Geography 6

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Economic Geography by Commonly found impurities in Iron Ore
Pmfias.com Silicon
Iron Ore ............................................................................................... 1 • Found in small quantities.

• Slightly raises the Strength and Hardness
Iron Ore Distribution Across the World ............................... 4 of Steel. Page
Iron Ore Distribution in India ................................................... 5 • Acts as a de-oxidizing Agent ==> small | 1
Coal ....................................................................................................... 6 quantities is good. [Oxides decrease the
strength of Iron]
Distribution of Coal in India ...................................................... 8
Distribution of Coal across the World ................................ 15 Sulphur
Petroleum and Mineral Oil ...................................................... 16 • A VERY harmful element.
Natural gas ..................................................................................... 24 • Forms Iron Sulphide which is a very
Unconventional Gas Reservoirs............................................. 28 brittle substance.
• Greatly reducing the Strength of Steel ==>
Bauxite.............................................................................................. 32 very bad.
Lead and Zinc ................................................................................ 33
Phosphorous
Tungsten .......................................................................................... 34
Pyrites ............................................................................................... 34 • Combines with Iron to form a Phosphide.
Gold Reserves in India ............................................................... 34 • It increases the hardness and Tensile
strength of Steel.
Gold Distribution Across the World .................................... 35 • It SERIOUSLY affects the ductility and
Silver Distribution – India & World .................................... 35 resistance to shock or impact ==> bad.
Manganese ...................................................................................... 36
Lead
Chromite .......................................................................................... 37
Copper ............................................................................................... 38 • Added to all classes of Steel to improve the
machinability of the Steel.
Nickel................................................................................................. 39 • It improves tool life ==> small quantities
Graphite ........................................................................................... 40 is good.
Diamonds......................................................................................... 41 Manganese
Non-Metallic Minerals ............................................................... 43
Nuclear fission............................................................................... 46 • A powerful and most effective de-oxidant.
• Has a good effect on Sulphur ==> small
Types of Nuclear Reactors ....................................................... 49 quantities is good.
Atomic Minerals ........................................................................... 53
Tin
India's Three-Stage Nuclear Power Programme .......... 57
• It forms a low melting point brittle film
round the grain boundaries making the
Iron Ore Steel practically useless ==> very bad.
The below data is important for Prelims [Will be helpful Oxygen

to answer some logic based questions in mains]
• Has a bad influence on the properties of
• To understand about the factors that steel ==> very bad. [Oxides make Iron and
influence the location of Iron and Steel steel weak]
Industry, we have to understand about
iron ore smelting. Of the impurities, some are beneficial when
• Smelting is a process of converting ore to present in small quantities while the others
metal by removing impurities. are harmful no matter what their proportion
is.
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So, the unwanted impurities must be removed • Coke is a fuel with few impurities and a
and this is done by smelting iron ore in a high carbon content.
blast furnace. • The cooked coal, called coke contains 90 to
93% carbon, some ash and sulfur but
What exactly happens in a blast compared to raw coal is very strong.
furnace?
Role of limestone = Remove Sulphur Page
• In a blast furnace, fuel (coke), iron ore, |2
and flux (limestone) are continuously • It is acts as flux (a substance mixed with a
supplied through the top of the furnace. solid to lower the melting point, especially
• A hot blast of air (sometimes with oxygen in smelting).
enrichment) is blown into the lower • Limestone melts and reacts with Sulphur
section. to form Slag (All solid and liquid
• In a blast furnace, iron oxides are impurities).
converted into liquid iron called "hot
metal". [Limestone marries Sulphur and takes it away
from Iron == Very Good]
[Oxides make iron brittle. To make iron strong
the oxides need to be removed] CaCO3 = CaO + CO2
Inputs in to blast furnace The CaO formed from this reaction is used to
remove sulfur from the iron.
• Ore  iron ore;
FeS + CaO + C = CaS + FeO + CO
• Fuel  coke;
• Flux  limestone. • The CaS [newly married couple] becomes
part of the slag.
Output
• The slag is also formed from any remaining
• Final product  liquid slag, liquid iron (pig Silica (SiO2), Alumina (Al2O3), Magnesia
iron) and gases. (MgO) or Calcia (CaO) that entered with the
iron ore or coke.
Beneficiation = Improve Concentration • The liquid slag then trickles to the bottom
of Iron of the furnace where it floats on top of
the liquid iron since it is less dense.
• Ore is either Hematite (Fe2O3) or
Magnetite (Fe3O4) and the iron content
Reduction = Remove Oxygen
ranges from 50% to 70%.
• Oxygen in the iron oxides is reduced
• This iron rich ore can be charged directly
(removed) by a series of chemical reactions.
into a blast furnace without any further
1) 3Fe2O3 + CO = CO2 + 2Fe3O4
processing.
2) Fe3O4 + CO = CO2 + 3 FeO
• Iron ore that contains a lower iron content
3) FeO + CO = CO2 + Fe
must be processed or beneficiated to
increase its iron content. CO or CARBON MONOXIDE is produced by
burning coke.
[Beneficiation  Improves the concentration
of iron ore] So CO and CO2 are the gaseous pollutants
coming out of blast furnace.
Why coke and not coal in smelting?
Pig Iron
• To separate impurities, iron needs to be
melted. • Pig iron is the intermediate product of
• The coke is the fuel that melts iron. smelting iron ore.
• Coal has many impurities and the most • Iron (Fe) = 93.5 - 95.0%
dangerous one is SULPHUR. • Silicon (Si) = 0.30 - 0.90%
• Coal is cooked to produce coke. This • Sulfur (S) = 0.025 - 0.050%
process is called destructive distillation. • Manganese (Mn) = 0.55 - 0.75%
• Phosphorus (P) = 0.03 - 0.09% • Reddish; best quality; 70 per cent metallic
• Titanium (Ti) = 0.02 - 0.06% content.
• CARBON (C) = 4.1 - 4.4% [The strength • Found in Dharwad and Cuddapah rock
of steel can be varied by varying the carbon systems of the peninsular India.
content] • 80 per cent of haematite reserves are in
Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and
Cast iron Andhra Pradesh. Page
• In the western section, Karnataka, | 3
• Carbon content greater than 2%. Maharashtra and Goa has this kind of ore.
• Carbon (C) and silicon (Si) are the main
alloying elements. Magnetite
• Cast iron tends to be brittle.
• Applications: automotive industry parts, • Black ore; 60 to 70 per cent metallic
cast iron pan. content.
• Dharward and Cuddapah systems.
Steel • Magnetic quality.
• Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan,
• Carbon content is up to 2.1% (by weight). Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Stainless steel Limonite
• Steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5% • Inferior ores; yellowish in colour; 40 to 60

chromium content by mass. per cent iron metal.
• Nickel is another important element of • Damuda series in Raniganj coal field,
steel alloy. Garhwal in Uttarakhand, Mirzapur in
• Also contains manganese, molybdenum, Uttar Pradesh and Kangra valley of
and other metals. Himachal Pradesh.
• Stainless steel does not readily corrode, • Advantage == open cast mines == easy and
rust or stain with water as ordinary steel cheap mining.
does.
Siderite
Wrought iron
• ‘Iron carbonate’; inferior quality; less than
• Cast iron assumes its finished shape the 40 per cent iron.
moment the liquid iron alloy cools down in • Contains many impurities {previous post};
the mold. mining is not economically variable.
• Wrought iron is a very different material • However, it is self-fluxing due to presence
made by mixing liquid iron with some of lime.
slag.
• The result is an iron alloy with a much Factors that determine the location of
lower carbon content. Iron and steel industry
• Wrought iron is softer than cast iron and
much less tough, so you can heat it up to • Raw materials – iron ore, coal, limestone,
shape it relatively easily, and it's also etc.
much less prone to rusting. • Transportation and other infrastructure –
• Wrought iron is what people used to use road, rail, ports etc.
before they really mastered making steel in • Investment and Entrepreneurship =
large quantities in the mid-19th century. banking facilities, human capital for
managerial roles.
Types of Iron Ore • Land.
• Labour – unskilled to semi-skilled
• Haematite, Magnetite, Limonite & Siderite. workforce for manual operations, skilled
workforce for technical operations.
Haematite • Market – construction industry,
automobile industry etc.
• Government policy – Development agenda, Iron ore in Africa – Transvaal, Liberia

land acquisition, ease of doing business =
labor laws, unambiguous and fair taxation
policy, least government interference, less
red tapeism, quick environmental
clearance.
Page
This notes covers only Mineral Distribution. |4
Read mrunal.org/geography for Industrial
Locational Factors].
Iron Ore Distribution Across the

World
Iron Ore in China – Manchuria,
Sinkiang, Si-kiang, Shandog Peninsula
Iron ore in Russia, Kazakhstan – Ural

region, Magnitogorsk
Iron Ore in Europe – Ruhr, South

Whales, Krivoy Rog, Bilbao, Lorraine
Iron Ore in North America – Great

Lakes [Mesabi Region], Labrador
Iron Ore in South America – Carajas,

Itabira, Minas Geriais
Iron Ore in Australia – Pilbara Region,

Koolyanobbing, Iron Duke, Iron Knob

Iron Ore Distribution in India

• Hematite and magnetite are the two most
important iron ores in India
Page
|5
Exact Numbers not Haematite Magnetite

important. Remember
1st and 2nd position.
Reserves ~18,000 million tonnes ~10,500 million tonnes
Which type of iron ore is
abundant in India?
1. Haematite
2. Magnetite
Major states • Odisha 33% • Karnataka 73%
• Jharkhand 26% • Andhra Pradesh 14%
• Chhattisgarh 18% • Rajasthan 5%
• Rest in Andhra Pradesh, • TN 4.9%
Assam, Bihar, • Rest in Assam, Bihar, Goa,
Maharashtra, MP, Jharkhand, Kerala, MH, Meghalaya
Rajasthan, UP and Nagaland
Q1. Statements • A 270 km long slurry (a semi-liquid mixture)
pipeline from the Bailadila to Vizag plant
1) Karnataka has more than half of the transports the ore slurry.
reserves of magnetite ore in India. • Smelting is done in Vizag
2) Jharkhand has the highest reserves of [Vishakhapatnam] iron and steel factory.
haematite ore in India. •
Which of the above are true? • Bailadila’s high grade ore is exported
through Vishakhapatnam to Japan [No
a) Both iron ore in Japan. But market is huge due
b) 1 only to automobile industry] and other
c) 2 only countries.
d) None • The Dalli-Rajhara range is 32 km long
[ferrous content 68-69 per cent] range with
Iron Ore in Orissa significant
reserves.
• The ores are rich in haematites.
• India's richest haematite deposits are Iron Ore in
located in Barabil-Koira valley. Jharkhand
• Others: Sundargarh, Mayurbhanj,
Cuttack, Sambalpur, Keonjhar and • 25 per cent of
Koraput districts. reserves.
• First mine in
Iron Ore in Chhattisgarh Singhbhum
district in 1904.
• Bailadila mine is the largest mechanised • Iron ore of here is
mine in Asia [Ore benefication only done of highest
here] quality and will
last for hundreds

of years. • Andhra Pradesh (1.02%): Kurnool, Guntur,

• Noamandi mines in Singhbhum are the Cuddapah, Ananthapur, Nellore.
richest. • Maharashtra (0.88%): Chandrapur,
• Magnetite ores occur near Daltenganj in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.
Palamu district. • Madhya Pradesh (0.66%).
• Tamilnadu: Salem, Tiruchirapalli,
Coimbatore, Madurai etc. Page
• Rajasthan: Jaipur, Alwar, Sikar, Bundi, | 6
Bhilwara.
• Uttar Pradesh: Mirzapur.
• Uttaranchal: Garhwal, Almora, Nainital.
• Himachal Pradesh: Kangra and Mandi.
• Haryana: Mahendragarh.
• West Bengal: Burdwan, Birbhum,
Darjeeling.
• Jammu and Kashmir: Udhampur and
Jammu.
• Gujarat: Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Vadodara.
• Kerala: Kozhikode.
Coal
Iron Ore in Karnataka • Also called black gold.
• Found in sedimentary strata [layers of
soil].
• Contains carbon, volatile matter, moisture
and ash [in some cases Sulphur and
phosphorous]
• Mostly used for power generation and
metallurgy.
• Coal reserves are six times greater than oil
and petroleum reserves.
Formation of Coal
• Iron ores are widely distributed.

• High grade ore deposits are those of
Kemmangundi in Bababudan hills of
Chikmagalur district and Sandur and
Hospet in Bellary district. [Lot of Mining • Most of the world’s coal was formed in
Mafia]. Carboniferous age [350 million years
• Most of the ores are high grade haematite ago][Best quality coal].
and magnetite.
Carboniferous age: In terms of absolute time,
Iron ore in other states the Carboniferous Period began approximately
358.9 million years ago and ended 298.9
million years ago. Its duration is • The weight of the top layers and the water
approximately 60 million years. and dirt packed down the lower layers of
plant matter.
The name Carboniferous refers to coal-bearing • Heat and pressure produced chemical and
strata. physical changes in the plant layers which
forced out oxygen and left rich carbon
Amount of oxygen, nitrogen and moisture
deposits. In time, material that had been Page
content decreases with time while the |7
plants became coal.
proportion of carbon increases [The quantity
of carbon doesn’t increase, only its proportion • Coals are classified into three main ranks,
increases due to the loss of other elements]. or types: lignite, bituminous coal, and
anthracite.
Capacity of coal to give energy depends upon • These classifications are based on the
the percentage or carbon content [Older the amount of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen
coal, much more is its carbon content]. present in the coal.
• Coals other constituents include hydrogen,
Percentage of carbon in coal depends upon the oxygen, nitrogen, ash, and sulfur.
duration and intensity of heat and pressure • Some of the undesirable chemical
on wood. [carbon content also depends on constituents include chlorine and
depth of formation. More depth == more sodium.
pressure and heat == better carbon • In the process of transformation
content]. (coalification), peat is altered to lignite,
lignite is altered to sub-bituminous, sub-
bituminous coal is altered to bituminous
coal, and bituminous coal is altered to
anthracite.
Types of Coal – Peat, Lignite,

Bituminous & Anthracite Coal
• Coal formed millions of years ago when the

earth was covered with huge swampy
[marshy] forests where plants - giant ferns
and mosses - grew.
• As the plants grew, some died and fell into
the swamp waters. New plants grew up to Peat
take their places and when these died still
more grew.
• In time, there was thick layer of dead
plants rotting in the swamp. The surface
of the earth changed and water and dirt
washed in, stopping the decaying
process.
• More plants grew up, but they too died and
fell, forming separate layers. After millions
of years many layers had formed, one on
top of the other.
• First stage of transformation.

