Minerals & Major Industries of India

Part 2 · Ferrous and non-ferrous minerals

Iron, Manganese, Bauxite and Copper

India is rich in iron ore, manganese and bauxite, but critically short of copper and most other non-ferrous metals.

India is endowed with vast reserves of good quality of iron ore.
- She possesses over 20 percent of the world's total reserves.
- The quality of Indian ore is very high with iron content of above 60 percent.
Most of iron ore found in the country is of three types: Haematite, magnetite and limonite.
- Haematite ore contains up to 68 percent of iron. It is red in color and is often referred to as 'red ore'.
- Next to haematite in quantity and richness is the magnetite ore. It contains up to 60 percent of the iron. It is dark brown to blackish in colour, and is often referred as 'black ores'.
- Limonite is the third type of ore which has iron content of 35-50 percent. It is yellow in colour.
- Since India has large reserves of haematite and magnetite ores, inferior quality ore like limonite is rarely exploited.
The total estimated reserves of iron ore in the country are placed at about 12,857 million tonnes of which 12,317 million tonnes are haematite ore and about 540 million tonnes of magnetite ore. This is roughly about one fourth of the world reserves.
Iron ore deposits are found practically in every state of India. However, 96 percent of the total reserves are in Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Goa.
- These states also account for 96 percent of the total production of iron ore in the country.

Non-ferrous minerals (do not contain iron)

They include gold, silver, copper, tin, lead and zinc. These metallic minerals are highly important in day to day life. However, India is very poor and deficient in all of these minerals.

Bauxite: Bauxite is a non-ferrous metallic mineral. It is the ore from which aluminium metal is produced. India's reserves of bauxite are sufficient to keep the country self-reliant.
- Bauxite deposits are formed by the decomposition of a wide variety of rocks rich in aluminium silicates.
- India's bauxite deposits are mainly found in the Amarkantak plateau, Maikal hills and the plateau region of Bilaspur-Katni.
- Major reserves occur in Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Uttar Pradesh.
- Odisha was the largest (1/3rd of total) bauxite producing state in India. Kalahandi and Sambalpur are leading producers. Other two producing areas are Bolangir and Koraput (Panchpatmali deposits).
- The Patland of Jharkhand in Lohardaga have rich deposits.
- In Gujarat, Jamnagar and Bhavnagar have major deposits.
- Chhattisgarh has bauxite deposit in Amarkantak plateau while Katni-Jabalpur area and Balaghat in M.P. have important deposits of bauxite.
- Maharashtra possesses the second largest bauxite reserves consisting of 22 percent of the country's total reserves. Bauxite occurs in Kolhapur, Raigarh, Thana, Satara and Ratnagiri districts.
- In Karnataka the reserves of bauxite occur in the north-western parts of Belgaum district.
Copper: India is critically deficient in the reserve and production of copper.
- The Balaghat mines in Madhya Pradesh, Khetri mines in Rajasthan and Singhbhum district of Jharkhand are leading producers of copper.

Part 3 · Mica, limestone, coal, oil, gas and atomic minerals

Non-metallic, Fuel and Atomic Minerals

Mica (with Bihar's famous ruby mica), limestone, coal, petroleum, natural gas, uranium and thorium.

Mica

India is the leading producer in mica.
It was one of the indispensable minerals used in electrical and electronic industries till recently. However its synthetic substitute has reduced our exports as well as production considerably.
Although mica is widely distributed but workable deposits occur in three principal belts. They are in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and Rajasthan.
Bihar and Jharkhand produce the high-quality ruby mica. The mica belt in Bihar and Jharkhand extends from Gaya district in the west through Hazaribagh and Munger district to Bhagalpur district in the east.
- Outside this main belt, mica occurs in Dhanbad, Palamau, Ranchi and Singhbhum district.
- The state supplies more than 80% of India's output.
Example: Nawada district of Bihar (Part 4 of Page 2) is part of this mica belt.
In Andhra Pradesh, Nellore district produces the best quality mica.
Rajasthan is the third largest mica producing state: found in Jaipur, Udaipur, Bhilwara, Ajmer and Kishangarh etc.
Some deposits occur in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh.
Mica mining in India was mainly done for export. The principal importing country was the U.S.A.

Limestone

Madhya Pradesh possesses 36 percent of the total reserves.
Other major producing states are Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
- Rohtas district of Bihar and Palamau districts of Jharkhand also have limestone deposits.
- Karnataka contributes about 10 percent of the total reserves. They are found in Bijapur, Belgaum and Shimoga districts.

