Distribution of Minerals in India
- Peninsular rocks contain most of the reserves of coal, metallic minerals, mica and many other non-metallic minerals.
- Sedimentary rocks on the western and eastern flanks of the peninsula, in Gujarat and Assam have most of the petroleum deposits.
- Rajasthan - non-ferrous minerals.
- Alluvial plains of north India - Economic minerals.
The North-Eastern Plateau Region
- Chhotanagpur (Jharkhand), Odisha Plateau, West Bengal and parts of Chhattisgarh.
- Minerals: iron ore coal, manganese, bauxite, mica.
- Major iron and steel industry.
The South-Western Plateau Region
- Karnataka, Goa and contiguous Tamil Nadu uplands and Kerala.
- Rich in ferrous metals and bauxite.
- High grade iron ore, manganese and limestone. lacks in coal deposits except Neyveli lignite.
- Kerala deposits of monazite and thorium, bauxite clay, Goa has iron ore deposits.
The North-Western Region
- Aravali in Rajasthan and part of Gujarat. Rajasthan is rich in building stones. Gujarat - Petroleum deposits.
- Copper, Zinc, Dolomite and limestone.
- Gujarat and Rajasthan both have rich sources of salt.
- Himalayan belt copper, lead, zinc, cobalt and tungsten occur eastern and western parts.
- Oil Resource – Assam & off-shore-areas near Mumbai Coast (Mumbai High).
Ferrous Mineral
- Account about Three-fourths of the total value of the production of metallic minerals.
Iron Ore
- Magnetite is the finest iron ore with a very high content of iron up to 70 per cent.
- Hematite ore - Important industrial iron ore. In terms of the quantity (50-60%).
- Iron ore mines occur in close proximity to the coal fields in the north eastern plateau region.
- Kudre in Kannada means horse & Bailadila hills hump of an ox.
- 95% - Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Goa, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
- Odisha-Jharkhand belt: High grade hematite ore. Badampahar mines in the Mayurbhanj and Kendujhar districts & in Sundergarh range. Singbhum district of Jharkhand, haematite iron ore is mined in Gua and Noamundi.
- Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur belt: Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, high grade hematites. Bailadila range of hills in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh. Exported to Japan and South Korea via Vishakhapatnam port.
- Ballari-Chitradurga-Chikkamagaluru-Tumakuru belt – Karnataka, 100% export unit, transported as slurry through a pipeline to a port near Mangaluru.
- Maharashtra-Goa belt: Not of very high quality, efficiently exploited. Goa, emerged as an important producer of iron ore, exported through Marmagao port.
- Important mines such as Noamundi and Gua are located in Poorbi and Pashchimi Singhbhum districts.
- Odisha - series of hill ranges in Sunder garh, Mayurbhanj and Jhar, Mines - Gurumahisani, Sulaipet, Badampahar (Mayurbhaj), Kiruburu (Kendujhar) and Bonai (Sundergarh).
- Jharkhand – Oldest iron ore mines.
- Karnataka - in Sandur-Hospet area of Ballari district, Baba Budan hills and Kudremukh in Chik kamagaluru district & parts of Shivamogga, Chitradurg and Tumakuru districts
- Districts of Chandrapur, Bhandara and Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, Karimnagar and Warangal district of Telangana, Kurnool, Cuddapah and Anantapur districts of Andhra Pradesh, Salem and Nilgiris districts of Tamil Nadu.
Manganese
- Manufacturing of steel and ferro-manganese alloy. 10 kg of manganese is required to manufacture one tonne of steel. Associate with Dharwar system.
- Manufacturing bleaching powder, insecticides and paints.
- Odisha - leading produce, mines in Odisha. Bonai, Kendujhar, Sundergarh, Gangpur, Koraput, Kalahandi and Bolangir.
- Karnataka - Dharwar, Ballari, Belagavi, North Canara, Chikkmagaluru, Shivamogga, Chitradurg and Tumakuru.
- Maharashtra - mined in Nagpur, Bhandara and Ratnagiri districts.
- Manganese belt of Madhya Pradesh extends in a belt in Balaghat-Chhindwara-Nimar-Mandla and Jhabua districts.
- Telangana, Goa, and Jharkhand are other minor producers of manganese.
Non-Ferrous Minerals
- Not very satisfactory. Poorly endowed.
- Vital role in a number of metallurgical, engineering and electrical industries.
Copper
- Critically deficient in the reserve.
- Jharkhand - Singhbhum district, Balaghat district in Madhya Pradesh and Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan - Khetri mines in Alwar districts.
- Minor producers: Andhra Pradesh - Agnigundala in Guntur District, Karnataka - Chitradurg and Hasan districts and Tamil Nadu - South Arcot district.
Bauxite
- Formed by the decomposition of a wide variety of rocks rich in Aluminium silicates in tertiary deposits.
- Laterite rocks - on the plateau or hill ranges of peninsular India and also in the coastal tracts.
- Amarkantak plateau, Maikal hills and the plateau region of Bilaspur-Katni.
- Largest producing Odisha - Kalahandi and Sambalpur. Bolangir and Koraput.
- Patlands of Lohardaga in Jharkhand.
- Major deposit - Bhavanagar, and Jamnagar - Gujarat.
- Amarkantak plateau - Chhattisgarh, Katni-Jabalpur area and Balaghat - Madhya Pradesh, Kolaba, Thane, Ratnagiri, Satara, Pune and Kolhapur - Maharashtra
- Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Goa are minor producers of bauxite.
- Important bauxite – Panchpatmali deposits in Koraput district.
Non-Metallic Minerals
Mica
- 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.
- Northern edge of the Chota Nagpur plateau.
- Koderma Gaya – Hazaribagh belt of Jharkhand is the leading producer.
- Rajasthan - around Ajmer, Nellore mica belt of Andhra Pradesh (Best Quality).
- Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telanganga and Rajasthan followed by Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.
- Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore, Tiruchirapalli, Madurai and Kanniyakumari. Alleppey in Kerala, Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, Purulia and Bankura in West Bengal.
Rock Minerals
Limestone
- Composed of calcium carbonates or calcium and magnesium carbonates.
- Found in sedimentary rocks.
- Basic raw material for the cement industry and essential for smelting iron ore.
Uses of Minerals
- Copper - coins to pipes, Silicon – Computer industry is obtained from quartz.
- Aluminum form bauxite ore – used in automobiles and airplanes, bottling industry, buildings and even in kitchen cookware.
Conservation of Minerals
- Continued extraction of ores leads to increasing costs as mineral extraction comes from greater depths along with decrease in quality.
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