Minerals : Naturally occuring substance with impurities, specific chemical

composition and distinct physical properties

Ores : Minerals from which metals can be conveniently and economically
extracted

Resources are prerequisite for providing the necessary base for industrial
development in a country. Fortunately, India is endowed with a rich variety of
mineral resources due to its varied geological structure. It possesses more than
hundred minerals, out of which, there are around thirty minerals which have
economic significance. Some of the examples are coal, iron ore, manganese,
bauxite, mica, etc. But the reserves of petroleum and some nonferrous metallic
minerals, especially copper, lead, zinc, tin, graphite are inadequate.

Mineral Resources

• Minerals can be grouped into two on the basis of chemical and physical
properties.
• Metallic and non-metallic

Metallic Minerals
 Metallic minerals are the sources of metals
 Provide a strong base for the development of metallurgical industry.
 Contain Metals in Crude Form
 Iron ore, bauxite etc. produces metal and are included in this category.
 Metallic minerals exhibit a metallic shine or lustre in their appearance.
 Metallic minerals can be further divided into ferrous and non-ferrous
metallic minerals
  Ferrous Minerals
 All those minerals which have iron content are called ferrous minerals.

• Iron ore, manganese and chromites are examples of ferrous minerals.

Ferrous Minerals account for about three-fourth of the total value of the
production of metallic minerals. These minerals provide a strong base for the
development of metallurgical industries, particularly iron, steel and alloys.

India is well-placed in respect of ferrous minerals both in reserves and

production.

Non-ferrous Minerals

Minerals which do not contain iron are known as non ferrous mineral.

Copper, bauxite, etc are non ferrous minerals.

India is poorly endowed with non-ferrous metallic minerals, except bauxite

Non-metallic Minerals

Non-metallic minerals are either organic or inorganic in origin

They do not contain extractable metals in their chemical composition.

Based on their origin, they are further classified into two categories,i.e.,
mineral fuel and other non metallic minerals.

India is endowed with a large number of non-metallic minerals, but only a few
of these are commercially important. They are limestone, dolomite, mica, kyanite,
sillimanite, gypsum and phosphate. These minerals are used in a variety of
industries such as cement, fertilizers, refractories and electrical goods.

Mineral Fuels: Mineral fuels are organic in origin and derived from the buried
animal and plant life such as coal and petroleum. They are also known as fossil
fuels.

Other Non-metallic Minerals: Other non-metallic minerals are inorganic

in origin such as mica, limestone and graphite, etc.

Characteristics of Minerals

Basic characteristics of a mineral are following:

Definite crystalline structure

Definite chemical composition

Naturally occurring
Formed by inorganic processes

Solid

For a rock to be mineral it has to have at least three of these characteristics. Other
characteristics of minerals are:

These are unevenly distributed over space.

There is an inverse relationship in quality and quantity of minerals i.e. good

quality minerals are less in quantity as compared to low quality minerals.

All minerals are exhaustible over time.

Minerals take a long time to develop geologically and they cannot be

replenished immediately at the time of need.

Distribution of Minerals

The distribution of mineral resources in India is uneven. The occurrences of

mineral resources are associated with certain types of geological structure.

Gondwana system is the repository of majority of Coal deposits.

Dharwar and Cuddapah systems contain resources of major metallic minerals

like copper, lead, zinc etc.
Trends in Regional Distribution of Minerals in India

Most of the major mineral resources occur to the east of a line linking
Mangaluru and Kanpur.

Over 97% of coal reserves occur in the valleys of Damodar, Sone, Mahanadi
and Godavari.

Petroleum reserves are located in the sedimentary basins of Assam, Gujarat and
Mumbai High i.e. off-shore region in the Arabian Sea.

New reserves have been located in the Krishna-Godavari and Kaveri basins.
Indian Geography

Vindhyan system contains major non-metallic minerals like limestone,

dolomite,

gypsum, calcium, sulphate etc.

Most of the metallic minerals in India occur in the peninsular plateau region in
the old crystalline rocks.

Major Mineral Regions of India

Although there may be some sporadic occurrences of minerals here and there in
isolated pockets, but they are generally concentrated in three broad belts in India.
North Eastern Plateau Region
 It covers the Chhotanagpur plateau, Orissa plateau and the eastern Andhra
plateau.
 This belt contains rich deposits of a variety of minerals, specially used for
metallurgical industries such as iron ore,coal, manganese, mica, bauxite,
limestone, dolomite etc.
 This region has also rich deposits, coal, along the river valleys of Damodar,
Mahanadi, and Son etc.

This region has also a substantial amount deposit of copper, uranium,

thorium, phosphate etc.

Central Belt

 Jharkhand, WestBengal, aOdisha

 Manganese, Bauxite, Uranium, Lime stone, Marble, Coal, Gems, Mica,
Graphite

Peninsular Belt

Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra Plateau, & Karnataka

Wheels

Ferrous Minerals, Bauxite, Gold, Chromite, Lead, Zinc & Iluminete

South Region
This region extends over the Karnataka plateau and adjoining Tamil Nadu
plateau and is rich in metallic minerals, particularly in iron ore, manganese and
bauxite and in some non-metallic minerals.

