Mineral And Energy Resources Test - 3

Ferrous minerals account for about three-fourths of the total value of the production of metallic minerals. They provide a strong base for the development of metallurgical industries. India exports substantial quantities of ferrous minerals after meeting her internal demands.

There are four major iron belts in India. Namely: Odisha-Jharkhand belt, Durg - Bastar -Chandrapur belt, Ballari-Chitradurg - Chikkamagalury - Tumakuru belt and Maharashtra-Goa belt.

We use different things in our daily life made from metal. These metals are extracted from minerals embedded in the rocks.

Magnetite is the finest iron ore with a very high content of iron up to 70 per cent. It has excellent magnetic qualities, especially valuable in the electrical industry. Hematite ore is the most important industrial iron ore in terms of the quantity used, but has a slightly lower iron content than magnetite. (50-60 per cent).

Cars, buses, trains, aeroplanes are manufactured from minerals and run on power resources derived from the earth. Even the food that we eat contains minerals. In all stages of development, human beings have used minerals for their livelihood, decoration, festivities, religious and ceremonial rites. Life processes cannot occur without minerals.

Geologists define mineral as a “homogenous, naturally occurring substance with a definable internal structure.” Minerals are found in varied forms in nature, ranging from the hardest diamond to the softest talc. Rocks are combinations of homogeneous substances called minerals.

Manganese is mainly used in the manufacturing of steel and ferro-manganese alloy. Nearly 10 kg of manganese is required to manufacture one tonne of steel. It is also used in manufacturing bleaching powder, insecticides and paints.

The earth’s crust is made up of different minerals embedded in the rocks. Various metals are extracted from these minerals after proper refinement. Even the food that we eat contains minerals.

Assam is the oldest oil-producing state in India and has major oil fields of India located.

Ballari- Chitradurga- Chikkamagaluru Tumakuru belt in Karnataka has large reserves of iron ore. The Kudremukh mines located in the Western Ghats of Karnataka are a 100 per cent export unit. Kudremukh deposits are known to be one of the largest in the world.