Minerals and power resources of india

1. MINERAL AND POWER
RESOURCES

2. • India has a variety of mineral resources that play a
very important role in the industrial development of
the country.
• India has large deposits of Iron ore, manganese ore
and bauxite ore.
• India has a virtual monopoly over mica.
• India is self-sufficient in coal but coking coal is
limited.
• India has small deposits of zinc, copper, lead and
gold.
• It lacks sulphur and is poor in the production of
mineral oil and natural gas. We have small deposits
of minerals required for nuclear energy.

3. IRON ORE
• India has some of the world’s largest reserves of iron ore.
• India stands second, next to Russia, in the world in iron ore reserves.
• The two important types of iron ores available in India are hematite and
magnetite.
• Orissa and Jharkhand have the largest iron ore deposit in India. The richest
iron ore belt is the U-shaped range from Singhbhum district in Jharkhand
passing through Keonghar, Mayurbhanj and Sundargarh districts in Orissa.
• The ore is hematite with 60-65% of iron. Raipur, Durg and Bastar districts of
Chhattisgarh are noted for iron ore production.
• There are iron ore reserves in Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu and Karnataka.
Kemmangundi in Chikkamagalur district, Hospet and Sandur in Bellary district
in Karnataka have hematite ore.
• In recent years magnetite ore is mined at Kudremukh in Karnataka.
Maharashtra also has some iron ore deposits.
• The iron ore produced in India is used by the iron and steel plants located in
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Karnataka
and Andhra Pradesh.
• India exports iron ore to Japan and other countries thus earning foreign
exchange. Japan imports 55% of the total iron ore produced in India. Iron ore is
exported through the ports of Marmagoa, Mangalore, Vishakhapatnam,
Paradeep and Haldia.
• The other countries which import iron ore from India are China, Italy, Iran etc.

9. MANGANESE ORE
• Manganese ore is an important ferro-alloy, which is smelted
with iron ore to produce steel.
• The hardness of steel depends on the quantity of manganese
ore used in its production.
• Manganese ore is also used in chemical industry, electrical
industry and production of varnishes.
• Indian manganese ore is high quality. Pyrolusite and
psilomelane are the important ores of manganese.
• Orissa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are the
important manganese ore producing states of India.
• The other states which produce manganese ore are Bihar,
Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Goa.
• Most of the manganese ore deposits are close to the iron ore
deposits and this is convenient for the production of steel.
• India exports manganese ore through Haldia, Vishakhapatnam,
Marmagoa and Mumbai ports to the USA, Europe and Japan.

10. MICA
• India has the largest deposits of mica in the world
and has monopoly over mica. 60% of the world's
total production of mica comes from India.
• It has some special qualities, the important among
them are insulation and elasticity. So it is very useful
in electrical industry, which has a great demand.
• Indian mica is considered to be the best mica in the
world.
• The important states, which produce mica, are
Jharkhand, Bihar, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.
Hazaribagh district in Jharkand and Gaya and
Munger districts of Bihar produce nearly half of
India’s mica.
• Most of India’s mica is exported to the USA, Britain,
Germany and France.

14. COPPER
• It is a very good conductor of heat. It is used
in electrical industry.
• Copper was used by early civilisations for
household utensils.
• Most of India’s copper is found in Bihar,
Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Madhya Pradesh.
• India’s production of copper is not sufficient
to meet the country’s demand. So we import
copper from the USA, Canada, Zambia,
Japan and East Africa.

16. GOLD
• India has very small deposits of gold.
• Until India attained Independence the only gold
mines were Kolar Gold Fields. Now, the gold is
mined at Hutti in Raichur district of Karnataka and
Ananthpur district of Andhra Pradesh.
• Kolar Gold Fields are very deep and gold is getting
exhausted. Many mines are being
closed down.
• Gold deposits in small quantities are also found in
Bihar, Kerala and Tamilnadu.
• Gold in the form of veins is found in quartz rocks at
Kappatagudda near Gadag district in Karnataka
state.

18. POWER RESOURCES
• Power resources is one of the most
important natural resources and is very
essential for the economic
development of a country.
• Coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydel
power and nuclear power are some of
the important power resources.
• The other power resources are wind
energy, tidal energy, geothermal
energy, solar energy and biogas.

19. COAL
• Coal is the most important source of energy in India. About 98% of India’s coal
belongs to the Gondwana Age. During this period, luxuriant forests were
submerged and after millions of years, due to a lot of heat and pressure, they
were converted into coal.
• Coal is not only a power resource but it also provides many bi-products.
• Coal is known as “Black diamond”. Anthracite and Bituminous coal are the two
kinds of coal.
• The coalfields are widely distributed in Damodar river valley. Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal states produce 89% of
India’s coal.
• Chhattisgarh has the largest coal deposits. Jharia, Bokaro, Giridih and
Karanpur are important coalfields.
• Jharia has the best coking coal, which is required for smelting of iron ore. It is
the largest producer of coking coal in India.
• Raniganj coalfield is the largest coalfield in India.
• Coal is in great demand for railway engines, steamers and for the production of
thermal energy.
• The river valleys of Godavari, Mahanadi, Son and Wardha have smaller
coalfields. The important coalfields are Sohagpur of Madhya Pradesh and
Korba of Chhattisgarh. There are also coalfields in Maharashtra, Andhra
Pradesh and Orissa. Indian coal is poor in quality.
• The superior coking coal is used for smelting iron ore and the inferior coal is
used for the production of thermal energy.

