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Minerals -The naturally occurring compounds of elements are known as mineral. In other words a mineral is a naturally occurring solid having a crystal structure and a definite chemical composition. Minerals can be classified as metallic, non- metallic and energy minerals.

Define the term ‘mineral ore’: An Ore is a type of rock that contains sufficient minerals with important elements including metals that can be economically extracted from the rock. The ores are extracted from the earth through mining. Ores are then refined to extract the valuable element/s.

They are formed by geological process and are usually inorganic and solid in nature. There are also few organic materials, like silver, gold, diamond etc in the earth’s crust.

Gangue- the impurities present in ore such as sand rock etc is known as gangue.

Mineral Ore: A mineral or an aggregate of minerals from which a valuable constituent, especially a metal, can be profitably mined or extracted.

The classifications of minerals are:

• Metallic minerals : we get metal from these minerals , ore of iron, copper, gold, silver, tin etc. are important example of metallic minerals can further be divided into farous and non- farous.
• Farous minerals: these minerals which contain iron ore are known as ferrous minerals.iron ore, nikkel, cobalt, are some important farrous minerals.
• Non-farrous minerals: Minerals containing metals other than are known as non- farous minerals.gold, silver etc.are called Non-farrous minerals.
• Precious minerals: The minerals which have very high economic value are known as precious minerals for example gold, silver etc.
• Non-Metallic minerals: These are Minerals which do not contain metals.coal,mica etc are some important non-metallic minerals . there is deficiency of copper,lead,zinc and gold.
• Energy minerals: The minerals which provided energy or power are known as energy minerals.coal, natural gas are the most important energy minerals.

1. Metallic Minerals   : Metallic minerals exhibit lustre in their appearance and consist of metals in their chemical composition. These minerals serve as a potential source of metal and can be extracted through mining. Examples of metallic minerals are Manganese, iron ore and bauxite are Metallic minerals and be divided into ferrous and non-ferrous metallic minerals.

Ferrous minerals are one that contains iron and non-ferrous are one that does not contain iron.

2. Non-metallic minerals: Non-metallic minerals are minerals which either show a non-metallic lustre or shine in their appearance. Extractable metals are not present in their chemical composition. Limestone, gypsum, and mica are examples of non-metallic minerals.

• Bauxite ore mostly exists in deeply weathered rocks. Volcanic rocks contain bauxite deposits in some regions.
• Iron metal extracted from iron ore. It never exists in pure form and has to be extracted from iron ore by eliminating the impurities.
• Gold is the oldest and most precious element to be known.
• Manganese ore is a silvery brittle or grey-white metallic ore occurs in many forms and found worldwide.

What are Ores: –Ores   are the mineral from which an element can be extracted easily and profitably is called an ore. Ore is a deposit in Earth’s crust of one or more valuable minerals. The most valuable ore deposits contain metals crucial to industry and trade, like copper, gold, and iron. Copper ore is mined for a variety of industrial uses.

Two types of iron ore are Magnetite and Hematite

Placer deposits– Minerals occurring as alluvial deposits are names as “Placer Deposits”. These occur in sands of valley floors and base of hills. Placer deposits contain minerals that cannot be corroded by water.

Example of minerals found in placer deposits– gold, silver, platinum etc.

What is a mine- A mine is a place where deep holes or tunnels are dug into the earth form which ore or minerals are extracted.

Some common forms of mining prevalent in India are:-

Open Pit Mining: Open-pit mining, also known as opencast mining is a surface mining technique that extracts minerals from an open pit in the ground. Open-pit mining is the most common method used throughout the world for mineral mining and does not require extractive methods or tunnels. This surface mining technique is used when mineral or ore deposits are found relatively close to the surface of the earth. Open-pits are sometimes called ‘quarries’ when they produce building materials and dimension stone.

