MINERALS AND ENERGY RESOURCES Class 10th Geography Chapter 5

MINERALS

They are homogenous, a naturally occurring substance with a definable internal structure.

• Minerals are obtained from rocks.
• Certain rocks contain only one mineral while some other rocks contain many minerals.
• They vary in color, lustre, density, and hardness.

                  CLASSIFICATION OF MINERALS

Minerals are classified in three categories-:

 ORES

They are the accumulation of any mineral mixed with other elements.

OCCURRENCE OF MINERALS

• Minerals occur in igneous and metamorphic rocks in cracks, crevices, and joints.
• The Smaller occurrence is called veins and larger occurrence is called lodes.
• In sedimentation rocks, minerals occur in layers or beds. E.g. Gypsum and Potash.
• Certain minerals occur by the decomposition of surface rocks. E.g. Bauxite.
• Some minerals occur in alluvial deposits. {These deposits are called placer deposits which are not corroded by water. E.g. Gold, Silver, etc.
• Ocean waters contain a vast quantity of minerals. E.g. Common salt, Magnesium, etc.

DISTRIBUTION OF MINERALS RESOURCES IN INDIA

• India is fortunate to have plenty of minerals but they are unevenly distributed.
• Peninsular rocks contain reserves of coal, metallic minerals, mica, etc.
• Sedimentary rocks in western & eastern coasts, Assam and Gujarat have petroleum deposits.
• Rock system in Rajasthan has non-ferrous minerals.
• The alluvial plains are devoid of economic minerals.

FERROUS MINERALS

• ¾ of the total value of the production of metallic minerals.
• Strong base for metallurgical industries.

IRON ORE

• It is the basic mineral at the backbone of industrial development.
• Magnetite is the finest iron ore with 70% iron content. Magnetite has magnetic qualities.
• Hematite is used in most quantity. It has 50%-60% iron content.

MAJOR IRON ORE BELTS IN INDIA  

• Orissa-Jharkhand Belt-: [High-grade hematite are found in the Badampahar mines in Orissa].
• Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur Belt (Lies in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra)-: [High-grade hematite are found. Exported to Japan and South-Korea].
• Bellary-Chitradurga-Chikmangalore-Tumbar Belt-: [It lies in Karnataka. Kudremukh mines are located here].
• Maharashtra-Goa Belt (Lies in Goa and Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra)-: [Though the iron is not of good quality, they are exported through Mamargoa port.

MANGANESE

• It is used in manufacturing steel.
• 10kg of manganese is required to manufacture 1tonne of steel. Orissa is the largest producer of manganese in India.

NON-FERROUS MINERALS

Important Non-Ferrous Minerals are-: Copper, Lead, Zinc, etc.

COPPER

India is deficient in the production of copper. They are malleable, ductile and good conductor used in electrical appliances, electronic and chemical industries. Orissa is the largest producer of Bauxite in India. Balaghat mines in Madhya Pradesh (M.P.) produces 52% copper in India.

BAUXITE

Aluminum is obtained from bauxite. It has the strength as iron, light, malleable, good conductor. 45% of bauxite is produced in Orissa.

NON-METALLIC MINERALS

 MICA-:

• It splits easily into thin sheets.
• It is indispensable minerals used in electric and electronic industries due to its dielectric strength, low power loss factor and resistance to high voltage.

LIMESTONE-:

• It is found in sedimentary rocks.
• It is the basic low material for cement industries and essential for iron ore in the ferneries.

CONSERVATION OF MINERALS

• Industry and agriculture are strongly dependent on minerals.
• The process of minerals formation is so slow in comparison to the present consumption.
• They are finite and non-renewable.
• Continued extraction from greater depth leads to increasing costs and decreases in quality.
• Improved technologies need to be used.
• Recycling of metals, using scrap metals and other substances are the steps to consume the minerals for the future.

 ENERGY RESOURCES

Energy is required for all the activities i.e. to cook, to provide light and heat, to propel vehicles and to drive machinery. Energy resources are of two types-:

• Conventional Resources-: Include firewood; cattle dung cake, coal, petroleum, natural gas and electricity.
• Non-Conventional Resources-: Include solar, the wind, tidal, geothermal, bio-gas & atomic energy.