All the three gold mines of India are found in this region. However, coal is not
found in this plateau region except Neyveli lignite.

Kerala has deposits of monazite and thorium, bauxite clay. Goa has iron ore
deposits.

North-Western Region
 This belt extends from the gulf of Khambhat in Gujarat to the Aravalli range
in Rajasthan.
 Copper, zinc has been major minerals in this belt.
 Rajasthan is rich in building stones, i.e. sandstone, granite, marble.
 Gypsum and Fuller’s earth deposits are also extensive.
 Dolomite and limestone found in this belt provide raw materials for cement
industry.
 Petroleum and natural gas are principal resources of this belt and other
minerals are small and scattered.

Distribution of Important Minerals

Iron ore
 Most Of iron ore found in the country is of three types:
 Haematite, magnetite and limonite.
 Haematite and magnetite are the most Important iron ores in India.
  Magnetite is the finest iron ore with a very high content of iron up to 70 per
cent
 Indian deposits of Iron Ore belong to the Precambrian Iron Ore Series And
the ore is within banded iron ore formations
 Occurring as massive, laminated, friable and also in Powdery form
 Magnetite - Black Ore
o 72% Metallic Iron
o About 93% magnetite ore deposits Occur in Southern Sector
o Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala & Tamil Nadu
o Karnataka alone Contributes 72% of magnetite deposit in India.
o Found in Dharwar – Cuddapah Rock Systems
 Haematite – Red or Brown
o 60 -70% Metallic Iron
o About 79% haematite Ore deposits are found in the Eastern Sector
o Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha & Uttar Pradesh
o Found in Dharwar – Cuddapah Rock System
 Limonite -Yellow
o 40 %
o Inferior Ore
o Found in Raniganj, Garhwal, Mirzapur & Kangra
 Siderite
o Around 48%
o More Impurities are Present
o Presence of Lime makes it Self Fluxing
The Dharwar rocks are rich in lead, manganese, gold, silver, iron, and zinc ores.
The Dharwar Rock System refers to the first metamorphic sedimentary rocks in
India. It is named so because it was first found in the Dharwar region of Karnataka
but these rocks are also found in Himalayas, Meghalaya, Aravalis, and
Chotanagpur plateau.
Dharwar rocks are rich in iron ore, manganese, lead, zinc, gold, silver etc.
  Champions series containing gold mines . Champion system is named after
the Champion reef in the Kolar Gold Fields. Kolar Gold Fields contain one
of the deepest gold mines of world.
 Champaner series that is found near Baroda. : source of a lush green variety
of marble.
 Closepet series that is found inMadhya Pradesh. Rich in Copper ores.
 Chilpi Series that is found in and around the Closepet series
 Iron-Ore series that is located in Singhbhum

Cuddapah System
These rocks have been formed as a result of erosion and sedimentation of the rocks
of the Dharwar system. These are also sedimentary [Link] rocks have been
named after the district of Cuddapah in Andhra Pradesh where these are semi-
circular in [Link] are famous for sandstone, limestone, and marble,
[Link] Cuddapah rocks are also found in Rajasthan
Cudappah System rocks are rich in sandstone, shale, limestone, quartzite, and slate.

Mineral & Energy Resources

Fig: Distribution of iron ore in India

  Iron ore mines occur close to coal fields in north-eastern plateau region
of country.
 95% of total reserves of iron ore is located in the States of Odisha,
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Goa, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and
Tamil Nadu.

State Regions with Iron Ore

Odisha Sundergarh, Bonai,
Mayurbhan
(Gurumahisani, Sulaipet,
Badam pahar), Cuttack,
Keonjhar
Chattisgarh Bastar ( Bailadila Range)
Jharkhand Singhbhum
Karnataka Ballari district, Sandur-
Hospet, Chikkamagaluru
district, Shiva mogga,
Chitradurg Tumakuru,
Baba Budan hills and
Kudremukh

Iron ore deposits of Andhra Pradesh are scattered in the Anantpur,Khammam,

Krishna, Kurnool, Cuddapah and Nellore districts.
Some deposits are also located in the state of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and
Rajasthan.
Bailadila and Rajhara mines in Chhatisgarh and Kiruburu minesin Odisha are
being worked out specially for export purpose.
Goa possesses inferior quality ore, but its contribution to the country’stotal
production is impressive. Almost the entire production of iron from Goa is
exported from Marmagao Port to Japan

Manganese
  India ranks third in the production of manganese ore in the world, next only
to Russia and South Africa.
 Manganese deposits is mainly associated with Dharwar system.

