Natural Resources and Resource Distribution

Methane hydrates consist of molecules of natural gas (the chief constituent of natural gas; methane) enclosed within a solid lattice of water molecules. When brought to the earth’s surface, one cubic meter of gas hydrate releases 164 cubic meters of natural gas.
Gas hydrate deposits are found wherever methane occurs in the presence of water under elevated pressures and at relatively low temperatures, such as beneath permafrost or in shallow sediments along deepwater continental margins.
# In a recent study conducted by researchers at the Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, have found that the methane hydrate deposits are located in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin are of biogenic origin.

Saranda and Chaibasa — in Jharkhand‘s West Singhbhum district had large iron ore reserves.
• The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) will soon form a committee to explore the prospect of opening conservation or no-mining zone in Saranda and Chaibasa in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand for iron ore mining.
• Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM), which regulates mining in Chaibasa and the Saranda Sal forest area.

Source: NCERT – XII India People and Economy

Source: NCERT – XII India People and Economy

Haryali is a watershed development project sponsored by the Central Government which aims at enabling the rural population to conserve water for drinking, irrigation, fisheries and afforestation. The Project is being executed by Gram Panchayats with people’s participation.

Source: NCERT – XII India People and Economy

About 95 per cent of total reserves of iron ore are located in the States of Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Goa, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

· In Odisha, iron ore occurs in a series of hill ranges in Sundergarh, Mayurbhanj and Jhar.

· The important mines are Gurumahisani, Sulaipet, Badampahar (Mayurbhaj), Kiruburu (Kendujhar) and Bonai (Sundergarh).

Source: NCERT – XII India People and Economy

Bauxite is the ore, which is used in manufacturing of aluminium. Bauxite is found mainly in tertiary deposits and is associated with laterite rocks occurring extensively either on the plateau or hill ranges of peninsular India and also in the coastal tracts of the country.

Source: NCERT – XII India People and Economy

Anthracite is the best quality of coal which carries 80 to 95 per cent carbon content. It ignites slowly with a blue flame. It has the highest calorific value. It is found in small quantity in Jammu and Kashmir.

· Lignite is often brown in colour. It carries 40 to 55 per cent carbon content. It is an intermediate stage which happens during the alteration of woody matter into coal.

· It has high moisture content so it gives smoke when burnt. It is found in Rajasthan, Lakhimpur (Assam), and Tamil Nadu.

· Odisha has the second largest coal reserves in the country and it carries more than 24 per cent of the total coal reserves. It produces about 15 per cent of the total coal production of India.

· Most of the coal deposits of the state are found in Sambalpur, Dhenkanal, and Sundargarh districts.

· Talchar coalfield of Odisha stretch over Dhenkanal and Sambalpur districts covers an area of about 500 sq km.

Source: NCERT – XII India People and Economy and Indian Express

About 71 per cent of the planetary water is found in the oceans. The remaining is held as freshwater in glaciers and icecaps, groundwater sources, lakes, soil moisture, atmosphere, streams and within life.

Source: NCERT – XI Fundamentals of Physical Geography

Hindustan Copper is focusing on re-opening its closed mines and expand existing ones in its quest to increase ore production five times from the current level of 4.1 million tonne (MT) by 2025.

· The Miniratna Company will be reopening the Rakha mine in Jharkhand during this financial year which was closed in 2002 owing to operational reasons. It will also start operations at the Chapri-Sidheswar mines in the same state.

· For the Malanjkhand project in Madhya Pradesh, which holds proven reserves of 245.66 MT and estimated resources of 331.59 MT, the company is expanding the production capacity from the present 2 MT to 8 MT by developing an underground mine below the existing open cast mine at an investment of Rs 2,900crore. It is the copper producer’s largest project.

Source: NCERT – XII India People and Economy and The Hindu

Sugarcane is a tropical plant and grown as cash crop in the world. Sugarcane is the main source of sugar (80%) globally and holds a prominent position as a cash crop.

· It is one of the main crops of earning foreign exchange. The sugar juice is used for making white sugar, brown sugar (khandsari) and jaggery (gur).

· There are two distinct agro-climatic regions of sugarcane cultivation in India, viz., tropical and subtropical.

· Tropical region has about 45% area and contributes 55% of the total sugarcane production in the country.

· Thus, sub-tropical region accounts for 55% area and shares 45% of total production of sugarcane. The average sugarcane yield in the country is about 69.4 t/ha.

· In world, sugarcane is grown, between the latitude 36.7° N and 31.0° S of the equator extending from tropical to subtropical zones.

· There is no country where sugar is not being used and produced by sugarcane or sugar beet crops only.

· About 80% of sugar is obtained from sugarcane and the remaining 20% is produced through sugar beet. An average person consumes about 24 kg of sugar every year.

Source: NCERT – XII India People and Economy

The main ore of lead is galena. It is found in the sedimentary rocks of limestone and sandstone.

· Rajasthan is the richest state in terms of availability and variety of minerals in the country and produces about 57 different minerals.

· Rajasthan is the sole producer of lead & zinc ores, selenite and wollastonite.

· The Zawar area (Udaipur) of Rajasthan is famous for the production of Lead.

