IRON ORE

 Hematite and magnetite are the two most important iron ores in India

Exact Numbers not important. Haematite Magnetite

Remember 1st and 2nd position.

Reserves ~18,000 million tonnes or 18 billion ~10,500 million tonnes or 11

Which type of iron ore is abundant billion
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, Assam, TN 4.9%
Bihar, Maharashtra, MP, Rajasthan, Rest in Assam, Bihar, Goa,
UP Jharkhand, Kerala, MH,
Meghalaya and Nagaland

The total iron ore production in India in FY17 stood at ~192mn tonnes. Odisha solely
contributes a mighty ~50% of India’s total production, with Chhattisgarh,
Karnataka, Jharkhand and Goa contributing another ~45%.

In FY18, India exported ~24.2mn tonnes of iron ore and concentrates and
imported ~8.7mn tonnes, making India a net
exporter. About 90% of the total domestic production of 210mn tonnes in FY18 was
for domestic use, and just about 11% was cumulatively exported to countries like
China, Japan, South Korea, Oman, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. We
import iron ore mainly from Australia, South Africa, Brazil and Bahrain.

Orissa : Barabil-Koira valley - Sundargarh, Mayurbhanj, Cuttack, Sambalpur,

Keonjhar and Koraput districts

Chattisgarh: Bailadila mine, Dalli-Rajhara

Jharkhand: Noamandi mines in Singhbhum
Karnataka: Kemmangundi in Bababudan hills of Chikmagalur district and Sandur
and Hospet in Bellary district
Other places
  Andhra Pradesh (1.02%): Kurnool, Guntur, Cuddapah, Ananthapur, Nellore.
 Maharashtra (0.88%): Chandrapur, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.
 Madhya Pradesh (0.66%).
 Tamilnadu: Salem, Tiruchirapalli, Coimbatore, Madurai etc.
 Rajasthan: Jaipur, Alwar, Sikar, Bundi, 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

Largest iron ore producers

 Country Iron Ore Production
 1.China 1200 Million tonnes – very high demand for iron in the region
 2. Australia 900 Million tonnes – most of the ore is exported to China
 3. Brazil 490 Million tonnes – most of the ore is exported to China..
 4. India 210 Million tonnes – Post SC ban on mining in Goa, Odisha and Karnataka in
2010, India’s import of iron ore grew substantially
World total reserves
World Total 840 billion tons
 1. Australia 240 billion tons
 2. Brazil 170 billion tons
 3. Russia 140 billion tons
 4. China 69 billion tons
 5. India 32 billion tons

Top Coal importers: Japan India

Distribution of Coal in India
 Gondwana coal fields [250 million years old]: 98 per cent of the total reserves

and 99 per cent of the production of coal in India

 Tertiary coal fields [15 – 60 million years old]

 India is now the third largest coal producer in the world after China and the
USA.

First coal mine was opened in 1774 at Raniganj in West Bengal

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

Total Coal Production By State

1) Orissa/Chattisgarh
2) Jharkhand(90% of india’s coking coal production)
3) Chattisgarh/Orissa
4) Madhya Pradesh
5) Andhra Pradesh
Gondwana Coalfields

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

Jharkhand(90% of india’s coking coal produion): Jharia, Bokaro, Girdih and

Karanpura are the major coal fields

Orissa: Talcher field, Rampur-Himgir coalfields, Ib river coalfield

Madhya Pradesh: Singrauli (Waidhian), Pench-Kanhan-, Sohagpur coalfield,
Umaria coalfield

A small portion of Singrauli extends to Mirzapur in U.P

Andhra Pradesh: Singareni and Kothagudam, Godavari valley

Maharashtra: Vidharbha- Kamptee coalfields Nagpur, Wun, Wardha

West Bengal: Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri are the chief producing districts.
RANIGANJ is the largest coalfield of West Bengal.
Tertiary Coal

Important areas of Tertiary coal include parts of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal

Pradesh, Nagaland, Himalayan foothills of Darjeeling in West Bengal, Jammu
and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kerala. Tamil Nadu and the union
territory of Pondicherry,

Assam: Makum, Nazira, Mikir Hills, Dilli-Jeypore and Lakhuni

Arunachal Pradesh: Namchick-Namrup coalfield

Meghalaya: Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hill, Darrangiri field == Garo hills

Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh: Kalakot and surrounding regions in

Jammu, south of Pirpanjal, Himachal Pradesh == Chamba district

Tertiary Coal – Lignite

Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Rajasthan, West Bengal and
Puducherry
Lignite in Tamil Nadu:
90 per cent of India’s Lignite reserves. 57 per cent of the production
Neyveli Lignite fields of Cuddalore district. These are the largest deposits of
lignite in south - east Asia

Mining in Lignite coalfields is risky due to SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION of lignite

