The compilation of these Mineral and Power Resources Notes makes students exam preparation simpler and organised.
What are Mineral and Power Resources?
Well, you surely know what minerals are! Your balanced diet asks you to have a diet full of vitamins and minerals! However, we are going to deviate a little from that concept now! We will learn all about mineral resources from a geographic and scientific point of view.
In this chapter, we will cover everything you need to know about mineral resources, their types, their uses, and more. We suggest you pay proper attention to each of the sections. This is because they are useful from the exam point of view.
What are Mineral Resources?
Minerals are naturally occurring substances. They have a definite chemical composition. Minerals are formed in different types of geological environments, under varying conditions. You can identify and classify minerals on the basis of their physical properties such as colour, density, hardness. You can also identify them on the basis of their chemical properties like solubility. Now, we look at the various types of minerals.
Types of Minerals
On the basis of composition, we can classify minerals metallic and non-metallic types. This is because the minerals may or may not contain iron.
Metallic Minerals
They contain metals in raw form. Metals are hard substances and are good conductors of heat and electricity. Therefore, they conduct heat and electricity and have luster or shine. For example, iron ore and bauxite. Metallic minerals are of two types:
- Ferrous minerals contain iron ore, manganese, and chromites.
- Non-ferrous minerals do not contain iron. However, they could contain some other metals like gold, silver, copper, or lead. Because they do not contain iron, they are non-ferrous.
Non-metallic minerals
They do not contain metals. Therefore, they are not good conductors of electricity and heat. For example, limestone, mica, gypsum, coal, and petroleum. So, how do we extract minerals from their ores? There are some processes that are used to extract minerals.
Extraction of Minerals
Without proper extraction, minerals are of no use. Therefore, we must concentrate on proper methods for their extraction. The three extraction methods of minerals are mining, drilling, and quarrying.
- Mining: It is the process of taking out minerals from rocks buried under the earth’s surface. The process of mining includes two methods: (a) Opencast mining, (b)Shaft mining
- Drilling: Deep wells are bored to take minerals out. This process is called drilling.
- Quarrying: In the process of quarrying, you simply dig out the minerals that lie near the surface. Therefore, you need to be careful while digging them as you could destroy their essential parts.
Distribution of Minerals
- Minerals are found in igneous rock, metamorphic rocks, and sedimentary rocks.
- Iron ore, nickel, copper minerals are found in igneous and metamorphic rocks. Limestone is found in sedimentary rocks.
Hence, we see that minerals are distributed in various forms.
Uses of Minerals
- Some hard minerals are used as gems for making jewellery.
- We use copper in almost everything from coins to pipes.
- We use silicon in almost everything from coins to pipes.
- Silicon is used in the computer industry which is obtained from quartz.
- Aluminium is used in automobiles, aeroplanes, the bottling industry, building, and kitchen cookware.
Hence, we see that minerals are widely used in almost all sectors of the economy.
Power Resources
We need power resources for industry, agriculture, transport, communication, and defense. Therefore, we must understand the importance of these resources and conserve them. Power resources are of two types:
- Conventional Resources: are those that have been in common use for a long time. Firewood and fossil fuels are two main conventional energy sources.
- Non-conventional Resources: of energy are renewable. Solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy, etc. are non-conventional sources of energy.
Example:
Question:
Define conventional resources of energy.
Answer:
Conventional resources are those that have been in common use for a long time. Firewood and fossil fuels are two main conventional energy sources.