resources

India is richly endowed with minerals. Principal minerals found in the country along with their estimated reserves are given below.

Coal is India’s largest mineral resource. India is the fifth largest producer of coal in the world. Vast deposits of coal occur in West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland. Total known reserves of all types of coals in Gondwana and tertiary coal fields estimated stand at 196.89 billion tonnes.

The total recoverable reserves of bauxite in the country are placed at 2.525 million tonnes. Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Bihar are the principal states where bauxite deposits are located.

The total recoverable reserves of copper ore in the country are 431.04 million tonnes. Major and important copper ore deposits are located in Singhbhum district (Bihar), Balaghat (Madhya Pradesh) and Jhunjhunu and Alwar (Rajasthan).

There are three important gold fields in the country namely; Kolar Goldfield, Kolar district, Hutti Gold Fields in Raichur district (both in Karnataka) and Ramgiri Golf field in Anantapur district (Andhra Pradesh).

The total recoverable reserves of iron ore in the country are about 9.606 million tonnes of hematite and 3.143 million tonnes of magnetite. Hematite resources are located in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and Rajasthan. Magnetite resources are located in Andhra Pradesh , Bihar, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala.

Lead-zinc resources are located in Rajasthan, Gujarat, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, Orissa, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

The total estimated resources of nicked are is 183.5 million tonnes located in Orissa Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Goa .The total recoverable reserves of tungsten ore have been estimated at 39.65 million tonnes. The main reserves are at Degana ( Rajasthan).

The recoverable reserves of barytes are 70.15 million tonnes. The Managampet deposit occurring in Guddapah district (Andhra Pradesh) is the single largest deposit in the world containing 67 million tonnes of recoverable reserves.

The main diamond bearing area in India is the Panna belt in Madhya Pradesh.

Dolomite occurrences are widespread in almost all parts of the country. Of the total all India recoverable reserves, the major share of about 92 per cent reserves is distributed in seven states – Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Gujarat, Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

The recoverable reserves of gypsum are estimated at 239 million tonnes. The production of gypsum is confined to Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat.

The recoverable reserves of graphite are 3.11 million tonnes. Orissa is the major producer of graphite.

India is the world’s leading producer of sheet mica and accounts for about 60 per cent of global mica trade.

Mineral Exploration and Development

A number of organizations are engaged in exploration and development of mineral resources in India. These include Geological Survey of India (GSI). Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) and a number of public sector undertakings under the administrative control of the Ministry of Mines.