MINERALS OF INDIA | History| L-14|

What are Minerals?

Minerals are naturally occurring substances that are typically solid, inorganic, and have a crystalline structure. They are taken out of the ground through mining or quarrying after having been created over geological time from the Earth’s crust. 

 

Several economic sectors, including construction, manufacturing, electronics, and energy production, depend on minerals.

They work in the manufacturing of products like cement, metals, glass, fertilisers, and electronic component parts. Among the minerals admired for their aesthetic attributes are gold, silver, and diamonds, which are used in jewellery and other ornamental items.

Minerals are frequently traded internationally because of their importance to the economy and scarcity, and many nations view them as essential resources.

 

Physical Characteristics of Minerals

Some of the Physical Characteristics of Minerals are:

 

A mineral’s hardness determines how resistant it is to scratching or abrasion. It is rated using the Mohs scale, which goes from 1 (softest) to 10 (hardest, like a diamond).

A mineral’s colour can differ depending on its composition, impurities, and other elements. But some minerals have distinctive colours, like sulphur (yellow), malachite (green), and hematite.

A mineral’s luster describes how it reflects light. The luster of minerals can be metallic (like gold), vitreous (like glass), pearly (like pearl), or drab (like clay).

When a mineral fractures, it does so over an uneven surface, as opposed to when it cleaves along a flat surface. Minerals can display conchoidal, irregular, or splintery fracture as well as excellent, good, or bad cleavage.

The mass of a mineral per unit volume is its density. Depending on the structure and composition of the mineral, it can change. Pyrite, for instance, is denser than quartz.

Many minerals form distinct crystal shapes, such as cubes, hexagons, or prisms. These shapes are determined by the mineral’s internal structure and can be used to identify it.

 

List of Major Minerals in India

India is a mineral-rich country and is home to several major minerals including coal, iron ore, bauxite, copper, gold, zinc, lead, and others. These minerals play a vital role in India’s economy and industrial growth.

 

List of Important Major Minerals in India

 

Mineral Resources In India

 

Mining State(s)

 

Iron ore

 

Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Goa

 

Bauxite

 

Odisha, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra

 

Coal

 

Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana

 

Lead

 

Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar

 

Zinc

 

Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat

 

Copper

 

Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Singhbhum district of Jharkhand

 

Gypsum

 

Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat

 

Chromite

 

Odisha, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu

 

Limestone

 

Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu

 

Manganese

 

Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh

 

Silver

 

Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat

 

Nickel

 

Odisha, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh

 

Diamond

 

Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Odisha

 

Gold

 

Karnataka, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu