MINERALS AND

ENERGY RESOURCES
NOTES
The earth’s crust is made up of different minerals embedded in the rocks.
Various metals are extracted from these minerals after proper refinement.
Minerals are an indispensable part of our lives. Almost everything we use, from a tiny pin
to a towering building or a big ship, all are made from minerals.
Definition of Mineral: Geologists define mineral as a “homogeneous, naturally occurring
substance with a definable internal structure.” They have physical and chemical properties
by which they can be identified.
Rocks are combinations or aggregates of minerals in varying proportions. Some rocks
consist of a single mineral, e.g., limestone while most rocks consist of several minerals.
Kuch Kaam Ki Baat (K B) :3
WHERE ARE THESE MINERALS FOUND?
Minerals are usually found in “ores”. The term ore is used to describe an
accumulation of any mineral mixed with other elements.
They are then extracted from these ores.
The economic activity of extraction of minerals from below the earth's surface is
called mining.
Minerals generally occur in these forms:
Veins and lodes: In igneous and metamorphic rocks, minerals may occur in the
cracks, faults or joints by getting solidified in them. The smaller occurrences are
called veins and the larger lodes, e.g., metallic minerals like tin, copper, zinc and
lead, etc. are found in lodes and veins.
In sedimentary rocks minerals occur in beds or layers. They are formed as a result
of deposition, accumulation and concentration in horizontal strata. Some
sedimentary minerals are formed as a result of evaporation, especially in arid
regions, e.g., gypsum, potash and salt.
Another mode of formation involves decomposition of surface rocks and the
removal of soluble contents, leaving a residual mass of weathered material
containing ores. Bauxite is formed this way.
Alluvial deposits: Certain minerals occur as alluvial deposits in
sands of valley floors and the base of hills, e.g., gold, silver, tin and
platinum. T Ocean waters contain vast quantities of minerals, e.g.,
common salt, magnesium and bromide are largely derived from the ocean
waters. The ocean beds are rich in manganese nodules.

PLACES IN INDIA WHERE MINERALS ARE FOUND:

India is fortunate to have fairly rich and varied mineral resources.
Peninsular Plateau: Peninsular rocks contain most of the reserves of coal,
metallic minerals, mica non ferrous mineral and non-metallic minerals.
Gujarat and Assam: Sedimentary rocks in Gujarat and Assam have most of
the petroleum deposits.
Rajasthan: It has reserves of many non-ferrous minerals.
Northern Plains: There is very little or no economic minerals in vast alluvial
plains of North India.
Classification of Minerals

METALLIC MINERALS
Minerals containing metals.
[ I ] Ferrous Minerals:
The metallic minerals having iron content are called Ferrous Minerals
Ferrous minerals account for about 3/4th of the total value of the production of
metallic minerals.
They provide a strong base for the development of metallurgical industries Examples
of Ferrous minerals are Iron Ore and Manganese :

Iron Ore:
Iron ore is the basic mineral and the backbone of industrial development India is
rich in good quality iron ores.
Magnetite is the finest iron ore with a very high content of iron up to 70%.
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%) The major
iron ore belts in India are: Odisha-Jharkhand belt
Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur belt
Ballari - Chitradurga - ChikkamagaluruTumakuru belt in Karnataka
Maharashtra-Goa
Manganese: Manganese is mainly used in the manufacturing of steel and
ferromanganese 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.

[ II ] Non-Ferrous Minerals:
The metallic minerals not having iron content are called Non-Ferrous Minerals.
India’s reserves and production of nonferrous minerals is not very satisfactory. i.e.
India has only a few reserves for non-ferrous minerals.
Examples are Copper and Bauxite :
Copper:
Copper is malleable, ductile and a good conductor, and 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 is extracted and later alumina
becomes aluminium.
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.

NON-METALLIC MINERALS
Mica:
It is made up of a series of plates or leaves.
It splits easily into such thin sheets that if thousand of them are put together, it
makes only a few centimeters thick.
Mica is indispensable for electric and electronic industry because it has
excellent di-electric strength, Low power loss factor, Insulating properties and
Resistance to high voltage.
It's deposits are found in the northern edge of Chhota Nagpur Plateau.
Jharkhand is the leading producer. The important mica producing belt here is
Koderma-Gaya-Hazaribagh.
Limestone:
It is a type of rock mineral found in sedimentary rocks.
It is composed of calcium carbonates and magnesium carbonates.
It is a basic raw material for manufacturing of cement.
The most important bauxite deposits are found in Karnataka and Andhra
Pradesh.

Kuch Kaam Ki Baat (K B) :3

HAZARDS OF MINING/ 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 water sources in the region get contaminated due to mining.
The risk of collapsing mine roofs, inundation and fires in coalmines are a
constant threat to miners.
Dumping of waste and slurry leads to degradation of land, soil, and increase
in stream and river pollution.

Conservation of Minerals
Conservation of minerals is necessary because:
1.The formation of minerals takes a long geological period of millions of years.
2.They are finite in nature, non-renewable and exhaustible.
 3.The rate of replenishment of minerals is infinitely small in comparison to rate of
consumption.
4.They have to be preserved for our future generations.

We should use minerals in a planned and sustainable manner. Improved technologies

need to be evolved to allow use of low grade ores at low cost.

Energy Resources
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).
They take million of years to form again; thus, they are finite and nonrenewable.
Non-conventional sources include solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, biogas and atomic
energy.
They are freely available; thus re renewable.

