Monday, December 6, 2010

METALLIC MINERALS: FERROUS GROUP : IRON ORE

IRON ORE: One of the most widely distributed elements of earth’s crust, iron rarely occurs in free state. Like several other metals, iron ore deposits are associated mainly with igneous intrusions. Good quality iron ore is found in Russia, Ukraine, China, and the USA etc. Russia has the largest proven reserves of iron ore in the world. In 1999, China emerged as the biggest producer of iron ore in the world, followed by Brazil, Australia, India and Russia.

Magnetite, haemitite, limonite and siderite are the common types of iron ore.

Mineral

Features

Distribution in India

Distribution in World

1.MAGNETITE

Magnetite with nearly 70 per cent iron content is the finest iron ore. Magnetite ore deposits are in igneous or metamorphic rocks. The banded type is considered to be the most important due to extensive occurrence, easy amenability to beneficiation by crushing and magnetic separation and agglomeration. Its color ranges from dark brown to black.

In India, magnetite deposits occur in Dharwar and Cuddapah systems of rock in the peninsula, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu. Kerala.

Sweden, Russia and Liberia

Karnataka

Kudremukh, Hariyur, Kunigal, Siddarhali, Shankarguddu, Ubrani etc.

Andhra Pradesh

Chityal, Daturabad, Kalleda, Rabanpalli, Singreni, Gopalpur, Utla etc

Tamil Nadu

Chettari,Belukkurrichi, Namagiri, Panchalais, Sittinglinge, Kanjamahal, Tirthamahal amd Mahadev Hills, in the Salem district, Kelur, Malnad and Devala and Nilgiri district

Kerala

Mostly in the Kozhikode district and in Cherupa, Eliyettimala, Nauminda, Naduvallur and Allampara

Minerals

Features

Distribution in India

Distribution in World

2. HAEMETITE

Haemetite Iron ore contains 65 per cent iron. It is hard, bumpy, compact and reddish in color. Haemetite ores contribute to more than three-fourths of india’s total production of Iron ores. They mostly occur as laminated hematite, micaceous haemitite, and heamatite breecia and heamatite quartz schist.

They are found in the Dharwar and Cuddapah systems of rock in the peninsular Deccan.

Lake Superior ( USA), Qebec( Canada), Brazil, Russia, Liberia, China and Spain

Jharkhand and Orissa

Gurumahisani- Badampahar belt and Barajamada group which include Barbil, Gua, Bonai, Joda, Kiriburu, Suleipat, Gorumahisini, Noamundi, Barajamda etc. Barajamda group. This covers part of Singhbhum district in Jharkhand and contains the largest ore reserves in the country.

Madhya Pradesh &

Chhattisgarh

Bailadila Raughat and Aridongri group in Bastar district; Dalli-Rajhara group in the Durg district; and the deposits in Jabalpur district.

Maharashtra

Lohara, Pipalgaon, Asola and Surajgarh( in Chandraprabha district )

Karnataka

Chikmaglur, Sandur, Bellary, Hospet, shimoga and Chitradurga districts

Goa

Bicholim-Sirigao deposits, Gudbem-Dignem –Surle deposits, Velgnem- Pale deposits and Arwalem deposits

Andhra Pradesh

Anantpur, Khamman, Krishna Kurnool, Cuddapah and Nellore districts where the main producing centers are Jaggayapeta, Ramallakota, Velduti, Nayudupetta & Bayyaram.

Minerals

Feature

Distribution in India

Distribution in world

3.LIMONITE

Brown ore occurring in sedimentary formations. Its iron content is lea than 50 per cent and it has many impurities.

Garhwal( Uttaranchal),Mirzapur district (U.P),

Kangra Valley (Himachal Pradesh

Alabama( USA)

Minerals

Feature

Distribution in India

Distribution in world

4. SIDERITE

Siderite is carbonate of iron & is found near coal fields. It is also a residual ore and has an iron content of 20 to 30 per cent.

Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh

England(Lincolnshire),France and Luxemburg

METALLIC MINERALS: FERROUS GROUP : MANGANESE ORE

MANGANESE ORE: in terms of the Manganiferrous ores with regard to the proportion of manganese to iron, it is customary to use the term manganese ore for those containing over 40 per cent of manganese.

