Mineral Resources

• A mineral is a naturally occurring substance, usually solid and inorganic and can be represented by a chemical formula.
• It has a crystal structure.
• Over two thousand minerals have been identified.
• Most minerals are inorganic and formed by combinations of elements.
• Some minerals contain organic materials.
• A small proportion of the earth’s crust consists of single-element minerals such as gold, silver, diamond, and sulfur.

Categories of Minerals:

• Metallic:
  • Metallic minerals contain metal elements in their raw form. When melted, they form a new product.
  • Metallic minerals are the second most important group of minerals after fossil fuels and are reserved in Archean rocks.
  • Major examples of metallic minerals include iron ore, copper, gold, zinc, silver, manganese, and chromites.
  • Metallic minerals constitute 7% of the total mineral value in India.
  • It provides a strong base for the development of the metallurgical industry, thereby helping in the process of industrialization and urbanization.
  • Metallic minerals are sub-divided into ferrous and non-ferrous metallic minerals:
    • Ferrous metallic minerals contain iron, such as Chromites, Iron ore, and manganese.
    • Non-ferrous metallic minerals do not contain iron, such as lead, silver, gold, copper, bauxite, etc.
  • Significance of metallic minerals:
    • It is the deciding factor for the standard of living of the people living in a country.
    • It is because of the consumption of iron. It is the backbone of modern civilization and the foundation of basic industry.
• Non-metallic minerals:
  • Non-metallic minerals do not contain any metal substances. Hence no new product can be generated from them if they are melted.
  • They can be either organic or inorganic depending on their origin:
    • Organic non-metallic minerals are derived from buried animal and plant substances, known as fossil fuels, such as coal and petroleum.
    • Inorganic non-metallic minerals include mica, limestone, graphite, etc.

Metallic	Non-metallic
Metal elements are present in their raw form.	Do not contain any metal substances in them.
When metallic minerals are melted a new product is formed.	In the case of non-metallic minerals, you don’t get any new product after such a process.
Metallic minerals are usually found in igneous and metamorphic rock formations.	Non-metallic minerals are often found embedded in young fold mountains and sedimentary rocks.
Metallic minerals are good conductors of electricity as well as heat.	Non-metallic minerals are basically good insulators of electricity and heat.
Metallic minerals have high malleability and ductility.	Non-metallic minerals, lack in malleability and ductility, and these minerals break down easily.
Metallic minerals generally have lustre.	Non-metallic minerals do not have any shine or lustre.

Mineral Resources in India (Mineral Rich Regions)

• There are five major mineral belts in India namely: Northern Belt, Central Belt, Southern Eastern region, South Western region and North-Western region.
• Northern Belt: The Northern Belt comprise of the following regions-
  • Chhota Nagpur plateau:
    • Minerals found in this region is Kynite(100%), Iron (90%), Chromium(90%), Mica(75%), Coal(70%).
    • Manganese, copper, and limestone are some other minerals found in this region.
  • Assam Petroleum reserve:
    • This region comprises the reserves of petroleum and lignite coal, tertiary coal, etc.
• Central belt:
  • This region comprises the Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra region which is the extension of the Chhota Nagpur plateau.
  • There are huge reserves of Iron and limestone in Chhattisgarh.
  • Godavari-Wardha valley with huge coal reserves lies in this region.
• South Eastern region:
  • Eastern Karnataka: In this region, Bellary and Hospet are known for their iron reserves.
  • Andhra Pradesh: Cuddapa and Kurnool region are major mining centres. Nellore in Andhra Pradesh is known for Mica reserves.
  • Telangana: Telangana is known for Bauxite reserves.
  • Tamil Nadu: Tamil Nadu has the highest lignite coal reserves in India.
• South Western region:
  • Karnataka: Dharwad region of Karnataka is known for its high mineral reserves.
    • Shimoga, Chitradurg, Yumkur, Chikmaglur are some other areas with high mineral reserves.
  • Goa is known for its rich iron reserves.
  • Ratnagiri in Maharashtra also has iron reserves.
• North Western region:
  • This region consists of the areas Rajasthan and Gujarat along the Aravalli Range.
  • Gujarat is known for its petroleum deposits. Gujarat and Rajasthan both have rich sources of salt.
    • Example: Salt from Kutchh and Playa Lake of Rajasthan.
  • Rajasthan is rich in building stones i.e. sandstone, granite, marble. Gypsum and Fullers earth deposits are also extensive. Dolomite and limestone provide raw materials for the cement industry.

Iron Ore Distribution in India

Iron Ore

• Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be extracted.
• India has large reserves of iron ore. The major economic deposits are found in volcano-sedimentary Banded Iron Formation (BIF) from the Precambrian age.
• Magnetite is the finest iron ore with a very high content of iron up to 72 percent. It excellent magnetic qualities, especially valuable in the electrical industry.
• Hematite ore is the most important industrial iron ore in terms of the quantity used. It has a slightly lower iron content than magnetite.
• The highest producer of iron ore in India is the Odisha Jharkhand belt, Durg Bastar Chandrapur belt, Bellary-Chitradurga-Chikmagalur-Tumkur belt, and the Maharashtra Goa belt.
• Types of iron ore:
  • Magnetite:
    • most important and best kind of iron ore
    • contains about 72 percent metallic iron
    • found in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Kerala
  • Hematite:
    • contains about 60-70 percent metallic iron
    • red and brown in colour
    • found in Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa
  • Limonite:
    • contains about 30 to 40 percent metallic iron
    • mostly yellow in colour
    • low-grade iron ore
  • Siderite:
    • It has more impurities
    • contains about 48 percent metallic iron content
    • brown in colour
    • contains a mixture of iron and carbon
    • low-grade iron ore
    • self-fluxing due to the presence of lime

Reserves and Distribution of Iron Ore

• About 95% of total reserves of iron ore is found in the States of Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Goa, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.