25. State Sub division Coalfields
West Bengal
Raniganj (Trans Barakar),Bankura
Darjeeling District Bagrakote, Tindharia
Bihar
Ranigunj (Cis Barakar), Jharia, Bokaro, Chandrapura, South Karampura, , Ramgarh
Rajmahal Area Hura, Gilhuria and Jilbari, Chuparbhita, Pachwara, Brahmini
Deogarh Area Kundit Kuria, Sahajuri, Jainti
Hazaribagh District Giridhi, Chope, Itkhori.
Palamu Region Anuranga, Daltongunj, Hutar
Madha Pradesh
South Rawa Region Singrauli, Korar, Johilla river, Umaria, Sohagpur
North Chattisgarh Region
Jhilmili, Tatapani-Ramkola, Sanhat, Jharkhand, Chirimiri-Kurasia, Koreagarh, Bassar, Bisrampur,
Lakhanpur, Panchbhaini, Dambhamunda, Sendargarh
South Chattishgarh Region Hasdo -, Korba, Raigarh, , Kankani.
Satpura Region MOhpani, Sonada, Sahpur (Tawa), Dulhara (Tawa), Pathakera, Bamhanwara, , , .
Maharashtra
Mahanadi Valley
Kamptee, Bandar, Warora, Rajur (Wun), Ghugus – Telwasa, Chanda, Ballarpur, Wamanapalli,
Antargaon – Aksapur, Sasti – Rajpura.
Orissa Talcher, Ib river ( – Hingir).
Andhra Pradesh Pranhita –Godavari Valley
Tandur Kanala, North Godavari, South Godavari, Jangam, Chinur-Sendrapalli, Kamavaram, Bandala –
Alapalli, Singareni (yellendu), Lingala, Kothagudium, Damar-cherla, Kannergiri, Beddadanuru.
Uttar Pradesh (in Mirzapur District)
Assam Abor, Aka and Daphla Hills
Sikkim Ranjit Valley
a) Lower Gondwana Coalfields in India:

26. b) Upper Gondwana Coalfields in India:
State Sub Division Coalfields
Gujrat Ghunkeri
Madhapradesh Satpura Region Hard River Valley
Maharastra Kota, Chikiyala

27. C) Tertiary Coalfields in India:
State Sub Division Coalfields
Assam
Namphuk, Namchik, Makum, Jaipur, Nazira, Janji, Disai
Mikir Hills Longloi Hills, , , , Koilapahar
Khasi and Jaintia
Hills
Langrin, Barsoura, Wah, , Lakma, Umasur, Charigaon,
Cherrapunji, Um Rileng, Mawlong, Mawbehlarkar,
Rangsonoba, Lairango, Jarain, Lakadong, Satunga
Garo Hills
Karaibari, Rongreggiri, Daranggiri, Tura, Sogring,
Waimong
Jammu and
Kashmir
Kalakoth, Methka, Mahogala, Chakar, Dhanswal-
Sawalkot, Ladda, Chinkah, lignites
Rajasthan Palana (in Bikanir)
Chennai Neyveli (South Arkot), Cuddalore – Area
Kerala Varkala, Quilon
Gujrat Umarsar (in )

28. State-wise distribution of Coal Resources and its categorisation
(As on 01.04.2010)
State
Geological Resources of Coal
Proved Indicated Inferred Total
Andhra Pradesh 9256.51 9730.37 3029.36 22016.24
Arunachal Pradesh 31.23 40.11 18.89 90.23
Assam 348.65 35.85 3.02 387.52
Bihar 0.00 0.00 160.00 160.00
Chattisgarh 12441.01 30230.12 4010.88 46682.01
Jharkhand 39633.05 30992.38 6338.26 76963.69
Madhya Pradesh 8504.85 11266.70 2216.07 21987.62
Maharastra 5359.82 2983.76 1964.51 10308.09
Meghalaya 89.04 16.51 470.93 576.48
Nagaland 8.76 0.00 306.65 315.41
Orissa 21506.66 32074.29 12726.30 66307.25
Nagaland 0.00 58.25 42.98 101.23
Uttar Pradesh 866.05 195.75 0.00 1061.80
West Bengal 11752.54 13029.61 5070.69 29852.84
Total 109798.17 130653.70 36358.54 276810.41
(in Million Tonnes)

