Mineral Resources

A Mineral is a pure inorganic substance that occurs naturally in the earths crust. Major portion of the earths crust is made up of minerals, single elements or compounds. A mineral deposit is a concentration of naturally occurring solid, liquid or gaseous material, in or on the earths crust in such form and amount that its extraction and its conversion into useful materials or items are profitable now or may be so in the future. Minerals provide the material used to make most of the things of industrial based society. Minerals are valuable natural resources being finite and nonrenewable. Demand for minerals increase as the population increases. Management of mineral resources has, therefore, to be closely integrated with the overall strategy of development & exploitation of minerals is to be guided by long term national goals and perspectives.

Types of Mineral Resources

Three categories : Fuel, Metallic and Non-Metallic. Fuel Minerals:
Coal, Oil and natural gas are the basic fossil fuel. There are good reserves of coal but more essential fuel oils and natural gas are becoming scarce. Coal: In our country it is expected to last for 200 years. Its quantity is better than fossil fuels but still one needs to use it optimally. Coal can be lignite (38% C), Bituminous (65% C) and Anthracite (96% C). Crude Oil: Formed over a period of million of years through conversion of remains of micro organisms living in sea, into hydrocarbons by heat, pressure and catalytic action. Fractional distillation helps us to get various petroleum products from crude oil. Natural Gas: with the present rate of consumption the gas reserves shall last only a quarter century from now. Metallic & Non-Metallic Minerals: Except iron ore and bauxite, the mineral wealth of our country is just 1% of world reserves and going to last us only 30 years.

Use & Exploitation

Early Paleolithic man : Flint for arrowheads, clay for pottery. Iron age : Use of iron as implements and weapons. Bronze age : Its use for various artifacts and utensils. Use of various minerals as alloys to meet specific needs with specific qualities. Its use and exploitation is increasing with the increasing demand of the growing population. A study(Rome Report) reveals geometrical increase in population till 2050 to 5 billion people; Industrial output starts reducing after 2030; Pollution increases upto 2040 and then reduces and mineral resources continuously reduce by 2050 to a bare minimum.

Mineral Exploration and Extraction

Exploration: Field Survey observation, analysis of the rock composition and geophysics; Remote Sensing Study of the object by placing instruments at a distance from that object. Methods of Extraction:
Strip or Open Cast mining. When mineral is available near the surface of the earth. Economically cheap, environmentally destructive. Quarrying. Specially termed for building and road stone extraction. Adit Mining. A horizontal shaft can be tunneled out when a mineral is situated in a horizontal seam. Shaft Mining. A vertical shaft sunk deep inside the earth, from which a series of galleries are made at different depths for extraction of minerals.

Environmental Effects of Extracting & Using Mineral resources

Mining & processing of mineral resources have a considerable impact on land, water, air, & biological resources. Social impacts result from the increased demand for housing & other services in mining areas. Some of the effects are: Pollution. Atmosphere, water polluted affecting biosphere. Destruction of land. Mine area & surrounding areas. Subsidence. May happen anytime causing damage. Noise. Blasting & transport cause noise disturbance in the area Energy. Immense energy is consumed in the process. Impact on Biological Environment. Plant & animal life. Long term supply of mineral Resources. Low waste sustainable approach with emphasis on recycling, reusing and waste reduction & less emphasis on dumping, burying & burning.

Case Study : No Mining in Aravali Hills

Aravali Hills span three states of Delhi, Haryana & Rajasthan and stand as a natural barrier to Thar desert. Supreme Court ordered ban on mining in 2002. A committee set up to ensure Overall Ecological Restoration. Some existing mines can continue on the basis of Sustainable development principle after clearance from environment authorities. Afforestation activities need to be encouraged and no harm should come to them.

Energy resources
Energy is a primary input for almost all economic activities and is, therefore, vital for improvement in quality of life. The demand for energy is increasing but the energy resources are becoming scarce and costlier. Energy conservation is considered as a quick and economical way to solve the problem of power shortage as also a means of conserving the countrys finite sources of energy. The studies conducted by Energy management Centre, New Delhi have indicated that there is about 25% potential of energy conservation in the industrial sector.

Growing Energy Needs

Global Level: Energy is derived from non renewable (conventional) & renewable (non conventional) resources. The former are in a process of depletion. Worlds demand for oil rose from 436 in 1960 to 3200 million tonnes in 2000; coal 1043 to 2146; natural gas 187 to 2301mcm. Of the developing countries, China has the highest per capita consumption of energy. Among non-conventional resources, hydropower is the largest. At present only 15% potential in the developing world is being utilised. Windpower has also great potential. In 1980 10MW; 2000 14000MW & by 2020 10% of worlds electricity. Solar energy Photovoltaic production climbed from 0.1MW to 200MW in 2000.

Growing Energy Needs

Indian Scenario: Coal, oil, gas and water constitute the main sources of energy in our country. Commercial consumption of energy is from coal(56%), petroleum(32%), the other sources being nuclear, natural gas and water. Industrial sector consumes 50% of the total commercial energy produced in the country followed by the transport sector. With increase in mechanisation & modernisation of its activities, the agricultural sectors consumption has grown considerably. In the domestic sector, the consumption of natural fuel(mostly wood) energy is very high. From 1970 to 1995, the annual consumption of electricity per household went up from 7 to 53kwh; kerosene from 6.6 ltrs to 9.9 ltrs; cooking gas from 0.33 kg to 3.8 kg.

