Minerals

Minerales are natural substances of organic or inorganic origin with definite chemical and
physical properties.
Some minerals consist of single elements such as DIAMONDS, whereas some may have 2
elements like Iron Pyrite.
Metals are of 2 Types:
1.Metallic Minerals:
• High Value/Precious Metals (Gold, Silver, Platinum)
• Ferrous (Manganese, Nickel, Chromite)
• Non-Ferrous/Base (Copper, tin, Aluminum)
Ores- The term ore is used for Minerals containing a sufficient concentration of a metal
which allows for mining operation.
2. Non-Metallic Minerals-
Include-
• Nitrates, Potash, Sulphur.
• All precious elements. (diamond)

❖ India ranks 7th in the production of Iron Ore, Leading Production in Chhattisgarh.

IRON ORE:
⇨ Extremely useful material in Metals.
⇨ Basic raw materials for all or most industries.
⇨ Transportation
⇨ Basic Raw material for steel. Derived by smelting.
4 types of Iron Ore- Hematite, Magnetite (Best Quality) , Limonite, Siderite (Worst
Quality).
1. Magnetite (Fe3O4): Best quality, black in color, high content of iron over 70% also
known as lodestone. Magnetic properties thus its name. Found in igneous or
metamorphic rocks.
Distribution: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala.
2. Hematite (Fe2O3): Most abundantly found in India, Roughly around about 60% iron
content. Reddish in color. Used in the making of Steel. Hard & Compact. Sometimes
powdery as it RUSTS easily.
Distribution: Jharkhand, Orissa, MP, Chhatisgarh.

3. Limonite (2Fe2O3.H2O): Less than 50% of metal content. Contains a lot of

impurities. Brown in color. Found in thick sedimentary rocks.
Distribution: Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh.

4. Siderite: It is a carbonite of iron. Ash and grey in color. 20%-30% of metal content
found along with coal bed.
Distribution: Raniganj (West Bengal), Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
USES OF IRON ORE:
1. About 90% of iron ore is used to make steel.
2. Powdered iron is used in manufacturing metallurgy products, magnets.
3. Radioactive iron is used in medicine.
4. Iron blue is used in paints, printing inks, plastics, cosmetics.
5. Black iron oxide is used as pigment in metallurgy, medicine and magnetic inks.
 MANGANESE
1. Acts as a basic raw material for manufacturing alloys
2. It is also used in manufacturing of bleaching powder, insecticides, paints,
batteries, china clay
3. India is the 2nd largest producer in the world
4. It is used for strengthening of steel and making it rust free
5. Odisha is the leading producer followed by karnataka, goa and madhya
pradesh, maharashtra
Odisha- keonjhar mayurbhanj,sundargarh
Madhya Pradesh- jabalpur, chinchwara, balaghat
Maharashtra- Bhandardara, nagpur
Karnataka- santur, tumkur, belari, shioga

Copper
● Mainly used in electronic industries
● Reason- High conductor of electricity, malleable, ductile
● Non ferrous metal and the earliest metal used by man

Uses
1. Mainly used in electronic industries
2. High conductor of electricity, malleable, ductile
3. For making electrical wires
4. Used in automobile industry
5. Used in defence industry for bullet production
6. Used in shipping industry for ship building
7. It forms alloys with various other metals

Alloys of Copper (not sure)

● Stainless steel (Iron+Nickel+Copper)
● Brass (Copper+Zinc)
● Bronze (Tin+Copper)

Distribution
Madhya pradesh is the leading producer
- Balagarh and jabalpur
Rajasthan- Aravalli hills and mines, Alvadh districts and ajmer
Jharkhand- Rakha, Musabani, Singhbum, Hazaribagh district, Palamu district

Bauxite
● Ore for aluminium
● Light durable, non corrosive, rust resistant
● Good conductor of heat and electricity

Uses
1. Manufacturing of air bodies and railway compartments
2. Reason- Light durable, non corrosive, rust resistant
3. Used in electrical cables, utensils and tin foils
4. Used in head lights, reflectors, mirrors, and telescopes
 ● Largest producer- Odisha- Kalahandi, sambalpur
● Other producers
● Jharkhand- Palamau, Ranchi
● Madhya Pradesh- Jabalpur and balagarh

The other type of Mineral is Mineral fuel as Energy fuel. Usually formed from dead
vegetative matter and dead animals or organisms. E.g.: Coal, Petroleum.
Important Places in Distribution:
1. Chhatisgarh: Bailadilla, Rajhara, Bhilai.
2. Karnataka: Hospet, Bababudan Hills in Chikmagalur, Highest quality is found in
Kudremukh.
Conventional Energy Minerals:
1. Coal
2. Petroleum
3. Natural Gas