• Contains less than 40 to 55 per cent Distribution of Coal in India

carbon == more impurities.
• Contains sufficient volatile matter and lot • Gondwana coal fields [250 million years
of moisture [more smoke and more old]
pollution]. • Tertiary coal fields [15 – 60 million years
• Left to itself, it burns like wood, gives less old]
heat, emits more smoke and leaves a lot of Page
ash. Gondwana Coal |8
Lignite • Gondwana coal makes up to 98 per cent
• Brown coal.
• Lower grade coal.
• 40 to 55 per cent carbon.
• Intermediate stage.
• Dark to black brown.
• Moisture content is high (over 35 per cent).
• It undergoes SPONTANEOUS
COMBUSTION [Bad. Creates fire accidents
in mines]
Bituminous Coal
• Soft coal; most widely available and used

coal.
• Derives its name after a liquid called
bitumen. of the total reserves and 99 per cent of
• 40 to 80 per cent carbon. the production of coal in India.
• Moisture and volatile content (15 to 40 per Satpuras, denudation [weathering +
cent) erosion] has exposed coal bearing
• Dense, compact, and is usually of black Gondwana strata.
colour. • The carbon content in Gondwana coal [250
• Does not have traces of original vegetable million years old] is less compared to the
material. Carboniferous coal [350 million years
• Calorific value is very high due to high old][Almost Absent in India] because of
proportion of carbon and low moisture. its much younger age.
• Used in production of coke and gas. • Gondwana coal forms India's metallurgical
grade as well as superior quality coal.
Anthracite Coal • The Damuda series (i.e. Lower
Gondwana) possesses the best worked
• Best quality; hard coal. coalfields accounting for 80 per cent of the
• 80 to 95 per cent carbon. total coal production in India. 80 out of
• Very little volatile matter. 113 Indian coalfields are located in the
• Negligibly small proportion of moisture. rock systems of the Damuda series [lower
• Semi-metallic lustre. Gondwana Age].
• Ignites slowly == less loss of heat == • Coking as well as non-coking and
highly efficient. bituminous as well as sub-bituminous coal
• Ignites slowly and burns with a nice short are obtained from Gondwana coal fields.
blue flame. [Complete combustion == • Anthracite is generally not found in the
Flame is BLUE == little or no pollutants. Gondwana coal fields.
Example: LPG] • The volatile compounds and ash (usually
• In India, it is found only in Jammu and 13 - 30 per cent) and doesn’t allow Carbon
Kashmir and that too in small quantity. percentage to rise above 55 to 60 per
cent. [It requires few million years more if
the quality has to get better. Remember
Gondwana coal is 100 million years • First coal mine was opened in 1774 at
younger than Carboniferous coal]. Raniganj in West Bengal.
• Gondwana coal is free from moisture, but • Coal industry was nationalized in 1973-74.
it contains Sulphur and phosphorus. [The present government made some
• These basins occur in the valleys of certain serious changes during the last year [2015]
rivers viz., the Damodar (Jharkhand-West by allowing private sector to play a bigger
Bengal); the Mahanadi (Chhattisgarh- role in coal production]. Page
Odisha); the Son (Madhya Pradesh • India is now the third largest coal producer | 9
Jharkhand); the Godavari and the Wardha in the world after China and the USA.
(Maharashtra-Andhra Pradesh); the • Coal industry provides employment to
Indravati, the Narmada, the Koel, the nearly seven lakh persons.
Panch, the Kanhan and many more. • Gondwana Coalfields == exclusively found
in the Peninsular plateau of India
Distribution of Gondwana Coal in India
Gondwana Coalfields in Chhattisgarh
Coalfield Extent
• Korba coalfield Korba district.
• Birampur coalfield Surguja district.
• Hasdo-Arand coalfield
• Chirmiri coalfield
• Lakhanpur coalfield
• Jhilmili coalfield Shandol district & Koriya district
• Johilla coalfield Johilla valley
• Sonhat coalfield Surguja district
• Tatapani-Ramkota coalfields north-eastern part of Surguja district
Gondwana Coalfields in Jharkhand • Major coalfields are present in Dumka
(Santhal Parganas), Hazaribagh, Dhanbad
• 1st in reserves [28%]. and Palamu.
• 2nd in production [20%]. • Jharia, Bokaro, Girdih and Karanpura are
• Most of the coal fields are located in a the major coal fields
narrow belt running in east-west direction.
Jharia coalfield Danbad district One of the oldest and the richest coalfields of India; store
house of the best metallurgical coal [coking coal]
Jayanti coalfields inferior quality and has high ash content

Bokaro coalfield Hazaribagh It is a long but narrow strip in the catchment area of the
West Bokaro [900 district Bokaro river.
m deep]
East Bokaro [600
m deep]
Girdih (Karharbari) Gives out of the finest coking coal in India for
coalfield metallurgical purposes.
Karanpura and
Ramgarh coalfields
Auranga coalfield Palamu district inferior quality; used in cement furnaces and brick kilns
Hutar coalfield
Deltenganj
coalfield
Devgarh coalfields Dumka district inferior quality

Rajmahal coalfield Rajmahal hills inferior quality
Coalfield locations can be asked in Prelims. Gondwana Coalfields in Odisha
Page
| 10
Talcher field Talcher town to Rairkhol Ranks second in reserves (24,374 million tonnes)
in Dhenkanal and after Raniganj;
Sambalpur districts Coal from this field is most suitable for steam and
gas production.
Most of the coal is utilised in thermal power and
fertilizer plants at Talcher.
Rampur-Himgir Sambalpur and Coal occurs here in middle and lower Barakar
coalfields Sundargarh seams.
inferior quality
Ib river coalfield Sambalpur and Much of the coal is of inferior quality.
Jharsuguda district
Gondwana Coalfields in Madhya
Pradesh
Singrauli (Waidhian) Sidhi and Shandol largest coalfield of Madhya Pradesh
coalfield districts Jhingurda, Panipahari, Khadia, Purewa and Turra are
important coal seams
Jhingurda with a total thickness of 131 m is the
richest coal seam of the country.
thermal power plants at Singrauli and Obra
Pench-Kanhan- Chhindwara district Ghoravari seam in Kanhan field is 4.6 m thick and
Tawa contains coking coal
Sohagpur coalfield Shandol district
Umaria coalfield Umaria district inferior quality with high percentage of moisture and
ash.

Page
| 11
Gondwana Coalfields in West Bengal
Gondwana Coalfields in Andhra

Pradesh
• 6th in reserves [7.07 %].

• 5th in production [9.69 %].
• Most of the coal reserves are in the • 4 % of India's coal.
Godavari valley. • 11 % of the coal reserves.
• Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal, • Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri are the chief
Khammam, East Godavari, and West producing districts.
Godavari. • RANIGANJ is the largest coalfield of West
• The actual workable collieries are situated Bengal.
at Singareni and Kothagudam. • Raniganj == Barddhaman, Bankura and
• Almost the entire coal is of non-coking Purulia districts; Small part of this field is
variety. in Jharkhand state.
• These are the southern most coalfields of • The coal here is non-coking steam coal.
India and a source of coal supply to most • Dalingkot coalfield == Darjeeling district.
of south India.
Gondwana Coalfields in Uttar Pradesh
Gondwana Coalfields in Maharashtra
• Do not possess coal reserves.
• 3 per cent reserves. • A small portion of the Singrauli field of
• 7 per cent of the production. Madhya Pradesh falls within Mirzapur
district.
• A high grade coal seam, about 1 to 1.5 m
thick occurs near Kotah.
Tertiary Coal

• Tertiary coal 15 to 60 million years old. Tertiary Coal – Lignite

Carbon content is very low.
• Mainly confined to the extra-Peninsula • Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Jammu and
[Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, Kerala, Rajasthan, West Bengal
Assam, Arunachal Pradesh etc.] and Puducherry.
• Coal generally has low carbon and high • Tamil Nadu excels all other states
percentage of moisture and Sulphur.[It regarding reserves and production of Page
takes few hundred million years for the lignite. | 12
carbon content to improve].
• Important areas of Tertiary coal include Lignite in Tamil Nadu
parts of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal
Pradesh, Nagaland, Himalayan foothills of • 90 per cent of the reserves.
Darjeeling in West Bengal, Jammu and • 57 per cent of the production.
Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, • Neyveli Lignite fields of Cuddalore
Kerala, district.
• Tamil Nadu and the union territory of • These are the largest deposits of lignite in
Pondicherry also bear tertiary coal reserves south - east Asia.
[exceptions]. • Neyveli mines suffer from the artesian
structure [mining goes deep and deep].
Tertiary Coalfields in Assam • Mining in Lignite coalfields is risky due to
SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION of lignite.
• Makum, Nazira, Mikir Hills, Dilli-Jeypore
and Lakhuni. Lignite in Gujarat and Rajasthan
• Makum coalfield in Sibsagar district is the
most developed field. • Kachchh district and Dharuch district;
• Assam coals contain very low ash and poor quality.
high coking qualities but the sulphur • Rajasthan == Palana in Bikaner district;
content is high, as a result of which this The 250 MW thermal plant at Bikaner
coal is not suitable for metallurgical wholly depends upon lignite as the basic
purposes. fuel.
• But these coals are best suited for
hydrogenation process and are used for Tertiary Coal – Peat
making liquid fuels.
• Confined to a few areas only.
Tertiary Coalfields in Arunachal • Occurs in Nilgiri hills.
Pradesh • Kashmir valley, peat occurs in the
alluvium of the Jhelum.
• Upper Assam Coal belt extends eastwards • In West Bengal peat beds are noted in
as Namchick-Namrup coalfield. Kolkata and its suburbs.
• High in volatiles and in sulphur. • In the Ganga delta, there are layers of peat
which are composed of forest and rice
Tertiary Coalfields in Meghalaya plants.
• Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills. Problems of Coal Mining in India

• Darrangiri field == Garo hills.
• Siju, Cherrapunji, Liotryngew, Maolong • The distribution of coal is uneven.
and Langrin coalfields == Khasi and • High ash content and low caloric value.
Jaintia hills. • Large percentage of coal is taken out from
underground mines. [Very few open cast
Tertiary Coalfields in Jammu and mines]
Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh • Heavy losses due to fires in the mines.
• Pilferage at several stages also adds to
• Kalakot and surrounding regions in losses – bad transportation infrastructure.
Jammu, south of Pirpanjal.
• Himachal Pradesh == Chamba district.

• Serious problem of environmental • Coking coal should be used for

pollution. High ash, moisture == more metallurgical industry only.
smoke. • Low grade coal should be washed and
• Safety measures against environmental blended with superior quality coal in
pollution are very costly. Clean coal requisite proportion and used in
technology == Complex technology. industries. [Clean Coal Technology]
• Misuse of good quality coal for burning • Selective mining should be discouraged Page
into transport and industries. and all possible coal from the mines | 13
• Short life of metallurgical coal. should be taken out.
• Selective mining leading to large scale • New reserves should be discovered and
wastage of raw coal new techniques should be adopted.
• Unscientific method of extraction of coal. • Alternative energy sources should be
encouraged.
Measures to be taken
Coking Coal vs. Non-Coking Coal
Coking Coal or Metallurgical Coal Thermal Coal or Non-Coking Coal or Steaming
coal
High carbon content, less moisture, less Sulphur content is high and hence cannot be
sulphur, less ash. used in iron and steel industry.
Sulphur is very bad for iron and steel
industry.
Used to create coke. Creating coke using this coal is not economical.
Coke is produced by heating bituminous coal Moreover traces of sulphur will remain even after
without air to extremely high temperatures. coking.
Coking == flushing out impurities and
improving the concentration of carbon.
Coking coal is an essential ingredient in steel Thermal coal is used to generate power.
production.
Major producers: Australia, Canada, United Major producers: China, Australia, USA, Russia.
States. Major exporters: Australia, South Africa.
Major exporters: Australia, Canada, United
States.
China imports huge amount of coking coal
from Australia.
India also imports coking coal.
Coal Reserves in India by State
Name of the state Reserves in billion tonne % of total reserves

1. JHARKHAND 80.71 26.76
2. ODISHA 75.07 24.89
3. CHATTISHGARH 52.53 17.42
4. WEST BENGAL 31.31 10.38
5. MADHYA PRADESH 25.67 8.51
6. ANDHRA PRADESH 22.48 7.45
7. MAHARASTRA 10.98 3.64
8. OTHERS 2.81 0.95
Coal Production in India by State Coking Coal Production by State
• All data from 2013-2014. For latest 1) Jharkhand [More than 90% of India’s
data you must follow newspapers or Coking coal comes from Jharkhand]
Reports published by Ministry of Coal. 2) West Bengal
• Remember top 3 positions in all data 3) Madhya Pradesh
below.

Non Coking Coal Production By State
1) Chhattisgarh
2) Odisha
3) Madhya Pradesh
4) Jharkhand
5) Andhra Pradesh Page
| 14
Total Coal Production By State
1) Chhattisgarh
2) Jharkhand
3) Odisha
4) Madhya Pradesh
5) Andhra Pradesh
Major Coalfields in India
India’s Coal Imports and Exports

Page
| 15
Distribution of Coal across the Major Coalfields in India

World 1. Singrauli
2. Karanpura Bokaro
• Most of the Russia’s coal in Siberian
Region is untapped. 3. Jharia
• Carboniferous coal of Great Lakes and 4. Raniganj
Appalachians region helped USA become a 5. Ib & Talcher
leading industrialized nation. 6. Pench & Kanhan
• Coal reserves in Ruhr and Rhineland 7. Singareni - Godavari Velley
region coupled with rich iron deposits have 8. Lignite: TN, Gujrat And Rajasthan
made Germany a leading industrial super
power of Europe.
• England too benefited immensely from its
coal reserves of South Whales, Yorkshire,
Manchester, Liverpool etc. Industrial
revolution began here mainly due to rich
coal reserves.
• Brazil is a leading coal producer in South
America. Most of the coal goes into power
generation. Excess production is exported Top Producers and Consumers of Coal
to China. in the World
• Australia is a leading producer of coal.
Most of its coal is exported to China, Japan
etc. Australia has rick coking coal
deposits. India imports coking coal mainly
from Australia.
• China’s coal is of poor quality. It imports
metallurgical grade coal from Australia.
• South Africa is the only region in Africa
with significant amount of coal reserves.
Global Coal Reserves

Distribution of Coal in USA • World's third biggest coal reserves.

• Largest producer and consumer of coal in
• World's second biggest coal producing the world.
country. • Largest user of coal-derived electricity
• World's second biggest coal consumer [68.7%].
[China first]. • Industry hugely dependent on Coal.
• 37% of the country's electricity generation • Photochemical smog == Intensifying Page
come from coal. environmental concerns all over China due | 16
• Coal mining occurs in 25 states of which to coal burning.
Wyoming, West Virginia, Kentucky,
Pennsylvania and Texas are the biggest
coal producers.
• The North Antelope ROCHELLE COAL
MINE located in the Powder River Basin of
Wyoming is the world's biggest coal mine
• Allegheny Mountains and Appalachian
Mountains have enormous coal deposits.
• Most coal now produced in the United
States is mined in western surface mines,
especially in Wyoming's Powder River
Basin.
Petroleum and Mineral Oil
• Petra == rock; Oleum == oil.
• Petroleum or Mineral oil is obtained from
sedimentary rocks of the earth.
• Petroleum fuels on burning gives little
smoke and leaves no ash. So they are
better than coal.
Constituents of Petroleum and Mineral

Oil
• 90 to 95 per cent Hydrocarbons.

