Mineral and Power Resources

A naturally occurring material that has a clear compound creation is a mineral. Minerals have many uses, such as building cars, houses and even jewellery. Different kinds of minerals exist based on the composition. Power resources are those materials or substances that help in generating energy. These include solar energy, thermal energy, wind energy among many. Although power resources can be renewable and non-renewable, minerals are non-renewable materials, and thus must be preserved. Minerals and power resources are vital for economic growth and development. 

Types of Minerals

There are over three thousand different minerals. Based on their structure, minerals are grouped principally as Metallic, Non-metallic minerals and energy minerals.

Metallic minerals

These minerals contain metal in a simple structure. Metals are hard substances that conduct heat and electricity and have a trademark shine or sparkle. Iron mineral, bauxite, manganese metal are a few examples. Metallic minerals are of two types: Ferrous, non-ferrous and precious minerals.

Ferrous minerals

These minerals contain iron like iron ore, manganese, and chromite contain iron

• Iron ore: Iron ore is the basic mineral and is regarded as the backbone of industrial development. Iron ore can be of many types. Among all, magnetite is the most refined iron ore and is black. Haematite is also a good quality iron ore, but it is reddish. In India, Iron ores are mainly found in Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Goa and Karnataka
• Manganese: Manganese is used for the manufacturing of steel and ferro-manganese alloy. It is mainly found in Orissa

Non-ferrous minerals

They don’t contain iron yet may contain other metals like gold, silver, copper, or lead

• Copper-Copper is mainly used in electric appliances such as, electric cables, electronics and chemical industries. It is highly malleable, ductile and a good conductor of heat and electricity
• Bauxite-Bauxite is formed mainly of aluminium and its oxides. Regions where bauxite are found include Odisha, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

Precious minerals

Precious minerals include gold, silver, platinum, etc

Non-metallic minerals

These minerals don’t contain metals—for example, Limestone, mica, gypsum, etc

• Mica- Mice is mainly made up of a series of plates or leaves. It can be of many colours like black, green, red, yellow or brown. It is mainly found in the regions of Chota Nagpur Plateau, Koderma-Gaya-Hazaribagh belt of Jharkhand. It has excellent dielectric strength, low power loss factor, insulating properties and resistance to high voltage
• Limestone-Limestone is mainly found along with calcium carbonate or calcium and magnesium carbonate. It is used as a raw material for the cement industry. It is mainly found in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. 

Mining

Mining is the most widely recognized method of taking out minerals from rocks covered under the Earth’s surface.

Types of Mining

• Opencast mining: Minerals that lie at shallow profundities are taken out by eliminating the surface layer; this is known as open-cast mining
• Shaft mining: Shafts, likewise called profound bores, must be set aside to arrive at mineral instalments that lie at extraordinary profundities; this is called shaft mining
• Drilling: Petroleum and flammable gas happen far underneath the Earth’s surface. Deep wells are drilled to take them out. This is called Drilling
• Quarrying: Minerals that lie close to the surface are burrowed by the process known as quarrying.

Uses of Minerals

Minerals are used in various industries like- 

• Gold, diamonds, silver, precious stones, etc., are used in the gems and jewellery industry
• Copper is utilized in everything from coins to pipes
• Silicon, obtained from quartz, is used in the computer industry
• Aluminium obtained from bauxite is utilized in different ventures like cars and planes, the packaging industry, structures, and kitchen cookware.

Conservation of Minerals

Minerals are a non-renewable resource. The pace of arrangement of these minerals is a lot more modest than how people replenish these minerals. Thus, it is necessary to reduce wastage in the process of mining. Reusing metals is one way the mineral assets can be rationed.

Energy Resources

Energy resources can be categorized into Conventional and Non-conventional sources.

Conventional sources of Energy 

Conventional sources of energy are non-renewable in nature. These include coal, petroleum and natural gas.

• Coal-coal can be of four types-peat, lignite, bituminous and anthracite. The best quality coal is anthracite coal. Coal can be used for the power generation in India and as a domestic fuel in various industrial sectors. Coal is mainly found in the Jharkhand region in our country.
• Petroleum-Petroleum is mainly formed when the dead plants and animals are buried inside the ocean floor. It is also known as liquid gold. And India petroleum is mainly found in Mumbai (Bombay High), Gujarat and Assam.
• Natural Gas- It emits less carbon dioxide than coal and petroleum. It can be used as a source of energy and as a raw material for various industries.

Non-conventional sources of energy 

Non-conventional sources of energy include nuclear or atomic energy, solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy, geothermal energy and biogas. They are renewable in nature.

Conclusion

Minerals and power resources are vital for economic growth and development. Minerals can be classified as metallic, non-metallic and energy minerals. Metallic minerals include metals inside them and can be classified as- ferrous, non-ferrous and precious minerals. Ferrous minerals contain iron like iron ore, manganese and chromite. Non-ferrous minerals do not contain iron, but they may contain gold, silver, copper, lead or aluminium. Copper is mainly used in electric appliances and is highly malleable, ductile and a good conductor of heat and electricity. Bauxite is mainly formed of aluminium and its oxides. Precious metal includes gold, silver, platinum, etc. Non-metallic minerals do not contain metals, for example-limestone, mica, gypsum, etc. Minerals are a non-renewable resource. Thus, it is necessary to reduce wastage in the process of mining. Reusing metals is one way the mineral assets can be rationed.