The Important areas of production are in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh,

Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Over 78% of total reserves of
manganese ore of India occur in a belt stretching from Nagpur and Bhandara
districts of Maharashtra to Balaghat and Chindwara district of Madhya Pradesh.
 Odisha is the leading producer of Manganese and accounts for 37%
of the total production of the country. The important mining areas are
Sundargarh, Rayagada, Bolangir, Keonjhar,Jajpur, Mayurbhanj, Koraput,
Kalahandi and Bolangir.
 Karnataka is another major producer which accounts for 26% of
country’s total production and here the mines are located in Dharwar,
Ballari, Belagavi, North Canara, Chikkmagaluru, Shivamogga, Chitradurg
and Tumakuru.
 Maharashtra is also an important producer of manganese, which is mined in
Nagpur, Bhandara and Ratnagiri districts.
 Madhya Pradesh manganese belt extends in a belt in Balaghat-
Chhindwara- Nimar-Mandla and Jhabua districts.
 Telangana, Goa, and Jharkhand are other minor producers of manganese

Manganese is an important raw material for smelting of iron ore and also used for
manufacturing ferro alloys. About 85% of total manganese consumption in India is
used by metallurgical industries.

Bauxite

Bauxite is a non-ferrous metallic mineral which is used in manufacturing of

aluminium. Bauxite is found mainly in tertiary deposits and is associated with
laterite rocks.
Bauxite is found extensively either on the plateau or hill ranges of peninsular India
and also in the coastal tracts of the country. India’s reserves of bauxite are
sufficient to keep

The country self-reliant.

Major reserves occur in Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh,

Chhatisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Uttar Pradesh. Huge
deposits of bauxite have been discovered in the Eastern Ghats in Odisha and
Andhra Pradesh, Salem, Nilgiri and Madurai district of Tamil Nadu, and Banda
district of Uttar Pradesh also have workable

Deposits of bauxite.

Odisha is the largest producer of Bauxite in India.

Mineral & Energy Resources

States Region

Jharkhand Palamau, Ranchi and Lohardaga districts

Gujarat Bhavnagar, Junagadh and Amreli

Madhya Pradesh Mandla, Shahdole and Balaghat and Katni district

ChhattisgarhSarguja, Raigarh and Bilaspur in amarkantak plateau

Maharastra Kolhapur, Raigarh, Thana, Satara and Ratnagiri districts

Karnataka North-western parts of Belgaum district

Kolaba, Thane, Ratnagiri, Satara, Pune and Kolhapur in Maharashtra are

important producers.

Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Goa are minor producers of bauxite.

Aluminium extracted from the ore is used in making aeroplanes, electrical

appliances

and goods, household fittings, utensils etc.

Copper

Copper is an important metal in the electrical industry for making wires,

electric motors, transformers and generators. India is a poor country with
regard to reserves and production of copper.

Major copper ore deposits are located in Singhbhum district (Jharkhand),

Balaghat district (Madhya Pradesh) and Jhunjhunu and Alwar districts
(Rajasthan) .
Indian Geography

There are small deposits in Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
Sikkim, Meghalaya, Maharashtra and West Bengal also.

Madhya Pradesh is the largest producer of copper in India.

Rajasthan is the second largest producing state in India and Khetri- Singhana
belt in Jhunjhunu district is the most important copper producing area.

The production of copper ore in the country always falls short of our
requirements and India has to import copper from other countries.

The major part of import comes from the USA, Canada, Zimbabwe, Japan and
Mexico.

Mica

Mica is mainly used in electronic and

Electrical industries.

It can be split into very thin sheets which are tough and flexible. India is the
leading producer in sheet mica.

Mica is widely distributed in India, but workable deposits occur in only three
Fig: India: Distribution of Non-Metallic Minerals

Principle belts,i.e. states of Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and Rajasthan.

Bihar and Jharkhand are endowed with high-quality ruby mica. Mica deposit in
Bihar is found in Gaya district, Munger district and Bhagalpur district.

In Jharkhand the main mica belt is in Dhanbad, Palamau, Hazaribagh, Ranchi
and Singhbhum districts.

Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh produces the best quality mica. In Rajasthan,
mica belt extends from Jaipur to Bhilwara and around Udaipur.

Mica deposits are also found in Mysuru and Hasan districts of Karnataka,
Coimbatore, Tiruchirapalli, Madurai and Kanniyakumari in Tamil Nadu, Alleppey
in Kerala, Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, Purulia and Bankura in West Bengal.

Gold

Gold is a precious metal and it occurs in auriferous lodes. It is used for

making ornaments and is also used as international currency.

There are three goldfields in the country, namely Kolar Gold Field, Kolar
district, Hutti Gold Field in Raichur district (both in Karnataka) and Ramgiri Gold
Field in Anantpur district (Andhra Pradesh) .
Karnataka is the largest producer of gold in India. The gold deposits in Kolar
Gold Field occur in around 80 km long stretch. The area still continues to be the
largest supplier of gold in India. Kolar Gold Fields is one of the deepest mines of
the world. Mponeng