• 5 – 10% organic compounds containing
oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur and traces of
organometallic compounds.
Formation of Petroleum and Mineral Oil
Distribution of Coal in China

• All sedimentary rocks do not contain oil. • Most of the oil reserves in India are
• An oil reservoir must have three associated with anticlines and fault traps
prerequisite conditions. in the sedimentary rock formations of
1. Porosity [tiny gaps in soil] so as to tertiary times.
accommodate sufficiently large • In tertiary period, aquatic life was
amounts of oil; abundant in various forms, especially the
2. permeability [allowing liquids or gases minor microscopic forms of flora and Page
to pass through it.] to discharge oil fauna. | 17
and/or gas when well has been drilled; • Conditions for oil formation were
3. the porous sandstone beds or fissured favourable especially in the lower and
limestone containing oil should be middle Tertiary period.
capped below by impervious beds [not • Dense forests and sea organisms
allowing fluid to pass through]. flourished in the gulfs, estuaries, deltas
• Most of the oil gets collected in the and the land surrounding them during this
anticlines or fault traps. period.
• Oil on a commercial scale is usually found
in crests of anticlines [where the Extent of Oil Bearing Strata in India
sedimentary rock strata are inclined and
folded]. • 14.1 lakh sq km or 42 per cent of India
covered with sedimentary rocks.
• 10 lakh sq km form marine basins of
Mesozoic and Tertiary times.
• Total continental shelf of probable oil
bearing rocks amounts to 3.2 lakh sq km.
• The total sedimentary area including both
on shore and offshore comprises 27
basins.
• Mumbai High, the Khambhat Gulf and
the Assam are the most productive areas.
Distribution of Petroleum and Mineral

Oil in India
• Process began in tertiary period [3 million

years ago].
On-shore Oil Production In India

• Brahmaputra valley of north-east India. • The main oil bearing strata extend for a
• Barmer area of Rajasthan. distance of 320 km in upper Assam along
• Gujarat coast in western India. the Brahmaputra valley.
• Cauvery on-shore basin in Tamil Nadu. • Oilfields of Assam are relatively
• Andhra Pradesh has both on-shore and inaccessible and are distantly located
offshore oil reserves. from the main consuming areas.
• Oil from Assam is therefore, refined mostly Page
Assam Oilfields in the refineries located at Digboi, | 18
Guwahati, Bongaigaon, Barauni and
• Oldest oil producing state in India Numaligarh.
The Digboi field Tipam hills, Dibrugarh district Oldest oil field of India
The Naharkatiya Left bank of Burhi Dihing river 32 km southwest of Digboi
field Oil from this area is sent to oil
refineries at Noonamati in Assam (443
km) and Barauni in Bihar (724 km)
through pipeline.
The Moran- 40 km south-west of Naharkatiya
Hugrijan field
Gujarat Oilfields • The Rawa field in Krishna-Godawari off-

shore basin is an important one.
• Ankleshwar, Khambhat or Lunej, • The Narimanam and Kovilappal oilfields in
Ahmedabad and Kalol, Nawgam, Kosamba, the Cauvery on-shore basin are also
Kathana, Barkol, Mahesana and Sanand important.
are important oilfields of this region.
• Ankleshwar: Oil from this field is sent to Petroleum Refining
refineries at Trombay and Koyali.
• India's first oil refinery started working way
Rajasthan Oilfields back in 1901 at Digboi in Assam.
• 1954: another refinery at Tarapur
• One of the largest inland oil discoveries (Mumbai).
was made in Banner district of Rajasthan. • Refinery hub and refining capacity exceeds
• Other important discoveries == Mangala oil the demand. Excess refined oil and other
field, Sarswati and Rajeshwari. petroleum products are exported.
• Rajasthan is the largest on shore oil • Oil from wells is transported to nearest
producing state of India. refineries through pipelines.
Off-Shore Production in India Advantages of Pipeline
Western Coast • Ideal to transport liquids and gases.

• Pipelines can be laid through difficult
• Mumbai High, Bassein and Aliabet. terrains as well as under water.
• Mumbai High: 1974; rock strata of • Economical.
Miocene age. • It needs very little maintenance.
• Sagar Samrat, Bassein: south of Mumbai • Pipelines are safe, accident-free and
High. environmental friendly.
• Aliabet: Aliabet island in the Gulf of
Khambhat. Disadvantages of Pipelines
Eastern Coast • It is not flexible, i.e., it can be used only for

a few fixed points.
• The basin and delta regions of the • Its capacity cannot be increased once it is
Godawari, the Krishna and the Cauvery laid.
rivers hold great potential for oil and gas
production.
• It is difficult to make security • Hajira-Bijapur-Jagdishpur (HBJ) Gas

Pipeline == world's largest underground
pipeline
• Jamnagar-Loni LPG Pipeline == longest
LPG pipeline in the world
• Kochi-Mangalore-Bangalore pipeline
• Vishakhapatnam Secunderabad pipeline Page
• Mangalore-Chennai pipeline | 19
• Vijayawada-Vishakhapatnam pipeline
Share of Oil in Power Generation
India’s Oil Imports
arrangements for pipelines.

• Detection of leakage and repair is also
difficult.
Crude Oil Pipelines
• Salaya-Mathura Pipeline (SMPL)

• Paradip-Haldia-Barauni Pipeline (PHBPL)
• Mundra-Panipat Pipeline (MPPL)
Petroleum Product Pipelines
Remember locations of Oil Refineries and

Major Oil producing centers. Pipeline are the
ones that connect these centers.
• Guwahati-Siliguri Pipeline (GSPL)

• Koyali-Ahmedabad Pipeline (KAPL)
• Barauni-Kanpur Pipeline (BKPL)
• Panipat-Delhi Pipeline (PDPL)
• Panipat-Rewari Pipeline (PRPL)
• Chennai – Trichy - Madurai Product
Pipeline (CTMPL)
• Chennai-Bangalore Pipeline
• Naharkatia-Nunmati-Barauni Pipeline ==
first pipeline constructed in India
• Mumbai High-Mumbai-Ankleshwar-Koyali
Pipeline.

Petroleum and Mineral Oil – World

distribution: Supergiants, Oilfields in Saudi
Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, Russia, United
States, Mexico, Canada, Venezuela, Brazil,
United Kingdom and African Region.
Petroleum and Mineral Oil - World Page

distribution | 20
• More than half of the world’s proven oil

reserves are located in the Middle East
(including Iran but not North Africa).
• Canada, United States, Latin America,
Africa, and the region occupied by the
former Soviet Union contains less than 15
percent of the world’s proven reserves.
[Reserves are identified quantities of

petroleum that are considered recoverable
under current economic and technological
conditions.]
• The amount of oil a given region produces

is not always proportionate to the size of
its proven reserves.
• For example, the Middle East contains
more than 50 percent of the world’s proven
reserves but accounts for only about 30
percent of global oil production.
• The United States, by contrast has less
than 2 percent of the world’s proven
reserves but produces about 10 percent of
the world’s oil.
Supergiants
• Petroleum is contained in a few large fields,

but most fields are small.
• The two largest classes of fields are the
1. supergiants, fields with 5 billion or
more barrels of ultimately recoverable
oil, and
2. world-class giants, fields with 500
million to 5 billion barrels of
recoverable oil.
• Fewer than 40 supergiant oil fields have
been found worldwide.

Page
| 21

Page
| 22
• The Arabian-Iranian sedimentary basin Oilfields in Saudi Arabia

in the Persian Gulf region contains two-
thirds of these supergiant fields. • Saudi Arabia has the largest proven oil
• The remaining supergiants are distributed reserves.
in the United States, Russia, Mexico, • Approximately 20 percent of the world’s
Libya, Algeria, Venezuela, and China. proven reserves.

• The discovery that transformed Saudi • Volga-Caspian Region has many oil and
Arabia into a leading oil country was Al- gas fields.
Ghawār oil field. (still has 70 billion
barrels after 60 years of production)
• Another important discovery was the
Saffaniyah offshore field in the Persian
Gulf. It is the third largest oil field in the Page
world and the largest offshore. | 23
Oil Fields in United States, Mexico, &

Canada
• North America has many sedimentary

basins.
• Many oilfields have been found in North
Slope region of Alaska and East Texas.
• United States has produced more oil than
any other country.
• Its proven oil reserves amount to 2 percent
of the world total.
• The Rocky Mountain region contains an
enormous amount of petroleum reserve.
Oil Fields in Iraq, Kuwait, & Iran
• The Middle Eastern countries of Iraq,

Kuwait, and Iran are each estimated to
have 25 percent of all proven reserves in
the world.
• These countries have a number of
supergiant fields.
• Al-Burqan oilfield of Kuwait is the world’s
second largest oil field.
Oil Fields in Russia
• Russia is thought to possess the best

potential for new discoveries.
• It has significant proven reserves of 5
percent of the world total—and is the
world’s leading petroleum producer. • Mexico has more than 10 billion barrels of
• There are two supergiant oil fields – proven oil reserves and is one of the top 10
Western Siberia and Yenisey Khatanga. oil producers in the world.
• Kamchatka peninsula and Sakhalin • Canada has less than 10 billion barrels of
Island are said to have significant oil proven reserves of conventional liquid oil.
reserves.
• But huge deposits of oil sands in the Natural gas

Athabasca region in western Canada
bring the country’s total proven oil reserves • Consists primarily of methane and
to approximately 175 billion barrels, ethane.
behind only oil giants Saudi Arabia and • Propane, butane, pentane, and hexane are
Venezuela. also present.
• Canada’s largest oil field is off Page
• Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) == Mixture | 24
Newfoundland. of butane and propane.
• Commonly occurs in association with
Oilfields in Venezuela & Brazil
crude oil.
• Venezuela is the largest oil exporter in the • Natural gas is often found dissolved in oil
Western Hemisphere. or as a gas cap above the oil.
• 210 billion barrels of proven oil reserves • Sometimes, pressure of natural gas forces
(world’s second largest). oil up to the surface. Such natural gas is
known as associated gas or wet gas.
• Most of these reserves are located in the
Orinoco belt. • Some reservoirs contain gas and no oil.
This gas is termed non-associated gas or
• Brazil has 14 billion barrels of proven oil
dry gas.
reserves (second largest in South America)
• Often natural gases contain substantial
Oilfields in United Kingdom quantities of hydrogen sulfide or other
organic sulfur compounds. In this case,
• The United Kingdom is an important North the gas is known as “sour gas.”
Sea producer, and its proven oil reserves • Coalbed methane is called ‘sweet gas’
of some three billion barrels are the largest because of its lack of hydrogen sulfide.
in the European Union.
Oil + Gas == Associated Gas – Wet Gas,
Oilfields in African Region
Only Gas == Non-Associated Gas – Dry Gas,
• The main oil-producing countries of Africa Hydrogen Sulphide in gas == Sour Gas,
are: Libya, Algeria, Nigeria and Egypt.
• Niger delta in Nigeria contains enormous Coalbed Methane == Sweet Gas.
amount of oil.
• Egypt is self-sufficient in oil production. • On the market, natural gas is usually
• Algeria is another significant producer of bought and sold not by volume but by
petroleum where much of the national calorific value.
income comes from oil-export. • In practice, purchases of natural gas are
• Libya became a consistent producer of usually denoted as MMBTUs (millions of
petroleum. The total oil reserve of Libya is British thermal unit (BTU or Btu)) = ~1,000
around 3 per cent of global reserve. cubic feet of natural gas.
Natural Gas Formation
• Similar to the formation of Petroleum.

• Natural gas was formed millions of years
ago when plants and tiny sea animals were
buried by sand and rock.
• Layers of mud, sand, rock, plant, and
animal matter continued to build up until
the pressure and heat turned them into oil
and natural gas.
Uses of Natural Gas
• Electric power generation.

• Industrial, domestic, and commercial Natural Gas in North America

usage.
• Many buses and commercial automotive • The United States has proven natural gas
fleets now operate on CNG. reserves of 273 tcf.
• It is an ingredient in dyes and inks . • Its largest gas field, Hugoton extends
• Used in rubber compounding operations. through the Oklahoma, Texas and
• Ammonia is manufactured using hydrogen Kansas. Page
derived from methane. Ammonia is used to • Canada has an estimated 62 tcf of proven | 25
produce chemicals such as hydrogen natural gas reserves.
cyanide, nitric acid, urea, and a range of • The largest gas field is in Alberta.
fertilizers. • Much of Mexico’s natural comes from Gulf
of Mexico.
Importance of Natural Gas to India
• Power stations using gas accounted for

nearly 10 per cent of India’s electricity.
• Despite the country reeling under a power
crisis, gas power stations are lying idle due
to lack of feedstock.
• The Government has frozen the
construction of new gas plants until 2015-
16 because of gas shortages.
• Existing plants are operating below
capacity on expensive imported liquefied
natural gas (LNG).
• India’s oil reserves are insufficient for its
growing energy needs and situation is
made worse by policy paralysis which
increases the gestation period of the Natural Gas in Africa
projects.
• We need to diversify our energy basket • Central basin of Algeria and Niger Delta
through alternate fuels so that we need not have proven reserves.
have to bear the brunt of external shocks.
Natural Gas in Middle East
World Distribution of Natural Gas
• There is an enormous gas potential in the
Natural Gas in Russia Middle East associated with the major oil
fields in the Arabian-Iranian basin.
• Russia has the largest natural gas • Iran and Qatar have the second and third
reserves in the world (1,680 Trillion Cubic largest natural gas reserves in the world,
Feet (tcf)). behind Russia.
• It periodically changes place with the
United States as the world’s largest or Natural Gas in Asia
second largest producer.
• The largest gas field in Asia is in the North
• Some of the world’s largest gas fields occur
Sumatra basin of Indonesia.
in a region of West Siberia and east of the
Gulf of Ob on the Arctic Circle. OPEC – Organization of Petroleum
• The world’s largest gas field is Urengoy.
Exporting Countries
• Volga-Urals region also has significant gas
reserves. • 12 member oil supply cartel.
Natural Gas in Europe • Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia,
Venezuela, and later joined by Qatar,
• Dutch coast and the North Sea (off the Indonesia, UAE, Libya, Algeria, Nigeria,
coast of Norway) have proven reserves. Gabon and Angola.

