Lead

• Lead is not found free in nature and is usually extracted from galena, which is found in veins and masses in crystalline rocks.
• Lead is malleable, soft, heavy, and a bad conductor of electricity.
• It is used as an anti-friction metal and a constituent in bronze alloys.
• Lead oxide is used in cable covers, ammunition, paints, glass making, and the rubber industry.
• It is also made into sheets, tubes, and pipes for use as sanitary fittings and is increasingly used in automobiles, airplanes, and calculating machines.
• Lead nitrate is used in dyeing and printing.

Reserves:

• Lead ores are found in the Himalayas, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh.

Mines:

• Rajasthan produces about 94% of India’s total lead production, with major producers including the Zawar and Debari mines in Udaipur, as well as Dubgarpur, Banswara, and Alwar.
• The Kurnool and Nalgonda mines in Andhra Pradesh are also known for lead mining.

Zinc

• Chief ore of zinc is sphalerite (ZnS) found in veins with other ores like galena, chalcopyrite’s and iron pyrites
• Zinc is a mixed ore containing lead & zinc
• Mainly used for alloying and manufacturing galvanized sheets
• Zinc dust used for preparation of zinc compounds and salts
• Zinc oxide used in paints, ceramic material, inks, matches, etc.
• Used for dry batteries, electrodes, textiles, die-casting, rubber industry, and making collapsible tubes

Reserves

• Rajasthan produces over 99% of total zinc production in India
• Zawar mines in Udaipur district responsible for production, deposits also found in Sikkim

Imports

• India imports zinc concentrates from USA, Canada, Zimbabwe, Japan, and Mexico
• India also imports zinc concentrates from Australia, Peru, Russia, and Zaire

Tungsten

• Tungsten ore includes wolframite, scheelite, and ferberite, which are predominantly hydrothermal in origin
• Tungsten is resistant to all acids at ordinary temperatures and has a melting point of 3422oC, the highest of all metals
• Over 95% of tungsten is used by the steel industry, mainly in the form of ferrotungsten
• Steel containing tungsten is used in manufacturing ammunition, armour plates, heavy guns, hard cutting tools, etc.
• Tungsten is easily alloyed with other metals to yield hard-facing, heat, and corrosion-resistant alloys
• Tungsten is also used for electric bulb filaments, paints, ceramics, textiles, etc.
• Resources:
  • Resources of tungsten are mainly distributed in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra in India
• Imports:
  • Domestic requirements are met by imports, mainly from Singapore, USA & UK
• Exports:
  • Exports are mainly to Germany, USA, Israel, UK, Japan, and Sweden.

Pyrites

• Pyrite is a sulphide of iron.
• Chief source of sulphur.
• High proportion of sulphur is injurious to iron. Hence is it removed and used to produce sulphur.
• Sulphur is very useful for making sulphuric acid which in turn is used in several industries such as fertilizer, chemicals, rayon, petroleum, steel, etc.
• Elemental sulphur is useful for manufacturing explosives, matches, insecticides, fungicides and for vulcanizing rubber.
• Pyrites occur in Son Valley in Bihar, in Chitradurga and Uttar Kannada districts of Karnataka and the pyritous coal and shale of Assam coalfields.
• It is widely distributed and scattered across the country.