Manganese is used as Ferro ally; it removes gases and acts as cleanser in the manufacture of steel. Manganese is also used as a decloriser in glass, and in the manufacture of bleaching powder and electric batteries.

Distribution in the World: Former USSR, south Africa, Gabon, Australia, Brazil, France and India are major producing centers.

Distribution in India :

o India is the third largest producer of manganese ore in the world.

o The country’s most important ore deposits occur in the form of sedimentary stratified metamorphic deposits in the Dharwar system. The manganese deposits are generally either syngenetic (sedimentary) as in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, epigenetic (residual enrichment and oxidation) as Jharkhand, Orissa, Goa and Karnataka, or lateritic and supergene enrichments associated with the first two groups.

o On the basis of the mode of occurrence and association with different kinds of country rocks, the Indian manganese ore deposits have been classified as

Ø Gonditic ores which are associated with metamorphosed manganiferous sediments

Ø Koduritic ores which are produced due to reactions between the country rocks and invading magma or granitic composition

Ø Lateritoid ores which are produced due to metasomatic replacement and residual concentration

In India, extensive and rich manganese deposits occur in Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Indian manganese deposits display some distinct geological formation, which are

a) Deposits associated with Khondalite rocks (garnet, sillimanite, gneisses) found in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh and in the Kalahandi and Koraput districts in Orissa.

b) Deposits associated with the iron ore bearing rocks (schists) found in Karnataka state in the Sandur hills as the Bisgold- Yellapur deposits in North Kanara, and in the Chitradurga and shimoga belt, and the Supa-Dandeli area of North Kanara;

c) Deposits associated with limestone and dolomite which occur in the Sausar-Manganese- Marble province of Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Gangapur (Orissa), Ratnagiri in Maharashtra and Panch Mahal and Vadodara districts of Gujarat.

METALLIC MINERALS: FERROUS GROUP : CHROMITE ORE

Chromite is the only ore mineral of chromium and is an important alloying element in the manufacture of steel. Chromite is an oxide of iron and chromium with a theoretical composition of 32 per cent and 68 per cent. Alumina, iron oxide, magnesium oxide, lime and silica may reduce content.

Distribution in the World: the world’s leading producer of Chromite is south Africa, Zimbabwe, Russia and Kazakhstan.

Distribution in India :

Major deposits of Chromite in India are as follows:

Karnataka

Nuggchalli belt which includes Byrapur, Chikonhalli, Pensamudra, Bhaktarahalli in Hassan district

Maharashtra

Kankauli and Vagda areas in Ratnagiri district

Orissa

Sukinda ultra basic belt of Cuttack, Dhenkanal and Keonjhar districts ( the state is considered to have the largest Chromite deposit in the country)

Jharkhand

Hills of Rorburu, Kiriburu and Chittangburu in Singhbhum district

Tamil Nadu

Sittampudi in Salem district

METALLIC MINERALS: FERROUS GROUP : NICKEL

The main ore is pentlaudite, a complex mixture of nickel, iron and sulphur. Nickel is also often found in association with copper. It is used for plating iron, so it can be used in metal pars located near compasses. Canada produces the largest amount of world’s nickel. Russia and Australia have large resources.

METALLIC MINERALS: NON-FERROUS GROUP :GOLD

GOLD:

Economic Uses: 1. Gold is a precious metal and till very recently constituted the international standard of exchange.

2. In alloy state with other metals, it is metals used in ornamentation.

3. The industrial uses of gold alloys are in dentistry and in chemical plants, thermo-couples, watches, X-rays equipment, photography and some medicines.

Distribution in the World: the greatest producer is south Africa with major mines in the Witwatersrand, Odendaalrus and Lydenburg. Canada, Japan, the USA, Zimbabwe and Ghana also produce gold.

