List the minerals found in your state and mention their important uses. Also find out the names of multi-purpose projects, if any, in your state and the benefits they provide to your state.
Answers
India is endowed with a rich variety of mineral
resources due to its varied geological structure.
Bulk of the valuable minerals are products of
pre-palaezoic age (Refer: Chapter 2 of Class XI,
Textbook: “Fundamentals of Physical
Geography” and are mainly associated with
metamorphic and igneous rocks of the
peninsular India. The vast alluvial plain tract
of north India is devoid of minerals of economic
use. The mineral resources provide the country
with the necessary base for industrial
development. In this chapter, we shall discuss
the availability of various types of mineral and
energy resources in the country.
mineral is a natural substance of organic
or inorganic origin with definite chemical and
physical properties.
TYPE OF MINERAL RESOURCES
On the basis of chemical and physical
properties, minerals may be grouped under two
main categories of metallics and non-metallics
which may further be classified as follows :
As, it is clear from the Fig. 7.1 metallic
minerals are the sources of metals. Iron ore,
copper, gold produce metal and are included
in this category. Metallic minerals are further
divided into ferrous and non-ferrous metallic
minerals. Ferrous, as you know, refers to iron.
All those minerals which have iron content are
ferrous such as iron ore itself and those which
do not have iron content are non-ferrous such
as copper, bauxite, etc.
Non-metallic minerals are either organic
in origin such as fossil fuels also known as
mineral fuels which are derived from the
buried animal and plant life such as coal and
petroleum. Other type of non-metallic
minerals are inorganic in origin such as mica,
limestone and graphite, etc.
Minerals have certain characteristics.
These are unevenly distributed over space.
There is inverse relationship in quality and
quantity of minerals i.e. good quality minerals
are less in quantity as compared to low
quality minerals. The third main
characteristic is that all minerals are
exhaustible over time. These take long to
develop geologically and they cannot be
replenished immediately at the time of need.
Thus, they have to be conserved and not
misused as they do not have the second crop.
Distribution of Minerals in India
Most of the metallic minerals in India occur in
the peninsular plateau region in the old
crystalline rocks. Over 97 per cent 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. Most of the major mineral resources
occur to the east of a line linking Mangaluru
and Kanpur.
Minerals are generally concentrated in
three broad belts in India. There may be some
sporadic occurrences here and there in isolated
pockets. These belts are :
The North-Eastern Plateau Region
This belt covers Chhotanagpur (Jharkhand),
Odisha Plateau, West Bengal and parts of
Chhattisgarh. Have you ever thought about
the reason of major iron and steel industry
being located in this region? It has variety of
minerals viz. iron ore coal, manganese,
bauxite, mica.
Find out the specific region where these
minerals are being extracted.
The South-Western Plateau Region
This belt extends over Karnataka, Goa and
contiguous Tamil Nadu uplands and Kerala.
This belt is rich in ferrous metals and bauxite.
It also contains high grade iron ore, manganese
and limestone. This belt lacks in coal deposits
except Neyveli lignite.
This belt does not have as diversified
mineral deposits as the north-eastern belt.
Kerala has deposits of monazite and thorium,
bauxite clay. Goa has iron ore deposits.
The North-Western Region
This belt extends along Aravali in Rajasthan and
part of Gujarat and minerals are associated with
Dharwar system of rocks. Copper, zinc have
been major minerals. Rajasthan is rich in
building stones i.e. sandstone, granite, marble.
Gypsum and Fuller’s earth deposits are also
extensive. Dolomite and limestone provide raw
materials for cement industry. Gujarat is known
for its petroleum deposits. You may be knowing
that Gujarat and Rajasthan both have rich
sources of salt.
Why and where Dandi March was
organised by Mahatma Gandhi?
The Himalayan belt is another mineral belt
where copper, lead, zinc, cobalt and tungsten
are known to occur. They occur on both the
eastern and western parts. Assam valley has