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Minerals and Energy Resources

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20 views4 pages

Minerals and Energy Resources

Uploaded by

Eva
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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—----------------------Minerals and energy resources—------------------

Minerals: homogenous, naturally occurring substance with a definable internal structure.


Mode of occurrence:
1. Joints, fractures, fissures, and cracks of igneous and metamorphic rocks.
2. In beds or layers in sedimentary rocks
3. Breakdown of surface rocks and alluvial deposits in sand at foot of hills and valleys.
4, in ocean.

Ferrous minerals: three-fourths of the total value of the production of metallic minerals.
Iron Ore
● India is endowed with fairly abundant resources of iron ore.
● Magnetite is the finest iron ore with a very high content of iron, up to 70%. It has
excellent magnetic qualities.
● Hematite ore is the most important industrial iron ore. It contains 50 to 60% iron.
The major iron ore belts in India are:
● Odisha-Jharkhand belt
● Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur belt
● Ballari-Chitradurga-Chikkamagaluru-Tumakuru belt
● Maharashtra-Goa belt

Manganese
● It is mainly used in the manufacturing of steel and ferromanganese alloy.
● Nearly 10 kg of manganese is required to manufacture 1 tonne of steel.
● It is also used in manufacturing bleaching powder, insecticides, and paints.

Non-Ferrous Minerals
Non-ferrous minerals include copper, bauxite, lead, zinc and gold. These minerals play a vital role in
several metallurgical, engineering and electrical industries.
Copper
● A malleable, ductile and good conductor of heat and electricity.
● Mainly used in electrical cables, electronics and chemical industries.
● The Balaghat mines in Madhya Pradesh, the Khetri mines in Rajasthan and the
Singhbhum district of Jharkhand are leading producers of copper.
Bauxite
● Bauxite deposits are formed by the decomposition of a wide variety of rocks rich in
aluminum silicates.
● Aluminium is obtained from bauxite. Aluminium has good conductivity and great
malleability.
● Deposits are mainly found in the Amarkantak plateau, Maikal hills and the plateau region
of Bilaspur-Katni.
Non-Metallic Minerals
● Mica is a mineral made up of a series of plates or leaves. It can be clear, black, green, red,
yellow or brown.
● Mica is the most indispensable mineral used in the electric and electronic industries.
● It has excellent di-electric strength, low power loss factor, insulating properties and
resistance to high voltage.
● Mica deposits are found on the northern edge of the Chota Nagpur plateau.
Rock Minerals
● Limestone is found in rocks composed of calcium carbonates or calcium and magnesium
carbonates.
● It is the basic raw material for the cement industry and essential for smelting iron ore in
the blast furnace.

Conservation of Minerals
One non-renewable resource is mineral wealth. The creation and concentration of minerals take thousands
of years.
Mineral reserves are depleted as ores are extracted further. Therefore, it’s critical to take the required
actions to enable the planned and sustainable use of mineral resources.

Energy Resources
Energy resources can be classified as
● Conventional Sources: These includes firewood, cattle dung cake, coal, petroleum,
natural gas, and electricity.
● Non-Conventional Sources: These includes solar, wind, tidal, geothermal, biogas and
atomic energy.
Let us discuss each of them in detail.

Conventional Sources of Energy


Coal:
● It is the most abundantly available fossil fuel.
● It is used for power generation, to supply energy to the industry as well as for domestic
needs.
● 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.
● Anthracite is the highest quality of hard coal.
● Jharia, Raniganj, and Bokaro are important coalfields.
Petroleum
● It provides fuel for heat and lighting, lubricants for machinery and raw materials for a
number of manufacturing industries.
● Petroleum refineries act as a “nodal industry” for synthetic textile, fertilizer and numerous
chemical industries.
● Mumbai High, Gujarat and Assam are major petroleum production areas in India.
Natural Gas
Natural gas is an important clean energy resource. It is considered an environment-friendly fuel.
The power and fertilizer industries are the key users of natural gas.
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is used in vehicles to replace liquid fuels.
Large reserves of natural gas have been discovered in the Krishna-Godavari basin.

Electricity
Electricity is generated mainly in 2 ways:
1. By running water which drives hydro turbines to generate Hydro Electricity. It is a renewable
resource of energy. India has a number of multi-purpose projects like the Bhakra Nangal,
Damodar Valley Corporation, the Kopili Hydel Project.
2. By burning other fuels such as coal, petroleum and natural gas to drive turbines to produce
Thermal Power. It uses non-renewable fossil fuels for generating electricity.

Non-Conventional Sources of Energy


Renewable energy sources like solar energy, wind, tide, biomass and energy from waste material are
called Non-Conventional Energy Sources. Let’s discuss them one by one.

Nuclear or Atomic Energy


Nuclear Energy is obtained by altering the structure of atoms. Uranium and Thorium are used for
generating atomic or nuclear power.

Solar Energy
Solar energy is produced by the Sun’s light. Photovoltaic technology converts sunlight directly into
electricity.

Wind Power
Wind Energy or Power is the use of wind to generate electricity. Wind turbines are used for this purpose.
The largest wind farm cluster is located in Tamil Nadu from Nagercoil to Madurai.

Biogas
One kind of biofuel that is naturally produced when organic waste breaks down is called biogas. The most
effective way to use cow dung is to create biogas. It raises the manure’s quality.

Tidal Energy
Tidal energy is the form of hydropower that converts the energy obtained from tides into useful forms of
power, mainly electricity.
In India, the Gulf of Khambhat, the Gulf of Kachchh in Gujarat on the western coast and the Gangetic
Delta in the Sunderban regions of West Bengal provide ideal conditions for utilising tidal energy.

Geo-Thermal Energy
Geo-thermal energy is the term used to describe the process of producing heat and power from the earth’s
interior. Geothermal energy is extracted in India from Puga Valley in Ladakh and Parvati Valley in
Manikarn in Himachal Pradesh.

Conservation of Energy Resources


Energy inputs are required by all areas of the national economy, including agriculture, industry,
transportation, commerce, and domestic use. Creating a sustainable course for energy development is
important.
The following are some methods that each of us may help conserve 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

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