Mostly formed during Gondwana formation (later than Carboniferous time) ⇒ so, Inferior in quality.
- Volatile, Sulphur + moisture is high.
- Calorific value is low.
- Coking coal is lacking.
Coal in India occurs in two important types of coal fields. They are the Gondwana coal fields and Tertiary coal fields.
- Out of the total coal reserves and production in India, Gondwana coal fields contribute 98% and the rest 2% is produced by tertiary coal fields.
- The Gondwana coal fields are located in the sedimentary rock systems of lower Gondwana Age. They are distributed chiefly in the river valleys of the Damodar (Jharkhand – West Bengal); the Son (Madhya Pradesh – Chhattisgarh); the Mahanadi (Orissa), the Godavari (Andhra Pradesh) and the Wardha (Maharashtra).
- Tertiary coalfields occur in the extra-peninsular areas which include Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Sikkim.
- Besides lignite or brown coal are found in coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and in land basins of Rajasthan.
Not enough high grade coking coal – depend on import.
Good and low grade coal found together – selective mining = wasteful.
- Washing, dressing, blending, briquetting of inferior coal needed.
- Washing – lower down ash content – waste removed – low weight – transportation cost reduced.

Share of petroleum production

Mumbai High63%
Gujarat18%
Assam16%

Iron content of ore (up to)

Haematite68%
Magnetite60%
Limonite50%

Uses of limestone

Cement76%
Iron & steel16%
Chemicals4%

Part 4 · Minerals in development and the National Mineral Policy 2019

What Minerals Do for the Economy, and the New Mineral Policy

Minerals feed industry, energy, jobs and exports. The 2019 policy aims at more effective regulation and a more sustainable approach.

The contribution in the economic development of Indian economy

Mineral resources are amongst the most important natural resources that dictate the Industrial and economic development of a country because they provide raw materials to the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy.

Iron is used in almost every kind of Industries. e.g. to manufacture steel, in civil engineering and heavy industry.
Manganese ore forms an important ingredient in the manufacture of iron and steel. It is also used in manufacture of dry batteries, in photography, leather and match industries.
- About 85 percent of total manganese consumption in India is used by metallurgical industries. It is also used in manufacturing bleaching powder, insecticides and paints.
Bauxite: Aluminium extracted from the ore is used in making aeroplanes, electrical appliances and goods, household fittings, utensils etc.
- Bauxite is also used for manufacturing of white colour cement and certain chemicals.
Copper: Being malleable, ductile and a good conductor, copper is mainly used in electrical cables, electronics and chemical industries.
Limestone: 76 percent of the country's total consumption is used in cement industry, 16 percent in iron and steel industry and 4 percent in chemical industries.
In India, coal is the primary source of commercial energy. It is used as fuel in industries, thermal power stations and also for domestic purposes in some parts of the country.
- It is also used as a raw material in chemical and fertiliser industries.
Petroleum products used as fuel, lubricant, material for manufacturing synthetic derivatives and chemicals required in industries.
- Petroleum refineries act as a "nodal industry" for synthetic textile, fertiliser and numerous chemical industries.
Natural Gas is used as a source of energy as well as an industrial raw material in the petrochemical industry.
Fuel Minerals provide energy ⇒ backbone of economy.
Provide direct employment during mining and extraction process. Research groups also work to explore the mineral availability and its extraction.
Export of mineral helps bridging the current account deficit.

Why a new policy?

Currently, the GDP contribution of the mining industry varies from 2.2% to 2.5% only. As per FICCI, the Indian mining sector's contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) needs to more than double for the country to reach a double-digit growth rate. Further, the mining in India is also infamous for human rights violations and environmental pollution. So, government has brought in new mineral policy as per recommendation of K Rajeswara Rao committee.

The key points of the National Mineral Policy, 2019

The National Mineral Policy, 2019 aims at bringing about more effective regulation to the sector as well as a more sustainable approach while addressing the issues of those affected by mining.

Industry status

The NMP 2019 proposes to grant industry status to mining activity. This is to boost financing of mining for private sector and for acquisitions of mineral assets in other countries by private sector.

Right of first refusal

Earlier, if a firm that has a reconnaissance permit (RP) finds evidence of minerals, it has to inform the government. The government will then auction off the area. But under the new policy, such firms will get the right of first refusal i.e. the same firm would be given the area for mining.