Sources of Energy
Natural Fuels: Fuel wood & Agricultural residues.

NonCommercial
Energy Sources Animal Energy

Conventional: Coal, Petroleum, natural gas, Electricity. (non-renewable)

Commercial

Non-Conventional: Solar, wind, water energy, bio-mass, geothermal, ocean(tidal, wave), hydropower, hydrogen, nuclear. (Renewable)

Non Conventional Sources of Energy

In the decades ahead, fossil fuel based energy systems will be replaced and ultimately a sustainable energy system based on renewable, clean and non pollutant energy resources will operate in which probably, there will be no nuclear power and power will be derived from: Solar energy Wind energy Bio energy Geothermal energy Ocean energy Hydro power Hydrogen energy.

Land Resources
Land is a major constituent of the Lithosphere and is the source of many materials essential to man and other organisms. It forms about 1/5th of the earths surface. Increasing human population has put great pressure on this natural resource which is not available in unlimited quantity. Vast tracts of land have been cleared of natural vegetation for cultivation of crops & plantations thus causing ecological imbalance. Most human and natural activities need space for their location and development. This space is provided by land which is put to various uses like food & energy production, waste disposal, industrial, commercial & residential purposes.

Impact of land-use on Environmental Quality

Land use involves economic activities which in turn lead to several environmental problems like: Problem of dealing with the pollutants discharged.

Problem of disposal of wastes.

Consumption of natural resources for the economic activities. Malfunctioning of the ecosystem by disturbing the ecological cycles and wild life habitats.

Relationship of Land-use & natural disasters

Natural disasters like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes & landslides have a geological land based origin. Damages due to natural disasters, whether they are of geological origin or of climatic or meteorological origin i.e. floods, droughts, storms, are directly linked to population and properties located in exposed areas. Natural disasters result in property damages, deaths and casualties. Careful land-use planning, preventive policies for building technologies, mitigation policies and better forecasts of disasters can help to reduce the damages associated with natural disasters.

Land Degradation
The surface layer of land is called soil. It covers about 4/5th of the land areas. Fertility or the productive capacity of the soil depends on the minerals it contains. As the minerals abound in the top layer of the soil, so the top layer is best for vegetation. Land degradation refers to this deterioration or loss of fertility or productive capacity of the soil. These factors are:
Soil Erosion. Soil Pollution. Salination & Water Logging. Shifting cultivation. Desertification. Urbanisation.

Soil Erosion
Loss or removal of the superficial layer of the soil by the action of water, wind, or by the activities of man is termed as soil-erosion. The factors influencing the extent to which soil erosion will occur are: Distribution, Intensity & amount of rainfall. Slope of the ground. Nature of the soil. Vegetation cover. Soil management.

Soil Pollution
Soil pollution is the reduction in the productivity of soil due to the presence of soil pollutants. These have an adverse effect on the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil. Intensification of agricultural production by practices of irrigation(causes salination), excessive fertilisers, pesticides, insecticides, etc. have created the problems of soil pollution. Pesticides, fertilisers, organic manure, chemicals, radioactive wastes, discarded food, clothes, leather goods, plastics, paper, bottles, tincans & carcasses all contribute towards soil pollution. Organic insecticides like DDT, aldrin, benzene hexachloride, etc. are used against soil borne pests. They accumulate in the soil as they degrade very slowly by soil and water bacteria. Consequently the effect travels to plants-animals-man through food chains. Human & animal excreta(pathgens), nitrification contribute to soil and water pollution by reaching toxic levels.

Equitable use of resources for sustainable lifestyle

Sustainable Development basically means that the process of development needs to be sustained or the development of a region should be planned in such a manner that it should go on for a long long time. Environment Commission defined sustainable development as the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. Economists define it as being an economic process in which quantity & quality of our stock of natural resources(like forests) and integrity of biogeochemical cycles(like climate) are sustainable and passed on to the future generation unimpaired.

Carrying Capacity
Carrying Capacity of a region/ system could be described broadly as number of individuals of a species that it can sustain. In case of human beings, it is rather a complex situation, wherein the region has not only to bear the load of his basic needs but also all other associated activities including industrial/ developmental projects. The carrying capacity can be divided into two parts i.e. Supportive Capacity and Assimilative Capacity. Supportive Capacity of a region provides an assessment of the stock of available resources with their regenerative capacity on natural/ sustainable basis. Assimilative Capacity is an assessment of the maximum amount of pollution load that can be discharged without violating the best designated use of these basic components of environment.

Green Accounting
It is a widely prevalent concept both in developed and developing countries. Green Accounting underlines basically the same principles as enumerated in concepts of sustainable development and carrying capacity i.e. use of natural resources base in planned and judicious manner without impacting(or minimum impacting) the quality of environment. It conveys by providing us an economic interpretation of both resource base and environmental quality as against the conventional accounting in terms of GDP. It precisely gives us a uniform level by converting both natural resource base and environmental quality in monetary terms, therefore, making the task easier for planners and policy makers to formulate further programmes.