Mineral And Power Resources

Minerals are backbone of human civilization. Minerals are used for various things that human beings use in their day to day lives:

a. Manganese: Manganese is used in manufacture of ferrous alloys that are very strong and is used in machinery equipments.

b. Mica: Mica is base component of electrical industry.

c. Aluminum: It is used in automobiles and airplanes, bottling industry and even in kitchen cookware.

d. Silicon: It is used in computer and hardware manufacture.

e. Gold: It used in making jewellery and ornaments.

All of us must use energy judiciously which can be done in the following ways:

i. Switch off tube light, bulbs, CFLs etc. when not in use.

ii. Don’t leave the tap open while brushing your teeth to save water.

iii. The electric appliance should be used as per instructions and should be maintained properly.

iv. Switch to conventional sources of energy like solar energy rather than the non-conventional sources of energy.

v. Cook most of the food items in pressure cookers rather than in open pans and soak lentils and beans before cooking them to reduce cooking time.

As non-renewable sources of energy are fast depleting, we must bring into use renewable sources of energy which are easily available as per the topography of the area.

a. Rural areas: Rural areas would have resources like Biogas, firewood in abundance. So it can be used as a source of energy.

b. Coastal areas: Coastal areas experience fast winds, so Wind energy can be used as a source of energy.

c. Arid regions: Arid regions have high temperature and ample of sunlight. Solar energy would be a suitable source of energy.

Rocks from which minerals are mined are known as ores. It is a naturally occurring solid material from which a metal or valuable mineral can be extracted profitably. The ores of metallic minerals are generally located in igneous and metamorphic rocks.

Note:
Sedimentary rock formations of plains and young fold mountains contain non-metallic minerals like limestone.

Common minerals used by us every day are iron, copper and gold.

Natural gas is found in hydrocarbon reservoirs or underground rock formations. The regions rich in natural gas resources in India are Jaisalmer and Krishna, Godavari basin.

Minerals are non renewable sources of energy. Mineral reserves are limited in nature as they take million of years to form.

Mica is found in igneous and metamorphic rocks which are not found in Karnataka.

Chile produces about 5,750,000 tonnes of copper in a year.

Cooking food in an open pan on low flame will lead to higher consumption of LPG.

Petroleum is called black gold because when crude oil is extracted from the land it is black in color and it is a very valuable fossil fuel. Petroleum is used for running machinery, transport vehicles, airplanes, etc. It is also used to produce a variety of products like diesel, kerosene, wax, lubricants, etc. Petroleum is a non renewable source of energy and its reserves are limited. Thus, petroleum is a very precious natural resource in the absence of which the human economic growth will suffer a huge loss.

Dams have huge human and environmental costs.

a. Dams results in large scale displacement. Large areas get submerged and inhabitants have to move elsewhere.

b. Large scale dams disturb the balance of earth beneath which makes the area more earthquake and flood prone.

Thus environmental aspects must be carefully looked into before building huge dams.

Many coal based industries are established in the vicinity of coal mines. This is because coal ores are very heavy and its transportation from one place to another is expensive. Thus, to save the cost of production, industries are set up nearby.

Quarrying depletes the mineral and organic content of soil and leaves the land barren. It also makes land more vulnerable. It leads to increased soil erosion and land degradation.

Do yourself and take the help of your subject teacher.

Do it yourself with the help of your subject teacher.

Do yourself and take the help of your subject teacher.