NCERT Class 10 Geography | Chapter 5 | Minerals and Energy Resources

Chapters

Our daily life involves the use of various metal items.
These items include objects found in our homes.
Metals used in household items come from minerals in the earth's crust.
Minerals are essential for many aspects of our lives, from small pins to large structures like buildings and ships.
They are used in transportation infrastructure such as railway lines and roads.
Implements and machinery, including vehicles like cars, buses, trains, and airplanes, are made from minerals.
Minerals also play a role in the power resources used by these vehicles.
Even the food we eat contains minerals derived from the earth.
Throughout history, humans have relied on minerals for livelihood, decoration, and various cultural practices.

Geologists define a mineral as a naturally occurring substance with a definable internal structure.
Minerals vary widely in nature, from the hardest diamond to the softest talc.
Rocks are composed of minerals, with some rocks consisting of a single mineral and others containing several minerals in varying proportions.
While over 2000 minerals have been identified, only a few are abundantly found in most rocks.
The formation of a particular mineral depends on the physical and chemical conditions under which it forms.
These conditions result in a wide range of characteristics for each mineral, including color, hardness, crystal forms, lustre, and density.
Geologists use these properties to classify minerals.

Minerals found in "ores" - accumulation of minerals mixed with other elements.
Ore must have sufficient mineral concentration for commercial extraction.
Formation/structure determines ease and cost of extraction.
Main forms of occurrence:
In igneous/metamorphic rocks: cracks, crevices, veins, lodes.
In sedimentary rocks: beds, layers, deposition, accumulation.
Surface rock decomposition: residual mass of weathered material containing ores.
Alluvial deposits: placer deposits in sands of valley floors, base of hills.
Ocean waters: vast quantities, common salt, magnesium, bromine, manganese nodules.

Ferrous Minerals:

Iron ore: abundant resources, magnetite, hematite, major belts in Odisha-Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra, Karnataka, Maharashtra-Goa.

Non-Ferrous Minerals:

Copper: deficient reserves, Balaghat mines (MP), Khetri mines (Rajasthan), Singhbhum (Jharkhand).
- Bauxite: from decomposition, Amarkantak plateau, Maikal hills, Bilaspur-Katni plateau (MP), Odisha.

Non-Metallic Minerals:

Mica: northern Chota Nagpur plateau, Koderma-Gaya-Hazaribagh (Jharkhand), Rajasthan, Nellore (Andhra Pradesh).
- Limestone: sedimentary rocks, basic raw material for cement industry, smelting iron ore.

Conventional Sources:
- Coal: abundant fossil fuel, different grades, major coalfields in Gondwana and tertiary deposits.
- Petroleum: major energy source, associated with anticlines, Gujarat, Assam major production areas.
- Natural Gas: associated with petroleum, used for various purposes, major reserves in western and eastern offshore fields.
- Electricity: hydroelectric, thermal (coal, petroleum, natural gas).

Non-Conventional Sources:
- Solar Energy: abundant potential, photovoltaic technology, big solar power plants.
- Wind Power: great potential, wind farm clusters in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra.
- Biogas: produced from organic matter, biogas plants, rural usage.
- Tidal Energy: utilization of oceanic tides, ideal conditions in certain coastal regions.
- Geothermal Energy: heat from Earth's interior, hot springs, experimental projects in Parvati Valley and Puga Valley.

Promotion of energy conservation, increased use of renewable energy sources.
- Urgent need for sustainable energy development, cautious approach for judicious use.
- Citizen involvement: use of public transport, energy-saving practices, adoption of non-conventional sources.