Q.1 Why is conventional energy minerals important even after they are expensive and
polluting?
i. Conventional technologies are time tested.
ii. Can meet large requirements and are reliable.
iii. Energy density is high
iv. Easy to access, cost effective and easy to produce.
Limitations: Mining of coal, petroleum and natural gas causes damage to the environment.
Powerplants using coal and petroleum aid in global warming.
COAL:
The oldest coal mine in India is in Raniganj, West Bengal started in 1744.
Uses:
a. It is known as Black gold, because it is black in color and has versatile uses.
b. Generation of thermal electricity
c. Fuel for steamships and railway locomotives
d. Coking coal used for smelting of iron ore.
e. Raw materials for chemical industries. Pharmaceuticals. Solvents. Dyes, plastics
and synthetic fibers.
f. Manufacturing fertilizers and cement.
By Products of Coal:
Coal Tar, Ammonia Gas, Coke, Phenol. India is the 3rd largest producer of coal.
Distribution: Leading producer Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, West Bengal,
Orissa.
Types of Coal:
a. Anthracite
b. Bituminous
c. Lignite
d. Peat
A. Anthracite- 95% carbon content, shiny lustrous hard
Highly compressed rock,
burns with a blue flame and leaves very little ash
Has high calorific value
 B. Bituminous- 80% carbon content, hard compact rock
Blackish in colour, burns with little smoke and leaves back little ash
Coking coal is high grade, high grade bituminous coal is used for high
smelting of iron (??)
C. Lignite- 40% carbon content, more than 35% moisture content.
Brown in colour so called brown coal
Breaks up when exposed to air.
D. Peat- Formed from partially degraded vegetable matter in swamps.
High percentage of moisture and volatile matter.
Carbon content is less than 30%

Coal field types:

1. Gondwana:
• 250 million years old, very good quality coal mainly bituminous and coking coal.
• Low in moisture and contain Sulphur.
• Storehouse of Indias metallurgy core which are used for smelting iron. They are
associated with rivers like Mahanadi, Godavari etc.
2. Tertiary:
• 60-150 million years old. Younger in age.
• Plant and vegetative material in basins. High in moisture and Sulphur
contest.
• Mainly lignite are found.
• Found in assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland etc.
Advantages:
• It has high load factor providing continuous and sufficient power
• Capital investment is low
• Coal may be used as a liquid fuel
• May be converted to gaseous and liquid state to be used as a fuel.
Disadvantages:
• Outflow of acidic water from coal mines.
• Air pollutant from thermal plants are huge contributions to global warming and climate
change.

Petroleum:
It is an inflammable mixture of oily hydrocarbons. It is two Latin words, Petra meaning
rocksand oleum meaning oil. Mainly used in the transportation sector. Thermal electricity
used for lighting, heating, cooking and other household purposes.

Lubricants, greases, kerosene, asphalt, petroleum wax, are by products of petroleum.

• Petroleum is an important raw material used for the manufacture of petro chemicals.
• It is found trapped in between marine sedimentary beds known as liquid gold, reason
crude petroleum is yellow in color.
• Highly expensive and has versatile uses.
Advantages:
• It takes a small amount of petroleum to generate a large mount of energy as it is a
high-density oil.
• Petroleum is easily extracted and transported through pipeline they have a wide
range of application
 • It is refined and used as raw material for the manufacture of plastic chemicals,
synthetic fibers, detergents and cosmetics.
Disadvantages:
• Combustion generates greenhouse gases.
• It is a natural resource and replenishable.

Q.1 Petroleum plants are located near coasts.

Ans: Transportation becomes easier because mostly off shore oil fields.
As it is highly inflammable, getting the oil inside the country is highly risky.

Largest and Oldest on-shore oil field is Digboi.

Q.2 Off shore oil fields are mainly on the Arabian sea?
Ans:
Mumbai High- 176 km from the coast of Mumbai in the Arabian sea. Oil was
discovered in 1974. Mumbai high because oil was found at an heigh ona
cylindrical rock structure. Oil is extracted with the help of a specially designed
platform known as Sagar Samrat. This is a soft propelled pack up type of
drilling platform, the other are Alaiya Bet, Bassein of the coast of Gujarat.
That’s why the Gulf of Kutch is a petroleum ruin Gulf.

