Types and Occurrence of Minerals
* Minerals are essential for our economic development and personal well-being.
* Minerals occur naturally in the earth’s crust
* India is a mineral-rich country.
Minerals can be classified as:
* Metallic minerals
* Ferrous minerals
* Non-ferrous minerals
* Precious metals
* Non-Metallic minerals
* Energy or Fuel minerals
Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Minerals
* Ferrous minerals contain iron, e.g. iron ore and manganese.
* Iron has rich deposits of ferrous minerals.
* Non-ferrous minerals don not contain iron, e.g. copper and bauxite
* Bauxite is the main ore of aluminium.
* India has unsatisfactory reserves of non-ferrous minerals.
Non-Metallic Minerals
* Mica is a non-metallic composed of thin leaves joined together.
* Limestone is a form of sedimentary rock almost entirely composed of calcium carbonate.
* Mine workers face serious risks to their health and life.
* Minerals are limited and non-renewable resources.
Energy Resources
* The conventional sources of energy include firewood; cattle dung cakes, coal, petroleum, natural gas, and hydro and thermal electricity.
* Intense heat and pressure over millions of years has turned prehistoric plant material buried under how much pressure.
* Petroleum provides fuels like petrol and diesel, industrial lubricants and raw material for number of industries, including textiles, fertilisers and cosmetics.
* Natural gas is a mixture of gases found trapped in rock with or without petroleum.
Electricity and Non-Conventional Sources of Energy
* Electricity can be generated through several methods.
* The present production of electricity depends heavily on the use of fossil fuels.
* We need to develop non-conventional sources of energy to ensure future energy security.
* Solar energy, wind energy, biogas, tidal energy and geothermal energy are some non-conventional sources of energy.
Conservation of Energy
* The demand for energy is rising in all parts of the country.
* We are heavily dependent on fossil fuels to meet energy requirements.
* To ensure future energy security, we must develop renewable sources of energy and implement ways for energy conservation.