MINERALS AND ENERGY RESOURCES

What is a Mineral? Mineral is defined as a “homogenous, naturally occurring

substance with a definable internal structure.” Minerals are found in varied forms in
nature, ranging from the hardest diamond to the softest talc. Rocks are combinations
of homogeneous substances called minerals.

Mining- The extraction of useful and commercially viable minerals by digging down
the earth is called mining.
• Mining is a hazards industry as the resources are dug out from the interior of the
earth by making tunnels or pit. During this process risk to the life of the workers are
very high due to leakage of poisonous gas or fires or flooding of water into the mine
or even collapsing of mine roofs. Along with that workers have also to face health
issues.
Energy Resources
 Resources which are used as power to run industries are called energy resources.
Example: Fuel minerals like coal, petroleum, natural gas, uranium and electricity.
Energy resources can be classified into conventional and non-conventional sources.
Conventional: It includes firewood, cattle dung cake, coal, petroleum, natural gas
and electricity.
Non-conventional: It includes solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, biogas and atomic
energy. They are inexhaustible and renewable.
Coal
 Coal is a fossil fuel
 It is used for power generation in thermal power plants.
 It is bulky. So many coal based industries are located near coalfields.
 Coal is formed due the compression of plant material over millions of years.
Types of Coal
 Peat: It has a low carbon and high moisture contents and low heating capacity.
 Lignite: It is a low grade brown coal, which is soft with high moisture content.
Major lignite reserves are in Neyveli in Tamil Nadu and are used for generation of
electricity.
 Bituminous: It is has been buried deep and subjected to increased temperatures
It is the most popular coal in commercial use.
High grade bituminous coal is used for smelting iron in blast furnaces
 Anthracite: It is the highest quality hard coal.
 Major Coalfields: Damodar valley (West Bengal-Jharkhand) The Godavari,
Mahanadi, Son, and Wardha valley, Jharia, Raniganj, Bokaro, Karanpura,
Chandrapura, Giridih, Deogargh, Korba, Singrauli, Talcher are important coalfields.
Petroleum
 Petroleum is also known as mineral oil or liquid gold.
 It is the second energy source in India after coal.
 It provides fuel for heating and lighting
 It provides lubricants for machinery
 It provides raw materials for a number of manufacturing industries
 Petroleum refineries act as a “nodal industry” for synthetic textile, fertilizer
industries and chemical industries.
 In India most of the petroleum occurrences are associated with anticlines and fault
traps in the rock formations of the tertiary age.
 63 % of India’s petroleum production is from Mumbai High
 18 % from Gujarat and 16 % from Assam
 Major oil fields of India are :
Mumbai High - Maharastra
Ankeleshwar - Gujarat
Digboi, - Assam
Naharkatiya - Assam
Moran-Hugrijan - Assam
Natural Gas
 It is a clean energy resource
 It is environment friendly fuel because of its low carbon dioxide emissions
 It is also used as a raw material in petrochemical industry
 Use of CNG for vehicles is gaining wide popularity in the country.
Reserves of natural gas:
Krishna - Godavari Basin
Mumbai High - Gulf of Cambay
Andaman and Nicobar islands
Major Gas Pipeline:
 Hazira-Vijaipur – Jagdishpur (HVJ) pipelines cross country gas pipeline links
Mumbai High and Bassien with the fertilizer, power and industrial complexes in
western and northern India.
Electricity
 In todays life electricity is used for many purposes.
 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
Example: Bhakra Nangal, Damodar Valley Corporation, the
Kopili Hydel Project etc.
 By burning fuels such as coal, petroleum and natural gas to drive turbines to
produce thermal power.
Example: Singrauli, Namrup, Ramagundam, Talcher, Neyveli,etc.
Non-Conventional Sources of Energy
 Why should we promote the use of renewable or non-
conventional source of energy?
 Shortages of fossil fuels have raised uncertainties about the security of energy
supply in future.
 Rising prices of oil and gas has raised uncertainty.
 Increasing use of fossil fuels also causes serious environmental problems.
Nuclear or Atomic Energy
 It is obtained by altering the structure of atoms.
 When alteration is made, much energy is released in the form of heat and this heat
is used to generate electric power.
 Uranium and Thorium are used as fuel which are available in Jharkhand and the
Aravalli ranges of Rajasthan.
 Monazite sands of Kerala is also rich in Thorium.
 Major Nuclear Power Stations of India are: Kalpakkam, Kaiga, Kakrapara,
Kudamkulam, Rawat Bhata, Narora & Tarapore.
Solar Energy
 By using photovoltaic technology solar energy is converted into electricity
 India is a tropical country. There is enormous possibilities of tapping solar energy
 It has minimised the dependence of rural households on firewood and dung cakes
 It contributes to environmental conservation and adequate supply of manure in
agriculture
 India’s largest solar power plant is located in Madhapur near Bhuj in Gujarat.
Wind Power
 Wind energy is utilised to turn huge windmills to generate electricity.
 India has great potential of wind power.
 The largest wind farm cluster is in Tamil Nadu from Nagarcoil to Madurai.
 Other important wind farms are in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala,
Maharashtra and Lakshadweep.
Nagarcoil and Jaisalmer are well known for effective use of
wind energy.
Biogas
 Biogas is produced by the decomposition of organic matters like shrubs, farm
waste, animal and human waste.
 Biogas has higher thermal efficiency in comparison to kerosene or charcoal.
 It is mainly used for domestic consumption in rural areas.
 The plants using cattle dung are known as ‘Gobar gas plants’.
 It provides twin benefits to the farmer in the form of energy and manure.
 It also prevents the loss of trees due to the burning of fuel wood.
Tidal Energy
 What is tidal energy?
 Tidal energy is the energy generated by the movement of oceanic tides.
 Do you know how tidal energy is generated?
 During high tide when water flows into the inlet and gets trapped then the gate is
closed. After the tide falls outside, the water retained by the floodgate flows back to
the sea through a pipe that is fitted with a power-generating turbine. Thus electricity is
generated.
Tidal Energy Generating Centers: Gulf of Khambhat in Gujarat, Gulf of
Kachchh in Gujarat Gangetic delta in Sunderban regions of West Bengal
Geo Thermal Energy
 It refers to the heat and electricity produced by using the heat from the interior of
the Earth.
 How Geo Thermal Energy is generated?
 The Earth grows progressively hotter with increasing depth. Groundwater in such
areas absorbs heat from the rocks and becomes hot. When it rises to the earth’s
surface in the form of hot spring, it turns into steam. This steam is used to drive
turbines and thus electricity is generated.
Areas of Geo Thermal Energy generation in India:
Parvati valley near Manikarn in Himachal Pradesh, Puga Valley, Ladakh
Conservation of Energy Resources Every sector of the national economy –
agriculture, industry, transport, commercial and domestic – needs inputs of energy.
There is an urgent need to develop a sustainable path for energy development.
Here are some ways that each one of us can contribute to save energy resources:
• 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

Answer the following

1. What are the uses or importance of natural gas as a fuel?
2. Why do we need to conserve mineral resources?
3. Why should we use renewable energy resources?
4. What are the uses of copper? Give distribution of copper in India. Distinguish
between Biogas and Natural Gas.
5. ‘Consumption of energy in all forms has been rising all over the country. There is
an urgent need to develop a sustainable path of energy development and energy
saving.’ Suggest and explain any three measures to solve this burning problem.
6. Highlight the importance of petroleum. Explain the occurrence of petroleum in
India.
7. Explain three characteristics of ‘Odisha-Jharkhand belt.