• Karnataka:
  • Chikmagalur District:
    • It has high-grade iron ore deposits in Kemmangundi in Baba Budan Hills (supply to Bhdravati Steel Plant) and low-grade deposits in Kudremukh Hills.
    • Kudremukh iron ore is mined on a large scale for export from New Mangalore port.
  • Bellary-Hospet area and Sandur Ranges have deposits of high-grade iron ore (supply to Vijaynagar steel plant at Hospet).
  • Other mining areas in Karnataka are Chitradurga, Uttar Kannad, Shimaga, Dharwad, Tumkur, Kumaraswamy, and Ramandurg.
  • Donimalai Iron Ore Mine:
    • It is located in Bellary region and produces 4 million tonnes of Run of Mine ore per year with an average grade of 65% Iron.
    • Iron ore is exported through Chennai outer harbor in Tamil Nadu and Marmagao Port in Goa.
    • National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) mines iron ore in Donimalai.
    • NMDC stopped its operation due to the state government imposing an 80% premium on iron ore sales, but the lease has been extended for the next 20 years and NMDC is resuming its operations.
• Orissa:
  • The ores in Orissa are rich in Hematite. 
  • India’s richest Hematite deposits are located in Barabil-Koira Valley. This valley lies in Keonjhar and adjoining Sundergarh district.
  • The most important deposits occur in:
    • Keonjhar
    • Sundargarh
    • Mayurbhanj
    • Koraput
    • Cuttack
    • Sambalpur
• Chhattisgarh:
  • Chhattisgarh has 18% of India’s total iron ore reserves.
  • Iron ores are widely distributed, with prominent deposits in Bastar and Durg districts. Bailadila mine in Bastar district is the largest mechanized mine in Asia and produces high-grade ore.
  • Dalli-Rajhara range in Durg district has significant iron ore reserves with a ferrous content of 68 to 69 percent.
  • A 270 km long slurry pipeline is being constructed to bring ore from Bailadila to Vizag plant for smelting.
  • High-grade ore from Bailadila is exported through Vishakhapatnam to Japan and other countries where it is in great demand.
• Goa:
  • Iron ore production in Goa is a recent development.
  • Goa produces over 18 percent of the total production of India.
  • Nearly 315 mines are located in North Goa, Central Goa, and South Goa.
  • The richest ore deposits are located in North Goa.
  • River transport (through river Mandovi and Zuari connect through Cumberjua canal) or ropeways are used for local transport and Marmagao port for exporting the ore.
  • Most of Goa’s iron ore is exported to Japan.
• Jharkhand:
  • Jharkhand accounts for 25% of the country’s reserves and over 14% of total iron ore production.
  • Iron ore mining began in the Singhbhum district in 1904, which was then a part of Bihar.
  • Singhbhum’s iron ore is of the highest quality and will last for hundreds of years.
  • The main iron-bearing belt forms a range of about 50 km from Gua to Pantha in Bonai, Orissa.
  • Other deposits in Singhbhum include those of Budhu Buru, Kotamati Burn, and Rajori Buru.
  • The Noamandi mines are situated at Kotamati Buru and are well-known.
  • Magnetite ores occur near Daltenganj in the Palamu district.
  • Less important magnetite deposits have been found in Santhal Parganas, Hazaribagh, Dhanbad, and Ranchi districts.
• Other States:
  • Apart from the major producing states described above, iron ore in small quantities is produced in some other states also. They include :
    • Andhra Pradesh (1.02%): Kumool, Guntur, Cuddapah, Ananthapur, Khammam, Nellore
    • Maharashtra (0.88%): Chandrapur, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg
    • Madhya Pradesh (0.66%)
    • Tamil Nadu: Salem, North Arcot Ambedkar, Tiruchirapalli, Coimbatore, Madurai, Nellai Kattabomman (Tirunelveli)
    • Rajasthan: Jaipur, Udaipur, Alwar, Sikar, Bundi, Bhilwara
    • Uttar Pradesh: Mirzapur
    • Uttaranchal: Garhwal, Almora, Nainital
    • Himachal Pradesh: Kangra and Mandi
    • Haryana: Mahendragarh
    • West Bengal: Burdwan, Birbhum, Darjeeling
    • Jammu and Kashmir: Udhampur and Jammu
    • Gujarat: Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Vadodara
    • Kerala: Kozhikode.

Export of Iron Ore from India

• India is the fifth largest exporter of iron ore in the world, accounting for  50-60% of the total iron ore production to countries like Japan, Korea, European countries, and Gulf countries.
• Japan is the biggest buyer of Indian iron ore, accounting for about 75% of our total exports.
• Major ports handling iron ore export are Vishakhapatnam, Paradip, Marmagao, and Mangalore.

Problems Faced by Iron Ore Mining Industry in India

• India’s iron ore mining face a lot of problems, some of them are:
  • Lack of adequate mechanization
  • Infrastructure
  • Financial Resources
  • Human Resources
  • Environmental Concerns
  • Export orientation
  • Trade Policy
  • Global Economic Slowdown
  • Limited to a few states only