 COAL

Used for power generation, to supply energy to industry and domestic need.

TYPES OF COAL

• Peat-: Decaying plants in swamps produce peat. It has high carbon, high moisture, and low heating capacity.
• Lignite-: It is a low grade brown coal. Neyveli in Tamil Nadu has great reserves of lignite. This is also used for generation of electricity.
• Bituminous-: It is buried deep and subjected to increased temperatures.
• Anthracite-: It is highest quality hard coal.

 OCCURRENCE OF COAL IN VARIOUS GEOLOGICAL AGES

In India, coal occurs in two geological ages-:

• Gondawana Age/Deposits-: A little over 200 millions in age. Located in Damodar valley, Jhoria, Raniganj, etc.
• Tertiary Age/Deposits-: About 55 million years old. It is located in Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

Note-: Coal is a bulky material which loses weight on use and reduced to ashes. So, thermal power stations are located near coal fields and domestic needs.

PETROLEUM

• It provides fuel for heat and lighting, lubricants for machinery and raw materials for industries.
• Most of the petroleum occurrences are of tertiary age.
• About 63% of India’s petroleum production is from Mumbai & 18% is from Gujarat.
• Assam is the oldest oil producing state.

NATURAL GAS

• Natural gas is found in association with or without petroleum.
• It is the environment-friendly fuel because of the low carbon dioxide emission.
• Large reserves are found in the Krishna-Godavari basin.
• The 1700 km long Hazira-Vijaypur-Jagdishpur cross country gas pipeline links Mumbai High and Basin.

ELECTRICITY

• Per capita consumption of electricity is considered as an index of development.
• It is generated in two ways-: Hydro electricity and Thermal electricity.
• Hydro electricity-: It is generated by fast flowing water. It is a renewable fuel. In India, there are many multi-projects like Bhakra Nangal, Kopili, Hydel project, etc.
• Thermal Electricity-: It is generated by using coal, petroleum and natural gas. It is a non-renewable fossil fuel.

NUCLEAR / ATOMIC ENERGY

• It is obtained by altering the structure of atoms.
• Uranium and Thorium are used for generating electricity.
• Monazite sands of Kerala are rich in thorium.

 IMPORTANCE OF NON-CONVENTIONAL SOURCE OF ENERGY

• Growing consumption of energy resulted in the over dependent on fossil fuels, like coal, petroleum, etc.
• Rising price of oil and gas have raised uncertainties about the supply in future.
• Increasing use of fossil fuels result in the environmental pollution.
• So, there is a pressing need to use renewable resources like solar, wind, tidal energy, etc.

SOLAR ENERGY

• Since India is a tropical country, there are enormous possibilities of trapping solar energy.
• Photovoltaic technology directly converts sunlight into electricity.
• It will minimize the use of firewood, dung cakes in rural areas.

WIND POWER

The largest wind form cluster is located in Tamil Nadu, between Nagercoil and Madurai.

BIO-GAS

• Shrubs, fast waste animal, and human waste are used to produce bio-gas.
• It has higher thermal efficiency.
• The plants that use cattle dung are called Gobar Gas Plants.
• It has twin benefits: Providing energy for electricity and providing manure.

TIDAL ENERGY

• Oceanic tides are used to generate electricity.
• A 900 MW tidal energy power plant is set up in the gulf of Kuchchh.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

• Heat and electricity is produced by using the heat from the interior of the Earth.
• Ground water absorbs the heat and becomes hot.
• There is hundreds of hot springs in India.
• Two experimental projects have been set up in Mani-Karan (H.P.) and Puga valley (J&K).

 IMPORTANCE OF CONSERVATION OF ENERGY RESOURCES

• Energy is a basic requirement for economic development.
• Every sector of the national economy agriculture, industry, domestic, etc. need inputs of energy.
• Consumption of energy has been increasing since independence.
• Energy conservations and use of renewable energy is the twin plank of sustainable energy.

 Suggestions-:

• Using public transport system instead of the individual vehicle.
• Switching of electricity when not in use.
• Using power saving devices and using non-conventional sources of energy.