan is the largest producer of gypsum in India, followed by Tamilnadu and Jammu & Kashmir
  6. Diamonds
    • These are widely used for ornaments and for polishing the surface metals, minerals and gem cutting
    • The most important industrial use of diamonds is in cutting edges of drills used for exploration and mining of minerals
    • The main diamond bearing areas are Panna belt in Madhya Pradesh, Anantpur district in Andhra Pradesh
    • New fields discovered recently include the Raichur-gulbarga belt in Karnataka
  7. Atomic Minerals
    • Uranium and Thorium are main atomic minerals
    • In India, the Atomic Mineral Directorate(AMD) set-up under the Department of Atomic Energy, is responsible for geological exploration of deposits of Uranium, Thorium
      • These minerals provide necessary base for nuclear Industry
    • Uranium deposits in India are found in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Meghalaya
    • Study of samples of magnetic rocks from Nubra-Shyok valley in Ladakh has found Uranium and Thorium
      • The study says that the Uranium found in these rocks is exceptionally high, when compared with 0.1% or even less in ores present elsewhere in the country
    • The Monazite sands also contain Uranium deposits, and these occur on east & west coasts and in some places in Bihar
      • The largest concentration of Monazite sand is on the Kerala coast
    • Kerala, Jharkhand, Bihar, Tamil nadu and Rajasthan are the main producers of Thorium in India
  8. Salt
    • Salt is obtained from sea water, brine springs, wells and salt pans in lakes and from rocks
    • Rock salt is taken out in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh and in Gujarat
    • Sea brine is source of salt in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu
    • Gujarat coast produces nearly half of our salt
  • The history of geological formation, varied topography, spatial rainfall distribution have resulted in emergence of well-defined mineral belts in India, which can be divided as:
    1. The North-Eastern Peninsular Belt
      • This belt comprises of Chhota Nagpur Plateau and Odisha plateau in the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha
      • This is the richest mineral belt of India, which contains large quantities of coal, iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, copper, kyanite, chromite, etc.
      • The Chhota Nagpur Plateau is known as the mineral heart land of India
    2. Central Belt
      • This belt encompasses parts of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra; and is the second largest mineral belt of India
      • Large deposits of manganese, bauxite, limestone, marble, coal, gems, mica, iron ore, graphite are found here
    3. The southern Belt
      • It covers mostly the Karnataka plateau, but extends over the contiguous Tamilnadu upland
      • It has deposits of ferrous minerals; but lacks coal deposits except lignite at Neyveli
    4. The South-Western Belt
      • Western Karnataka and Goa are included in this belt
      • It has deposits of iron ore, garnet and clay
    5. The North-Western Belt
      • This belt extends along the Aravalli in Rajasthan and in adjoining parts of Gujarat
      • This belt holds promise for mining of non-ferrous metals such as copper, lead, zinc, along with uranium, mica, beryllium and precious stones
    6. Other belts
      • Outside of the main belts described above, minerals in some other parts of the country are scattered as well
      • Assam has reserved of petroleum and lignite
      • The Himalayan region has some deposits of coal, bauxite, copper, etc.
      • Mumbai High and Godavari Basin have reserves of oil and natural gas
      • With advancement of technology, there is potential to exploit the sea bed on the continental shelf of India as well

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