Distribution in India:

Kolar Field: the Kolar Field in Karnataka has been the principal source of gold production in India since 1871 when mining first started. It has four productive mines – Nandydroog, Champion Reef (deepest mine in the world), Mysore and Ooregaum. The Dharwar schist on which Kolar gold fields are situated run in a north-south direction for 80 km . However, the quartz veins bearing gold are confined to only 6-7 km section near Marikuppan. The mineralizing solutions responsible for the development of the auriferous veins of South India were probably derived from the magma which gave rise to champion gneisses. The Kolar field mined by the Bharat Gold Mines Ltd has always had the highest output in India, but it now faces closure.

Bharat Gold Mines Ltd

BGML is a PSU under the administrative control of the Ministry of Mines and is now closed. It was set up in 1972 to operate the Kolar Gold Mines taken over by the central government from the government of Mysore. It was primarily engaged in gold mining from its captive mines in the Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) located mainly in Karnataka but partly also in Andhra Pradesh. Towards its last years the Company also undertook mine development, shaft sinking, manufacture of mining machinery and other fabricated items for outside clients for which it set up a Mine Construction and Engineering Division. Until the time of its closure BGML was the only world class gold mining operation in India. The only other gold mine in the country, viz. the Hutti Gold Mine owned by the Karnataka government, is a miniscule operation and is not recognized as a proper gold mine by world standards. During its heyday BGML's Kolar Gold Mines added to the glory of India as one of the great gold mining operations of the world and Kolar was known as the largest gold production centre in Asia.

The Kolar Gold Mines of BGML were closed down in the year 2001 as the gold ore reserves got exhausted after 150 years of continuous and heavy extraction. Both the exploration agencies of government viz. the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and the Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited (MECL) declared that mining the meager remaining reserves was not a technically or economically viable option. At the time of its closure BGML had run up losses of more than Rs.900 crore.

In the Raichur district, the auriferous veins occur within the Schistose rocks of Dharwarian age. There are six auriferous quartz reefs of which the Oakley reef is the main producer. It is worked by Hutti Gold Mines Company of Karnataka state. According to the Geological Survey of India, the reserves in both these fields are estimated at about 4.5 million tonnes with a total gold content of about 45000 kg. In addition ore reserves of about 60000 tonnes with 8.5 gm per tonnes have been indicated in Budini area.

New fields have been found at Kempinkote (Hassan district), Honnali (Shimoga district), Siddarahalli (Chikmaglur district), Bellara (Chitaradurg district) and Munglur (Gulbarga district). In Andhra Pradesh the Ramgiri field of Anantapur district is main source of gold.

METALLIC MINERALS: NON-FERROUS GROUP :SILVER

SILVER

The ore minerals are stephanite, agentite, proustite and pyrargyrite. Silver is found in the galena ores that may have up to one per cent of this metallic mineral.

Distribution in the World: Mexico is the chief producer of silver; other producers are Russia, Canada, Peru and Australia.

Distribution in India: in India, the lead-zinc ores of Zawar in Rajasthan yield silver. Silver is derived as a byproduct in the Karnataka gold fields. The lead ores in

Andhra Pradesh: Guntur, Cuddapah, Kurnool districts

Jharkhand: Santhal Parganas, Singhbhum

Bihar: Bhagalpur

Gujarat: Vadodara district

Karnataka: the district of Bellary

Uttaranchal: Almora district

Jammu & Kashmir : Baramulla district

METALLIC MINERALS: NON-FERROUS GROUP :COPPER ORE

Economic Uses: the metal is of great industrial important due to its high electric conductivity, high ductility and malleability. Thus it is mostly used in electrical manufacturing. Besides, the copper alloys are used in buildings, automobiles, airplanes, naval ships, household utensils as well as in metallurgy and paints. However, in recent years, the increasing use of glass fibres has reduced the pressure on copper.

Distribution in the World: the largest producers of copper ores are the USA, Russia , Chile, Zambia, Canada and Zaire. Chile is the largest producer.

Distribution in India

India is deficient in Copper ores and thus depends to a large extent on imports.

Important Copper deposits in India are

Rajasthan

Khetri complex which includes the Khi-Dariba area in Alwar district and the Khetri-Singhana area in Jhunjhunu district (Khetri deposits is one of the important copper deposits in the country.)

