Bauxite, Lead & Zinc, Tungsten & Pyrites Distribution across India and World

Distribution of Key Natural Resources across India and World. Bauxite | Lead & Zinc – Galena | Tungsten – Wolfram | Pyrites Distribution in India & World.

Bauxite

  • 80 % of bauxite [ore of aluminium] ore is used for making aluminium.
  • Found mainly as hydrated aluminium oxides.
  • Total resources == 3,480 million tonnes == 84 per cent resource are of metallurgical grade

Bauxite Distribution in India

  • Odisha alone accounts for 52 per cent
  • Andhra Pradesh 18 per cent
  • Gujarat 7 per cent
  • Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra 5 per cent each
  • Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand 4 per cent.
  • Major bauxite resources are in the east coast in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
  • India manages to export small quantities of bauxite.
  • Major importers are Italy (60%), U.K. (25%), Germany (9%) and Japan (4%).

Bauxite Distribution in India - Bauxite in India

Odisha

  • Largest bauxite producing state.
  • One-third of the total production of India.
  • Kalahandi and Koraput districts.
  • Extends further into Andhra Pradesh
  • The main deposits occur in Kalahandi, Koraput, Sundargarh, Bolangir and Sambalpur districts.

Chhattisgarh

  • Second largest producer.
  • Maikala range in Bilaspur, Durg districts and the Amarkantak plateau regions of Surguja, Raigarh and Bilaspur are some of the areas having rich deposits of bauxite.

Maharashtra

  • Third largest producer.
  • Largest deposits occur in Kolhapur district.
  • Kolhapur district contain rich deposits with alumina content 52 to 89 per cent.
  • Other districts: Thane, Ratnagiri, Satara and Pune.

Jharkhand

  • Ranchi, Lohardaga, Palamu and Gumla districts.
  • High grade ore occurs in Lohardaga.

Gujarat

  • Jamnagar, Junagadh, Kheda, Kachchh, Sabarkantha, Amreli and Bhavnagar.
  • The most important deposits occur in a belt lying between the Gulf of Kachchh and the Arabian sea through Bhavnagar, Junagadh and Amreli districts.
  • Amarkantak plateau area, the Maikala range in Shandol, Mandla and Balaghat districts and the Kotni area of Jabalpur district are the main producers.

Bauxite Distribution – World

Bauxite Distribution – World BauxiteProduction World

  • Australia (31.34%),
  • China (18.41%),
  • Brazil (13.93%),
  • Guinea (8.36%), etc.

Lead

  • Malleable [can be hammered into thin sheets], soft, heavy and bad conductor.
  • Lead is a constituent in bronze alloy and is used as an anti-friction metal.
  • Lead oxide is used in cable covers, ammunition, paints, glass making and rubber industry.
  • It is also made into sheets, tubes and pipes which are used as sanitary fittings.
  • It is now increasingly used in automobiles, aeroplanes, and calculating machines.
  • Lead nitrate is used in dyeing and printing.
  • Lead does not occur free in nature. It occurs as a cubic sulphide known as GALENA.
  • Galena is found in veins in limestones, calcareous slates and sandstones.

Zinc

  • Zinc is a mixed ore containing lead & zinc.
  • Zinc is found in veins in association with galena, chalcopyrites, iron pyrites and other sulphide ores.
  • It is mainly used for alloying and for manufacturing galvanized sheets.
  • It is also used for dry batteries, electrodes, textiles, die-casting, rubber industry and for making collapsible tubes containing drugs, pastes and the like.

Distribution of Lead and Zinc ores – India and World

  • Rajasthan is endowed with the largest resources of lead-zinc ore (88.61 per cent),
  • Andhra Pradesh (3.31 per cent),
  • Madhya Pradesh (2.16 per cent),
  • Bihar (1.67 per cent)
  • Maharashtra 9 (1.35 per cent).
  • Almost the entire production comes from Rajasthan.

Distribution of Lead and Zinc ores - India and World

Tungsten

  • Ore of Tungsten is called
  • Most important property is that of self-hardening which it imparts to steel.
  • Over 95 per cent of the worlfram is used by the steel industry.
  • Steel containing the requisite proportion of tungsten is mainly used in manufacturing amunitions, armour plates, heavy guns, hard cutting tools, etc.
  • Tungsten is easily alloyed with chromium, nickel, molybdenum, titanium, etc. to yield a number of hard facing, heat and corrosion resistant alloys.
  • It is also used for various other purposes such as electric bulb filaments, paints, ceramics, textiles, etc.

Distribution of Wolfram

  • Karnataka (42 per cent)
  • Rajasthan (27 per cent)
  • Andhra Pradesh (17 per cent)
  • Maharashtra (9 per cent)
  • Remaining 5 per cent resources are in Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and West Bengal
  • Domestic requirements are met by imports.

Pyrites

  • Pyrite is a sulphide of iron.
  • Chief source of sulphur.
  • High proportion of sulphur is injurious to iron. Hence is it removed and used to produce sulphur.
  • Sulphur is very useful for making sulphuric acid which in turn is used in several industries such as fertilizer, chemicals, rayon, petroleum, steel, etc.
  • Elemental sulphur is useful for manufacturing explosives, matches, insecticides, fungicides and for vulcanizing rubber
  • Pyrites occur in Son Valley in Bihar, in Chitradurga and Uttar Kannada districts of Karnataka and the pyritous coal and shale of Assam coalfields.
  • It is widely distributed and scattered across the country.

Primary References: NCERT Geography, Indian Geography by Kullar [Amazon and Flipkart], Wikipedia, Geology.com

Sharing is Caring !!

Newsletter Updates

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss an important update!

Assured Discounts on our New Products!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Year(s) = Validity of the Downloads

1 Year Validity == Validity of the Download links (both Static & Current Affairs) is 1 Year from the date of purchase.

2 Years Validity == Validity of the Download links (both Static & Current Affairs) is 2 Years from the date of purchase.

We strongly recommend a 2 Year Plan as the UPSC Cycle lasts for close to 2 Years.

For example,

If you purchase the notes with “Download Validity == 1 Year,” on 07/06/2023, then you will be able to download the Static Files + Current Affairs files till 07/06/2024.

If you purchase the notes with “Download Validity == 2 Years,” on 07/06/2023, then you will be able to download the Static Files + Current Affairs files till 08/06/2025.

If we bring out the Updated (New) Editions of the Static Files within your membership period, you will be able to download them without paying anything extra.

Irrespective of the package you choose, Current Affairs of Geography, Environment, Sci & Tech and Indian Agriculture are available from Jan 2022.

Current Affairs of 2021 & earlier are available for free on PMF IAS Google Drive Folder.

Once the payment is made, you need to log in to the Downloads Page to download the files (check your email for the login details).

Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss an important update!