Gujarat: Kachchh district and Dharuch district

Rajasthan: Palana in Bikaner district

Global Coal Reserves

• As of 2015, total proved recoverable reserves of coal were about 1.14 trillion tons.
1. United States – 22%
2. Russia – 16%
3. Australia – 14%
4. China – 13%
5. India – 9%

Top coal producers and consumers in the world

Top coal producers in the world
1. China
2. USA
3. India (Bituminous + Lignite)
4. Australia (Bituminous & Brown coal)
5. Indonesia (Anthracite & Bituminous)

Top coal consumers

1. China
2. India
3. USA
4. Japan
5. Russia

OIL AND GAS

India is heavily dependent on crude oil and LNG imports with 82.8% import
dependence for crude oil and 45.3% for natural gas/LNG. The net foreign exchange
outgo is 63.305 million US$ in the financial year 2017-18 on account of crude oil
imports. India generated 35.2 million tons of petroleum products from
indigenous crude oil production whereas the consumption of petroleum
products is 204.9 million tons. Similarly India generated 31.7 bcm natural
gas locally against the consumption of 58.1 bcm.
India is the third biggest oil importer after US and China
[1] LNG price is linked to the prevailing crude oil price in global markets
 Crude oil Natural
reserves Share Share
Region of oil gas of gas
(in
million metric (%) reserves (%)
tonnes) (in BCM)

Arunachal Pradesh 1.52 0.25 0.93 0.07

Andhra Pradesh(on shore) 8.15 1.35 48.31 3.75

Assam(Brahmaputra valley) The Naharkatiya

field, Moran-Hugrijan) refineries located at
159.96 26.48 158.57 12.29
Digboi, Guwahati, Bongaigaon, Barauni and
Numaligarh

Coal Bed Methane 0 0 106.58 8.26

Eastern Offshore[a] Godawari, the Krishna and

the Cauvery, Rawa field in Krishna-Godawari 40.67 6.73 507.76 39.37
off-shore basin

Gujarat- Ankleshwar, Khambhat or Lunej,

118.61 19.63 62.28 4.83
Ahmedabad and Kalol

Nagaland 2.38 0.39 0.09 0.01

Rajasthan(Barmer area) Largest on shore oil

24.55 4.06 34.86 2.70
producing area

Tamil Nadu(Cauvery on-shore basin) 9.00 1.49 31.98 2.48

Tripura 0.07 0.01 36.10 2.80

Western Offshore[b] Mumbai High, Bassein and

239.20 39.60 302.35 23.44
Aliabet
 Total 604.10 100 1,289.81 100

State-wise crude oil and natural gas production trends

State-wise crude oil production trends
(thousand metric tonnes)
State-wise natural gas production trends
(MMSCMD: Million Metric Standard Cubic Meter Per Day)
Onshore Onshore
1. Rajasthan 7887 1. Assam 8.8
2. Gujarat 4591 2. Gujarat 4.4
3. Assam 4345 3. Rajasthan 4
4. Tamil Nadu 345 4. Tripura 3.9
5. Andhra Pradesh 322 5. Tamil Nadu 3.3
6. Arunachal Pradesh 50 6. Andhra Pradesh 2.6
Total Onshore 17540 Total Onshore 29.1
Offshore Offshore
Total Offshore 18145 Total Offshore 60.3
Total 35684 Total 89.5
• Offshore production is greater than onshore production
 oil and gas producing states in india

Grid connected installed capacity from all sources as of 31 May 2018 [13]

Source Installed Capacity (MW) Share

Coal 196,957.50 57.27%

Large hydro 45,403.42 13.20%

Other renewables 69,022.39 20.07%

Gas 24,897.46 7.23%

Diesel 837.63 0.24%

Nuclear 6,780.00 1.97%

 Total 343,898.39 or 345 GW 100.00%

Total Installed Capacity (As on 31.05.2019)

Fuel Giga Watt % share
Thermal
Total Thermal 226.3 63.2%
Coal 194.5 54.3%
Lignite 6.3 1.7%
Gas 24.9 7.0%
Oil 0.64 0.2%
Hydro (Renewable) 45.4 12.7%
Nuclear 6.8 1.9%
Renewable 79.3 22.0%
40
Total 357.9
Installed grid interactive renewable power capacity (excluding large hydropower) as of 31
March 2018 (RES MNRE)[1][11][12]

Total Installed Capacity 2022 target

Source
(MW) (MW)