Private sector

NMP 2019 talks of rationalising reserved areas earmarked for PSUs which have not been used; these areas will now be put to auction. This will give more opportunity to the private sector for participation in mining activities. The policy also underlines the need to harmonise India's tax, levy and royalty rates to global benchmarks to draw higher private participation.

Transportation

NMP 2019 focuses on use of coastal waterways and inland shipping for evacuation and transportation of minerals. It also encourages dedicated mineral corridors to facilitate the transportation of minerals.

Fund

The policy calls for the utilization of the district mineral fund for equitable development of project affected persons and areas.

Export–import

NMP 2019 proposes a long term export import policy for the mineral sector as an incentive for investing in large scale commercial mining activity.

Inter-generational equity

NMP introduces the concept of Inter-Generational Equity that deals with the well-being of both the present generation and future generations. It also proposes to constitute an inter-ministerial body to institutionalize the mechanism for ensuring sustainable development in mining.

Regulation

For regulation of the Minerals sector, E-Governance, IT enabled systems, awareness and information campaigns will be incorporated.

Part 5 · Factors of industrial location

Why Large Industries Settle in Special Areas

It is economical to locate industries where the cost of production and of delivering goods to consumers is the least.

The principle

Location of industries is influenced by several factors like access to raw materials, power, market, capital, transport and labour, etc. Relative significance of these factors varies with time and place. There is strong relationship between raw material and type of industry.
It is economical to locate the manufacturing industries at a place where cost of production and delivery cost of manufactured goods to consumers are the least. Transport costs, to a great extent, depend on the nature of raw materials and manufactured products.

Industries using weight-losing raw materials are located in the regions where raw materials are located.
e.g. the sugar mills in India located in sugarcane growing areas. Similarly, the locations of pulp industry, copper smelting and pig iron industries are located near their raw materials.
In iron and steel industries, iron ore and coal both are weight-losing raw materials. Therefore, an optimum location for iron and steel industries should be near raw material sources.
- This is why most of the iron and steel industries are located either near coalfields (Bokaro, Durgapur, etc.) or near sources of iron ore (Bhadravati, Bhilai, and Rourkela).
Example: Making one tonne of steel needs roughly 1.5 tonnes of iron ore and close to a tonne of coking coal: far cheaper to carry the finished steel than all that ore and coal.
Similarly, industries based on perishable raw materials are also located close to raw material sources.

Part 6 · The main key industries of India

India's Key Industries

Iron and steel, cotton textiles, sugar, petrochemicals and IT.

It is basic to the industrial development of any country. The development of the iron and steel industry opened the doors to rapid industrial development in India. Almost all sectors of the Indian industry depend heavily on the iron and steel industry for their basic infrastructure.
The other raw materials besides iron ore and coking coal, essential for iron and steel industry are limestone, dolomite, manganese and fire clay.
All these raw materials are gross (weight losing), therefore, the best location for the iron and steel plants is near the source of raw materials.
In India, there is a crescent shaped region comprising parts of Chhattisgarh, Northern Odisha, Jharkhand and western West Bengal, which is extremely rich in high grade iron ore, good quality coking coal and other supplementing raw materials.
The Indian iron and steel industry consists of large integrated steel plants as well as mini steel mills. It also includes secondary producers, rolling mills and ancillary industries.
Some of the important steel plants in India are: TISCO, IISCO, Visvesvaraiya Iron and Steel Works Ltd. (VISL), Rourkela Steel Plant, Bhilai Steel Plant, Durgapur Steel Plant, Bokaro Steel Plant etc.
In 2019 India became the 2nd largest steel producer in the world after China.

Other industries

Apart from above main industries, there are other industries like Cement Industry, Food Processing Industry, Mining Industry etc. All these industries help in the wealth and job creations in India.

Exam preparation

BPSC Mains Previous Year Questions

Every question this page prepares you for, with the parts that answer it.

Q163rd BPSC · 2019

Explain in detail the major minerals known in India. Discuss their contribution in the economic development of Indian economy as well as tell the key points of India's new mineral policy.

Study:Mineral Belts Metallic Minerals Non-metallic & Fuels Contribution & Policy

Q263rd BPSC · 2019

Explain the reasons why India's major large-scale industries have been established in some special geographical areas. Explain main key industries of India.

Study:Mineral Belts Why Industries Cluster Key Industries

Quick revisionNational Mineral Policy 2019 Quick revisionFactors of industrial location Quick revisionOther industries

Minerals & Major IndustriesFrom the Ground to the Factory

India's Minerals and Where They Lie

Types of minerals