• This group bargains with international Oil

Companies so that profit margin will be
high.
• They control production and supply [for
better profit margin] of crude oil to keep it
below international demand.
• It is only recently that Crude oil’s prices Page
have crashed due to shale boom in US –– | 26
the largest importer of oil and gas.
Distribution of Natural Gas in India
• KG basin, Assam, Gulf of Khambhat,

Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, Barmer
in Rajasthan etc. Petroleum and Gas Value Chain
• Oil & gas industry is divided in Upstream,

Midstream and Downstream sector.
Upstream Sector
• Oil exploration, prospection and

extraction/production from oil wells.
New Exploration Licensing Policy, 1997

• Promote exploration by providing a level (weighted average) so as to bring it at

playing field to private players against parity with international prices.
public enterprises. • This would result in increase of price from
• Oil blocks are allotted under ‘Production $ 4.2 mmbtu to$ 8.4 mmbtu, this formulae
Sharing Contracts’. was not implemented (it will do serious
• In ‘Production Sharing Contracts’, damage to vote bank).
investment and revenues is shared with Page
government. Midstream sector | 27
• The private companies exaggerated or
inflated their investment accounts and • This sector involves transportation of oil
gobbled up public funds. and gas from blocks to refineries and from
refineries to distribution centers.
Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) • Most cost effective way is through
pipeline, in comparison to road and
• There are demands to replace NELP with railways which higher economic and
OALP. environmental costs.
• Under OALP, oil blocks will be available • Current pipeline infrastructure is skewed
throughout for sale. [government makes in favor of North and West India, which
money by selling oilfields] accounts for 60% of gas pipelines and 80
• It allows ample time for explorer to study % of gas consumptions.
the fields and bid for block of his choice. • To remedy this, central government has
• ‘National Data Repository’ is prerequisite proposed to set up National Gas Grid
for functioning of OALP. under which additional 15000 km of
• It will be a ‘hydrocarbon data center’ which pipelines will be laid down.
facilitate prospection of resources. • It will be executed under PPP model and
will be eligible for ‘Viability Gap Funding’.
Revenue Sharing Contracts • Further, Gas Distribution networks are
available in only few cities. In most of cities
• Seen as a better alternative to OALP
gas is transferred through bottling plants
and NELP.
and distribution agency. This result in
• Government gets share in revenue from the
wastage by leakages and theft.
very beginning.
• In contrast PSC (Production Sharing Viability Gap Funding
Contracts), allows government to have
revenue share only after costs are • In some PPP projects in India, Central and
recovered by the explorer. state governments undertake to provide
• In PSC, explorers inflate investment by support funding to successful bidders.
classifying revenue expenditure (salaries, • Projects are awarded to those whose
maintenance etc.) as capital expenditure requirement for state funding is least.
(equipment, technology etc.). • Indian Oil Corporation and Gas Authority
• This resulted in lower government share. It of India are involved in this sector.
delays revenue to the government by
decades. Storage
Kelkar Committee Recommendations • Government is building underground

storage capacity of 15 million metric tons
• Deep sea offshore Blocks – Production for petroleum and related products.
Sharing Contracts should be adopted. • The first phase construction is in progress
• Onshore and Shallow blocks – Revenue in Vishakhapatnam, Mangalore and Padur
Sharing Model should be adopted. [All coastal cities].
• Storage facilities are essential for
Rangarajan Committee Recommendations safeguard against shortages or supply
disruptions.
• Suggested linking gas price to price of
imported gas and gas prices prevailing in Downstream sector
exchanges of USA, UK and Japan

• This sector involves refining, processing seam. [water will occupy the gaps and
and marketing of products and byproducts pores and will push out the gas]
of crude oil. • It is now becoming an important source of
natural gas.
Unconventional Gas Reservoirs • Unlike much natural gas from
conventional reservoirs, coalbed methane
• Conventional reservoirs of oil and natural contains very little heavier hydrocarbons Page
gas are found in permeable sandstone. such as propane or butane. | 28
• Unconventional Gas Reservoirs occur in • The presence of this gas is well known
relatively impermeable sandstones, in from its occurrence in underground coal
joints and fractures or absorbed into the mining, where it presents a serious safety
matrix of shales [Shale is a Sedimentary risk.
Rock], and in coal seams.
• Given current economic conditions and Fire Accidents in Coal Mines are mainly due to
state of technology, they are more Coalbed Methane, and Lignite deposits which
expensive to exploit. undergo spontaneous combustion.
• Example: Tight gas, shale gas, and coal-
Coalbed Methane in India
bed methane.
• With one of the largest proven coal
reserves, and one of the largest coal
producer in the world, India holds
significant prospects for commercial
recovery of coalbed methane.
• The country has an estimated 700-950
billion cubic metre of coalbed methane.
Problems in Exploration, Extraction of

Coalbed Methane in India
• The state-run firms are holding mines in

joint venture with private companies and
the latter do not have rights to explore
coalbed methane [private sector companies
at present have no rights to extract
unconventional gas reservoirs –– coalbed
methane and shale gas].
• CBM extraction falls under Ministry of
Petroleum & Natural Gas whereas coal
mining falls under Ministry of Coal.
Contractors are not allowed to mine gas
from coal seams or coal bed methane
Coalbed Methane
(CBM) and coal in the same block due to
the turf war [common feature of Indian
• Considerable quantities of methane is
Bureaucracy] between the two ministries
trapped within coal seams.
and other associated bureaucratic hurdles.
• A significant portion of this gas remains as
• Extracting unconventional gas is a capital
free gas in the joints and fractures of the
intensive process and at the present levels
coal seam.
of gas prices, the companies cannot
• Large quantities of gas are adsorbed on the recover their investments.
internal surfaces of the micropores within
• The technology required is very advanced
the coal itself.
and the public sector companies have very
• This gas can be accessed by drilling wells weak organizational setup to efficiently
into the coal seam and pumping large handle such technologies and extract gas
quantities of water that saturate the economically.

• Private sector companies have necessary • Basins of preliminary interest identified by

financial capabilities and managerial skills Indian geologists are the Cambay Basin in
but there is no hope due to restricting laws Gujarat, the Assam-Arakan basin in
and low gas prices. northeast India, and the Gondwana Basin.
In India, gas pricing is a contentious issue. It

has never been easy satisfying all the Page
stakeholders involved [consumer, government, | 29
gas companies]. Gas pricing will be critical for
private companies before they can invest in
unconventional gas projects so that they can
calculate their profit margin.
Shale Gas – Shale Gas Formation
• Shale gas = Lot of Methane + Little Ethane,

Propane, & Butane + very little carbon
dioxide, nitrogen, and hydrogen sulfide.
• Shales are fine-grained sedimentary
rocks formed of organic-rich mud at the
bottom of ancient seas.
• Subsequent sedimentation and the
resultant heat and pressure transformed
the mud into shale and also produced
natural gas from the organic matter • Indian engineers have gathered experience
contained in it. on fracking - the technology to find shale
• Over long spans of geologic time, some of gas - by spending time in the US and are
the gas migrated to adjacent sandstones now able to hunt for the scarce resource
and was trapped in them, forming on their own.
conventional gas accumulations. • Fracking technology sends high pressure
• The rest of the gas remained locked in the streams of water, sand and chemicals into
nonporous shale. shale formations to bring up the oil and
gas.
Shale Gas Reserves Across the World • Environmentalists have objected to
fracking because of the damage to forest
cover and possible contamination of
ground water.
• One estimate by Indian scientists places
potential reserves at as high as 527 tcf.
Extraction of Shale Gas
• Shale gas occurs frequently at depths

exceeding 1,500 metres (5,000 feet).
• Extraction is done through horizontal
drilling through the shale seam, followed
by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, of
the rock by the injecting of fluid at
Shale Gas Reserves in India extremely high pressure.

Page
| 30

• Environmentalists have objected to

fracking because of the damage to forest
cover and possible contamination of
ground water.
• However, industry officials say that the
treated water can be re-used for further
fracking and need not be disposed of at all. Page
| 31
Solutions
• All the water required must be obtained

from rain water harvesting.
• Recycling and reusing of water utilized for
fracking should be the preferred method
Hydro-fracturing or Fracking for water management.
• Enforcing clear and practical legislation on
• Shale rock is sometimes found 3,000 environmental and water issues.
metres below the surface.
• Coal bed methane (CBM), which is
• After deep vertical drilling, there are extracted from coal beds, is also an
techniques to drill horizontally for unconventional gas and, in terms of depth,
considerable distances in various occurs much closer to the land surface
directions to extract the gas-rich shale. than shale gas.
• A mixture of water, chemicals, and sand is
then injected into the well at very high Shale Gas Extraction Issues in India -
pressures to create a number of fissures in If US can then why can’t India?
the rock to release the gas.
• The process of using water for breaking up • India suffers from physical and economic
the rock is known as ‘hydro-fracturing’ or water scarcity whereas the U.S. do not
‘fracking’. have the same water worries.
• The chemicals help in water and gas flow • In the US, the natural gas department is
and tiny particles of sand enter the exempt from scrutiny for chemical
fissures to keep them open and allow the injection in the ground (it exempts
gas to flow to the surface. companies from disclosing the chemicals
used during hydraulic fracturing). There is
Guar gum no such legislation in India.
• In US, the citizen or resident owns the
• Can quickly turn water into a very thick resources that lie beneath the ground. In
gel. India, soil below the land is a public
• Adding guar gum increases viscosity of property and the companies must follow all
water and makes high-pressure pumping the necessary rules to acquire it.
and the fracturing process more efficient. • The US has mapped all its shale reserves.
• High viscosity water is much more effective In India there is clarity on the exact
at suspending sand grains and carrying recoverable shale reserves.
them into the fractures. • The population density is much lower in
• The guar been is grown mainly by farmers the US and they can afford to do it.
in Rajasthan and Haryana. • Government-issued leases for conventional
• Earlier, guar gum was used mainly as an petroleum exploration do not include
additive in ice creams and sauces. unconventional sources such as shale gas.
• But with the discovery of its use in shale • All locations in US is well connected with
gas extraction, its price shot up gas pipelines. Bulk of the reserves in
enormously. eastern India lack the necessary network
of pipelines to transport the gas–a task
Problems Associated With Shale Gas
that many private operators are wary
Exploitation about undertaking.

Shale Gas: Low Potential, High Risk

and there is a Better Alternative
• India has 293 billion tonnes of coal lying

under its soil. Extraction is complicated
because of environmental issues.
• But, ‘underground coal gasification’, can Page
create 6,900 trillion cubic feet of gas which | 32
is way higher than shale reserves.
• India’s shale resources at a more modest
65 trillion cubic feet. India’s CBM potential
is estimated at 450 tcf.
• So, focus must be on CBM exploration
rather than on risky shale business.
Mains 2013: It is said that India has

substantial reserves of shale oil and gas,
which can feed the needs of the country.
However, tapping of resourced does not
appear to be high on the agenda. Discuss
critically the availability and issues
involved. (10 marks - 200 words)
Write an answer on your own with the help of

above points. Odisha
Bauxite • Largest bauxite producing state.

• One-third of the total production of India.
• 80 % of bauxite [ore of aluminium] ore is • Kalahandi and Koraput districts.
used for making aluminium. • Extends further into Andhra Pradesh
• Found mainly as hydrated aluminium • The main deposits occur in Kalahandi,
oxides. Koraput, Sundargarh, Bolangir and
• Total resources == 3,480 million tonnes == Sambalpur districts.
84 per cent resource are of metallurgical
grade Chhattisgarh
Bauxite Distribution in India • Second largest producer.

• Maikala range in Bilaspur, Durg districts
• Odisha alone accounts for 52 per cent and the Amarkantak plateau regions of
• Andhra Pradesh 18 per cent Surguja, Raigarh and Bilaspur are some of
• Gujarat 7 per cent the areas having rich deposits of bauxite.
• Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra 5 per cent
each Maharashtra
• Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand 4 per
cent. • Third largest producer.
• Major bauxite resources are in the east • Largest deposits occur in Kolhapur district.
coast in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. • Kolhapur district contain rich deposits
• India manages to export small quantities of with alumina content 52 to 89 per cent.
bauxite. • Other districts: Thane, Ratnagiri, Satara
• Major importers are Italy (60%), U.K. and Pune.
(25%), Germany (9%) and Japan (4%).
Jharkhand
• Ranchi, Lohardaga, Palamu and Gumla

districts.

• High grade ore occurs in Lohardaga. Lead and Zinc

Gujarat
Lead
• Jamnagar, Junagadh, Kheda, Kachchh,
• Malleable [can be hammered into thin
Sabarkantha, Amreli and Bhavnagar.
sheets], soft, heavy and bad conductor.
• The most important deposits occur in a Page
• Lead is a constituent in bronze alloy and is | 33
belt lying between the Gulf of Kachchh and
used as an anti-friction metal.
the Arabian sea through Bhavnagar,
• Lead oxide is used in cable covers,
Junagadh and Amreli districts.
ammunition, paints, glass making and
• Amarkantak plateau area, the Maikala
rubber industry.
range in Shandol, Mandla and Balaghat
• It is also made into sheets, tubes and pipes
districts and the Kotni area of Jabalpur
which are used as sanitary fittings.
district are the main producers.
• It is now increasingly used in automobiles,
Bauxite Distribution – World aeroplanes, and calculating machines.
• Lead nitrate is used in dyeing and printing.
• Lead does not occur free in nature. It
occurs as a cubic sulphide known as
GALENA.
• Galena is found in veins in limestones,
calcareous slates and sandstones.
Zinc
• Zinc is a mixed ore containing lead &

zinc.
• Zinc is found in veins in association with
galena, chalcopyrites, iron pyrites and
other sulphide ores.
• It is mainly used for alloying and for
manufacturing galvanized sheets.
• It is also used for dry batteries, electrodes,
textiles, die-casting, rubber industry and
for making collapsible tubes containing
drugs, pastes and the like.
Distribution of Lead and Zinc ores -

India and World
• Rajasthan is endowed with the largest

resources of lead-zinc ore (88.61 per cent),
• Andhra Pradesh (3.31 per cent),
• Madhya Pradesh (2.16 per cent),
• Bihar (1.67 per cent)
• Maharashtra 9 (1.35 per cent).
• Almost the entire production comes from
Rajasthan.
• Australia (31.34%),
• China (18.41%),
• Brazil (13.93%),
• Guinea (8.36%), etc.

insecticides, fungicides and for vulcanizing

rubber
• Pyrites occur in Son Valley in Bihar, in
Chitradurga and Uttar Kannada districts of
Karnataka and the pyritous coal and shale
of Assam coalfields.
• It is widely distributed and scattered Page
across the country. | 34
Gold – Silver Distribution – India & World.

Gold Reserves in India. Gold Distribution
Tungsten Across the World. Silver Distribution – India &
World.
• Ore of Tungsten is called WOLFRAM.
• Most important property is that of self-
Gold Reserves in India
hardening which it imparts to steel.
• Gold usually occurs in auriferous [(of rocks
• Over 95 per cent of the worlfram is used by
or minerals) containing gold] rocks.
the steel industry.
• It is also found in sands of several rivers.
• Steel containing the requisite proportion of
tungsten is mainly used in manufacturing • Gold is also known as international
amunitions, armour plates, heavy guns, currency.
hard cutting tools, etc. Resources in terms of the metal ore
• Tungsten is easily alloyed with chromium, (primary) are located in
nickel, molybdenum, titanium, etc. to yield
a number of hard facing, heat and 1. Bihar (45 per cent)
corrosion resistant alloys. 2. Rajasthan (23 per cent)
• It is also used for various other purposes 3. Karnataka (22 per cent)
such as electric bulb filaments, paints, 4. West Bengal (3 per cent)
ceramics, textiles, etc. 5. Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh
(2 per cent each)
Distribution of Wolfram
Resources in terms of metal content
• Karnataka (42 per cent)
• Rajasthan (27 per cent) 1. Karnataka,
• Andhra Pradesh (17 per cent) 2. Rajasthan,
3. Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand,
• Maharashtra (9 per cent)
etc.
• Remaining 5 per cent resources are in
• Kolar Gold Field, Hutti Gold Field and
Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and
Ramgiri Gold Field are the most important
West Bengal
gold fields.
• Domestic requirements are met by imports.
Karnataka
Pyrites
• Karnataka is the largest producer of gold
• Pyrite is a sulphide of iron. in India.
• Chief source of sulphur. • Gold mines are located in Kolar [Kolar Gold
• High proportion of sulphur is injurious to Field], Dharwad, Hassan and Raichur
iron. Hence is it removed and used to [Hutti Gold Field] districts.
produce sulphur. • Kolar Gold Fields is one of the deepest
• Sulphur is very useful for making mines of the world. [Usually, gold mines
sulphuric acid which in turn is used in are the deepest mines in the world.
several industries such as fertilizer, Mponeng Gold Mine in South Africa is the
chemicals, rayon, petroleum, steel, etc. deepest mine in the world (3.9 km deep)]
• Elemental sulphur is useful for • Hutti mines are exploited to their
manufacturing explosives, matches, maximum levels and the ore left behind is

of very low grade. The mining has almost • Countries with significant deposits: South
ceased due to little or no profitability. Africa, Australia, Indonesia, Canada,
• The Kolar Gold Field has also run out of Ghana, Chile, China, USA, Russia etc.
quality reserves and is on the verge of
closure. Countries with highest gold deposits
Andhra Pradesh Page

| 35
• Second largest producer of gold in India.
• Ramagiri in Anantapur district is the most
important gold field in AP.
• Alluvial Gold [gold scattered in silt] and
Placer deposits [gold bearing rocks] in
small quantity are widely spread in a large
number of rivers
Major Gold Producing Countries
Jharkhand
• Sands of the Subarnarekha (gold streak)

river have some alluvial gold.
• Sona nadi in Singhbhum district is
important.
• Sonapat valley is another major site with
alluvial gold.
Kerala
• The river terraces along the Punna Puzha

and the Chabiyar Puzha have some alluvial
gold.
Silver Distribution – India & World