Wind power 34,046 60,000

Solar power 21,651 100,000

Biomass power
(Biomass & Gasification and Bagasse 8,701
Cogeneration)
*10,000

Waste-to-Power 138

Small hydropower 4,486 5,000

TOTAL 69,022 175,000

Venezuela (300 billion barrels) Saudi Canada (265 billion barrels) iran Iraq In
decreasing order of proven reserves
India has 5 billion barrels
Top Crude Oil Producers (2018): USA Russia Saudi Iraq Iran in decreasing order of
production
Top crude oil consumers: USA China India Japan
Top crude oil exporters: Saudi Russia Iraq
Top crude oil importers: USA China India
OPEC: The organization was original launched in 1960 in Baghdad by five founding
members: Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Iran, Kuwait, and Iraq
13 members : Algeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria,
the Republic of the Congo, Saudi Arabia (the de facto leader), United Arab Emirates, and
Venezuela.
Indonesia, Qatar, Ecuador are former members.
Qatar left OPEC on 1 January 2019, after joining the organization in 1961, to focus on
natural gas production, of which it is the world's largest exporter in the form of
liquefied natural gas (LNG)

Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP ) is a policy adopted by

Government of India on 10.03.2016 indicating the new contractual and fiscal model for award of
hydrocarbon acreages towards exploration and production (E&P). HELP is applicable for all
future contracts to be awarded
HELP replaces the present policy regime for exploration and production of oil and gas, known
as New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP)
Features of HELP

 Uniform License: It provides for a uniform licensing system to cover all hydrocarbons
such as oil, gas, coal bed methane etc. under a single licensing framework, instead of
the present system of issuing separate licenses for each kind of hydrocarbons
 Open Acreages: It gives the option to a hydrocarbon company to select the exploration
blocks throughout the year without waiting for the formal bid round from the Government
 Revenue Sharing Model: Present fiscal system of production sharing contract (PSC) is
replaced by an easy to administer “revenue sharing model”. The earlier contracts were
based on the concept of profit sharing where profits are shared between Government
and the contractor after recovery of cost. Under the profit sharing methodology, it
became necessary for the Government to scrutinize cost details of private participants
and this led to many delays and disputes. Under the new regime, the Government will
not be concerned with the cost incurred and will receive a share of the gross revenue
from the sale of oil, gas etc. Bidders will be required to quote revenue share in their bids
and this will be a key parameter for selecting the winning bid
 Marketing and Pricing Freedom has been granted, subject to a ceiling price limit, for
new gas production from Deepwater, Ultra Deepwater and High Pressure-High
Temperature Areas. The policy provides marketing and pricing freedom to the gas
production from existing discoveries which are yet to commence commercial production
as on 1.1.2016 as well as for future discoveries
 Exploration is allowed through-out the contract period.
 Exploration Phase for onshore areas have been increased from 7 years to 8 years and
for offshore increased from 8 years to 10 years.
 A concessional royalty regime will be implemented for deep water and ultra-deep water
areas. These areas would not have any royalty for the first seven years (instead of the
5% at present), and thereafter would have a concessional royalty of 5% (in deep water
areas) and 2% (in ultra-deep water areas), instead of the 10% at present. In shallow
water areas, the royalty rates are reduced from 10% to 7.5%. For onshore areas royalty
has been kept same i.e. 12.5% for oil and 10% for gas so that there is no impact on
revenue to the State Governments
Conventional reservoirs of oil and natural gas are found in permeable sandstone.

 Some reservoirs contain gas and no oil. This gas is termed non-associated gas or dry gas.
 Often natural gases contain substantial quantities of hydrogen sulfide or other organic sulfur
compounds. In this case, the gas is known as “sour gas.”
 Coalbed methane is called ‘sweet gas’ because of its lack of hydrogen sulfide.

Oil + Gas == Associated Gas – Wet Gas,

Only Gas == Non-Associated Gas – Dry Gas,

Hydrogen Sulphide in gas == Sour Gas,

Coalbed Methane == Sweet Gas

Top natural gas reserves: Russia Iran Qatar United States

Top Natural gas production: United States Russia Iran

Top natural consumption: United States Russia China

Leading exporters: Russia, Qatar, Norway.

Leading Importers: China, Japan, European Union countries like Germany, Italy, etc

Natural Gas in Russia

 Russia has the largest natural gas reserves in the world (47.8 trillion m3)).
 India proven gas reserves of 1.3 Billion m³

It periodically changes place with the United States as the world’s largest or second largest producer

Unconventional Gas Reservoirs

 Conventional reservoirs of oil and natural gas are found in permeable sandstone.
 Unconventional Gas Reservoirs occur in relatively impermeable sandstones, in joints and
fractures or absorbed into the matrix of shales [Shale is a Sedimentary Rock], and in coal seams.
  Example: Tight gas, shale gas, and coal-bed methane.

coalbed methane
 With one of the largest proven coal reserves, and one of the largest coal producers 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
 State Estimated CBM Resources (BCM)
 1. Jharkhand 722
 2. Rajasthan 360
 3. Gujarat 351
 4. Orissa 243
 5. Chhattisgarh 240
 6. Madhya Pradesh 218
 7. West Bengal 218
 Total CBM Resources GOI has identified CBM Resources of
 2,600 billion cubic meters (91.8 TCF).

