Minerals and Energy Resources Class 10: Notes and Questions

Minerals and Energy Resources is chapter 5 of the Class 10 Geography book, Contemporary India-II. It explains what minerals are, how they occur, where India's main minerals are found, why they must be conserved, and how India meets its energy needs from conventional and non-conventional sources.

CBSE 2026-27: the whole chapter is in the board exam, inside the Geography section worth "17+3 map pointing" marks (chapters 1 to 7; Lifelines of National Economy is tested only through map pointing). This chapter has the longest map list, given in the table near the end of this guide. Our CBSE Class 10 syllabus 2026-27 guide has the full marks split.

What is a mineral?

Geologists define a mineral as a homogeneous, naturally occurring substance with a definable internal structure. Their colour, hardness, crystal form, lustre and density depend on the physical and chemical conditions in which they form.

Minerals are part of daily life: toothpaste alone uses silica, limestone, fluoride, titanium oxide and mica. They make up only about 0.3% of our nutrient intake, yet help us use the other 99.7% of our food.

How minerals occur

Minerals are usually found in ores: accumulations of a mineral mixed with other elements.

Ferrous minerals

Ferrous minerals account for about three-fourths of the value of metallic mineral production.

• Magnetite is the finest iron ore, with up to 70% iron and excellent magnetic qualities useful in the electrical industry.
• Hematite is the most important industrial ore by quantity used, with 50–60% iron.
• In 2018–19, about 97% of iron ore came from Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Jharkhand.

Manganese is used to make steel and ferro-manganese alloy; about 10 kg is needed for one tonne of steel. It is also used in bleaching powder, insecticides and paints.

Non-ferrous and non-metallic minerals

• Copper: India's reserves and production are low. Copper is malleable, ductile and a good conductor, so it is used in electrical cables and electronics. Leading mines: Balaghat (Madhya Pradesh), Khetri (Rajasthan) and Singhbhum (Jharkhand).
• Bauxite: the clay-like ore from which alumina and then aluminium are obtained. Deposits occur in the Amarkantak plateau, Maikal hills and the Bilaspur-Katni plateau. Odisha was the largest producer in 2018–19; the Panchpatmali deposits in Koraput are the most important.
• Mica: made of thin plates that split easily. Its di-electric strength, low power loss, insulating properties and resistance to high voltage make it vital in electronics. The Koderma-Gaya-Hazaribagh belt of Jharkhand leads.
• Limestone: made of calcium carbonates; the basic raw material for cement and essential for smelting iron ore in blast furnaces.

Hazards of mining: dust and fumes cause pulmonary diseases, roofs can collapse, and coal mines can flood or catch fire. Water gets contaminated, and waste and slurry degrade land.

Conservation of minerals

Workable mineral deposits are only about one per cent of the earth's crust. They form over millions of years, so they are finite and non-renewable. As we dig deeper, costs rise and quality falls. To conserve minerals we should use improved technology for low-grade ores, recycle metals, use scrap metal and find substitutes.

Conventional energy: coal, petroleum and gas

Coal is India's most abundant fossil fuel.

Gondwana coal (a little over 200 million years old) is found in the Damodar valley, with Jharia, Raniganj and Bokaro the key coalfields. Tertiary coal (about 55 million years old) is found in Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. Coal is bulky and turns to ash, so heavy industries and thermal power stations are built on or near coalfields.

Petroleum is the next major energy source; refineries are a "nodal industry" for synthetic textiles, fertilisers and chemicals. Oil occurs in anticlines and fault traps in tertiary rocks. Mumbai High, Gujarat (Ankleshwar is the most important field) and Assam are the main producers. Assam is the oldest oil-producing state, with Digboi, Naharkatiya and Moran-Hugrijan.

Natural gas is found with petroleum and used in power plants, fertilisers and petrochemicals, and as CNG and PNG. Reserves are in Mumbai High, the Cambay basin and the Krishna-Godavari basin. The 1,700 km Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur (HVJ) pipeline, built by GAIL, linked Mumbai High and Bassein with fertiliser, power and industrial complexes in western and northern India.

Electricity and non-conventional energy

Per capita electricity consumption is an index of development. Hydroelectricity uses fast-flowing water, a renewable resource (Bhakra Nangal, Damodar Valley Corporation, Kopili). Thermal electricity burns coal, petroleum or gas, which are non-renewable.

Rising prices, possible shortages and pollution make non-conventional sources important:

• Nuclear: energy from altering the structure of atoms. Uranium and thorium come from Jharkhand and the Aravalli ranges of Rajasthan; the monazite sands of Kerala are rich in thorium.
• Solar: photovoltaic technology turns sunlight into electricity, reducing rural use of firewood and dung cakes.
• Wind: the largest wind farm cluster runs from Nagarcoil to Madurai in Tamil Nadu; Nagarcoil and Jaisalmer are known for using wind energy well.
• Biogas: from farm, animal and human waste; "gobar gas" plants give energy and better manure.
• Tidal: floodgate dams trap high-tide water and release it through turbines. The Gulf of Khambhat, the Gulf of Kuchchh and the Gangetic delta in the Sunderbans suit it.
• Geothermal: experimental projects in the Parvati valley near Manikaran (Himachal Pradesh) and the Puga Valley (Ladakh).

Conservation matters too: use public transport, switch off unused lights and use power-saving devices. "Energy saved is energy produced."

Remember this

• Magnetite: finest iron ore (up to 70% iron); hematite: most used (50–60%).
• Bauxite forms by decomposition of surface rocks; Odisha led in 2018–19.
• Koderma-Gaya-Hazaribagh (Jharkhand) leads in mica.
• Assam is the oldest oil-producing state; Ankleshwar is Gujarat's most important field.
• Gondwana coal: Damodar valley; tertiary coal: north-east.

Map work list (CBSE 2026-27)

Important questions with answers

1. Which is the finest iron ore? (1 mark) Magnetite, with up to 70% iron.

2. Which is the oldest oil-producing state in India? (1 mark) Assam.

3. Distinguish between veins and lodes and placer deposits. (3 marks) Veins and lodes form in cracks of igneous and metamorphic rocks when molten minerals rise and solidify; small ones are veins, larger ones lodes. Placer deposits are alluvial deposits in valley sands and at the base of hills, containing minerals such as gold that water does not corrode.

4. Why is mica important for the electronics industry? (3 marks) Mica has excellent di-electric strength, a low power loss factor, good insulating properties and resistance to high voltage.

5. Why are thermal power stations located near coalfields? (1 mark) Coal is bulky and loses weight as it turns to ash, so moving it far is costly.

6. Why should we conserve minerals? Suggest ways. (5 marks) Workable deposits are only about one per cent of the earth's crust and take millions of years to form, so they are non-renewable. Costs rise and quality falls as mining goes deeper. We can use better technology for low-grade ores, recycle metals, use scrap metal and find substitutes.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Saying hematite has more iron than magnetite. Magnetite has more; hematite is used in larger quantity.
• Calling bauxite a mineral formed in veins. It forms by decomposition of surface rocks.
• Putting Bilaspur-Katni under copper. It is a bauxite area.
• Calling nuclear energy renewable. The chapter lists it under non-conventional sources, but uranium and thorium are finite minerals.

To revise the minerals map and practise these answers, study this chapter with Joy.