Mineral Belts of India

India is one of the richest countries in mineral resources in the world. But the distribution of minerals is not even in the country. The internal structure of land of India is a product of ancient rock formation. Most of the minerals are found in the hard rock areas especially in Gondwana rocks. Most of the minerals are mainly confined in the peninsular region. The northern plains and mountains region almost lack the availability of minerals.
Mineral resources are not only found on the land region but also found in the Oceans adjoining to it. Most of the metallic minerals occur in peninsular part in old crystalline rocks. Petroleum reserves occur in the sedimentary basins of Assam, Gujarat and Mumbai high (off shore region in the Arabian Sea).

States with larger potential of mineral resources mainly include- Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. On contrary the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, Uttarakhand and riverine plains of West Bengal and parts of Northeastern India are deficit in mineral resources.

As earlier stated, India is rich in mineral resources. Minerals can be divided in 2 categories on the basis of their chemical and physical composition namely Metallic and Non-metallic minerals. Major mineral resources in India are Metallic (Iron, Gold, Copper) and Non Metallic (Salt, Limestone, Bauxite, Mica and Manganese).

There are a number of minerals located in India apart from abovementioned minerals like Garnet, China Clay, Antimony, Chromite, Lead, Lignite, Nickel, Natural gas, Tin, Tungsten, Asbestos, Corundum, Dolomite, Feldspar, Fire Clay, Fluorite, Graphite, Gypsum, Kyanite, Magnetite, Marble, Pyrites, Sulphur, Quartz, and Silica Sand

Classification of Mineral belts in India-

1. North Eastern belt: North eastern belts stretch over the northeastern part of the peninsula. It consist mineral rich Chota Nagpur and Orrisa plateau in 3 states i.e. Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal. This belt is the richest mineral belt in India and it is also known as Iron and steel belt of India. Many mineral are found in this belt- Coal, Iron ore, Manganese, Mica, Limestone, Bauxite, Copper and China clay.

2. CENTRAL BELT: The central belt consists of states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra. This belt contains of Bauxite, Manganese, Limestone, Marble, Uranium, Coal, Gems and Mica. This is the second largest Mineral belt of the country.

3. SOUTHERN BELT: Plateaus of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are important for gold production. The region also has other minerals such as iron ore, chromite, Bauxite, limestone, etc. with low diversity.

4. SOUTH WESTERN BELT: The states of Goa, Karnataka and Northern parts of Kerala. Minerals found in this area are Iron ore, Garnet and clay

5. NORTH WESTERN BELT: Rajasthan and Gujarat consists of non-ferrous minerals uranium, lead, zinc, mica, salt, natural gas, petroleum. The deposited mineral in the region are too scattered.

6. The Indian Ocean- Indian Ocean is also a good source of minerals. Besides the avail¬ability of petroleum and natural gas in the off shore areas along the western and the eastern coasts the seabed contains many minerals like nodules of manganese and phosphorite.

By: Anubhav Puri