Shale gas = Lot of Methane + Little Ethane, Propane, & Butane + very little carbon dioxide, nitrogen,
and hydrogen sulfide.

Shale Gas Reserves in India

Cambay Basin in Gujarat, the Assam-Arakan basin in northeast India, and the Gondwana Basin, Kaveri
Shale Gas Reserves across India and the World
Recoverable Shale Gas Resources by Country
Country Shale gas reserves (in TCF) Technically recoverable Shale gas reserves (in TCF)
1. China 1275 1,115
2. USA 862 623
3. Argentina 774 802
4. Mexico 681 545
5. South Africa 485 390
India 100-200 TCF World Total 7576

Gas hydrate

 Gas hydrate is an icy crystalline compound located at great ocean depths and in shallow
polar waters.
 It is composed of gas molecules, normally methane, encaged within water molecules.
 At great ocean depths due to cold temperatures and high ocean pressure gas hydrate
remain Solid
 The source of the dissolved gas is from the breakdown of organic matter trapped within
marine sediment
 Hence, gas hydrate deposits are likely to occur everywhere the seafloor exceeds 500 m
(or 300 m in high latitudes), and where there is a source of unoxidized organic carbon in
marine sediments
 Gas hydrates are estimated to hold many times more methane than presently exists in the
atmosphere and up to twice the amount of energy of all fossil carbon-based fuels combined
 Basically, these are solid made up of hydrocarbon gas (mainly Methane) and liquid water.
They resemble wet snow and can exist at temperature which is above the freezing point of
water.
 Hydrates belong to a form of complexes known as clathrates.
 Clathrates are substances having a lattice-like structure in which molecules of one
substance are completely enclosed within crystal structure of another. Hydrates consist of
host molecule (water) forming a lattice structure acting like a cage to entrap guest
molecules (gas). Guest molecule includes mostly methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen
sulphide, etc. Hydrates are generally present in oceanic sediments along continental
margins and in polar continental settings.
Bauxite
Bauxite Distribution in India
 Odisha alone accounts for 52 percent - also the largest producer (33% of total production)
 Andhra Pradesh 18 per cent
 Gujarat 7 per cent
 Chhattisgarh (Second largest producer) and Maharashtra (Third largest producer)5 per cent
each
 Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand 4 per cent.
 Few mines in Tamil Nadu and Kerela
 Major bauxite resources are in the east coast in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
 India manages to export small quantities of bauxite.
 Major importers are Italy (60%), U.K. (25%), Germany (9%) and Japan (4%).

Lead and Zinc

 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 is a mixed ore containing lead & zinc
 Zinc is found in veins in association with galena, chalcopyrites, iron pyrites and other sulphide
ores

Distribution of Lead and Zinc ores

 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

Tungsten

 Ore of Tungsten is called WOLFRAM.

  Most important property is that of self-hardening which it imparts to steel.
 Over 95 per cent of the wolfram is used by the steel industry
 Karnataka (42 per cent)
 Rajasthan (27 per cent)
 Andhra Pradesh (17 per cent)
 Maharashtra (9 per cent)
 Remaining 5 per cent resources are in Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and West Bengal

Gold Reserves in India

As of 2015, the total reserves of gold ore in the country have been estimated at 502 MT.
• The total reserves of gold (primary), in terms of metal stood at 655 Tons.

Resources in terms of the metal ore (primary) are located in

1. Bihar (45 per cent)

2. Rajasthan (23 per cent)
3. Karnataka (22 per cent)
4. West Bengal (3 per cent)
5. Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh (2 per cent each

Resources in terms of metal content

1. Karnataka – Largest Producer - Kolar [Kolar Gold Field], Dharwad, Hassan and Raichur [Hutti
Gold Field] districts
2. Rajasthan,
3. Bihar,
4. Andhra Pradesh – Second largest Producer – Ramagiri mine in Anantapur
5. Jharkhand (Sands of the Subarnarekha (gold streak) river have some alluvial gold, etc.
6. Kerela - river terraces along the Punna Puzha and the Chabiyar Puzha have some alluvial gold

Kolar Gold Field, Hutti Gold Field and Ramgiri Gold Field are the most important gold fields

World’s Gold Reserves (in

MT)
World’s Production of Gold in
2017 (in TT)
Country Reserves Country Production Major gold mines
1. Australia 9.8 1. China 426
2. South Africa 6 2. Australia 294 9%
3. Russia 5.3 3. Russia 270 8%
4. USA 3 4. USA 237 7%
5. Peru 2.6 5. Canada 176 5%
6. Indonesia 2.5 6. Peru 151 5%
7. Brazil 2.4 7. Ghana 137 4%
8. Canada 2 8. South Africa 137 4%
9. China 2 9. Mexico 127 4%
World Total 54 MT World Total 3.3 MT

