Minerals and Energy Resources Class 10 Notes: Simplified Geography

Embark on a journey to master the intricacies of Minerals and Energy Resources, Chapter 5 of Class 10 Social Science, with our comprehensive and simplified guide. Designed specifically for students preparing for the CBSE 2023-24 board exams, these notes provide a clear and concise understanding of this crucial topic.

Delve into the fascinating world of minerals, exploring their formation, classification, and economic significance. Uncover the diverse types of energy resources, their distribution across the globe, and their environmental implications.

To further enhance your learning experience, we have included a downloadable PDF version of the notes, allowing you to study anytime, anywhere.

Embrace simplified geography and propel your exam preparation to new heights with our Minerals and Energy Resources Class 10 notes.

Subject	Social Science (Geography)
Class	10
Board	CBSE and State Boards
Chapter No.	5
Chapter Name	Minerals and Energy Resources
Type	Notes
Session	2023-24
Weightage	3-6 marks

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Minerals and Energy Resources Class 10 Notes

Minerals

• A mineral is a homogenous, naturally occurring substance with a definable internal structure.
• Minerals are found in varied forms in nature, ranging from the hardest diamond to the softest talc.

Mode of Occurrence of Minerals

Factors that make mineral extractions commercially viable are:

• The concentration of minerals in the ore.
• The ease of extraction
• Closeness to the market

Minerals generally occur in these forms:

1. In igneous and metamorphic rocks minerals may occur in the cracks, crevices, faults, or joints. The smaller occurrences are called veins and the larger are called lodes.

Major metallic minerals like tin, copper, zinc lead, etc. are obtained from veins and lodes.

2. In sedimentary rocks a number of minerals occur in beds or layers. They have been formed as a result of deposition, accumulation, and concentration in horizontal strata.

Another group of sedimentary minerals include gypsum, potash salt, and sodium salt. These are formed as a result of evaporation, especially in arid regions.

3. Decomposition of surface rocks, and the removal of soluble constituents, leaving a residual mass of weathered material containing ores. Bauxite is formed this way.

4. Certain minerals may occur as alluvial deposits in the sands of valley floors and the base of hills. These deposits are called placer deposits.

Gold, silver, tin, and platinum are the most important among such minerals.

5. The ocean waters contain vast quantities of minerals. Common salt, magnesium, and bromine are largely derived from ocean waters.

Ferrous Minerals

Iron Ore

• Magnetite: Finest iron ore, has up to 70% iron content.
• Hematite: Has a slightly lower iron content (50-60%).

The major iron ore belts in India are:

• Odisha-Jharkhand belt: In Odisha high-grade hematite ore is found in Badampahar mines in the Mayurbhanj and Kendujhar districts.
• Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur belt: It lies in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Very high-grade hematites are found in the famous Bailadila range of hills in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh. It has the best physical properties needed for steel making.
• Ballari-Chitradurga-ChikkamagaluruTumakuru belt in Karnataka has large reserves of iron ore. Kudremukh deposits are known to be one of the largest in the world.
• Maharashtra-Goa belt includes the state of Goa and Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra.

Manganese

Uses of Manganese ore are:

• It is used in the manufacturing of steel and ferromanganese alloys.
• To manufacture bleaching powder.
• To manufacture insecticides.
• To manufacture paints.

Non-Ferrous Minerals

Copper

• Being malleable, ductile, and a good conductor, copper is mainly used in electrical cables, electronics, and chemical industries.
• The Balaghat mines in Madhya Pradesh, the Khetri mines in Rajasthan, and the Singhbhum district of Jharkhand are leading producers of copper.

Bauxite

Formation: Bauxite deposits are formed by the decomposition of a wide variety of rocks rich in aluminium silicates.

Uses:

• Bauxite is a clay-like substance from which alumina and later aluminium are obtained.
• Aluminium is an important metal because it combines the strength of metals such as iron with extreme lightness and also with good conductivity and great malleability.

Distribution:

• Bauxite is found in the Amarkantak Plateau, Maikal Hills, and the plateau region of Bilaspur-Katni.
• Odisha is the largest bauxite-producing state in India.

Non-Metallic Minerals

Mica

Mica is a mineral made up of a series of plates or leaves. It splits easily into thin sheets.

Mica is considered the most important mineral in electrical and electronic industries because:

• Excellent dielectric strength
• Low power loss factor
• Insulating properties
• Resistance to high voltage.

Rock Minerals

Limestone

• It is found in association with rocks composed of calcium carbonates or calcium and magnesium carbonates.
• It is found in sedimentary rocks of most geological formations.
• Limestone is the basic raw material for the cement industry and is essential for smelting iron ore in the blast furnace.

Hazards of Mining

Problems for miners:

• The miners have to work under tough conditions where no natural light is available.
• There is always a risk of collapse of the mine roof, inundation with water, and fire.
• Miners are at great risk of getting afflicted with pulmonary disorders.

Environmental Damage:

• The water sources in the region get contaminated due to mining.
• Dumping of waste and slurry leads to the degradation of land, and soil, and an increase in stream and river pollution.

