Minerals and Energy Resources – Class 10 Social Science Chapter 5 Notes & NCERT PDF

Introduction

The chapter opens with Haban, who comes to Guwahati from a remote village and is amazed to see buses and trains — "houses" that move. His father explains that they are made of metals like iron and aluminium and are driven by engines that need energy. This chapter answers two big questions: where do the minerals that make our things come from? and where does the energy that runs them come from?

Almost everything we use, from a tiny pin to a towering building or a big ship, is made from minerals.

Even our bodies need minerals: mineral intake is only about 0.3 per cent of our total intake of nutrients, yet without it we could not use the other 99.7 per cent of our food. Toothpaste is a good everyday example — silica, limestone, aluminium oxide and phosphates clean the teeth, fluoride comes from fluorite, titanium oxide (from rutile, ilmenite and anatase) makes it white, and mica gives it sparkle.

Key Concepts

What is a mineral?

Geologists define a mineral as a "homogenous, naturally occurring substance with a definable internal structure."

Mode of occurrence — where minerals are found

Minerals usually occur in ores (a mineral mixed with other elements, concentrated enough to be worth extracting).

India's minerals are unevenly spread: peninsular rocks hold most coal, metallic minerals and mica; sedimentary rocks of Gujarat and Assam hold most petroleum; the north Indian alluvial plains are almost devoid of economic minerals. A deposit becomes a mine only when concentration, ease of extraction and closeness to the market make it economically viable.

Rat-hole mining: In Meghalaya, minerals are owned by individuals or communities. Coal in Jowai and Cherapunjee is mined through long narrow tunnels called 'rat holes'. The National Green Tribunal has declared this illegal.

Ferrous minerals

They account for about three-fourths of the value of metallic mineral production.

Iron ore — the backbone of industrial development.

Major iron ore belts:

Manganese — used in making steel and ferro-manganese alloy; about 10 kg of manganese is needed per tonne of steel. Also used for bleaching powder, insecticides and paints.

Non-ferrous minerals

India's reserves are not very satisfactory.

Non-metallic and rock minerals

Hazards of mining and conservation

Energy resources

Coal — India's most abundant fossil fuel.

Petroleum — next major source after coal; refineries are a "nodal industry" for synthetic textiles, fertilisers and chemicals. Found in anticlines and fault traps in tertiary rocks. Major areas: Mumbai High, Gujarat (Ankeleshwar) and Assam — Assam is the oldest oil-producing state (Digboi, Naharkatiya, Moran-Hugrijan).

Natural gas — used as fuel in power, industry, as CNG (transport) and PNG (cooking). Reserves: Mumbai High, Cambay basin, Krishna–Godavari basin. The first 1,700 km Hazira–Vijaipur–Jagdishpur (HVJ) pipeline by GAIL linked Mumbai High and Bassein; the network has grown to 18,500 km and is expected to exceed 34,000 km as a Gas Grid.

Electricity — per capita consumption is an index of development. Hydel (running water; renewable) — Bhakra Nangal, Damodar Valley Corporation, Kopili; thermal (coal, petroleum, gas; non-renewable).

Non-conventional sources

Conservation of energy — the twin planks are energy conservation and renewable energy. Use public transport, switch off lights, use power-saving devices. "Energy saved is energy produced."

Map Work

Board Exam Focus

Key Terms

Connect to Today

CNG buses, PNG kitchens, rooftop solar panels and wind farms are all part of India's move from fossil fuels to cleaner energy. Recycling old phones and metals saves minerals that took millions of years to form.

Common Mistakes