• Used in chemicals, electroplating,
photography and for colouring glass, etc.
• The chief ore minerals of silver are
agentine, stephanite, pyrargyrite and
proustite.
• It is found mixed with several other metals
such as copper, lead, gold, zinc, etc.
• India is not a major producer of silver in
the world.
Gold Distribution Across the World

• Zawar mines in Udaipur district of Manganese Ore Distribution in India

Rajasthan is the major producer of silver
[smelting of galena ore in Hindustan Zinc • India processes second largest reserves in
Smelter]. the world after Zimbabwe; 430 million
• The Tundoo Lead Smelter in Dhanbad tonnes
district of Jharkhand is another major • India is the world's fifth largest producer
silver producer. of manganese ore after China, Gabon, Page
• Some silver is produced by Kolar Gold South Africa and Australia. | 36
Fields and Hutti gold mines. • Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha,
• The Hindustan Copper Ltd. at Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are the
Maubhandar smelter in Singhbhum major manganese producing states.
district of Jhakhand obtains silver from • Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh
copper slimes. together produce more than half of India's
• Silver is also produced by Vizag Zinc manganese
smelter in Andhra Pradesh from the lead
concentrates. State wise reserves of Manganese
• Odisha (44%),
• Karnataka (22%),
• Madhya Pradesh (13%),
• Maharashtra (8%),
• Andhra Pradesh (4%)
• Jharkhand and Goa (3% each),
• Rajasthan, Gujarat and West Bengal
(remaining 3 per cent).
Maharashtra
• Produces about 27.66 per cent of Indian

manganese.
• The main belt is in Nagpur and Bhandara
districts.
• High grade ore is found in Ratnagiri
Manganese – Distribution of Manganese in district also.
India, State wise reserves of Manganese,
Madhya Pradesh
World Distribution of Manganese.
• Produces about 27.59 per cent of India's
Manganese manganese ore.
• The main
• Manganese is not found as a free element belt extends
in nature. in Balaghat
• It is often found in combination with iron. and
• The most important manganese ore is Chhindwara
pyrolusite. districts.
• Manganese is primarily used in iron and • It is just an
steel industry. extension of
• It is the basic raw material for the Nagpur
manufacturing steel alloys. Bhandara belt of Maharashtra.
• 6 kilograms of manganese is required for
manufacturing one tonne of steel. Odisha
• Manganese is also used in the
manufacturing of bleaching powder, • 24 per cent production. [1st in reserves but
insecticides, paints, and batteries. 3rd in prduction]

• Gondite [regional names] deposits occur in • Singhbhum and Dhanbad districts in

Sundargarh district and Kodurite and Jharkhand are other producers of
Khondolite deposits in Kalahandi and manganese.
Koraput Districts.
• Manganese is also mined from the lateritic Export of Manganese
deposits in Bolangir and Sambalpur
districts. • Four-fifths of the total production is Page
consumed domestically. | 37
• Exports constantly decreasing due to
increasing domestic demand.
• Japan is the largest buyer of Indian
manganese.
• The other buyers are the USA, UK,
Germany, France, Norway.
World Manganese Ore Distribution
Andhra Pradesh
• 13% of India's manganese production.

• Srikakulam and Vishakhapatnam districts.
• Srikakulam district has the distinction of
being the earliest producer (1892) of
manganese ore in India.
• Cuddapah, Vijayanagaram and Guntur are
other manganese producing districts.
Karnataka
• 6 per cent of India's manganese.

Chromite
• Uttara Kannada, Shimoga, Bellary,
Chitradurg and Tumkur districts. • Chromite is an oxide of iron and chromium
= Combination of chromium, iron and
Other producers oxygen.
• It is the only economic ore of chromium.
• Goa, • The chromium extracted from chromite is
• Panchmahals and Vadodara in Gujarat, used in chrome plating and alloying for
• Udaipur and Banswara in Rajasthan and production of corrosion resistant super
alloys, nichrome, and stainless steel.

• Used in many other metallurgical,

refractories and chemical industries.
Chromite Ore Distribution In India
• Reserves of chromite in India is estimated

at 203 MT. Page
• 93 per cent of the resources are in ODISHA | 38
[Sukinda valley in Cuttack and Jajapur]
• Minor deposits are spread over Manipur,
Nagaland, Karnataka, Jharkhand,
Maharashtra, TN & AP.
Chromite in Odisha Copper

• Odisha is the sole producer [99 per cent] of • Copper is a good conductor of electricity
chromite ore. and is ductile [able to be drawn out into a thin
• Over 85 per cent of the ore is of high grade wire].
[Keonjhar, Cuttack and Dhenkanal]. • It is an important metal used by
automobile and defense industries.
Chromite in Other States
• Alloyed with iron and nickel to make
stainless steel.
• Karnataka is the second largest producer.
• Alloyed with nickel to make ‘morel metal’.
• The main production comes from Mysore
and Hassan districts. • Alloyed with aluminium to make
‘duralumin’.
• Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh,
Tamenglong and Ukhrul districts of • When alloyed with zinc it is known as
Manipur are other producers. ‘brass’ and with tin as ‘bronze’.
Iron + Nickel + Copper + Chromite +…..==

Chromite Ore Distribution Across the
Stainless Steel.
World
Copper + Nickel == Morel Metal.

Copper + Aluminium == Duralumin. • Found in Hazaribagh district, Santhal

Parganas and Palamu districts.
Copper + Zinc == Brass.
Major Copper Reserves Across the
Copper + Tin == Bronze.
World
• Copper ore is found in ancient as well as in
Page
younger rock formations and occurs as
| 39
veins and as bedded deposits
• Mining for copper is costly and tedious
affair because most of the copper ores
contain a small percentage of the metal.
• India has low grade copper ore [less than
1% metal content][international average
2.5%]
• The major part of supply comes from the
USA, Canada, Zimbabwe, Japan and
Mexico.
Copper Reserves in India
• 1558.46 million tonnes.

• Rajasthan (50%)
• Madhya Pradesh (24%)
• Jharkhand (19%)
• The rest 7 per cent in AP, Gujarat,
Haryana, Karnataka etc.
Madhya Pradesh
• 1st in production [59.85 %].

• Malanjkhand copper mines of Balaghat
district are the most important ones.
• Reserves of moderate size are also found in
Betul district. Nickel
Rajasthan
• Nickel does not occur free in nature.
• 2nd in production [28%] • It is found in association with copper,
• Found along the Aravali range. uranium and other metals.
• Ajmer, Alwar, Bhilwara, Chittaurgarh, • Important alloying material.
Dungarpur, Jaipur, Jhunjhunu, Pali,
Iron + Nickel == stainless steel.
Sikar, Sirohi and Udaipur districts.
• Khetri-Singhana belt in Jhunjhunu district • It is hard and has great tensile strength.
is the most important copper producing • Hence nickel steel is used for
area. manufacturing armoured plates, bullet
jackets etc.
Jharkhand
• Nickel + Copper or Silver == Coins.
• Nickel-aluminium alloys are used for
• 3rd in production [11 %].
manufacturing aeroplanes and internal
• Singhbhum is the most important copper
combustion engines.
producing district.

• Metallic nickel is used for making storage • Most of the graphite is formed at
batteries and as a catalyst for convergent plate boundaries where
hydrogenation or hardening of fats and organic-rich shales and limestones were
oils intended for use in soap and subjected to metamorphism due to heat
foodstuffs and in making vanaspati.
• Important occurrences of
nickeliferous limonite are found in Page
the Sukinda valley of Jajapur | 40
district, Odisha. Here it occurs as
oxide.
• Nickel also occurs in sulphide form
along with copper mineralization in
east Sighbhum district, Jharkhand.
• In addition, it is found associated with
uranium deposits at Jaduguda,
Jharkhand.
• Other important occurrences of nickel
are in Karnataka, Kerala and
Rajasthan.
• Polymetallic sea nodules are another
source of nickel.
• About 92 per cent resources are in
Odisha.
• The remaining 8 per cent resources are
distributed in Jharkhand, Nagaland
and Karnataka
Graphite – Applications of Graphite, Major

Producers of Graphite – India & World.
Diamonds – Diamonds in India, Diamonds
Across the World. Differences between
Diamond and Graphite.
Graphite
• Graphite is a naturally-occurring form
of crystalline carbon.
• It is also known as plumbago or black and pressure.
lead. • Metamorphism produces marble, schist
• The carbon content in Graphite is never and gneiss that contains tiny crystals and
less than 95%. flakes of graphite.
• Graphite may be considered the highest • Some graphite forms from the
grade of coal, just above anthracite. metamorphism of coal seams. This
graphite is known as “amorphous
Carbon content in Peat < Lignite < Bituminous graphite”.
< Anthracite < Graphite < Diamond • Graphite is a non-metal and it is the only
non-metal that can conduct electricity.
• It is not normally used as fuel because it is
difficult to ignite. Applications of Graphite
• It is found in metamorphic and igneous
rocks. • Natural graphite is mostly consumed for
• Graphite is extremely soft, cleaves [splits refractories, batteries, steelmaking,
into layers] with very light pressure. expanded graphite, lubricants etc.
• It is extremely resistant to heat and is • A refractory material is one that retains its
highly unreactive. strength at high temperatures.

• Natural and synthetic graphite are used to • Graphite is not mined in the United States.
construct the anode of all major battery U.S. substitutes graphite with synthetic
technologies graphite.
• The lithium-ion battery utilizes roughly
twice the amount of graphite than lithium Diamonds
carbonate.
• Natural graphite in this end use mostly • Diamond is the hardest naturally Page
goes into carbon raising in molten steel. [to occurring substance found on Earth. | 41
make steel stronger] • Diamonds are formed in mantle. They
• Natural amorphous graphite are used in brought to the earth’s crust due to
brake linings for heavier vehicles, and volcanism. Most of the diamonds occur in
became important with the need to dykes, sill etc. [Volcanic Landforms].
substitute for asbestos. • Diamond is the Diamonds are used in
• Graphite lubricants are specialty items for ornaments, polishing the surfaces of
use at very high or very low temperatures. metals and in gem cutting.
• Modern pencil lead is most commonly a • The most important industrial use of
mix of powdered graphite and clay. diamonds is in cutting-edges of drills used
for exploration and mining of minerals
Major Producers of Graphite – India & [Diamond is the hardest substance and it
World can break other substances without itself
getting broken].
• India is a major global producer of flake
graphite. Diamonds in India
Total Indian Graphite Resources
1. Arunachal Pradesh (43%),

2. Jammu & Kashmir (37%),
3. Jharkhand (6%),
4. Tamil Nadu (5%) and
5. Odisha (3%)
Operational Indian Graphite Resources
Most of the Graphite Production is

concentrated in these states
• Tamil Nadu (37%),

• Jharkhand (30%), [Palamu district in
Jharkhand is the most important]
• Odisha (29%).
Graphite Production Across the World
1. China (more than 50%) • The Vindhayan system have diamond

2. India (20%) bearing regions from which Panna and
3. Brazil. Golconda diamonds have been mined.
1. Panna belt in Madhya Pradesh;
2. Wajrakarur Kimberlite pipe in
Anantapur district and
3. Gravels of the Krishna river basin in
Andhra Pradesh.
• Reserves have been estimated only in
Panna belt and Krishna Gravels in Andhra
Pradesh.

• The new kimberlite fields are discovered • South Africa has the most diverse range of
recently in Raichur-Gulbarga districts of diamond deposits in the world. Deposits
Karnataka. include open pit and underground
• Reserves of diamonds in India are not yet kimberlite pipe/dyke/fissure mining.
exhausted and modern methods are being
applied for intensive prospecting and
mining. Page
• Cutting and polishing of diamonds is done | 42
by modem techniques at important centres
like Surat, Navasari, Ahmedabad,
Palampur etc.
Diamonds Across the World
• The leading producers of natural diamond

are Russia, Botswana, Canada, Australia,
South Africa, Russia and Zaire [Congo].
• Other important producers include
Namibia, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone,
Venezuela, Brazil etc.
• US is the largest producer of synthetic
industrial diamonds
• Russia holds what is believed to be the
world’s largest and richest diamond
resources.
• Botswana is the leading diamond-
producing country in terms of value, and Differences Between Graphite and
the second largest in terms of volume. The Diamond
two important ones are Orapa and
Jwaneng, two of the most prolific diamond • Graphite and Diamond are the major
mines in the world. allotropes of carbon. Other important
• Botswana’s resources produce the full allotrope being anthracite coal.
range of diamonds, in all sizes, colors and
clarities. [Allotrope → Each of two or more different
• Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is physical forms in which an element can exist
also one of the Africa's largest diamond (e.g. graphite, charcoal, and diamond as forms
producer. of carbon).]
• Australia is the leading producer of color
diamonds. Australia is famous for its pink, • Graphite and diamond share the same
purple and red diamonds. composition but have very different
structures.
Graphite Diamond
Graphite contains 95% or more carbon. Diamond is 100% carbon.
Graphite is a non-metallic mineral that forms Diamond is also a non-metallic mineral that
when carbon is subjected to extreme heat and forms when carbon is subjected to extreme heat
pressure in Earth’s crust and in the upper and pressure in the mantle.
mantle.
Graphite is one of the most stable substances Diamond (one of the most stable) is less stable
on earth. than graphite.
The carbon atoms in graphite are linked in a In contrast, the carbon atoms in diamond are
hexagonal network that forms sheets that are linked into a frameworks structure. Every
one atom thick. These sheets are poorly carbon atom is linked into a three dimensional
connected and easily cleave or slide over one network with strong covalent bonds. This
another if subjected to a small amount of arrangement holds the atoms firmly in place and

force. This gives graphite it’s very low make diamond an exceptionally hard material.
hardness, its perfect cleavage and its slippery
feel.
[Pencil Lead is not made of lead as we
normally beleive. It is made of graphite. You
know why?]
Page
Non-Metallic Minerals 5. Bihar (2 per cent)
6. Jharkhand (Less than 1 per cent) | 43
Mica Distribution and Production in

India
• India has a near monopoly in the

production of mica [60 % of world's total].
• Production decreased in recent times due
to fall in demand in the international
market. Fall in demand is due to better
synthetic alternatives that are available.
Andhra Pradesh
• 1st in production [93 %].

• The mica belt lies in Nellore district
[Gudur Mica mines].
• Vishakhapatnam, West Godavari and
Krishna are other important mica
producing districts.
Rajasthan
• 2nd in production [6.3 %].

