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Non-Metallic

  • Below is a survey of India’s non-metallic mineral resources.

Limestone and Dolomite

  • Limestone and dolomite occur in most of the geological formations of the country ranging from Pre-Cambrian to recent. 
  • Cuddapah, Guntur, Krishna, Khammam, Kurnool, West and East Godavari and Nalgonda districts of Andhra Pradesh possess over a third of the total reserves of cement-grade limestone in the country. 
  • Gulbarga, Bijapur and Shimoga districts of Karnataka have another one-third. Madhya Pradesh possesses 36 per cent of the country’s total reserves of flux-grade limestone.

Mica

  • India is the world’s largest producer and exporter of mica.
  • Mica represents a group of minerals characterised by perfect cleavage in a single direction due to which they can be split into extremely thin flexible and tough sheets orlaminate. It is used in the electrical industry and in medicines.
  • Economic deposits of mica are found in three important belts Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand and Gaya districts of Bihar, Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan. 50% of India’s mica comes from Jharkhand and Bihar.

Refractories

  • India has the world’s richest deposits of kyanite and sillimanite.
  • The Lapsa Buru area in Singhbhum district of Bihar has India’s largest reserves of kyanite quartz. About 83% of India’s total reserves of sillimanite are located in the Plateau of Meghalaya. Pipra near M.P. also has this element.
  • The beach sands of Kerala contain 5 to 6 per cent sillimanite. Magnetite occur in Sales (Tamil Nadu) and Almora (U.P.) in considerable amount.

Gypsum

  • Gypsum is a hydrated sulphide of Calcium. Over 94 per cent of gypsum reserves lie in Rajasthan (Bikaner and Jodhpur). 
  • It is used in manufacture of cement and fertilizer.

 

Facts To Be Remembered

RAILWAY

1853

First Train steamed off from Bombay to Than (April).

Central Railway came into existence (April).

1875

The North Eastern Railway came into existence.

1952

The Railway Testing and Research Centre formed.

1981

Diesel Component Works set up.

1986

Computerised  passenger reservation

system introdced.

1988

Rail Coach Factory set up in Kapurthala.

1996-97

A wheel and Axel Plant set up at Bangalore.

ROADS

1960

Border Roads Development Board set up.

1983

Nationa Institure for Training of Highway Engineers (NITHE) set up.

1986

Road Safety Cell set up.

1995

The National Highway Authority of India constituted.

SHIPPING

1941

Hindustan Shipyard Limited set up.

1948

Lal Bahadur Shastri College of Advanced Maritime Studies and  Research established.

1949

Marine Engineering and Research Institute (MERI) established.

1959

National Shipping Board established.

1961

The Shipping Corporation of India Limited formed.

1967

The Central Inland Water Transport Corporation (CIWTC) set up.

1972

Cochin Shipyard Limited incorporated.

1976

Dredging Corporation of India set up.

1984

Hooghly Dock and Port Engineers Limited came into existence.

1986

The lnland Waterways Authority of India set up.

1993

Shore-based Academy T.S. Chanakya established.

1997

National Shipping Policy Committee constituted.

AVIATION

1990

Government introduced 'Open sky policy' for Cargo.

1995

Airport Authority of India formed.

1997

A new policyon domestic air transport service approved. Tourism

1966

The India  Tourism  Development

Corporation established.

 

Steatite

  • Also known as talc and soapstone, steatite is a hydrous silicate of Magnesium.
  • The mineral occurs in ultrabasic rocks and metamorphosed dolomite limestone chiefly in Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh.
  • Procelain manufacture, ornamental work in buildings, lowcost ceramics used in radio and TV, paints, paper, soap and cosmetics, and refractory are some of the important industries in which steatite is used.

Salt
Common salt or sodium chloride contains 39.32 per cent sodium and 60.68 per cent chlorine. Nearly 70 per cent of the total consumption of salt in the country is for edible uses. 
There are three sources of production of salt in India: 

  • Seawater along the peninsular coasts;
  • Brine springs, wells and salt lakes of the arid tracts of Rajasthan; and 
  • Rock salt deposits of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
  • The coastal areas, particularly of Gujarat and Maharashtra, produce large quantities of salt from sea brine.

 

 Points to be Remembered
  • The two multipurpose river valley projects.– (i) Jennessee Valley in the United States, (ii) Damodar Valley in India
  • Name of the two radio-active elements– (i) uranium, and (ii) thorium
  • Name of the two Nuclear Power stations in India.– (i) Tarapur (Maharashtra), and (ii) Rawat Bhata (Rajasthan)
  • Name of the country of the world in which the wind mills are used to generate electricity-Netherlands.
  • The two countries in which the tidal energy has been harnessed to produce power– (i) Canada, and (ii) France
  • The countries in which the geothermal power has been developed–(i) United States, (ii) Italy, and (iii) New Zealand
  • Name of the two minerals which have shortage of reserves in the world– (i) zinc, and (ii) copper.
  • The two countries of the world which are famous for their offshore fisheries– (i) Netherlands, and (ii) Norway
  • The two wool producing countries of the world– (i) Australia, and (ii) New Zealand
  • The various land-forms over the surface of the earth are : mountains, plains, plateaus and valleys.
  • The different agents of gradation or external agents of change are: (i) rivers, (ii) glaciers, (iii) waves, and (iv) winds.
  • The internal agents of changes– (i) volcanoes, (ii) earthquakes, and (iii) interior movements.
  • The moving agents that transport the weathered materials– (i) rivers, (ii) winds, (iii) glaciers, (iv) ocean waves.


Minerals for atomic energy Uranium

  • Uranium is found in Jharkhand (Jaduguda mines), Himachal Pradesh, U.P. and Bastar region in M.P. 
  • Thorium is processed from the monazite sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu coast. Beryllium (a good moderator in atomic piles) is found in Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Kashmir and A.P.