Source: NCERT – XII India People and Economy

coal reserves in India.
Statement 1 is correct: Anthracite is the best quality of coal which carries 80 to 95 per
cent carbon content. It ignites slowly with a blue flame. It has the highest calorific value.
It is found in small quantity in Jammu and Kashmir.
Statement 2 is incorrect: Lignite is often brown in colour. It carries 40 to 55 per cent
carbon content. It is an intermediate stage which happens during the alteration of woody
matter into coal. It has high moisture content so it gives smoke when burnt. It is found
in Rajasthan, Lakhimpur (Assam), and Tamil Nadu.
Statement 3 is correct: Odisha has the second largest coal reserves in the country
and it carries more than 24 per cent of the total coal reserves. It produces about 15
per cent of the total coal production of India. Most of the coal deposits of the state are
found in Sambalpur, Dhenkanal, and Sundargarh districts. Talchar coalfield of Odisha
stretch over Dhenkanal and Sambalpur districts covers an area of about 500 sq km.

Hindustan Copper is focusing on re-opening its closed mines and expand
existing ones in its quest to increase ore production five times from the current level of 4.1
million tonne (MT) by 2025.
•The Miniratna Company will be reopening the Rakha mine in Jharkhand during
this financial year which was closed in 2002 owing to operational reasons. It will
also start operations at the Chapri-Sidheswar mines in the same state.
•For the Malanjkhand project in Madhya Pradesh, which holds proven reserves of
245.66 MT and estimated resources of 331.59 MT, the company is expanding the
production capacity from the present 2 MT to 8 MT by developing an underground
mine below the existing open cast mine at an investment of Rs 2,900crore. It is the
copper producer’s largest project.

The main ore of lead is galena. It is found in the sedimentary rocks of limestone and sandstone.
• Rajasthan is the richest state in terms of availability and variety of minerals in the country and produces about 57 different minerals.
• Rajasthan is the sole producer of lead & zinc ores, selenite and wollastonite.
• The Zawar area (Udaipur) of Rajasthan is famous for the production of Lead.

Geographical Survey of India (GSI) provided estimates for the amount of gold that can be extracted from a site in Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh.
The gold resource is located near a village called Mahuli, around 70 km from Sonbhadra district, the land is mainly forest area and inhabited mostly by tribal and members of backward classes.

Rare earth elements are a group of seventeen chemical elements that occur together in the periodic table.
• The group consists of yttrium and the 15 lanthanide elements (lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium).
• Scandium is found in most rare earth element deposits and is sometimes classified as a rare earth element.
• The rare earth elements are all metals and the group is often referred to as the “rare earth metals.”
• These metals have many similar properties, and that often causes them to be found together in geologic deposits.
• They are also referred to as “rare earth oxides” because many of them are typically sold as oxide compounds.
• A large number of alloys are made more durable by the addition of rare earth metals.
• Glass, granite, marble, and gemstones are often polished with cerium oxide powder. Many motors and generators contain magnets made with rare earth elements.
• Phosphors used in digital displays, monitors, and televisions are created with rare earth oxides. Most computer, cell phone, and electric vehicle batteries are made with rare earth metals.

Manganese is not found as a free element in nature. It is often found in combination with iron. The most important manganese ore is pyrolusite. Manganese is primarily used in iron and steel industry.
Andhra Pradesh: 13% of India’s manganese production comes from this state. Cuddapah, Vijayanagaram and Guntur are other manganese producing districts.
Karnataka: 6 per cent of India’s manganese comes from this state. Uttara Kannada, Shimoga, Bellary, Chitradurg and Tumkur districts are manganese producing districts.
Madhya Pradesh: It produces about 27.59 per cent of India’s manganese ore. The main belt extends in Balaghat and Chhindwara districts. It is just an extension of the Nagpur Bhandara belt of Maharashtra.

India is critically deficient in the reserve and production of copper.
• Being malleable, ductile and a good conductor, copper is mainly used in electrical cables, electronics and chemical industries.
• The Balaghat mines in Madhya Pradesh produce 52 per cent of India’s copper.
• The Singbhum district of Jharkhand is also a leading producer of copper.
• The Khetri mines in Rajasthan are also famous.

Mica is a mineral made up of a series of plates or leaves. It splits easily into thin sheets.
• These sheets can be so thin that a thousand can be layered into a mica sheet of a few centimeters high.
• Mica can be clear, black, green, red yellow or brown. Due to its excellent di-electric strength, low power loss factor, insulating properties and resistance to high voltage, mica is one of the most indispensable minerals used in electric and electronic industries.
• Mica deposits are found in the northern edge of the Chota Nagpur plateau. Koderma Gaya – Hazaribagh belt of Jharkhand is the leading producer.
• In Rajasthan, the major mica producing area is around Ajmer. Nellore mica belt of Andhra Pradesh is also an important producer in the country.

Australia is the largest producer of bauxite in the world.
• It is a leading producer of gold, diamond, iron ore, tin and nickel. It is also rich in copper, lead, zinc and manganese.

•Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie areas of Western Australia have the largest deposits of gold.