Geography Chapter 3 Mineral and Power Resources – Notes & Study Material

Contents

1 Important Terms
2 Important Notes

Important Terms

Rock : A rock is an aggregate of one or more minerals, without a definite composition of constituent minerals.

Ore : An ore is a rock from which minerals are mined.

Ferrous minerals : Ferrous minerals are those which contain iron as a constituent.

Non-ferrous minerals : Non-ferrous minerals are those which do not contain iron as a constituent.

Extraction : This is a process of excavating minerals from under the earth’s surface in order to derive useful minerals from them.

Mining : This is the process of extracting minerals from rocks present under the earth’s surface.

Fossil fuels : These refer to remains of plants and animals converted into fuels after they remained buried under the surface of the earth for millions of years.

Thermal power : This refers to electricity obtained from coal.

Coal : This is a fossil fuel which was formed millions of years ago when giant ferns and swamps got buried under the earth’s layers.

Petroleum : A thick, black liquid fossil fuel which is found between the layers of the rocks and drilled from oil fields.

Solar cell : These are devices which are used to convert solar energy into electricity.

Minerals : Minerals are those substances that are found freely in the nature and have their own chemical composition.

Power Resources :These are the resources that provide energy to the industries for production, homes to survive and transportation to carry goods.

Conventional power resources : Conventional power resources are those that are in use for a long period of time and are extensively used by the common people. Firewood and fossil fuels are the two main conventional energy sources.

Firewood : Firewood is that dry wood that is mainly used in cooking food and other domestic purposes.

Buried sunshine : The plants such as giant ferns and swamps got buried millions of years ago under the layers of earth to form coal. This coal is being used as a source to generate power/electricity, therefore coal is referred to as buried sunshine.

Black gold : Coal is known as ‘black gold’ due to its black appearance and great value as a fuel in industries and for domestic purposes.

Nuclear power : Nuclear power is the energy acquired from the naturally occurring radioactive elements, such as uranium and thorium.

Important Notes

The different techniques used for mineral extraction are :

(i) Mining: Mining is the process of excavation of the minerals both from deep as well as shallow areas.

There are two methods of mining:

(a) Open cast mining: It is a mining technique in which material is extracted by digging a large hole, rather than tunneling. The minerals that lie at shallow depths are taken out by removing the surface layers.

(b) Shaft mining :It is a type of underground mining done by use of a mineshaft. It may also refer to the act of excavating the shaft itself.

(ii) Drilling : It is a type of shaft mining. It is generally used for oil and natural gas excavation. Deep wells are bored to obtain petroleum and natural gas out of the earth’s surface.

(iii) Quarrying : It is generally used to extract minerals which lie near the surface by simply digging.

The different types of minerals are :

(i) Metallic minerals : Metallic minerals are those which are good conductors of heat and electricity because of the presence of the metals inside.

These metallic minerals are further classified on the basis of iron content as:

(a) Ferrous minerals: The minerals which have iron content are called ferrous minerals, e.g. Manganese

(b) Non-ferrous minerals: The minerals which do not contain iron in them but, they certainly have some other metal in them, e.g. Copper

(ii) Non-metallic minerals : These minerals are not molded into any form and are a bad conductor of electricity. Limestone is a good example of non- metallic minerals.

Mineral distribution in Asia and Europe

(a) Asia: Asia is among the largest depositor of iron in the world in which India and China play a big role. Asia produces more than half of the world’s tin production.

(b) Europe: Europe is among the largest producer of the iron ore in the world. Copper, lead and manganese are some of the important minerals produced in Eastern Europe and Russia. Ukraine, Sweden and France are some other leading mineral producing countries in the Europe.

Difference between Metallic and Non-metallic Minerals

Metallic minerals	Non-Metallic minerals
The minerals that are metallic in form are called metallic minerals.	The minerals that are not metallic in form are called non-metallic minerals.
They are generally obtained from igneous rocks and metamorphic rocks.	They are generally obtained from sedimentary rocks.
Iron, gold and silver are good examples of metallic minerals.	Coal, clay, salt are good examples of non-metallic minerals

Uses of Minerals

(1) Some of them are largely used for making jewellery.
For example: Gold, Silver, Platinum, Gems(2) Some of them are largely used for coins and pipes.
For example: Copper.(3) Some of them are largely used in computer industry.
For example : Silicon.(4) Many of them are used in automobiles, aircraft industry and utensils.
For example: Aluminium.(5) Various minerals are used in purification of certain minerals.

We need to conserve mineral resources for various reasons :

(a) Minerals are non-renewable resources.

(b) The rate of formation of minerals is lesser than the rate of their consumption.

The different ways of mineral conservation are :

(1) Recycling of metals is the best way of conservation that is eco-friendly also.

(2) Some necessary steps can be taken to stop the wastage of minerals while mining.

(3) Re-use of mineral resources, wherever possible, is another way of mineral conservation.

The regions of North America where the minerals deposits are located are The Canadian region north of the Great Lakes, The Appalachian Region and The mountain ranges of the west.