Benefits of open-pit mining include:

• Ease-of-use for mass production
• Small shut-down expense
• Ability to mine selectively for certain grades of ore
• Comparatively small crew size
• Elimination of safety hazards that can accompany complex underground mining operations
• Easy drainage of subsurface water
• No machinery restrictions – even heavy and bulky machinery can be utilized
• Lower capital and operating costs

Underground / Deep Shaft Mining : shaft mining or shaft sinking refers to the method of excavating a vertical or near-vertical tunnel from the top down, where there is initially no access to the bottom. Shaft mining is the process where miners dig straight down, or almost straight down, until they reach their desired depth. Then the mine begins to branch out in all directions. Miners will enter or exit a mine through a lift or elevator installed where the initial vertical tunnel was originally.

Rat hole Mining: A rat–hole mine involves digging of very small tunnels, usually only 3-4 feet deep, in which workers, more often children, enter and extract coal. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned it in 2014, on grounds of it being unscientific and unsafe for workers.

Quarrying:  Quarrying is the process of removing rock, sand, gravel or other minerals from the ground in order to use them to produce materials for construction or other uses. So, a quarry is any such working on the surface of the earth where minerals are extracted. The process of raking out stones from natural rock beds is known as the quarrying. The term quarry is used to indicate the exposed surface of natural rocks. In case of quarry, the operations are carried out at ground level in an exposed condition.

Drilling:  Drilling, is where boreholes are made deep into the ground to access minerals that are deeply seated and mostly in liquid or gas state. The method is mostly used for minerals such as petroleum.

The total volume of workable mineral deposits is an insignificant fraction i.e. one per cent of the earth’s crust. We are rapidly consuming mineral resources that took millions of years to be created and concentrated. The geological processes of mineral formation are so slow that the rates of replenishment are infinitely small in comparison to the present rates of consumption. Mineral resources are, therefore, finite and non-renewable. Hence their conservation is essential.

Conservation of minerals is essential because:  It is a finite resource as only one percent of the earth’s crust comprises of workable minerals and it is non-renewable. Four ways to conserve minerals:

• Use of mineral resources has to be planned to avoid overexploitation and contribute to sustainable development.
• Technology has to be improved in a way that low-grade ores can be used at lower costs.
• Metals should be recycled.
• Scrap metals and substitutes must be used rather than continued mining of ores.

Factors affecting the economic viability of minerals resources.

• The concentration of mineral in the ore.
• The ease of extraction.
• Closeness to the market.

Iron ore, a basic mineral of ferrous minerals is the backbone of metallurgical industrial development. Because of very high content of iron up to 70 %, Magnetite is having excellent magnetic qualities. On other hand, Hematite ore is the most important industrial iron ore in terms of the quantity used.

Hematite and Magnetite are the two types of iron ore that are chiefly found in India. Jharkhand and Odisha are the two states in India which have the richest iron ore deposits.  

Uses of manganese ore:  Manganese is used for making iron & steel, and for making ferro- manganese alloys. It is also used for manufacturing of bleaching powder, paints and insecticides. Manganese is found in Karnataka, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh.

 Aluminium is obtained from the ore bauxite. Aluminium is considered as a important metal because it is used for various purposes-for making utensils, minting of coins, used in aircraft industry etc. Aluminium is also used in high voltage transmission wires because of its high conductivity. Jamaica is the leading producer of bauxite in the world, from which aluminium is obtained. Aluminium Industry is the second most important metallurgical industry in India. There are 8 aluminium smelting plants in the country located in Odisha (formerly Orissa) (Nalco and Balco), West Bengal, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

Discuss the impact of mining on health and the environment.: Mining can impact local communities both positively and negatively. While positive impacts such as employment and community development projects are important, they do not off-set the potential negatives.

The main hazards in the mining Industry are air borne and physical. Airborne hazards include several types of particulates, dusts naturally occurring gases and noxious fumes, engine exhaust and chemical vapours. These make the miners prone to pulmonary diseases and respiratory problems. The main physical hazards are noise, segmental vibrations heat, changes in barometric pressure and ionizing radiation. The risk of roof collapse, inundation due to mining. Dumping of waste, slurry, overburden leads to degradation of land, water and soil.

