Geography 10 notes
Minerals
Minerals are “homogeneous naturally occurring substances with a definite internal structure.”
Minerals are a very important part of our life. Almost everything we use starting from a small pin to a big tall building is made with minerals. We use a lot of things made with minerals in our daily life. Minerals are used in making buses, cars, trucks and airplanes and all these machines run on the minerals which are taken from the earth. The roads we walk on, and train lines are made with minerals. They are also used in our food, we cannot even digest or properly use our food without the minerals if we use 99.7% food then we need to have .0 3% minerals to properly use it. People use minerals in their daily life, for food, decoration, festivities, religious ceremonies and entertainment.
Rocks are a combination of homogeneous substances called mandrels. Sundrops have only one mineral like Limestone and some rocks are a combination of many. Although there have been about 2000 minerals identified but only few are abundantly found in rocks.
A particular mineral is formed with a combination of elements and it depends on the particular physical and chemical conditions. Mendel are formed in a wide range of colors means they're formed with many many colors range means yellow, orange, rust color and so on, that is called the range of colors. A crystal can form in different kinds of hardness, in Crystal form, in lustrous or it can have different density. Some forms of minerals are coal, iron, lime, gypsum, gold, silver.
Mineral:
1. Metallic
Ferrous ( Iron Ore, magnesium, nickel, cobalt etc)
Non-Ferrous ( Copper, led, tin, bauxite Etc
Precious (Gold Silver Platinum Etc)
2. Non-metalic (Mica, salt, potash, sulphur, granite, marble, limestone, sandstone, etc.
3. Energy Minerals ( coal, petroleum, natural gas.)
When we did these minerals from Earth they are found in the old forms. There should be enough amount of minerals in the ore form so it can be cleaned and separated and then it can be used. Geographers who study the minerals or people who dig them from the earth pay attention to two things, 1. there should be enough minerals in the ore and 2. how much money it is going to take to dig them from the earth so it is profitable for them.
1. Igneous and metamorphic rock minerals may occur in cracks, crevices, faults or joints. The smaller occurrences are called veins and the large occurrences are called lodes.In most cases they are formed when liquid/ Molten forms and pushes through the cavities towards the crust of earth. They cool and solidify as they rise. Major metallic minerals are tin, copper, zinc, and lead etc. taken from veins and lodes.
2. In sedimentary rocks a number of minerals occurs in beds and layers. They have been formed as a result of deposition, accumulation and concentration in the horizontal strata. Coal and some forms of iron ore have been concentrated As a result of long periods under heat and pressure.
Another group of sedimentary minerals are gypsum, potash, salt and sodium salt. These minerals are formed as a result of evaporation especially in arid regions.
3. Another mode Involves the decomposition of the surface rocks and the removal of surface constituents leaving a residual mass of weathered material containing ores. Bauxite is formed this way.
4. Some minerals may occur in alluvial deposits in sand valley floors or at the bottom of the hills. These deposits are called Placer deposits and they contain minerals that cannot be crowded. Gold Silver and platinum are the most important among them.
5. Some minerals are found in ocean waters but it is very expensive to take them out. Most common among those are salt magnesium and bromine are derived from the ocean flowers. Ocean beds are rich in manganese nodules.
India is fortunate and has fairly rich resources of minerals. These resources are unevenly distributed in different parts of the country.
Ferrous Mineral: Ferrous mineral accounts for about three fourth of the total value of the production of the metallic minerals. They provide a strong base for metallurgical Industries. India exports substantial quantities of ferrous mineral after meeting its own needs. (internal demand)
Iron Ore: Iron ore is the basic mineral and is the backbone of Industrial development. India is rich in good quality iron ores. Magnetite is a high quality of iron ore with a very high content of iron up to 70%. It has excellent magnetic qualities which are very useful for the electrical Industry.
Hematite is a very important iron ore. It has slightly lower iron contents than magnetite up to 50 to 60%.
Odisha 33% High grade hematite. In Badampahar mines in district Mayurbhunj and Kendujhar
Jharkhand 28% High grade hematite mines. In Singbhum district mined in Gua and Noamundi
Chhattisgarh 19% Very high grade hematite is found in Bastar district.
It has the best physical properties needed for steel making. Iron ore is exported to Japan and South Korea from Visakhapatnam port.
Karnataka 11% Kundremukh mines I found on the Western Ghats of Karnataka are 100% export units. Kundremukh deposits are known to be the largest in the world. The ore is transported as slurry through a pipeline to a port near Mangaluru.
Others 9% Maharashtra and Goa in Ratnagiri District. This ore is not very high quality. It is exported via Marmagao port.