• The main mica belt extends from Jaipur to
Mica Udaipur [Along Aravalis].
• Mica is a naturally occurring non-metallic Jharkhand

mineral that is based on a collection of
silicates. • 3rd in production.
• Mica is a very good insulator that has a • Mica is found in a belt extending for about
wide range of applications in electrical and 150 km in length and 32 km in width from
electronics industry. Gaya district of Bihar to Hazaribagh and
• It can withstand high voltage and has low Koderma districts of Jharkhand. This belt
power loss factor. contains the richest deposits of high
• It is used in toothpaste and cosmetics quality ruby mica.
because of its glittery appearance. It also • Koderma is a well-known place for mica
acts as a mild abrasive in toothpaste. production in Jharkhand.
• India is one of the foremost suppliers of
Mica Exports
mica to the world. Mica-bearing igneous
rocks occur in AP, Bihar, Jharkhand,
• India is the largest exporter of mica.
Maharashtra, Rajasthan.
• Certain grades of Indian mica are and will
Mica Reserves in India remain vital to the world's electrical
industries.
1. Andhra Pradesh (41 per cent) • Major exports are carried out through
2. Rajasthan (21 per cent) Kolkata and Vishakhapatnam ports.
3. Odisha (20 per cent) • Important imports of Indian mica are
4. Maharashtra (15 per cent) Japan (19%), the USA (17%), U.K, etc.

Limestone • Chhattisgarh accounts for more than nine

per cent of total limestone of India
• Limestone rocks are composed of either .Deposits of limestone occur in Bastar,
calcium carbonate, the double carbonate of Durg and surrounding districts.
calcium and magnesium, or mixture of
both. Tamil Nadu
• Limestone also contains small quantities of Page
• Large scale reserves in Ramnathapuram, | 44
silica, alumina, iron oxides, phosphorus
Tirunelveli, Salem, Coimbatore and
and sulphur.
Madurai districts.
• Limestone deposits are of sedimentary
origin and exist in all the geological Karnataka
sequences from Pre-Cambrian to Recent
except in Gondwana. • Gulbarga, Bijapur and Shimoga districts.
• 75 per cent Limestone is used in cement
industry, 16 per cent in iron and steel Dolomite
industry [It acts as flux] and 4 per cent in
the chemical industries. • Limestone with more than 10 per cent of
• Rest of the limestone is used in paper, magnesium is called dolomite.
sugar, fertilizers, etc. • When the percentage rises to 45, it is true
• Almost all the states of India produce some dolomite.
quantity of limestone. • Dolomite is mainly used as blast furnace
• Over three-fourths of the total limestone of flux, as a source of magnesium salts and
India is produced by Madhya Pradesh, in fertilizer and glass industries.
Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, • Iron and Steel industry is the chief
Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu. consumer of dolomite [90 per cent]
followed by fertilizer, ferro-alloys and glass.
Madhya Pradesh • Dolomite is widely distributed in the all
parts of the country.
• Madhya Pradesh is the largest producer of • Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh,
limestone [16 per cent]. Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Karnataka are
• Large deposits occur in the districts of the main producing states and contribute
Jabalpur, Satna, Betul, etc. more than 90 per cent of the total
production.
Rajasthan
• Orissa and Chhattisgarh together account
• Rajasthan has about 6 per cent of the for about 57 per cent dolomite of India.
reserves and produces over 16 per cent of
Orissa
the total limestone of India. Production
occurs in almost all districts. • Orissa is the largest pro-ducer of dolomite
Andhra Pradesh [29 per cent].
• The main deposits occur in Sundargarh,
• Andhra Pradesh possesses about one-third Sambalpur and Koraput districts.
of the total reserves of the cement grade
limestone in the country. Chhattisgarh
• Extensive deposits occur in Cuddapah, • Closely following Orissa is the state of
Kumool, Guntur, etc. Chhattisgarh which produces about 28 per
Gujarat cent dolomite of India.
• The main deposits occur in Bastar,
• Gujarat produces only about 11 per cent of Bilaspur, Durg and Raigarh districts.
the total limestone of India.
Jharkhand
• High grade limestone deposits occur in
Banaskantha district. • Dolomite occurs in bands to the north of
Chhattisgarh Chaibasa in Singhbhum district and
Palamu district.
Rajasthan • It is primarily used for manufacturing

refractory bricks.
• Ajmer, Alwar, Bhilwara, Jaipur, Jaisalmer • It is also used as a bond in abrasives,
etc. are the main producing districts. manufacture of special type of cement for
artificial stone, tiles and for extraction of
Karnataka
the metal magnesium.
• Steel industry also uses magnesite. Page
• Belgaum, Bijapur, Chitradurga, Mysore,
etc. • Major deposits of magnesite are found in | 45
Uttaranchal, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan.
Asbestos • Tamil Nadu is the largest producer [three-
fourth] of magnesite in India.
• Two quite different minerals are included • Tamil Nadu has one of the largest deposits
under this name; one, a variety of of magnesite in the world and the largest
amphibole, and the other, more important, in India are found at Chalk Hills near
a fibrous variety of serpentine Salem town.
(chrysotile).
• Chrysotile is more important variety and Kyanite
accounts for 80 per cent of the asbestos of
commercial use. • Kyanite occurs in metamorphic aluminous
• Asbestos has great commercial value due rocks.
to its fibrous structure, filaments of high • It is primarily used in metallurgical,
tensile strength and its great resistance ceramic, refractory, glass, cement
to fire. industries due to its ability to stand high
• It is widely used for making fire-proof temperatures.
cloth, rope, paper, millboard, sheeting, etc. • It is also used in making sparking plugs in
• It is also used in making aprons , gloves, automobiles.
brake-linings in automobiles etc. • India has the largest deposits of kyanite
• Asbestos cement products like sheets, in the world. All the three grades of kyanite
pipes and tiles are used for building are found here. Kyanite grades depend on
purposes. aluminium content. Greater the
• When asbestos is brittle, it is made into aluminium content, greater the quality.
filter pads for filtering acids. • Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Karnataka
• Mixed with magnesia, it is used for making produce practically the whole of kyanite of
‘magnesia bricks’ used for heat insulation. India.
• Two states of Rajasthan and Andhra
Jharkhand
Pradesh produce almost the whole of
asbestos of India. • Jharkhand is the largest producer of
• Rajasthan is the largest producer. kyanite [four-fifths].
Important occurrences are known in • Ores with high degree of purity with
Udaipur, Dungarpur, Alwar, Ajmer and percentages of aluminium silicate reaching
Pali districts. 95 to 97 are found in the Singhbhum
• In Andhra Pradesh, asbestos of fine quality district.
occurs in Pulivendla taluk of Cuddapah
district. Maharashtra
• In Karnataka, the main deposits occur in
Hassan, Mandya, Shimoga, Mysore and • Maharashtra [second highest producer of
Chikmaglur districts. kyanite] produced 14.5 per cent of the total
kyanite in 2002-03.
Magnesite • Most of the reserves are in Bhandara
district.
• It is an alteration product of dunites
(peridotite) and other basic magnesian Karnataka
rocks.
• Karnataka is the third largest producer
[5.6 per cent in 2002-03].

• Commercially, workable deposits occur in • The recovery of by-product phospho-

Hassan district. gypsum, fluoro- gypsum, and marine
gypsum together is higher than mineral
Sillimanite gypsum.
• The occurrence and uses of sillimanite are Salt

almost the same as those of kyanite. Page
• The main concentration of Sillimanite is • Salt is obtained from sea water, brine | 46
found in Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Kerala, springs [salt water springs], wells and salt
Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. pans in lakes and from rocks.
• Orissa is the largest producer of sillimanite • Rock salt is taken out in Mandi district of
in India. Ganjam district is an important Himachal Pradesh and in Gujarat. It is less
sillimanite producing district. than 1 per cent of the total salt produced
• Kerala is the second largest producing in India.
state. The beach sands of Kerala contain 5 • Sambhar Lake in Rajasthan produces
to 6 per cent of sillimanite. about 10 per cent of our annual
production.
Gypsum • Sea brine is the source of salt in Gujarat,
Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
• Gypsum is a hydrated sulphate of calcium. • Gujarat coast produces nearly half of our
• It is a white opaque or transparent salt.
mineral.
• It occurs in sedimentary formations such Conservation of Mineral Resources
as limestones, sandstones and shales.
• It is mainly used in making ammonia • Mining is often called the robber industry
sulphate fertilizer and in cement industry. because of its exploitative nature.
• It makes upto 4-5 per cent of cement. • Mining should be made efficient with better
• It is also used in making plaster of Paris, mining and benefication technologies.
moulds in ceramic industry, tiles, plastics, • A clear roadmap has to be carved for the
etc. better management of mineral resources
• It is applied as surface plaster in for decades. Stringent laws to prevent the
agriculture for conserving moisture in the plundering of minerals is the need of the
soil and for aiding nitrogen absorption. hour.
• Rajasthan is by far the largest producer of • Transparency must be the priority in
gypsum in India [99 per cent of the total extraction of mineral resources. Corrupt
production of India]. practices have led to mismanagement of
• The main deposits occur in the Tertiary mineral resources making mining industry
clays and shales of Jodhpur, Nagaur and highly inefficient.
Bikaner. Jaisalmer, Barmer, Chum, Pali • Recycling of cyclic minerals [iron,
and Ganganagar also have some gypsum aluminium, copper, brass, tin] can help in
bearing rocks. reducing the waste.
• The remaining gypsum is produced by • Scarce and expensive minerals must be
Tamil Nadu [Tiruchirapalli district], substituted with the abundant ones.
Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat and Uttar Example: Aluminium substitutes copper in
Pradesh in order of production. electrical industry.
• Water and phosphoric acid plants are • Instead of exporting minerals, India should
important sources of by product gypsum. focus on exporting goods manufactured
• Marine gypsum is recovered from salt pans using these minerals. This would create
during the processing for common salt in more jobs locally.
Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. • Innovation and research into synthetic
• Phospho-gypsum is obtained as a minerals is essential.
byproduct while manufacturing phosphoric
acid whereas fluro-gypsum is obtained Nuclear fission
while manufacturing aluminium flouride
and hydro-fluoric acid.
• The discovery of nuclear fission began with Fissile → That can undergo Controlled or Self-
the discovery of the neutron in 1932 by Sustained nuclear fission chain Reaction.
James Chadwick in England.
• Nuclear fission of heavy elements was • If controlled in a nuclear reactor, such a
discovered in 1938 by German Otto Hahn chain reaction can be used to generate
and Fritz Strassmann. power. If uncontrolled [atomic bomb], it
• It was explained theoretically in 1939 by can lead to an enormous explosion. Page
Lise Meitner and Otto Robert Frisch. • Uranium is the most common fissile used | 47
• In nuclear physics, nuclear fission is a in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons.
radioactive decay process in which the • Uranium isotopes in natural uranium are
nucleus of an atom splits into smaller Uranium-238 or U-238 or 238U (99.27%)
parts [lighter nuclei]. and Uranium 235 or U-235 or 235U
• The fission process often produces free (0.72%).
neutrons and gamma photons [gamma • Uranium-235 can undergo fission when
rays], and releases a very large amount of bombarded with slow neutrons only.
energy [exothermic reaction]. • Uranium-238 can undergo fission when
bombarded with fast neutrons only.
[When urea is dissolved in water, the • The nuclei of other heavy elements, such
temperature of water solution falls. This as thorium also fissionable, but with fast
reaction is called endothermic reaction]. neutrons.
Exothermic == Liberation of Heat during a How Nuclear Fission Releases Energy?
reaction. [CaCO3(calcium carbonate or lime) +
H2O (water) → Ca(OH)2(calcium hydroxide) + • Nuclei consist of nucleons [neutrons +
CO2 + HEAT] protons = mass number].
• The actual mass of a nucleus is always
Endothermic == Absorption of Heat during a
less than the sum of the masses of
reaction. [Urea + Water]
nucleons.
• The nuclear fission process may take place • This difference is known as the mass
spontaneously in some cases or may be defect and is a measure of the total
induced by the excitation of the nucleus binding energy (and, hence, the stability) of
with a variety of particles (neutrons, the nucleus.
protons, deuterons, or alpha particles) or • This binding energy is released during the
with electromagnetic radiation in the form formation of a nucleus.
of gamma rays. • This conversion of mass to energy follows
• In the fission process, radioactive products Einstein’s equation, E = mc2, where E is
are formed, and several neutrons are the energy equivalent of a mass, m, and c
emitted. is the velocity of light.
• These neutrons can induce fission in a
Common Fissile Material
nearby nucleus of fissionable material and
release more neutrons causing a chain
• Uranium-235, Plutonium-239 and
reaction.
Thorium-232 are the common fissile
material.
• A slow neutron can be captured by a
uranium-235 nucleus.
• A fast neutron will not be captured, so
neutrons must be slowed down by
moderation to increase their capture
probability in fission reactors.
• Natural uranium is composed of 0.72% U-
235 (the fissionable isotope), 99.27% U-
238, and a trace quantity 0.0055% U-234.
Fissionable material → That can undergo
nuclear fission chain reaction.
• The 0.72% U-235 is not sufficient to • The heat is carried out of the reactor by
produce a self-sustaining critical chain coolant, which is most commonly just
reaction. plain water.
• For light-water reactors, the fuel must be
enriched to 2.5-3.5% U-235.
• While uranium-235 is the naturally
occurring fissionable isotope, Plutonium- Page
239 can be produced by "breeding" it from | 48
uranium-238.
• Uranium-238, which makes up 99.3% of
natural uranium, is not fissionable by
slow neutrons.
• U-238 has a small probability for
spontaneous fission and also a small
probability of fission when bombarded with • The coolant heats up and goes off to a
fast neutrons, but it is not useful as a turbine to spin a generator or drive shaft.
nuclear fuel source.
• The coolant is the material that passes
• Thorium-232 is fissionable, so could through the core, transferring the heat
conceivably be used as a nuclear fuel. from the fuel to a turbine. It could be
• The other isotope can undergo fission upon water, heavy-water, liquid sodium, helium,
slow-neutron bombardment is uranium- or something else.
233. • The turbine transfers the heat from the
coolant to electricity, just like in a fossil-
Uranium Enrichment
fuel plant.
• Natural uranium is only 0.7% U-235, the • The containment is the structure made of
fissionable isotope. steel-reinforced concrete that separates the
reactor from the environment. Chernobyl
• The other 99.3% is U-238 which is not
did not have a strong containment
fissionable.
structure.
• The uranium is usually enriched to 2.5-
3.5% U-235 for use in light water reactors. Nuclear Reactor Coolant
• Centrifugal separators and laser
enrichment procedures are used in • A nuclear reactor coolant — usually water
uranium enrichment. or molten salt — is circulated past the
• The enriched uranium fuel used in fission reactor core to absorb the heat that it
reactors cannot be used to make a bomb. generates.
• It takes enrichment to over 90% to obtain • The heat is carried away from the reactor
the fast chain reaction necessary for and is then used to generate steam.
weapons applications.
• Enrichment to 15-30% is typical for Neutron Moderator
breeder reactors.
• A neutron moderator is a medium that
Nuclear Reactor reduces the speed of fast neutrons,
thereby turning them into thermal
• A nuclear reactor is a system that contains neutrons capable of sustaining a nuclear
and controls sustained nuclear chain chain reaction.
reactions. • When a large fissile atomic nucleus such
• Fuel [Enriched uranium-235 or Plutonium- as uranium-235 or plutonium-239 absorbs
239] is placed into the reactor vessel along a neutron, it may undergo nuclear fission.
with a small neutron source. • The heavy nucleus splits into two or more
• The neutrons start a chain reaction where lighter nuclei, (the fission products),
each atom that splits releases more releasing kinetic energy, gamma radiation,
neutrons that cause other atoms to split. and free neutrons.
• Each time an atom splits, it releases large • A portion of these neutrons may later be
amounts of energy in the form of heat. absorbed by other fissile atoms and trigger
further fission events, which release more Criticality