Silver Production in India

 Zawar mines in Udaipur district of Rajasthan is the major producer of silver [smelting of galena
ore in Hindustan Zinc Smelter
 Tundoo Lead Smelter in Dhanbad district of Jharkhand

World’s Silver Reserves: Peru Poland Australia

World’s Production of Silver: Mexico Peru China

Manganese

 Manganese is not found as a free element in nature

 The most important manganese ore is pyrolusite
 Manganese is primarily used in iron and steel industry

Manganese Ore Distribution in India

 India processes second largest reserves in the world after Zimbabwe; 430 million tonnes
 India is the world's fifth largest producer of manganese ore after China, Gabon, South Africa and
Australia

State wise reserves of Manganese

 Odisha (44%), 3rd in Production
 Karnataka (22%),
 Madhya Pradesh (13%), second in production
 Maharashtra (8%), first in production – Nagpur, Bhandara, Ratnagiri districts
 Andhra Pradesh (4%)
 Jharkhand and Goa (3% each),
 Rajasthan, Gujarat and West Bengal (remaining 3 per cent).

Chromite

 Chromite is an oxide of iron and chromium = Combination of chromium, iron and oxygen
 The chromium extracted from chromite is used in chrome plating and alloying for production of
corrosion resistant super alloys, nichrome, and stainless steel

Chromite Ore Distribution in India

 93 per cent of the resources are in ODISHA (Largest Producer) [Sukinda valley in Cuttack and
Jajapur]
 Karnataka (Mysore, Hasan) is the second largest producer
 Minor deposits are spread over Manipur, Nagaland, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, TN & AP
Copper

 Copper is a good conductor of electricity and is ductile [able to be drawn out into a thin wire
 Iron + Nickel + Copper + Chromite +…. == Stainless Steel.
 Copper + Nickel == Morel Metal.
 Copper + Aluminium == Duralumin.
 Copper + Zinc == Brass.
 Copper + Tin == Bronze
 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%

Copper Reserves in India

 Rajasthan (50%) - 2nd in Production - Aravalli range - Ajmer, Alwar, Bhilwara Udaipur etc, Khetri-
Singhana belt in Jhunjhunu district
 Madhya Pradesh (24%) – 1st in production - Malanjkhand copper mines of Balaghat
 Jharkhand (19%) – Singhbhum, Hazaribagh district, Santhal Parganas and Palamu
 The rest 7 per cent in AP, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka etc

World’s Copper Reserves: Chile Australia Peru

World’s Copper Production: Chile Peru China

Nickel

 Nickel does not occur free in nature.

 It is found in association with copper, uranium and other metals
 Iron + Nickel == stainless steel.
 It is hard and has great tensile strength.
 Hence nickel steel is used for manufacturing armoured plates, bullet jackets etc.
 Nickel + Copper or Silver == Coins
 About 92 per cent resources are in Odisha - Sukinda valley of Jajapur district, Odisha
 8 per cent resources are distributed in Jharkhand, Nagaland and Karnataka

Cobalt
• Cobalt is an important ferromagnetic alloying metal having irreplaceable industrial applications.
• Cobalt is extracted as a by-product of copper, nickel, zinc or precious metals.
• Major use of cobalt is in metallurgical applications, in special alloy/super alloy industry
Super alloys made of cobalt are wear & corrosion-resistant at elevated temperatures.
• Hard-facing or cutting tools with cobalt alloys provide greater resistance to wear, heat, and
corrosion.
• Cobalt is used as precursors (cobalt compounds) for cathodes in rechargeable batteries.
• Largest demand for cobalt has been from the Rechargeable Battery Industry (Lithium ion
battery).
• Cobalt is alloyed with aluminium and nickel to manufacture powerful magnets.

Distribution of Cobalt Reserves across India and the World

Odisha 31 69% Kendujhar and Jajpur districts

Jharkhand 9 20% Singhbhum district

Nagaland 5 11% Tuensang district
Total 44.9 MT Presently, there is no production of cobalt from primary cobalt resources
India is aggressively pushing electric mobility. All electric vehicles at present use Lithium ion
batteries.
• Hence, India has to aggressively push to secure lithium and cobalt (strategic minerals) resources
both
internally and externally.
• China has already taken a substantial lead in the race by aggressively procuring these minerals
from Congo
The demand for cobalt is usually met through imports.
• Recycling technologies for recovery of cobalt from waste Li-ion batteries have been an evolving
process.
• Imports of cobalt and alloys were at 875 tonnes in 2017-18.
• Imports were mainly from USA & Canada (13% each), Belgium (12%), Norway & UK (9% each)
and China (8%) & Morocco (7%).
World’s Reserves of Cobalt Content: Congo (Kinshasa Australia Cuba Philippines

World’s Production of Cobalt: Congo New Caledonia China

Lithium

It's used in the manufacture of aircraft and in certain batteries

Lithium is lightest known metal

Lithium-ion batteries are key to lightweight, rechargeable power for laptops, phones, electric
vehicles, etc.
• Lithium and another battery component, cobalt, could become scarce as demand increases
• Lithium is highly reactive and flammable and must be stored in mineral oil.
• It never occurs freely in nature, but only in compounds such as igneous rocks formed
underground.
• China controls most of the lithium supply across the world.