CONVENTIONAL SOURCES OF ENERGY

[ I ] COAL:
In India, coal is the most abundantly available fossil fuel.
It is used for power generation, to supply energy for industrial and domestic needs.
It can easily be converted into other forms of energy—electricity, gas, oil, etc.
It is an indispensable raw material for iron and steel industry.
Four types of coal and their characteristics:
Anthracite- 1. It is the highest quality hard coal; 2. It contains more than 80%
carbon content. It gives less smoke. ,
Bituminous- 1. It is the most popular coal in commercial use and has 60-80%
carbon content; 2. Metallurgical coal is high grade bituminous coal and is of
special value for smelting iron in blast furnaces.
Lignite- 1. It is a low grade brown coal; 2. It is soft with high moisture content.
The main lignite reserve is Neyveli in Tamil Nadu.
Peat- 1. It has a low carbon and high moisture content; 2. It has low heating
capacity and gives lot of smoke on burning.
Occurrence of coal:
Gondwana Coal Belt—A little over 200 million years in age. Mainly metallurgical
coal is found in: (a) Damodar Valley Belt (West Bengal, Jharkhand) which
contains important coal mines of Jharia, Raniganj and Bokaro; (b) The Godavari
Valley Belt; (c) The Mahanadi Valley Belt; and (d) Wardha Valley Belt.
Tertiary coal deposits are only about 55 million years old, i.e., they are
comparatively younger. They occur in North-Eastern States, namely: (a) Assam
(b) Meghalaya, (c) Arunachal Pradesh and (d) Nagaland.
[ II ] PETROLEUM:
Petroleum or mineral oil is the next major energy source in India after coal It
can be easily trans-ported by pipelines and does not leave any residue.
It provides fuel for heat and light. It provides lubricants for machinery. It
provides raw material for a number of manufacturing industries
Occurrence of Petrol in India:
Most of the petroleum occurrences in India are associated with anticlines and
fault traps in the rock formations of the tertiary age.
In regions of folding anticlines it occurs where oil is trapped in the crest of the
upfold.
The oil bearing layer is porous limestone or sandstone through which oil may
flow.
Petroleum is also found in fault traps between porous and non-porous rocks.
Mumbai High—It is an offshore oilfield and is the richest oilfield of India. Its
share is about 63% of India’s petroleum production. Gujarat produces 18% and
Assam 16%.

[ III ] NATURAL GAS:

It is a clean energy resource as it gives out very little carbon and pollutants on
burning.
Natural Gas is found with petroleum deposits and is released when crude oil is
brought to the surface.
It can be used as a domestic and industrial fuel, as cooking fuel (PNG) and as
transport fuel (CNG).
The offshore region of the Krishna- Godavari basin has the largest amount of natural
gas currently available in India.
It is also available in Mumbai high, Andaman and Nicobar islands.

[ III ] ELECTRICITY:
Electricity is generated mainly in two ways:
Non-conventionally, by running water which drives hydro turbines to generate
hydro electricity; and
Conventionally, by burning other fuels such as coal, petroleum and natural gas
to drive turbines to produce thermal electricity.
NON-CONVENTIONAL SOURCES OF ENERGY
[ I ] NUCLEAR ENERGY:
Nuclear energy is obtained by altering the structure of atom.
When the structure of an atom is altered, too much energy is released in the form
of heat. This heat is utilised to generate electric power.
Uranium and Thorium are used for generating atomic power.
These minerals are available in Jharkhand, Aravalli ranges of Rajasthan.

[ II ] SOLAR ENERGY:
India is a tropical country, it has enormous possibilities of solar energy. It can help
in minimizing the dependence on firewood and animal dung cakes in rural areas.
 This will also help in conservation of fossil fuels.
The largest solar plant of India is located at Madhapur near Bhuj.

[ III ] WIND POWER:

India has great potential of wind power
Wind is utilised to rotate large windmills to generate energy.
The largest wind farm cluster is located in Tamil Nadu from Nagarcoil to Madurai.

[ IV ] BIOGAS:
Shrubs, farm waste, animal and human waste are used to produce biogas for
domestic consumption in rural areas.
It is more efficient than kerosene, dung cake and charcoal.
Biogas plants can be set up at municipal, cooperative and individual levels. The
plants using cattle dung are known as ‘Gobar gas plants’ in rural India.

[ V ] TIDAL ENERGY:
Dams are built across inlets. The water flows into the inlet during high tide and gets
trapped when the gate is closed.
Once the tide recedes, the floodgates are opened so that water can flow back to the
sea.
The flow of water is used to run the turbine to generate electricity. A 900
mw tidal energy power plant is set up by the National Hydropower
Corporation in the Gulf of Kuchchh in Gujarat.

[ VI ] GEO THERMAL ENERGY:

We know that the inside of the earth is very hot. At some places, this heat is
released on the surface through fissures.
Groundwater in such areas becomes hot and rises up in the form of steam. This
steam is used to drive turbines.
Two geo thermal energy projects have been setup in India- the Parvati valley near
Manikam in Himachal Pradesh and the Puga valley in Ladakh.
Conservation of Energy Resource
Energy is a basic requirement for economic development. Ways to conserve Energy
Resources are:
Using more of public transport system instead of individual vehicles.
Switching off electrical devices when not in use, using power saving devices.
Using non-conventional sources of energy such as solar energy, wind energy, etc.
Getting the power equipment regularly checked to detect damages and leakages.