neutrons, and so on. This is known as a
nuclear chain reaction. • Criticality is a nuclear term that refers to
• To control such a nuclear chain reaction, the balance of neutrons in the system.
neutron poisons and neutron moderators • Balance of neutrons can be achieved using
can change the portion of neutrons that moderators and control rods.
will go on to cause more fission • “Subcritical” refers to a system where the Page
• Commonly-used moderators include loss rate of neutrons is greater than the | 49
regular (light) water (in 74.8% of the production rate of neutrons and therefore
world's reactors), solid graphite (20% of the neutron population decreases as time
reactors), heavy water (5% of reactors) goes on.
and beryllium. • “Supercritical” refers to a system where
the production rate of neutrons is greater
Control Rods or Reactivity control than the loss rate of neutrons and
therefore the neutron population increases.
• The power output of the reactor is adjusted • When the neutron population remains
by controlling how many neutrons are able constant, this means there is a perfect
to create more fissions. balance between production rate and loss
• Control rods that are made of a neutron rate, and the nuclear system is said to be
poison are used to absorb neutrons. “critical.”
• When a reactor is starting up, the neutron
Moderators slow down neutrons
population is increased slowly in a
Control Rods absorb neutrons controlled manner, so that more neutrons
are produced than are lost, and the
Moderators are like accelerator nuclear reactor becomes supercritical.
• When the desired power level is achieved,
Control Rods are like brakes the nuclear reactor is placed into a critical
configuration to keep the neutron
• Absorbing more neutrons in a control rod
population and power constant.
means that there are fewer neutrons
• Finally, during shutdown, the reactor is
available to cause fission.
placed in a subcritical configuration so
• So pushing the control rod deeper into the
that the neutron population and power
reactor will reduce its power output, and
decreases.
extracting the control rod will increase it.
• Therefore, when a reactor is said to have
• Control rods are composed of chemical
“gone critical,” it actually means it is in a
elements such as boron, silver, indium
stable configuration producing a constant
and cadmium.
power.
Critical mass Supercritical == Car [nuclear reactor] is
accelerating.
• A critical mass is the smallest amount of
fissile material needed for a sustained Critical == Car is going at a constant speed.
nuclear chain reaction.
• The critical mass of a fissionable material Sub critical == Car is slowing down.
depends upon its nuclear properties, its
density, its shape, its enrichment, its Neutron poison
purity, its temperature, and its
surroundings. • A neutron poison (also called a neutron
• When a nuclear chain reaction in a mass absorber or a nuclear poison) is a
of fissile material is self-sustaining, the substance with a large neutron
mass is said to be in a critical state in absorption cross-section, in applications
which there is no increase or decrease in such as nuclear reactors.
power, temperature, or neutron
population. Types of Nuclear Reactors

• There are various types of reactors based • Fission reactors can be divided roughly
on moderators, coolants, technologies into two classes, depending on the energy
used. of the neutrons that sustain the fission
• All commercial power reactors are based chain reaction: thermal reactors and fast
on nuclear fission. neutron reactors.
• They generally use uranium and its
product plutonium as nuclear fuel, though Thermal Reactors and Fast Neutron Page
a thorium fuel cycle is also possible. Reactors [Breeder Reactors] | 50
Thermal Reactors Fast Neutron Reactors

Thermal reactors (the most common type of Fast neutron reactors use fast neutrons to
nuclear reactor) use slowed or thermal cause fission in their fuel.
neutrons to keep up the fission of their fuel.
Almost all current reactors are of this type. Very rare due to complexity and costs. They are
Comparatively easy to build and operate. more difficult to build and more expensive to
operate.
These contain neutron moderator materials They do not have a neutron moderator, and
that slow neutrons. The moderator is often use less-moderating coolants.
also the coolant, usually water under high
pressure.
High probability of fission due to slow Maintaining a chain reaction requires the fuel to
neutrons. 2-5% Enriched fissile is sufficient be more highly enriched in fissile material
to sustain a chain reaction. (about 20% or more) due to the relatively lower
probability of fission.
More radioactive waste Fast reactors have the potential to produce less
radioactive waste because all fissile is
fissionable with fast neutrons.
Boiling water reactors (BWR), Pressurized Breeder reactors operate with fast neutrons
water reactors (PWR) and heavy water [moderators are not required]
reactors (HWR) operate with thermal
neutrons [moderators used]
Reactors based on Coolant and • The PWR uses regular water as a coolant.
Moderator • The primary cooling water is kept at very
high pressure so it does not boil.
• Light Water Reactors [LWR], and • Pressurized water reactors (PWRs)
• Hard Water reactors [HWR]. constitute the large majority of all Western
nuclear power plants.
Light-water reactor (LWR) • In a PWR, the primary coolant (water) is
pumped under high pressure to the reactor
• The light-water reactor (LWR) is a type of core where it is heated by the energy
thermal-neutron reactor that uses generated by the fission of atoms.
NORMAL WATER, as opposed to heavy • The heated water then flows to a steam
water, as both its coolant and neutron generator where it transfers its thermal
moderator. energy to a secondary system where steam
• Thermal-neutron reactors are the most is generated and flows to turbines which,
common type of nuclear reactor, and light- in turn, spin an electric generator.
water reactors are the most common type • In contrast to a boiling water reactor,
of thermal-neutron reactor. pressure in the primary coolant loop
• There are three varieties of light-water prevents the water from boiling within the
reactors: the pressurized water reactor reactor.
(PWR), the boiling water reactor (BWR), • PWRs were originally designed to serve as
and (most designs of) the supercritical nuclear marine propulsion for nuclear
water reactor (SCWR). submarines
Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)

Advantages of Pressurized water reactor • The reactor vessel and associated

(PWR) components operate at a substantially
lower pressure compared to PWR.
• Very stable due to their tendency to • Pressure vessel is subject to significantly
produce less power as temperatures less irradiation compared to a PWR.
increase. Easier to operate from a stability • Operates at a lower nuclear fuel
standpoint. temperature. Page
• PWR turbine cycle loop is separate from • Fewer components due to no steam | 51
the primary loop, so the water in the generators and no pressurizer vessel.
secondary loop is not contaminated by • Lower risk (probability) of a rupture
radioactive materials. causing loss of coolant compared to a
• The control rods are held by PWR.
electromagnets and fall by gravity during • Can operate at lower core power density
power failure. Full insertion safely shuts levels using natural circulation without
down the primary nuclear reaction. forced flow.
• PWRs are compact reactors that fit well in • BWRs do not use boric acid to control
nuclear submarines and nuclear ships. fission burn-up to avoid the production of
Disadvantages of Pressurized water reactor tritium leading to less possibility of
(PWR) corrosion within the reactor vessel and
piping.
• The coolant water must be highly • BWRs are ideally suited for peaceful uses
pressurized to remain liquid at high like power generation, and desalinization,
temperatures. due to low cost, simplicity, and safety
• This requires high strength piping and a focus, which come at the expense of larger
heavy pressure vessel and hence increases size and slightly lower thermal efficiency.
construction costs.
Disadvantages of Boiling Water Reactor
• The higher pressure can increase the
(BWR)
consequences of a loss-of-coolant accident.
• The high temperature water coolant with • BWRs require more complex calculations
boric acid dissolved in it is corrosive to for managing consumption of nuclear fuel.
carbon steel (but not stainless steel) and This also requires more instrumentation in
can lead to radiation exposure. the reactor core.
• It is necessary to enrich [2-5%] the • There have been concerns raised about the
uranium fuel, which significantly increases pressure containment ability after
the costs of fuel production. Fukushima I nuclear accidents.
• The requirement to enrich fuel for PWRs • Control rods are inserted from below for
also presents a serious proliferation risk. current BWR designs. In case of power
• PWRs are not scalable. failure, the reactor core can undergo
significant damage and turn catastrophic.
Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)
Supercritical Water Reactor (SCWR)
• It is the second most common type of
electricity-generating nuclear reactor after • The supercritical water reactor (SCWR)
the pressurized water reactor (PWR). uses supercritical water as the working
• The main difference between a BWR and fluid.
PWR is that in a BWR, the reactor core
heats water, which turns to steam and Supercritical water oxidation or SCWO is a
then drives a steam turbine. In a PWR, the process that occurs in water at temperatures
reactor core heats water, which does not and pressures above a mixture's
boil. thermodynamic critical point.
• This hot water then exchanges heat with a
lower pressure water system, which turns Under these conditions water becomes a fluid
to steam and drives the turbine. with unique properties that can be used to
advantage in the destruction of hazardous
Advantages of Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) wastes.
• SCWRs resemble light water reactors the reactor to make use of alternate fuel
(LWRs) but operate at higher pressure and cycles.
temperature like the pressurized water
reactor (PWR) and with a direct once- Advantages of Pressurized Heavy-Water
through cycle like a boiling water reactor Reactor (PHWR)
(BWR).
• It can be operated without expensive Page
• The SCWR is a promising advanced
uranium enrichment facilities. | 52
nuclear system because of its high thermal
• The mechanical arrangement places most
efficiency and simpler design.
of the moderator at lower temperatures.
• It is still in development stage.
The resulting thermal neutrons are "more
Advantages of Supercritical Water Reactor thermal" making PHWR more efficient. So,
(SCWR) PHWR uses fuel more efficiently.
• Since unenriched uranium fuel
• Supercritical water has excellent heat accumulates a lower density of fission
transfer properties allowing a high power products than enriched uranium fuel, it
density, a small core, and a small generates less heat, allowing more compact
containment structure. storage.
• As a BWR is simpler than a PWR, a SCWR
is a lot simpler and more compact than a Disadvantages of Pressurized Heavy-Water
less-efficient BWR. Reactor (PHWR)
• There are no steam separators, steam
• The reduced energy content of natural
dryers, internal recirculation pumps, or
uranium as compared to enriched uranium
recirculation flow inside the pressure
necessitates more frequent replacement of
vessel.
fuel.
• The stored thermal and radiologic energy
• The increased rate of fuel movement
in the smaller core would also be less than
through the reactor also results in higher
that of either a BWR's or a PWR's.
volumes of spent fuel than in LWRs
• Water is liquid at room temperature, employing enriched uranium.
cheap, non-toxic and transparent,
simplifying inspection and repair. Nuclear proliferation and PHWR
• A fast SCWR could be a breeder reactor,
like the proposed Clean And • Opponents of heavy-water reactors suggest
Environmentally Safe Advanced Reactor. that such reactors pose a much greater
• A heavy-water SCWR could breed fuel from risk of nuclear proliferation than
thorium (4x more abundant than comparable light water reactors.
uranium), with increased proliferation • Natural Uranium-238 fissile [because
resistance over plutonium breeders. enrichment is not required] of a heavy-
water reactor is converted into plutonium-
Pressurized Heavy-Water Reactor 239, a fissile material suitable for use in
(PHWR) nuclear weapons.
• As a result, if the fuel of a heavy-water
• Uses heavy water (deuterium oxide D2O) reactor is changed frequently, significant
as its coolant and neutron moderator. amounts of weapons-grade plutonium can
• The heavy water coolant is kept under be chemically extracted from the irradiated
pressure, allowing it to be heated to higher natural uranium fuel by nuclear
temperatures without boiling, much as in a reprocessing [Pakistan is pretty good at
pressurized water reactor. this].
• While heavy water is significantly more • In this way, the materials necessary to
expensive than ordinary light water, it construct a nuclear weapon can be
creates greatly enhanced neutron obtained without any uranium enrichment.
economy, allowing the reactor to operate • In addition, the use of heavy water as a
without fuel-enrichment facilities moderator results in the production of
(offsetting the additional expense of the small amounts of tritium when the
heavy water) and enhancing the ability of

deuterium nuclei in the heavy water Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and

absorb neutrons. Rajasthan.
• Tritium is essential for the production of • Zirconium is found along the Kerala coast
boosted fission weapons, which in turn and in alluvial rocks of Ranchi and
enable the easier production of Hazaribagh districts of Jharkhand.
thermonuclear weapons, including neutron
bombs. Uranium Page
• The proliferation risk of heavy-water | 53
reactors was demonstrated when India • Uranium is a silvery-gray metallic
produced the plutonium for Operation radioactive chemical element. It is only
Smiling Buddha, its first nuclear weapon naturally formed in supernova explosions.
test, by extraction from the spent fuel of a • Uranium, thorium, and potassium are
heavy-water research reactor known as the the main elements contributing to natural
CIRUS reactor [Oh no!!]. terrestrial radioactivity.
• Uranium has the chemical symbol U and
Atomic Minerals atomic number 92.
• Uranium isotopes in natural uranium are
238U (99.27%) and 235U (0.72%).
• Uranium and Thorium are the main atomic
minerals. Other atomic minerals are • All uranium isotopes are radioactive and
beryllium, lithium and zirconium. fissionable. But only 235U is fissile (will
• Uranium deposits occur in Singhbhum support a neutron-mediated chain
and Hazaribagh districts of Jharkhand, reaction).
Gaya district of Bihar, and in the • Traces of Uranium are found everywhere.
sedimentary rocks in Saharanpur district Commercial extraction is possible only in
of Uttar Pradesh. locations where the proportion of Uranium
• But the largest source of uranium is adequate. There are very few such
comprise the monazite sands. locations.
• Monazite sands occur on east and west
coasts and in some places in Bihar. But Distribution of Uranium Across the
the largest concentration of monazite World
sand is on the Kerala coast.
• Over 15,200 tonnes of uranium is • Largest viable deposits are found in
estimated to be contained in monazite. Australia, Kazakhstan, and Canada.
• Some uranium is found in the copper • Olympic Dam and the Ranger mine in
mines of Udaipur in Rajasthan. Southern Australia are important mines in
• India produces about 2 per cent of world’s Australia.
uranium. The total reserves of uranium are • High-grade deposits are only found in the
estimated at 30,480 tonnes. Athabasca Basin region of Canada.
• Thorium is also derived from monozite. The • Cigar Lake, McArthur River basin in
other mineral carrying thorium is Canada are other important uranium
thorianite. mining sites.
• The known reserves of thorium in India are • The Chu-Sarysu basin in central
estimated to be between 457,000 and Kazakhstan alone accounts for over half of
508,000 tonnes. Kerala, Jharkhand, Bihar, the country's known uranium resources.
Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan are the main
producers.
• Beryllium oxide is used as a ‘moderator’
in nuclear reactors. India has sufficient
reserves of beryllium to meet her
requirement of atomic power generation.
• Lithium is a light metal which is found in
lepidolite and spodumene. Lepidolite is
widely distributed in the mica belts of