World’s Lithium Reserves: Chile China Australia Argentina

World’s Lithium Production: Australia Chile Argentina China

KABIL Set up to Ensure Supply of Critical Minerals

A joint venture company namely Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (KABIL) is to be set up with the
participation of
three Central Public Sector Enterprises namely,
✓ National Aluminium Company Ltd. (NALCO),
✓ Hindustan Copper Ltd. (HCL) and
✓ Mineral Exploration Company Ltd. (MECL).
• The equity participation between NALCO, HCL and MECL is in the ratio of 40:30:30.
• Objective of constituting KABIL is to ensure a consistent supply of critical and strategic minerals
to Indian domestic market.
The KABIL would carry out identification, exploration, development, mining and processing of
strategic minerals
overseas for commercial use and meeting country’s requirement of these minerals.
• The new company will help in building partnerships with other mineral rich countries like
Australia and those
in Africa and South America.
NON-METALS

Graphite

 a naturally-occurring form of crystalline carbon

 carbon atoms in graphite are linked in a hexagonal network that forms sheets that are one atom
thick.
 These sheets are poorly connected and easily cleave or slide over one another if subjected to a
small amount of force
 A single sheet of Graphite(3-D) is called Graphene(2-D)
 0-dimensional Structure is Buckyball (Synthetic), 1-Dimensional Structure is Carbon Nanotubes
(Synthetic), 2-Dimensional Structure is Graphene (Synthetic) and 3-Dimensional structure
graphite (natural and synthetic both) which is allotrope of diamond (natural)
 Carbon content in Peat < Lignite < Bituminous < Anthracite < Graphite < Diamond
 Most of the graphite is formed at convergent plate boundaries where organic-rich shales and
limestones were subjected to metamorphism due to heat and pressure
 Graphite is a non-metal and it is the only non-metal that can conduct electricity
 India is a major global producer of flake graphite

Total Indian Graphite Resources

1. Arunachal Pradesh (43%),
2. Jammu & Kashmir (37%),
3. Jharkhand (6%),
4. Tamil Nadu (5%) and
5. Odisha (3%)

Graphite Production
  Tamil Nadu (37%),
 Jharkhand (30%), [Palamu district in Jharkhand is the most important]
 Odisha (29%).

Diamond

Diamonds are formed in mantle. They brought to the earth’s crust due to volcanism. Most of the
diamonds occur in dykes, sill etc.

 The Vindhayan system have diamond bearing regions from which Panna and Golconda diamonds
have been mined.
1. Panna belt in Madhya Pradesh;
2. Wajrakarur Kimberlite pipe in Anantapur district(South west Andhra) and
3. Gravels of the Krishna river basin in Andhra Pradesh.
4. Chhattisgarh: Raipur and Bastar districts; and
 Reserves have been estimated only in Panna belt and Krishna Gravels in Andhra Pradesh.
 The new kimberlite fields are discovered recently in Raichur-Gulbarga districts of Karnataka.
 Cutting and polishing of diamonds is done by modem techniques at important centres like Surat,
Navasari, Ahmedabad, Palampur etc

India’s Diamond Reserves Madhya Pradesh(90%) Andhra Pradesh Chhattisgarh

India’s Diamond Production Madhya Pradesh 100% of India’s Diamond Production

World’s Diamond Reserves Russia Congo Australia Botswana South Africa

The leading producers of natural diamond are Russia, Botswana, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Russia
and Zaire [Congo]

Mica
  Mica is a very good insulator that has a wide range of applications in electrical and electronics
industry
 It is used in toothpaste and cosmetics because of its glittery appearance. It also acts as a mild
abrasive in toothpaste
 India is one of the foremost suppliers of mica (60% of world production) to the world

Mica Reserves in India

1. Andhra Pradesh (41 per cent) – 1st in production – Nellore, Vizag, Godavari krishna
2. Rajasthan (21 per cent) – 2nd in production - Jaipur to Udaipur [Along Aravalis]
3. Odisha (20 per cent)
4. Maharashtra (15 per cent)
5. Bihar (2 per cent)
6. Jharkhand (Ruby Mica) (Less than 1 per cent) – 3rd in Production - Gaya district of Bihar to
Hazaribagh and Koderma districts of Jharkhand

 Limestone with more than 10 per cent of magnesium is called dolomite

  Two states of Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh produce almost the whole of asbestos of India
 India has the largest deposits of kyanite in the world
 Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Karnataka produce practically the whole of kyanite of India

Gypsum

 Gypsum is a hydrated sulphate of calcium

 Rajasthan is by far the largest producer of gypsum in India [99 per cent of the total production
of India].
 The main deposits occur in the Tertiary clays and shales of Jodhpur, Nagaur and Bikaner.
Jaisalmer, Barmer, Chum, Pali and Ganganagar also have some gypsum bearing rocks.