Jharkhand

Singhbhum district

Andhra Pradesh

Bondalamottu, Nalankonda and dhukonda in the agnigundala belt of Guntur district; Ganikalava, Gumankonda and Somalapilli in Karnool district; and Garimanipenta in Nellore district.

METALLIC MINERALS: NON-FERROUS GROUP :TIN

The main ore of tin is cassiterite or tinstone with about 75 per cent of tin. It occurs in igneous and metamorphic rocks. Nearly 80 per cent of the world’s supplies come from alluvial deposits.

Distribution in World

India: Malaysia is the world’s leading producer and exporter of tin. Other producers are china, Indonesia, Thailand, Nigeria, Zaire, Bolivia and Australia.

Distribution in the India:

In India, Bihar, Jharkhand and Rajasthan are main producers of tin.

METALLIC MINERALS: NON-FERROUS GROUP :LEAD &ZINC

The two metals, lead and zinc rarely occur in native state. They generally occur in combination with other elements. Galena is the chief ore of lead while sphalerite or zinc blende is the chief ore of zinc.

Economic Uses:

1. Lead is used in the construction of accumulators, for lead piping and sheeting cable covers, as pigments in glass making and in medicine.

2. Zinc is used for coating, galvanizing iron and steel products, in the manufacture of pigments and alloys with other metals (like brass, bronze, german silver) and in the manufacture of batteries and electric appliances. Besides, it is widely used in textile industry, timber preservation, etc.

Distribution in the World

Major producers of lead are the USA, Russia, Australia, Canada, Peru and Bulgaria. Leading producers of zinc are Canada, Russia, Peru Australia & the USA.

Distribution in India

Rajasthan

Here, lead and zinc are extracted from the Zawar mines in Udaipur district and from Anguncha- Rampura in Bhilwara district. In these mines, silver ore is also extracted.

Andhra Pradesh

Cuddapah district has the reserves

Gujarat

Here lead and zinc are extracted from Banaskantha, Vadodara, Panchmahal and Surat.

METALLIC MINERALS: NON-FERROUS GROUP : BAUXITE

Economic Uses:

BAUXITE is used in the manufacture of alum, aluminous sulphates and other chemicals; the construction of airplanes, automobiles, electrical appliances, etc. and the manufacture of containers, utensils and machineries.

Distribution in the World: Australia, guinea, Jamaica , brazil, Surinam Yugoslavia and the state of Arkansas in USA, china, Malaysia, Indonesia, turkey and India

Distribution in India

The Bauxite deposits are mainly spread over the Eastern Ghats.

Madhya Pradesh

Nearly 30% of country’s production of Bauxite comes from Madhya Pradesh. Bauxite deposits here are found in Amarkantak plateau in Shahdot district. Maikala hills and the plateau region of Sarguja-Bilaspur- Raigarh-Katni

Bihar

Occur in Ranchi and Palamau

Karnataka

Found in Belagaum

Maharashtra

Kolaba, Kolhapur and Ratnagiri in Maharashtra have copper reserves

Tamil Nadu

Found in salem,Nilgiri,Coimbatore &Madurai

Uttar Pradesh

Banda

Jammu & Kashmir

Here, high grade bauxite deposits are found in Poonch and Udhampur.

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NON-METALLIC MINERALS: MICA

Economic Uses:

a) Mica is used as an insulating material in electrical industry.

b) Muscovite (white-mica/potash mica), Phlogopite (amber mica/magnesium iron mica) splitting are used in making of build-up mica or micanite and other insulation products, for heat insulation and also electrical insulation.

c) In powder form, it is used in lubricating oils and decorative wall papers.

Distribution in the World: India is the most important mica producing country in the world and it supplies 80 per cent of the world requirements of block mica.

Distribution in India: Mica is produced mainly in the three states of Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. Major producing regions include the following

Jharkhand

Here, mica is extracted from the Hazaribagh belt, with Koderma contributing a large part of the country’s total production.

Rajasthan

Here, mica is mined in the Beawar,Ajmer belt, Banswara-Dungarpur belt, Bhilwara , Tonk and Kaunthal in Udaipur.

Andhra Pradesh

Here, mica is extracted from Nellore in Gudur district.

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