Minerals and Energy Resources Flashcards
What are minerals
Geologists define minerals as homogenous naturally occurring substance with a definable internal structure.
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.
Majorly produced in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Major iron ore belts in India
•Odisha-Jharkhand belt: In Odisha high grade hematite ore is found in Badampahar mines in the Mayurbhanj and Kendujhar districts. In the adjoining Singbhum district of Jharkhand haematite iron ore is mined in Gua and Noamundi.
•Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur belt lies in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Very high grade hematites are found in the famous Bailadila range of hills in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh. The range of hills comprise of 14 deposits of super high grade hematite iron ore. It has the best physical properties needed for steel making. Iron ore from these mines is exported to Japan and South Korea via Vishakhapatnam port.
• Ballari-Chitradurga-Chikkamagaluru-Tumakuru belt in Karnataka has large reserves of iron ore. The Kudremukh mines located in the Western Ghats of Karnataka are a 100 per cent export unit. Kudremukh deposits are known to be one of the largest in the world. The ore is transported as slurry through a pipeline to a port near Mangaluru
• Maharashtra-Goa belt includes the state of Goa and Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. Though, the ores are not of very high quality, yet they are efficiently exploited. Iron ore is exported through Marmagao port.
How do minerals occur
(i) 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. In most cases, they are formed when minerals in liquid/ molten and gaseous forms are forced upward through cavities towards the earth’s surface. They cool and solidify as they rise. Major metallic minerals like tin, copper, zinc and lead etc. are obtained from veins and lodes.
(ii) In sedimentary rocks- a number of minerals occur in beds or layers. They have been formed as a result of deposition, accumulation and concentration in horizontal strata. Coal and some forms of iron ore have been concentrated as a result of long periods under great heat and pressure. Another group of sedimentary minerals include gypsum, potash salt and sodium salt. These are formed as a result of evaporation especially in arid regions.
(iii) Another mode of formation involves the decomposition of surface rocks, and the removal of soluble constituents, leaving a residual mass of weathered material containing ores. Bauxite is formed this way
(iv) Certain minerals may occur as alluvial deposits in sands of valley floors and the base of hills. These deposits are called ‘placer deposits’ and generally contain minerals, which are not corroded by water. Gold, silver, tin and platinum are most important among such minerals.
(v) The ocean waters contain vast quantities of minerals, but most of these are too widely diffused to be of economic significance. However, common salt, magnesium and bromine are largely derived from ocean waters. The ocean beds, too, are rich in manganese nodules.
Iron ore
Iron ore 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 per cent.
It has excellent magnetic qualities, especially valuable in the electrical industry.
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 per cent).
Produced in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Jharkhand.
What are rocks
Rocks are combinations of homogenous substances called minerals.
Copper
India is critically deficient in the reserve and production of copper.
Being malleable, ductile and a good conductor, 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 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 found in the Amarkantak plateau, Maikal hills and the plateau region of Bilaspur-Katni.
Odisha was the largest bauxite producing state in India. Panchpatmali deposits in Koraput district are the most important bauxite deposits in the state.
Mica (non metallic)
It 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 area is around Ajmer. Nellore mica belt of Andhra Pradesh is also an important producer in the country.
Limestone (rock minerals)
Limestone is found in association with rocks composed of calcium carbonates or calcium and magnesium carbonates.
It is found in sedimentary rocks of most geological formations.
Limestone is the basic raw material for the cement industry and essential for smelting iron ore in the blast furnace.
Coal
Fossil fuel which is abundantly found in India.
a) Uses – Power generation, supply energy to industries as well as domestic purposes.
b) Formed – Due to compression of plant material over millions of years.
c) Types – 4 types
i) Peat – Decaying plants in swamps produce peat. It has low carbon, high moisture and low heating capacity.
ii) Lignite – is low grade brown coal, it is soft and has high moisture content. Main reserve is in Neyvelli in Tamil Nadu.
iii) Bituminous - Coal buried deep and subject to high temperature. It is a metallurgical coal and is used in blast furnace.
iv) Anthracite - Is the highest quality hard coal.
Areas: In India it occurs in two rock series of two main geological ages namely Gondwana rocks 200 million yrs old ( Jharia, Raniganj, Bokaro) and Tertiary rocks 55 million yrs old ( North eastern states- assam, Arunachal Pradesh)
(d) Coal is bulky which loses weight on use as it is reduced to ash. Therefore, heavy industries and thermal power stations are located on or near the coal fields.
Firewood/ cow dung cakes
70% of energy requirement of rural household is met by these two.
Continuation of these two is becoming difficult due to decrease in forest cover and using cow dung is also discouraged because it consumes most valuable manure which could be used in agriculture.
Petroleum / mineral oil
a) It provides fuel for heat and lighting, lubricants for machinery and raw material for manufacturing industries. Petroleum refineries are the nodal industry for synthetic textile.
b) It mainly occurred in India in anticlines and fault lines in rock formation of the tertiary age. In regions of folding, anticlines or domes, it occurs where oil is trapped in the crest of the upfold. The oil bearing layer is a porous limestone or sandstone through which oil may flow. The oil is prevented from rising or sinking by intervening non-porous layers. It is also found in traps between the porous and non porous layer of rocks. Gas, being lighter usually occurs above the oil.
c) Mumbai High, Gujarat and Assam are major petroleum production areas in India.
d) Ankeleshwar is the most important field of Gujarat. Assam is the oldest oil producing state of India. Digboi, Naharkatiya and Moran-Hugrijan are the important oil fields in the state.
Natural Gas
a) Natural Gas is found with petroleum deposits and is released when crude oil is brought to the surface.
b) Uses : . It can be used as a domestic and industrial fuel. It is used as fuel in power sector to generate electricity, for heating purpose in industries, as raw material in chemical, petrochemical and fertilizer industries, as transport fuel and as cooking fuel.
c) With the expansion of gas 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.
d) India’s major gas reserves are found in the Mumbai High and allied fields along the west coast which are supplemented by finds in the Cambay basin. Along the East Coast, new reserves of natural gas have been discovered in the Krishna-Godavari basin.
e) The first 1,700 KM long Hazira-VijaipurJagdishpur (HVJ) cross country gas pipeline, constructed by GAIL (India), linked Mumbai High and Bassein gas fields with various fertilizer, power and industrial complexes in western and northen India.
f) This artery provided impetus to Indian gas market development. Overall, India’s gas infrastructure has expanded over ten times from 1,700 KM to 18,500 KM of cross-country pipelines and is expected to soon reach over 34, 000 KM as Gas Grid by linking all gas sources and consuming markets across the country including North Eastern states.
Electricity
its percapita consumption is considered as an index of development.
Electricity is generated mainly in two ways: by running water which drives hydro turbines to generate hydro electricity; and by burning other fuels such as coal, petroleum and natural gas to drive turbines to produce thermal power. Once generated the electricity is exactly the same.
Hydro electricity is generated by fast flowing water, which is a renewable resource. India has a number of multi-purpose projects like the Bhakra Nangal, Damodar Valley corporation, the Kopili Hydel Project etc. producing hydroelectric power.
Thermal electricity is generated by using coal, petroleum and natural gas. The thermal power stations use non-renewable fossil fuels for generating electricity.