 The remaining gypsum is produced by Tamil Nadu [Tiruchirapalli district], Jammu and Kashmir,
Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh in order of production

Salt

 Gujarat coast produces nearly half of our salt

 Sambhar Lake in Rajasthan produces about 10 per cent of our annual production
 Sea brine is the source of salt in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu
 Rock salt is taken out in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh - It is less than 1 per cent of the total
salt produced in India.

Uranium :

World’s Uranium (U) Reserves: Australia, Kazakhstan, and Canada. India has very few

World’s Uranium (U) Production Kazakhstan Canada Australia Namibia

Uranium deposits occur in Jaduguda in Singhbhum Thrust Belt and Hazaribagh districts of
Jharkhand,
Gaya district of Bihar, Cuddapah basin of Andhra Pradesh, Aravallis, & Mahadek basin of
Meghalaya.
• Singhbhum Copper belt is known for a number of copper deposits with associated nickel,
molybdenum,
bismuth, gold, silver etc.
• The state of Andhra Pradesh is the largest producer of uranium in India.
• Tummalapalle village located in the Kadapa (Cuddapah) district of Andhra Pradesh is
considered as one
of the largest uranium reserves in India.

Uranium Corporation of India operates mines

at Jadugora, Bhatin, Narwapahar, Turamdih and Banduhurang all in Jharkhand

In March 2011 large deposits of uranium were discovered in the Tummalapalle belt Andhra and in
the Bhima basin at Gogi in Karnataka by the Atomic Minerals

Thorium: 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
World’s Thorium Reserves India United States Australia

India’s Thorium Reserves Andhra Pradesh Tamil Nadu Odisha Kerala West Bengal

India and Australia are believed to possess more than half of world's thorium reserves
Fissionable material → That can undergo nuclear fission chain reaction.

Fissile → That can undergo Controlled or Self-Sustained nuclear fission chain Reaction

 Uranium is the most common fissile used in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons.
 Uranium isotopes in natural uranium are Uranium-238 or U-238 or 238
U (99.27%) and Uranium
235 or U-235 or 235U (0.72%).
 Uranium-235 can undergo fission when bombarded with slow neutrons only.
 Uranium-238 can undergo fission when bombarded with fast neutrons only.

The nuclei of other heavy elements, such as thorium also fissionable, but with fast neutrons
  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

 The 0.72% U-235 is not sufficient to produce a self-sustaining critical chain reaction.
 For light-water reactors, the fuel must be enriched to 2.5-3.5% U-235. While for heavy water
enrichment is nor required
 While uranium-235 is the naturally occurring fissionable isotope, Plutonium-239 can be
produced by "breeding" it from uranium-238.

Uranium-238, which makes up 99.3% of natural uranium, is not fissionable by slow neutrons

 The other isotope can undergo fission upon slow-neutron bombardment is uranium-233.

A neutron moderator is a medium that reduces the speed of fast neutrons, thereby turning them into
thermal neutrons capable of sustaining a nuclear chain reaction

Commonly-used moderators include regular (light) water (in 74.8% of the world's reactors), solid
graphite (20% of reactors), heavy water (5% of reactors) and beryllium

 Control rods that are made of a neutron poison are used to absorb neutrons.

Moderators slow down neutrons

Control Rods absorb neutrons

Moderators are like accelerators

Control Rods are like brakes

Control rods are composed of chemical elements such as boron, silver, indium and cadmium

 When a nuclear chain reaction in a mass of fissile material is self-sustaining, the mass is said to
be in a critical state in which there is no increase or decrease in power, temperature, or neutron
population.

Criticality
 Criticality is a nuclear term that refers to the balance of neutrons in the system.
 Balance of neutrons can be achieved using moderators and control rods.
  “Subcritical” refers to a system where the loss rate of neutrons is greater than the production
rate of neutrons and therefore the neutron population decreases as time goes on.
 “Supercritical” refers to a system where the production rate of neutrons is greater than the loss
rate of neutrons and therefore the neutron population increases.
 When the neutron population remains constant, this means there is a perfect balance between
production rate and loss rate, and the nuclear system is said to be “critical.”
 Therefore, when a reactor is said to have “gone critical,” it actually means it is in a stable
configuration producing a constant power.

