Economic mineral resources and development

Minerals are inorganic substances formed by natural processes and have a defined chemical composition and atomic structure. They are extracted by open pit methods or by underground mining activities. There are two types of minerals such as rock-forming minerals and cheap minerals. Inexpensive minerals are used to make various industrial goods. For example, iron ore, hematite is useful for extracting iron and steel from it, similarly, chalcopyrite is one of the ores for extracting copper. Some countries are exclusively dependent on mining activities due to the presence of large amounts of minerals. While other countries like Japan depend on other countries to meet domestic demand.

Atomic minerals, bauxite, building stones, copper, clay, coal, diamond, emerald, fluorite, gypsum, gold, graphite, halite, heamatite, ilmenite, jasper, limestone, magnetite, mica, monozite, manganese, ochre, phosphorus, quartz , rutile, sulfur, uraninite, zircon, etc. They are some of the most useful inexpensive minerals found in the earth’s crust.

Contribution of minerals in economic development:

Atomic ores are used to produce atomic power, and bauxite is an important aluminum ore that is useful for building airplanes and various other more useful household products. Marble and granite are quarried and polished for use as building stones. Ceramic products are made from clay minerals such as kaolin. Thermal energy is produced from coal resources. Diamond and gold are precious stones. Due to its limited availability and high demand, its cost in the markets is very high. Although gold deposits are in India, it imports substantial amounts from other countries to fill the gap between demand and supply. This is one of the reasons for a very high current account deficit in the Indian economy. Graphite is useful for making crucibles. Limestone is one of the main ingredients or raw materials to produce cement. The glass is made of quartz.

Therefore, mineral resources contribute to the economic development of the nations of the world by generating employment, improving foreign exchange resources, satisfying the internal demand for metals, non-metals and other raw materials required for economic development. For example, the main contributor to the economic development of the Gulf countries are petroleum products. Similarly, Japan is dependent on India for its iron ore needs.

Countries exploring for cheap minerals have been taking various effective measures to protect the environment.