Diamond

  • The Panna diamond belt, the only diamond producing area in the country is spread over the districts of Panna, Chatarpur and Satna in Madhya Pradesh.

 

NATIONAL PARKS & SANCTUARIES

Park

Location

Animal

1. Dachigam Sanctuary

Jammu & Kashmir

Kashmir Stag

2. Gir Forest

Gujarat

Lions

3. Kanha National Park

Madhya Pradesh

Tiger, Panther, Nilghai, barking deer

4. Sunderbans

West Bengal

Royal Bengal Tiger

5. Ghana Bird Sanctuary

Bharatpur

Siberian Crane

6. Corbett National Park

Nainital Uttar Pradesh

Tiger, Elephant, Nilghai

7. Manas Sanctuary

Assam

Wild Cats, Deer

8. Kaziranga

Assam

One Horned Rhinoceros

9. Bandipur Sanctuary

Karnataka

Soptted Deer

10. Chandra Prabha Sanctuary

Varanasi

Indian Lion

11. Hazariagh National Park

Hazaribagh Bihar

Tiger, Leopard

12. Mudumalai Sanctuary

Tamil Nadu

Wild Elephant, Wild Boar.

13. Periyar Game Sanutuary

Kerala

Wild Elephant and Indian Bison

14. Shivpuri Park

Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh

Wild Elephant, Deer.

15. Dudhawa National Park

Lakhimpur Kheri U.P 

Nilgai

 

Mineral Development

  • Under the Constitution, mineral rights and administration of mining laws are vested in the state government. 
  • The Central Government, however, regulates the development of minerals under the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957 and the rules and regulations framed under it. 
  • The Department of Mines has six public sector enterprises under its charge. 

These are: 

  • The Hindustan Zinc Ltd. (HZL),
  • Hindustan Copper Ltd., (HCL),
  • Bharat Gold Mines Ltd. (BGML),
  • Bharat Aluminium Co. Ltd., (BALCO), 
  • The National Alum-inium Co. Ltd. NALCO) 
  • The Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd. (MECL).

 

Countries and Parliaments

Country

Parliament

Afghanistan

Shora

Bhutan

Tsongdu

Britain

House of Commons and House of Lords

Canada

House of Commons and Senate

China, Mainland

National People’s Congress

China, National

Yuan

Denmark

Folketing

Germany

Bundesrat

Iceland

Althing

India

Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

Iran

Majlis

Ireland

Dail

Israel

Knesset

Japan

Diet

Libya

General People’s Congress

Malaysia

Dewan Rakyat and

Dewan Negara

Mongolia

Great People’s Khural

Myanmar

Pyithu Huttaw (People’s Assembly)

Nepal

House of Representatives and National Council

Netherlands

The States General

New Zealand

House of Representatives

South Africa

House of Assembly

Spain

Cortes

Sweden

Riksdag

Switzerland

Federal Assembly

Turkey

Grand National Assembly

U.S.A.

Congress (House of

Representatives and Senate

 

New Names of Countries/Cities

New Name

Old Name

Ankara

Angora

Bangladesh

East Pakistan

Belize

British Honduras

Benin

Dahomey

Botswana

Bechunaland

Cambodia

Kampuchea

Cape Kennedy

Cape Canaveral

Ethiopia

Abyssinia

Ghana

Gold Coast

Guinea

French Guinea

Guinea Bissau

Portuguese Guinea

Indonesia

Dutch East Indies

Iraq

Mesopotamia

Iran

Persia

Jakarta

Batavia

Malagasy

Madagascar

Malaysia

Malaya

Malawi

Nyasaland

Mali

French West Africa

Myanmar

Burma

Namibia

South West Africa

Netherlands

Holland

Sri Lanka

Ceylon

Suriname

Dutch Guyana

Taiwan

Formosa

Tanzania

Tanganyika and Zanzibar

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FAQs on Mineral Resources (Part - 2) - Additional Study Material for UPSC

1. What are mineral resources?
Ans. Mineral resources refer to naturally occurring substances found within the Earth's crust that have economic value. These resources can be extracted and processed to obtain minerals and metals that are used in various industries.
2. What are the different types of mineral resources?
Ans. There are several types of mineral resources, including metallic minerals (such as gold, silver, copper, and iron), non-metallic minerals (such as limestone, gypsum, and salt), energy minerals (such as coal, oil, and natural gas), and precious gems (such as diamonds and rubies).
3. How are mineral resources formed?
Ans. Mineral resources are formed through various geological processes. Metallic minerals are often formed through the cooling and solidification of molten rock, while non-metallic minerals can be formed through evaporation, precipitation, or biological processes. Energy minerals, such as coal and oil, are formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals that have undergone heat and pressure over millions of years.
4. What are the major challenges in the extraction of mineral resources?
Ans. The extraction of mineral resources faces several challenges, including environmental impacts, social issues, and technical difficulties. Mining activities can cause habitat destruction, water pollution, and soil erosion. Additionally, there may be conflicts over land rights and displacement of local communities. From a technical perspective, accessing deep-lying mineral deposits can be challenging and require advanced mining techniques.
5. How can sustainable mining practices be promoted for mineral resource extraction?
Ans. Sustainable mining practices can be promoted by implementing various measures. These include minimizing environmental impacts through proper waste management, reclamation of mined areas, and using technologies that reduce water and energy consumption. Furthermore, engaging with local communities, respecting their rights, and providing fair compensation can help address social challenges associated with mining. Additionally, promoting research and development in sustainable mining technologies can lead to more efficient and environmentally friendly extraction processes.
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