Supercritical == Car [nuclear reactor] is accelerating.

Critical == Car is going at a constant speed.

Sub critical == Car is slowing down

235
All uranium isotopes are radioactive and fissionable. But only U is fissile (will support a neutron-
mediated chain reaction

 Thorium itself is not a fissile material, and thus cannot undergo fission to produce energy.
 Instead, it must be transmuted to uranium-233 in a reactor fueled by other fissile materials
[plutonium-239 or uranium-235].

 In the first stage of the programme, natural uranium fuelled pressurized heavy water reactors
(PHWR) produce electricity while generating plutonium-239 as by-product.

[U-238 → Plutonium-239 + Heat]

[In PWHR, enrichment of Uranium to improve concentration of U-235 is not required. U-238 can be
directly fed into the reactor core]

[Natural uranium contains only 0.7% of the fissile isotope uranium-235. Most of the remaining 99.3% is
uranium-238 which is not fissile but can be converted in a reactor to the fissile isotope plutonium-239].

[Heavy water (deuterium oxide, D 2O) is used as moderator and coolant in PHWR].

 PHWRs was a natural choice for implementing the first stage because it had the most efficient
reactor design [uranium enrichment not required] in terms of uranium utilisation.
 India correctly calculated that it would be easier to create heavy water production facilities
(required for PHWRs) than uranium enrichment facilities (required for LWRs).
  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 a chain reaction. But Uranium-238 cannot sustain a chain
reaction. So it is transmuted to Plutonium-239.

But Why U-238 and not U-235?

Natural uranium contains only 0.7% of the fissile isotope uranium-235. Most of the remaining 99.3% is
uranium-238.

 Thus, the Stage II FBRs are designed to "breed" more fuel than they consume.
 Once the inventory of plutonium-239 is built up thorium can be introduced as a blanket material
in the reactor and transmuted to uranium-233 for use in the third stage.
 The surplus plutonium bred in each fast reactor can be used to set up more such reactors, and
might thus grow the Indian civil nuclear power capacity till the point where the third stage
reactors using thorium as fuel can be brought online

As of August 2014, India's first Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam had been delayed - with
first criticality expected in 2015, 2016..and it drags on

 A Stage III reactor or an Advanced nuclear power system involves a self-sustaining series of
thorium-232-uranium-233 fuelled reactors.

This would be a thermal breeder reactor, which in principle can be refueled – after its initial fuel charge
– using only naturally occurring thorium

 A fissile material is one that can sustain a chain reaction upon bombardment
by neutrons.
 Thorium is by itself fertile, meaning that it can transmute into a fissile
radioisotope [U-233] but cannot itself keep a chain reaction going.
  In a thorium reactor, a fissile material like uranium or plutonium is blanketed
by thorium.
 The fissile material, also called a driver in this case, drives the chain reaction to
produce energy while simultaneously transmuting the fertile material into fissile
material.
 India has very modest deposits of uranium and some of the world’s largest
sources of thorium. It was keeping this in mind that in 1954, Homi Bhabha
envisioned India’s nuclear power programme in three stages to suit the
country’s resource profile.
1. In the first stage, heavy water reactors fuelled by natural uranium would
produce plutonium [U-238 will be transmuted to Plutonium 239 in PHWR];
2. the second stage would initially be fuelled by a mix of the plutonium from the
first stage and natural uranium. This uranium would transmute into more
plutonium and once sufficient stocks have been built up, thorium would be
introduced into the fuel cycle to convert it into uranium 233 for the third
stage [thorium will be transmuted to U-233 with the help plutonium 239].
3. In the final stage, a mix of thorium and uranium fuels the reactors. The
thorium transmutes to U-233 which powers the reactor. Fresh thorium can
replace the depleted thorium [can be totally done away with uranium which is
very scares in India] in the reactor core, making it essentially a thorium-
fuelled reactor [thorium keeps transmuting into U-233. It is U-233 that
generates the energy].

Thorium is not fissile; and hence cannot go critical and generate a nuclear chain reaction. Thorium
produces less radioactive waste products and generates more energy per ton, so it is safe for
environment also. Thorium reactors do not produce plutonium, which is what you need to make a
nuclear warhead. Thorium-derived U-233 is better fuel on the basis of efficiency of energy generation in
nuclear reactor, in comparison to U-235.

It is found in the filaments of vacuum tubes, e.g., magnetron found in microwave oven. •

Oxide of thorium known as ‘thoria’ is used in industry. Melting point of thoria is very high; hence, it is
used in mantles of portable gas lights. •
When ‘thoria’ is added to glass, it increases the refractive index of glass and decreases dispersion and is
thus used in high quality lens for cameras. •

As chemical catalyst for converting ammonia to nitric acid in petroleum cracking and in production of
sulphuric acid.