Conservation of Minerals

We need to conserve minerals because:

• The strong dependence of industry and agriculture upon mineral deposits and the substances manufactured from them.
• The geological processes of mineral formation are very slow.
• Mineral resources are finite and non-renewable.
• Continued extraction of ores leads to increasing costs as mineral extraction comes from greater depths along with a decrease in quality.

Ways to conserve minerals:

• A concerted effort has to be made in order to use mineral resources in a planned and sustainable manner.
• Improved technologies need to be constantly evolved to allow the use of low-grade ores at low costs.
• Recycling of metals, using scrap metals and other substitutes.

Energy Resources

Conventional source of energy	Non-conventional source of energy
1. These are the traditional sources of energy produced from coal, petroleum, and natural gas.	1. These are the sources of energy developed recently from the sun, wind, tide, etc.
2. They are non-renewable.	2. They are renewable.
3. Their generation is expensive.	3. Their generation is cheaper.
4. They pollute the atmosphere on a large scale.	4. They are pollution-free/less pollution sources.
5. Example: coal, petroleum, natural gas, etc.	5. Example: Solar energy, wind energy, tidal power, etc.

• Firewood and cattle dung cake are most common in rural India. More than 70% energy requirement of rural households is met by these two.
• Continual use of firewood is increasingly becoming difficult due to decreasing forest area. Using dung cake is discouraged because it consumes the most valuable manure which could be used in agriculture.

Conventional Sources of Energy

Coal

The most abundantly available fossil fuel in India is coal.

Forms of Coal:

• Peat: It has low carbon and high moisture content and low heating capacity.
• Lignite: It is low-grade brown coal that is soft with high moisture content. It is used for generating electricity.
• Bituminous: It is the most popular coal for commercial use. It has a special value for smelting iron in blast furnaces.
• Anthracite: It is the highest quality hard coal.

Petroleum

Importance of petroleum:

• It provides fuel for heat and lighting
• It provides lubricants for machinery
• It provides raw materials for a number of manufacturing industries.
• Petroleum refineries act as a ‘nodal industry’ for synthetic textile, fertilizer, and numerous chemical industries.

Occurrence of petroleum:

• Most of the petroleum occurrences in India are associated with anticlines and fault traps in the rock formations of the tertiary age.
• In regions of folding, anticline, or domes, it occurs where oil is trapped in the crest of the upfold.
• Petroleum is also found in fault traps between porous and non-porous rocks.

Natural Gas

Natural Gas is found in petroleum deposits and is released when crude oil is brought to the surface.

Electricity

Two main ways of generating electricity:

• Hydroelectricity
• Thermal electricity.

Thermal Electricity	Hydro Electricity
1. It is obtained by using coal, petroleum, and natural gas.	1. It is produced from water.
2. It is a non-renewable resource.	2. It is renewable.
3. It causes pollution.	3. It does not cause pollution.
4. It is expensive in the long run.	4. It is cheaper in the long run.

Non-Conventional Sources of Energy

Nuclear or Atomic Energy

Uranium and Thorium are used to obtain nuclear energy.

Nuclear energy is obtained by altering the structure of atoms. When such an alteration is made, much energy is released in the form of heat and this is used to generate electric power.

Solar Energy

Solar energy can solve the energy problems to some extent in India:

• India is a tropical country therefore it receives sunlight in abundance throughout the year.
• Solar plants can be easily established in rural and remote areas.
• It will minimize the dependence of rural households on firewood and dung cakes which in turn will contribute to environmental conservation and adequate quantity of manure.

Ways to improve usage of solar energy:

1. Reducing the cost of solar panels.
2. Use of efficient solar panel models.
3. Creating awareness about the importance of renewable energy.
4. Easy installation process.
5. Avoid installing solar panels in shaded areas.

Wind Power

India has great potential for wind power. The largest wind farm cluster is located in Tamil Nadu from Nagarcoil to Madurai.

Nagarcoil and Jaisalmer are well known for the effective use of wind energy in the country.

Biogas

• Shrubs, farm waste, animal and human waste are used to produce biogas for domestic consumption in rural areas.
• High thermal efficiency in comparison to kerosene, dung cake, and charcoal.
• It burns without smoke, causing no pollution.
• The plants using cattle dung are known as ‘Gobar gas plants’ in rural India.
• These provide twin benefits to the farmer in the form of energy and improved quality of manure.
• Biogas is by far the most efficient use of cattle dung.
  • Provision of energy
  • Improved quality of manure.

Tidal Energy

Floodgate dams are built across inlets. The water flows into the inlet during high tide and gets trapped when the gate is closed. Once the tide recedes, the gates are opened so that water can flow back to the sea/ocean. The flow of water is used to run the turbine to generate electricity.

Geo-Thermal Energy

Geothermal energy refers to the heat and electricity produced by using the heat from the interior of the Earth. Geothermal energy exists because the Earth grows progressively hotter with increasing depth.

Two experimental projects have been set up in India to harness geothermal energy:

• One is located in the Parvati valley near Manikarn in Himachal Pradesh.
• The other is located in the Puga Valley, Ladakh.

Conservation of Energy Resources

Ways to conserve energy resources are:

• We have to adopt a cautious approach to the judicious use of our limited energy resources.
• Using public transport systems instead of individual vehicles.
• Switching off electricity when not in use.
• Using power-saving devices
• Using non-conventional sources of energy.

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