29. PETROLEUM AND NATURAL
GAS
• Petroleum is the second important power resource. Petroleum is called
“liquid gold”, since it is used in all economic activities.
• Most of the petroleum and natural gas of India are found in Assam and Gujarat.
Petroleum was first discovered at Digboi in Assam and it was the only
producer of oil until Independence. Now oil is produced from oil wells in
Lakhimpur and Naga region (Hugrijan, Moran and Naharkatiya).
• New oil fields have been recently discovered by the Oil and Natural Gas
Commission (ONGC) in the Brahmaputra valley at Rudrasagar and Lakwa.
Gujarat basin is another oil producing area. The ONGC conducted exploration
and drilled the first oil well at Ankleshwar. Now many oil wells are dug in this
region. In 1974 oil was discovered In the Arabian Sea at Bombay High (110 kms
from Mumbai) and commercial production was started in 1976. This is the
largest oil field of India. Offshore drilling platform, Sagar Samrat, was bought
from Japan to drill the oil. Recently oil deposits have been discovered in the
deltaic regions of Kaveri, Krishna, Godavari and Mahanadi.
• Natural gas is another source of power. It is found along with petroleum
or separately. Bombay High is the largest producer of natural gas.
• The other regions which produce natural gas are Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and
Tamilnadu. Digboi was the only oil refinery till 1954.
• Now we have 17 oil refineries. Recently a new refinery was set up at Mangalore.
India does not produce enough petroleum, so it imports crude oil from Iran,
Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Russia.

33. NUCLEAR ENERGY
• India is deficient in petroleum and coal resources. So there is a great
need for the use of other sources of energy.
• India has small deposits of nuclear minerals. India has also developed
the technology for producing atomic energy.
• Uranium, thorium, plutonium and berilium are the important minerals
used for the production of atomic energy.
• The first nuclear plant was set up at Tarapur in Maharashtra in 1969.
The other nuclear plants that were set up later are at Ranapratap Sagar
in Rajasthan, Kalpakam in Tamilnadu, Narora in Uttar Pradesh and
Surat in Gujarat.
• Recently nuclear plants were set up at Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh
and Kaiga in Karnataka.
• The first five plants are located in places far away from coal and
petroleum deposits and hydel projects.
• There was a lot of local protest against the Kaiga nuclear plant, due to
the fear that radio active gases, which would be given out, would
cause destruction to the evergreen forests. But it has started
producing atomic energy from 2001. It has the capacity of producing
440 M.W. power.

34. HYDEL POWER
• India has a vast scope for the development of hydel power. The
North-Eastern region has more potential to produce hydel
power. Almost all the states of India produce hydel power.
• Andhra Pradesh leads in the production of hydel power in
India. The first successful power plant was started on Kaveri
river at Shivana Samudram in 1902 in Karnataka.
• Later Tata hydro-electric power station was started in the
Western Ghats in Maharashtra.
• Pykara project was the first hydel project in Tamilnadu.
• ‘Mandi power house’ project was the first project in the
Himachal Pradesh.
• Some of the other hydel power projects are Mahatma Gandhi
project at Jog Falls on Sharavathi river, Kalinadi project,
Ghataprabha and Varahi projects in Karnataka; Shabaragiri and
Idikki projects in Kerala; Salal hydel project in Jammu and
Kashmir; Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh.

35. OTHER SOURCES OF ENERGY
• The conventional sources of energy such as coal, petroleum
and natural gas are exhaustible resources, so India has
developed many other sources of energy during the Five Year
Plans, namely non-conventional sources of energy.
• The important non-conventional sources of energy are solar
energy, wind energy, bio-gas, tidal energy, geo-thermal energy
etc.
• The states of Gujarat, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra and Orissa have
favourable conditions for the generation of wind energy.
Kanyakumari region of Tamilnadu produces the largest
quantity of wind energy in our country. “Wind energy
technological station” has been set up at Chennai to develop
wind energy.

36. OTHER SOURCES OF ENERGY
• The Gulf of Kachchh and Khambat (Cambay) are
ideally suited for the generation of tidal energy,
Recently, tidal energy producing station has been
set up in “Sundarbans” in W.Bengal to produce tidal
energy in small quantity.
• Geo-thermal energy is produced from hot springs.
There are about 340 hot water springs in India, which
are helpful to produce geo-thermal energy. Himachal
Pradesh is noted for the production of geo-thermal
energy.
• Urban waste, sewage, and animal waste can be used
to generate energy. It is called bio-gas or gobar gas.
It can be used for domestic purposes as well as for
community purposes.

37. SOLAR ENERGY
• India has a favourable location for the development of solar
energy. India has already made progress in the use of solar
energy for daily requirements.
• It is a equi-stable energy and can rightly be called the energy of
the future, because it is an inexhaustible source of energy.
• Solar energy station at Baramar in Rajasthan was set up to
produce large quantities of solar energy. Solar energy is used
as a source of electricity in villages. It is also used in railway
signals, lift irrigation, and for communication media.
• Solar cookers and solar heaters are very popular. It is also
used in desalination of water and drying of grains.
• At Gurgaon near Delhi, a centre has been opened to carry out
special research in solar energy.