List of Countries by Uranium Reserves some concerns regarding nuclear

and Production proliferation and other related issues
which India is trying to sort out.
• Some quality reserves were recently
discovered in parts of Andhra Pradesh and
Telangana between Seshachalam forest
and Sresailam [Southern edge of Andhra Page
to Southern edge of Telangana]. | 54
Thorium
• Thorium is a chemical element with

symbol Th and atomic number 90.
• It is one of only two significantly
radioactive elements that still occur
naturally in large quantities [other being
uranium].
• Thorium metal is silvery and tarnishes
black when exposed to air.
• Thorium is weakly radioactive: all its
known isotopes are unstable, with the
seven naturally occurring ones (thorium-
227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, and 234).
• Thorium-232 is the most stable isotope of
thorium and accounts for nearly all
Uranium in India natural thorium, with the other five
natural isotopes occurring only in traces.
• Thorium is estimated to be about three to
four times more abundant than uranium
in the Earth's crust, and is chiefly refined
from monazite sands [Monazite contains
2.5% thorium][Monazite is a widely
scattered on the Kerala Coast].
• Thorium is predicted to be able to replace
uranium as nuclear fuel in nuclear
reactors, but only a few thorium reactors
have yet been completed.
Monazite – Rare Earth Metals
• Monazite is a reddish-brown phosphate

mineral containing rare earth metals.
• Rare earths are a series of chemical
elements found in the Earth’s crust that
are vital to many modern technologies,
including consumer electronics, computers
and networks, communications, clean
• India has no significant reserves of energy, advanced transportation, health
Uranium. All needs are met through care, environmental mitigation, national
imports. defense, and many others.
• India imports thousands of tonnes of • Because of their unique magnetic,
uranium from Russia, Kazakhstan, luminescent, and electrochemical
France, and Uzbekistan. properties, these elements help make
• India is trying hard to import uranium many technologies perform with reduced
from Australia and Canada. There are weight, reduced emissions, and energy

consumption; or give them greater Yttrium etc. –– (names are very strange
efficiency, performance, miniaturization, and hence I am avoiding them)]
speed, durability, and thermal stability.
• There are 17 elements that are considered Nuclear Power Plants in India
to be rare earth elements. [Scandium,
Page
| 55

Page
| 56
Advantages of Thorium waste that is generated is toxic for only

three or four hundred years rather than
• Proliferation is not easy: Weapons-grade thousands of years].
fissionable material (U-233) is harder to • They have the ability to burn up most of
retrieve safely from a thorium reactor [U- the highly radioactive and long-lasting
233 produced by transmuting thorium also minor actinides [fifteen radioactive metallic
contains U-232, a strong source of gamma elements from actinium (atomic number
radiation that makes it difficult to work 89) to lawrencium (atomic number 103) in
with. Its daughter product, thallium-208, the periodic table] that makes nuclear
is equally difficult to handle and easy to waste from Light Water Reactors a
detect]. nuisance to deal with.
• Thorium reactors produce far less waste • Thorium reactors are cheaper because they
than present-day reactors. have higher burn up.
• Thorium produces 10 to 10,000 times less • Thorium mining produces a single pure
long-lived radioactive waste [minuscule isotope, whereas the mixture of natural
uranium isotopes must be enriched combined and thorium-232 is several

[enriching is costly] to function in most hundred times more abundant than
common reactor designs. uranium-235.
• Thorium cannot sustain a nuclear chain
reaction without priming, so fission stops
by default in an accelerator driven reactor.
• And five, thorium reactors are significantly Page
more proliferation-resistant than present | 57
reactors. This is because the
The mainstreaming of thorium reactors

worldwide thus offers an enormous advantage
to proliferation-resistance as well as the
environment.
For India, it offers the added benefit that it

can enter the export market [India has the • United States, Australia, and India have
largest reserves of thorium]. particularly large reserves of thorium.
• India and Australia are believed to possess
Scientists predict that the impact of climate more than half of world's thorium reserves.
change will be worse on India. Advancing the
deployment of thorium reactors by four to six
decades via a plutonium market might be the
most effective step towards curtailing carbon
emissions.
Thorium Distribution
India's Three-Stage Nuclear Power

Programme
• India's three-stage nuclear power
programme was formulated by Homi
Bhabha in the 1950s to secure the
country’s long term energy independence,
through the use of uranium and thorium
reserves found in the monazite sands of
coastal regions of South India.
The ultimate focus of the programme is on

enabling the thorium reserves of India to be
utilized in meeting the country's energy
requirements.
• Thorium is particularly attractive for India,

as it has only around 1–2% of the global
uranium reserves, but one of the largest
shares of global thorium reserves.
• However, at present thorium is not
economically viable because global
• Thorium is several times more abundant in uranium prices are much lower.
Earth's crust than all isotopes of uranium
• The recent Indo-US Nuclear Deal and the [In PWHR, enrichment of Uranium to improve
NSG waiver, which ended more than three concentration of U-235 is not required. U-238
decades of international isolation of the can be directly fed into the reactor core]
Indian civil nuclear programme, have
created many hitherto unexplored [Natural uranium contains only 0.7% of the
alternatives for the success of the three- fissile isotope uranium-235. Most of the
stage nuclear power programme. remaining 99.3% is uranium-238 which is not Page
• Thorium itself is not a fissile material, and fissile but can be converted in a reactor to the | 58
thus cannot undergo fission to produce fissile isotope plutonium-239].
energy.
[Heavy water (deuterium oxide, D 2O) is used
• Instead, it must be transmuted to as moderator and coolant in PHWR].
uranium-233 in a reactor fueled by other
fissile materials [plutonium-239 or • PHWRs was a natural choice for
uranium-235]. implementing the first stage because it had
• The first two stages, natural uranium- the most efficient reactor design
fueled heavy water reactors and [uranium enrichment not required] in
plutonium-fueled fast breeder reactors, terms of uranium utilisation.
are intended to generate sufficient fissile • India correctly calculated that it would be
material from India's limited uranium easier to create heavy water production
resources, so that all its vast thorium facilities (required for PHWRs) than
reserves can be fully utilized in the third uranium enrichment facilities (required for
stage of thermal breeder reactors. LWRs).
• Almost the entire existing base of Indian
nuclear power (4780 MW) is composed of
first stage PHWRs, with the exception of
the two Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) units
at Tarapur.
Stage II – Fast Breeder Reactor
• In the second stage, fast breeder reactors

(FBRs)[moderators not required] would
use plutonium-239, recovered by
reprocessing spent fuel from the first stage,
and natural uranium.
• In FBRs, plutonium-239 undergoes fission
to produce energy, while the uranium-238
present in the fuel transmutes to
additional plutonium-239.
Why should Uranium-238 be transmuted to

Plutonium-239?
Uranium-235 and Plutonium-239 can sustain

Stage I – Pressurized Heavy Water a chain reaction. But Uranium-238 cannot
Reactor [PHWR] sustain a chain reaction. So it is transmuted
to Plutonium-239.
• In the first stage of the programme, natural But Why U-238 and not U-235?
uranium fuelled pressurized heavy water
reactors (PHWR) produce electricity while Natural uranium contains only 0.7% of the
generating plutonium-239 as by-product. fissile isotope uranium-235. Most of the
remaining 99.3% is uranium-238.
[U-238 → Plutonium-239 + Heat]
• Thus, the Stage II FBRs are designed to
"breed" more fuel than they consume.
• Once the inventory of plutonium-239 is • As of 2007 the reactor was expected to

built up thorium can be introduced as a begin functioning in 2010 but now it is
blanket material in the reactor and expected to achieve first criticality in
transmuted to uranium-233 for use in the March-April 2016.
third stage. • Construction is over and the
• The surplus plutonium bred in each fast owner/operator, Bharatiya Nabhikiya
reactor can be used to set up more such Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI), is Page
reactors, and might thus grow the Indian awaiting clearance from the Atomic Energy | 59
civil nuclear power capacity till the point Regulatory Board (AERB).
where the third stage reactors using • Total costs, originally estimated at 3500
thorium as fuel can be brought online crore are now estimated at 5,677 crore.
• As of August 2014, India's first Prototype • The Kalpakkam PFBR is using uranium-
Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam had 238 not thorium, to breed new fissile
been delayed - with first criticality expected material, in a sodium-cooled fast reactor
in 2015, 2016..and it drags on. design.
• The surplus plutonium or uranium-233 for
Stage III – Thorium Based Reactors thorium reactors [U-238 transmutes into
plutonium] from each fast reactor can be
• A Stage III reactor or an Advanced nuclear used to set up more such reactors and
power system involves a self-sustaining grow the nuclear capacity in tune with
series of thorium-232-uranium-233 India's needs for power.
fuelled reactors. • The fact that PFBR will be cooled by liquid
• This would be a thermal breeder reactor, sodium creates additional safety
which in principle can be refueled – after requirements to isolate the coolant from
its initial fuel charge – using only naturally the environment, since sodium explodes if
occurring thorium. it comes into contact with water and burns
• According to replies given in Q&A in the when in contact with air.
Indian Parliament on two separate
occasions, 19 August 2010 and 21 March Below text is drawn from.. Fast forwarding to
2012, large scale thorium deployment is thorium-The Hindu, by JAIDEEP A. PRABHU
only to be expected 3 – 4 decades after the
commercial operation of fast breeder http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-
reactors. [2040-2070] ed/fast-forwarding-to-
• As there is a long delay before direct thorium/article7834156.ece
thorium utilisation in the three-stage
What Hinders Deployment of Thorium-
programme, the country is now looking at
reactor designs that allow more direct use Fuelled Reactors In India?
of thorium in parallel with the sequential
three-stage programme • Most people would assume that it is a
• Three options under consideration are the limitation of technology. But instead, it is
Accelerator Driven Systems (ADS), due to shortage of uranium fuel that is
Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) needed to convert fertile fuel [thorium]
and Compact High Temperature Reactor into fissile [fuel that can undergo
sustained chain reaction].
Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at • Scientists at the Bhabha Atomic Research
Kalpakkam Centre have successfully tested all relevant
thorium-related technologies in the
• The Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) laboratory.
is a 500 MWe fast breeder nuclear reactor • In fact, if pressed, India could probably
presently being constructed at the Madras begin full-scale deployment of thorium
Atomic Power Station in Kalpakkam, India. reactors in ten years.
• The Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic • The single greatest hurdle, to answer the
Research (IGCAR) is responsible for the original question, is the critical shortage of
design of this reactor. fissile material.

What is a fissile material? • After decades of operating pressurized

heavy-water reactors (PHWR), India is
• A fissile material is one that can sustain a finally ready to start the second stage.
chain reaction upon bombardment by • A 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor
neutrons. (PFBR) at Kalpakkam is set to achieve
• Thorium is by itself fertile, meaning that it criticality any day now and four more fast
can transmute into a fissile radioisotope breeder reactors have been sanctioned, two Page
[U-233] but cannot itself keep a chain at the same site and two elsewhere. | 60
reaction going. • However, experts estimate that it would
• In a thorium reactor, a fissile material like take India many more FBRs and at least
uranium or plutonium is blanketed by another four decades before it has built up
thorium. a sufficient fissile material inventory to
• The fissile material, also called a driver in launch the third stage.
this case, drives the chain reaction to
produce energy while simultaneously Solution to India’s Fissile Shortage
transmuting the fertile material into fissile Problem – Procuring Fissile Material
material. Plutonium
• India has very modest deposits of uranium
and some of the world’s largest sources of • The obvious solution to India’s shortage of
thorium. It was keeping this in mind that fissile material is to procure it from the
in 1954, Homi Bhabha envisioned India’s international market.
nuclear power programme in three stages
to suit the country’s resource profile. Favourable Conditions for Plutonium
1. In the first stage, heavy water reactors Trade
fuelled by natural uranium would
produce plutonium [U-238 will be • As yet, there exists no commerce in
transmuted to Plutonium 239 in plutonium though there is no law that
PHWR]; expressly forbids it.
2. the second stage would initially be • In fact, most nuclear treaties such as the
fuelled by a mix of the plutonium from Convention on the Physical Protection of
the first stage and natural uranium. Nuclear Material address only U-235 and
This uranium would transmute into U-233.
more plutonium and once sufficient • This is because Plutonium has so far not
stocks have been built up, thorium been considered a material suited for
would be introduced into the fuel cycle peaceful purposes.
to convert it into uranium 233 for the • The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) merely
third stage [thorium will be mandates that special fissionable material
transmuted to U-233 with the help — which includes plutonium — if
plutonium 239]. transferred, be done so under safeguards.
3. In the final stage, a mix of thorium • Thus, the legal rubric for safeguarded sale
and uranium fuels the reactors. The of plutonium and safety procedures for
thorium transmutes to U-233 which moving radioactive spent fuel and
powers the reactor. Fresh thorium can plutonium already exists but it is not too
replace the depleted thorium [can be complicated as in case Uranium.
totally done away with uranium which • Japan and the U.K. who are looking to
is very scares in India] in the reactor reduce their stockpile of plutonium will
core, making it essentially a thorium- certainly be happy to sell it to India.
fuelled reactor [thorium keeps
transmuting into U-233. It is U-233 What compelling reason does the
that generates the energy]. world have to accommodate India?
Present State of India's Three-Stage • India’s FBRs that are tasked for civilian
Nuclear Power Programme purposes and can be brought under
international safeguards in a system
similar to the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal.
• FBRs and large quantities of fissile

material can easily be redirected towards
weapons programme. But India has shown
no inclination to do so until now.
Obstacles
Page
• The U.S. could perhaps emerge as the | 61
greatest obstacle to plutonium commerce.
• U.S. cannot prevent countries from trading
in plutonium, it has the power to make it
uncomfortable for them via sanctions,
reduced scientific cooperation, and other
mechanisms.
• The strong non-proliferation lobby in the
U.S. would not like a non-signatory of the
NPT [India] to open and regulate trade in
plutonium.
• The challenge for Delhi is to convince
Washington to sponsor rather than oppose
such a venture.
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Economic Geography by Commonly found impurities in Iron Ore

Iron Ore ............................................................................................... 1 • Found in small quantities.

The below data is important for Prelims [Will be helpful Oxygen

Stainless steel Limonite

• Steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5% • Inferior ores; yellowish in colour; 40 to 60

• Government policy – Development agenda, Iron ore in Africa – Transvaal, Liberia

Iron Ore Distribution Across the

Iron ore in Russia, Kazakhstan – Ural

Iron Ore in Europe – Ruhr, South

Iron Ore in North America – Great

Iron Ore in South America – Carajas,

Iron Ore in Australia – Pilbara Region,

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Iron Ore Distribution in India

Exact Numbers not Haematite Magnetite

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of years. • Andhra Pradesh (1.02%): Kurnool, Guntur,

• Iron ores are widely distributed.

Types of Coal – Peat, Lignite,

• Coal formed millions of years ago when the

• First stage of transformation.

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• Contains less than 40 to 55 per cent Distribution of Coal in India

Lignite • Gondwana coal makes up to 98 per cent

• Soft coal; most widely available and used

Jayanti coalfields inferior quality and has high ash content

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Rajmahal coalfield Rajmahal hills inferior quality

Coalfield locations can be asked in Prelims. Gondwana Coalfields in Odisha

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Gondwana Coalfields in West Bengal

Gondwana Coalfields in Andhra

• 6th in reserves [7.07 %].

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• Tertiary coal 15 to 60 million years old. Tertiary Coal – Lignite

• Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills. Problems of Coal Mining in India

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• Serious problem of environmental • Coking coal should be used for

Name of the state Reserves in billion tonne % of total reserves

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Non Coking Coal Production By State

Major Coalfields in India

India’s Coal Imports and Exports

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Distribution of Coal across the Major Coalfields in India

Global Coal Reserves

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Distribution of Coal in USA • World's third biggest coal reserves.

Constituents of Petroleum and Mineral

• 90 to 95 per cent Hydrocarbons.

Formation of Petroleum and Mineral Oil

Distribution of Coal in China

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Distribution of Petroleum and Mineral

• Process began in tertiary period [3 million

On-shore Oil Production In India

Gujarat Oilfields • The Rawa field in Krishna-Godawari off-

Off-Shore Production in India Advantages of Pipeline

Western Coast • Ideal to transport liquids and gases.

Eastern Coast • It is not flexible, i.e., it can be used only for

• It is difficult to make security • Hajira-Bijapur-Jagdishpur (HBJ) Gas

Share of Oil in Power Generation