The various non-conventional energy sources are:

(i) Wind energy

(ii) Tidal energy

(iii) Bio gas

(iv) Solar energy

(v) Nuclear energy

(vi) Geothermal energy

Power resources can be classified as:

(a) Conventional Resources: Include power resources that are common in use for long time.

For example: Firewood, Hydel Power, Coal.

(b) Non-Conventional Resources: Include those resources that are not so common in use, but can be used as alternate resources.

For example: Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Geothermal Energy.

There is a need to use Non-conventional resources of energy for the following reasons:

(a) The growing consumption of energy has resulted in the country becoming increasingly dependent on fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas.

(b) Rising prices of oil and gas and their potential shortages have raised uncertainties about the security of energy supply in future, which, in turn, has serious repercussions on the growth of the national economy.

Coal, mineral oil and natural gas are called fossil fuels because:

(1) They are organic by origin.(2) They are produced from the plant and animal remains as they have been buried in earth for a long period of time.(3) They are a part of fossils, therefore they are called fossil fuels.

Solar Energy

The energy obtained from the sun is called the solar energy.

Importance

(i) Solar energy is free of cost and does not cause any pollution.(ii) It is a non-conventional source of energy.(iii) It will reduce the dependence of rural households on firewood and dung cakes.

Disadvantage of Solar Energy

(i) It is very expensive.

(ii) It is difficult to trap solar energy.

(iii) It is largely influenced by time and climatic factors.

The advantages of Biogas

(1) Shrubs, farm waste, animal and human waste are used to produce biogas for domestic consumption in rural areas.

(2) Decomposition of organic matter yields gas, which has higher thermal efficiency in comparison to kerosene, dung cake and charcoal.

(3) Gobar gas plants provide twin benefits to the farmers in the form of energy and improved quality of manure.

(4) Biogas is by far the most efficient use of cattle dung. It improves the quality of manure and also prevents the loss of trees.

Hydel Power Generation

The process of hydel power generation is as under :

(a) The stored river water in the dams is made to fall over the blades of the turbines through the pipelines

(b) This falling water helps to rotate the blades that start the generator attached to the turbine.

Tidal Energy

Oceanic tides can be used to generate electricity. This is known as tidal energy. Floodgate dams are built across inlets. During high tide, water flows into the inlets and gets trapped into the gate. When the tide falls, the water gained by the floodgate flows back to the sea via a pipe, that carries it to a power-generating turbine.

Small dams are built at the narrow openings of the sea to harness the tidal energy. When high tide occurs, the force of the tidal energy rotates the blades of turbine installed in the dams to produce energy.

In India, the Gulf of Kutch provides ideal condition for utilizing tidal energy. A 900 MW tidal energy power plant has been set up there by National Hydropower Corporation.

Nuclear Energy

Nuclear power is obtained from energy stored n the nuclei of atoms of naturally occurring radioactive elements like Uranium and Thorium. These fuels undergo nuclear fission in nuclear reactor and emit power.

The nuclear power stations in India are :

(i) Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu.

(ii) Tarapur in Maharashtra.

(ii) Narora in Uttar Pradesh.

(iv) Rana Pratap Sagar near Kota in Rajasthan.

India has a bright future in nuclear energy for the following reasons :

(a) The nuclear energy is produced from radioactive elements such as Uranium and Thorium.

(b) These elements, uranium and thorium, undergo nuclear fission in nuclear reactors and emit lots of energy and power.

Coal

The advantages of coal are:

(i) It is abundantly available in the earth.

(ii) It is one of the most primitive sources of energy.

The disadvantages of coal are:

(i) The transportation cost of coal is very high.

(ii) It is one of the most polluting fuels as it produces lots of smoke when burnt and is responsible for global warming.

Difference between Firewood and Coal

Firewood	Coal
They are found over the earth’s surface.	They are the buried fossils and found below the earth’s surface.
Firewoods are obtained due to the cutting of forests and cause deforestation.	Pollution is the only major disadvantage of coal.
Firewoods are used for the domestic purposes only.	Coal is used for domestic purposes as well as in the industries as a source of energy.

Uses of Aluminium

The important uses of aluminum are

(i) It is used for making pots and pans because it is a good conductor of heat.

(ii) Aluminium conducts electricity and is used to make electrical wires.

(iii) Aluminium is used to make cans to store various beverages and other liquids.

(iv) It can be pressed into a thin foil, so it is used both commercially and in homes for purposes like wrapping food for storage.

(v) Aluminium is light and strong, so it is widely used in manufacturing aeroplanes and spacecrafts. It can be made even stronger by mixing it with other metals to form some important alloys.

The distribution of Iron, Manganese, Limestone and Gold in India is as follows:

(1) Iron: Iron is extensively found in various state of India. Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are important producers of iron ore.

(2) Manganese: Manganese is a mineral used in industries. It is found in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.

(3) Limestone : Limestone is an important organic sedimentary mineral. Major limestone producing states in India are Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh.

(4) Gold: Gold is a precious mineral. It is mainly used in jewellery making. Kolar in Karnataka has rich deposits of gold in India.