Social Adverse Impact of Mining:

• Forcing them from their homes and land
• Preventing them from accessing clean land and water
• Impacting on their health and livelihoods
• Causing divisions in communities over who benefits from the mine and who doesn’t
• Changing the social dynamics of a community
• Exposing them to harassment by mine or government security
• Women aren’t consulted when companies negotiate access to land, compensation or benefits. women mine workers often face discrimination, poor working conditions and unequal pay for equal work
• When mining damages the environment, it undermines women’s ability to provide food and clean water for their families and can increase their workload
• Compensation and benefits are paid to men “on behalf of” their families, denying women access to mining’s financial benefits and potentially increasing their economic dependence on men
• Women can lose their traditional status in society when mining creates a cash-based economy
• A transient male work force can bring increased alcohol, sex workers and violence into a community, which can affect women’s safety

Numerous initiatives have been made to reduce risk and maximize benefits but much more needs to be done. Laws and regulations need to be improved to better protect the health and safety of people working in, living near, and those otherwise impacted by historic, current, and proposed mines.

Conservation of minerals resources

Conservation of mineral resources is essential because they are country’s valuable possession.  Steps by which we can conserve minerals are:

• Minerals should be used in a planned and sustainable manner.
• Recycle of metals also helps in the conservation of mineral resources.
• Non conventional sources of energy should be harnessed for the generation of electricity.
• Should minimize the burning of Coal (70%of electricity in India is generated by coal) and every individual should use public transport, car pooling and switching off lights and fans when not in use.
• People can conserve mineral resources by utilizing renewable resources. Eg – using hydro electricity and solar power as sources of energy may conserve mineral resources such as coal.

Energy can be defined as the capacity for, or equivalent of, doing work. … Society needs energy for transportation, heating and cooling of buildings, powering production processes in industry, and various household needs. Sources of energy are classified as renewable or nonrenewable.

What are energy resources:  An energy resource is something that can produce heat, power life, move objects, or produce electricity. Matter that stores energy is called a fuel. Most of the energy we use today come from fossil fuels (stored solar energy)

Differentiate between conventional and non-conventional sources of energy.

Conventional Sources	Non-conventional Sources
Conventional sources of energy (e.g. coal, petroleum and natural gas) are non-renewable sources of energy.	Non-conventional sources of energy (e.g. solar and wind energy) are renewable sources of energy.
They have been in use since a long time. For example, firewood and coal have been in use since a long time.	These sources have recently developed and are still developing. For example, the technology of producing electricity from solar panels has recently developed.
Most of these energy sources (e.g. coal and firewood) cause pollution when used.	They do not cause any pollution (e.g. solar energy, geothermal energy etc.)
They are common and widely used sources (e.g. thermal power).	They are comparatively new sources of energy and hence are not widely used. For example, solar panels and wind mills are not widely used.

Minerals are usually found in form of “ores” in which minerals are mixed with other elements. Ferrous minerals like Iron ore, Manganese which covers 3/4th of total production of metallic minerals and non-ferrous minerals like copper, bauxite have provided a strong base for development of metallurgical industries in India.

 Odisha  is the largest producer of  bauxite and alone accounts for 51% of country’s resources , followed by Andhra Pradesh (16%), Gujarat (9%), Jharkhand (6%), Maharashtra (5%) and Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh (4% each).

A total of 306.60 billion ton coal reserve is estimated by GSI in 2015.

Importance of coal as a Source of energy & raw Materials: One third of the energy used throughout the world is comes from coal. In addition to supplying fuel, coal is used in the production of many chemical products, including medicines and pesticides. India is highly dependent upon coal for meeting its commercial energy requirements. Eg Power generation and supplying energy to industries as well as for domestic needs.

Main Varieties of Coal: Its main varieties are lignite, bituminous and anthracite.

Coal deposits are primarily found in eastern and southern central India. Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra accounted for 98.26 % of the total known coal reserves in India.

Petroleum is a liquid fossil fuel.

A fossil fuel is a fuel formed by natural processes, such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms, containing organic molecules originating in ancient photosynthesis that release energy in combustion.

How is petroleum obtained– Petroleum is found in underground pockets called reservoirs. The petroleum industry uses a wide variety of extraction pumps. Which pump to use depends on the geography, quality, and position of the oil reservoir? Refining petroleum is the process of converting crude oil or bitumen into more useful products, such as fuel or asphalt. Crude oil comes out of the ground with impurities, from sulfur to sand. These components are separated by heating the crude oil in a distillation tower that has trays and temperatures set at different levels. Oil’s hydrocarbons and metals have different boiling temperatures, and when the oil is heated, vapors from the different elements rise to different levels of the tower before condensing back into a liquid on the tiered trays. 