Natural Gas: found in association with petroleum. Used in CNG and LPG.
Main products of LPG are butane, propane and ethane. All are colorless and odorless
gases. Ethyl ( for domestic purpose) gives a foul smell which can be easily detected.
Advantages:
• Compared to petroleum and coal, Natural gas is an eco-friendly fuel and causes less
damage to the environment as it mainly made up of Methane and results less
carbon emissions.
• Easier to preserve than other fuels as it can be stored and transported through pipe
lines, small storage units, cylinder/ tankers.
• Can be piped into houses for heating and cooking purposes.
Cleaner and cheaper fuel than diesel and gasoline. Lighter than air and tends to
dissipatewhen leaked.

disadvantages of Natural Gas

Leaks of natural gas are difficult to detect and can be very dangerous
Leakage of natural gas can have serious health issues as it highly toxic
Natural gas when used as fuel in vehicles provides less mileage than gasoline.

Distribution Maharashtra (Mumbai High), Assam, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu

HYDEL POWER

Electricity generated from water is called hydel power or hydroelectricity.

This power is … by a dynamo by using a swift flowing water, either a natural waterfall or a waterfall created by
building a dam across a bed of a river.

The water flowing in the river is collected by constructing a dam.

India is one of the leading hydroelectric power generators. (??)

The first hydroelectric power plant was in darjeeling in 1897.

UNESCO has declared it a world heritage.
Factors/conditions of hydel power to develop

A perennial source of water is required for hydro electric power generation which is regular and reliable.

A fast and swift flowing water head….

Regions experiencing long, cold winters, heavy snowfall causes rivers to freeze thus hampering with the electric
supply

Silt free water is ideal for power generation otherwise turbines are damaged

Water is utilised for power generation so it is a renewable source of energy.

Clean, non polluting and environment friendly.

Can be increased or decreased depending on the demand for electricity.

Cheaper than thermal electricity as cost of production is low

Disadvantages

Development of hydel projects requires storing large volumes of water in reservoirs which leads to submergence
of arable(agricultural) land, forests and wildlife habitats.
Loss of biodiversity.
People are displaced thus they lose their livelihood.
Dans reduces the life of land by 50 years.
Banks of rivers are destroyed.

Name River Areas covered Lake/Reservoir Power House

Bhakra Nangal Sutlej Punjab, haryana, Govind Sagar Lake Ganguwal (1)
Dam rajasthan himachal Kutla (2)
pradesh Bhakra (2)

Hirakud Project Mahanadi Odisha Not known Burla (4)

Chiplima (3)

Uses of multipurpose project

Electricity
Irrigation, flood control navigation
Supply of drinking water
Pisciculture
Tourism

NON CONVENTIONAL SOURCES OF ENERGY

Energy which has been developed in the recent past as an alternative to conventional sources of energy. These
include:
1. Solar energy 2. Wind Energy 3. Tidal energy
4. Geothermal energy 5. Nuclear energy 6. Biogas energy

Common advantages

Renewable source of energy so are inexhaustible

Less expensive and easy to maintain
Non polluting

SOLAR ENERGY

Sun is the ultimate source of energy.

India is lucky to experience 280-300 strong sunny days. So it can be harnessed in india.
Things which operate under solar energy.

1. Solar cells also known as photovoltaic cell

2. Solar cooker- they use a mirror to reflect the sun's rays on a glass sheet which covers a black insulated
box
3. Solar Water heater- The most successful application of solar energy.

Advantages
1. Renewable source of energy
2. Less maintenance cost
3. Saves of use of fossil fuels
Disadvantages
1. Cannot be harvested on a cloudy or foggy day.
2. Intensity of solar energy varies from place to place in india.
3. Solar energy is weather dependent.

WIND ENERGY

Wind energy is obtained by making use of wind mills. The blades rotate by the force of the wind. A number of
wind mills are installed in a cluster which is called wind farms.

Installed in coastal regions, open grasslands and hilly regions.

India is the 4th largest producer of wind energy behind china, USA, germany.

Advantages

1. Green source of energy

2. Additional income for farmers which have wind farms
Disadvantages
1. Requires a minimum wind speed of 20 km/hr
2. Dangerous for aerial animals
3. Causes noise pollution

DIstribution Tamil nadu, kutch region of gujarat, maharashtra and odisha

TIDAL ENERGY

Water of the ocean rises and falls periodically due to the gravitational pull of the water.

The term tides is used for this rhythmic rise and fall in ocean level, the energy derived from the phenomenon is
called tidal energy.

ADvantages
1. Has high energy density
2. Not weather dependent

Disadvantages
1. Long coastline is needed
2. Very expensive technology
3. If water is stored it causes environmental harm

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

The heat trapped in the interior of the earth is known as geothermal energy. The energy derived from the heat is
called Geothermal Energy.

Advantages
1. Clean source of energy as there is no emission of greenhouse gases.
2. Extremely reliable and no weather dependent
3. Maintenance cost is low and has a long lifespan
4. Constant source of energy

Disadvantages
1. During the extraction of geothermal energy, certain greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere
which causes pollution.
2. Construction of geothermal power stations may destabilise the land.