Propane, kerosene, and other components condense on different tiers of the tower, and can be individually collected. They are transported by pipeline, ocean vessels, and trucks to different locations, to either be used directly or further processed.

Petroleum is an important source of energy and raw materials: On account of the various by products obtained during the refining, petroleum refineries serves as nodal industry for chemical, fertilizer and synthetic textiles industries. It provides fuel for heating, lighting, running machineries and vehicles, lubricants for machineries and raw materials for some manufacturing different products, such as plastics, chemicals etc.

Important areas which produce petroleum in India. The areas having rich petroleum deposits are Mumbai, Gujarat, Assam and Bihar. There are 18 oil refineries in India at present.

Coal, crude oil, and natural gas are all considered fossil fuels because they were formed from the fossilized, buried remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago. Because of their origins, fossil fuels have a high carbon content

Most abundantly available fossil fuels in India. : – Coal is the most abundantly available fossil fuel in India.

The full form of LPG – Liquid Petroleum Gas

The full form of CNG – Compressed Natural Gas

Types of Electricity Produced in India:  India is the sixth largest in terms of power generation. About 65% of the electricity consumed in India is generated by thermal power plants, 22% by hydroelectric power plants, 3% by nuclear power plants and rest by 10% from other alternate sources like solar, wind, biomass etc

Hydro Electricity and Thermal Electricity are the two main types of electrical energy in India

Difference between Hydro Electricity and Thermal Electricity

Hydroelectricity	Thermal electricity
Hydroelectricity  is generated by fast flow in water	Thermal electricity is generated by using coal, petroleum and natural gas.
Hydroelectricity is a permanent source of electricity as the supply water cannot exhausted, because water is a renewable resource	Thermal power is not a permanent source of electricity as the coal; petroleum and natural gas are the non-renewable resources.
Though the hydel power and the thermal electricity are pollution free at production source hydel power generates less pollution.	At the production source of thermal electricity, it generates high pollution.
Production cost of hydro-electricity is much	Production cost of the thermal electricity is higher if compared with Hydroelectricity
Multipurpose projects like the Bakra Nangal Damodar Valley Corporation etc produce Hydro Electricity	There are over 310 thermal power plants in India eg Loktak, Santaldih, Talcher, Neyveli, Ukai, Dhuvaran Etc.

Nuclear energy is energy in the nucleus (core) of an atom. Atoms are tiny particles that make up every object in the universe. There is enormous energy in the bonds that hold atoms together. Nuclear energy can be used to make electricity.

Nuclear energy is a non-renewable energy source that comes from the nucleus of atoms. Nuclear fusion is when the nuclei of atoms are combined or fused together. Nuclear fission is when the nuclei of atoms are split apart. Nuclear power plants produce electricity by using nuclear fission.

Examples of Nuclear Energy:

• A fission reaction at a nuclear power plant provides enough energy to give electricity to large cities.
• The fusion reaction in the sun provides our planet with all of the energy it needs for living organisms to survive.

Need to conserve energy resources: – Energy saved is energy produced. All of us should remember that India is one of the least energy efficient countries in the world. There is a great need to plan and adopt a cautious approach to deal with our limited resources.  We need to develop a sustainable path for energy development and energy consumption. Most of our energy comes from fossil fuels like petroleum and coal that provide electricity and gas to power our growing energy needs. These resources are non renewable that we will eventually run out. Conserving energy not only helps us to conserve resources but also translate into financial savings.

Two important factors that need to be targeted are, (a) promotion of energy conservation and (b)popularizing the use of renewable energy sources. Steps that can be taken at the individual level to conserve energy resources:  At individual level we can limit the use of unnecessary appliances’ and switch off lights when not required.

Steps that can be taken at the individual level to conserve energy resources:  At individual level we can limit the use of unnecessary appliances’ and switch off lights when not required.