India mining industry covers exploration of new minerals and mines, production of mineral resources from various mines in india, processing of the mineral ores like iron ore, bauxite ore, manganese ore etc. to obtain the more useful forms like iron, steel, Aluminium, manganese, etc., extraction of coal, gold, diamond etc. and economic matters of the india industry of mineral ore mining, the governmental mining policy, regulatory acts and laws, mining infrastructure of india, small-scale and mass mining projects, impact of mining jobs on the environment and other community issues.
The mining industry in India includes both metallurgical and mineral mining industries in India and together they form the backbone of the industrial development of India as they provide the basic raw materials like coal, petrol, mining minerals, steel, copper, Aluminium metals etc. to the India manufacturers.
Mining in India is over 6000 years old. The oldest mines in India include lead-zinc mineral deposits at Zawar, copper deposits at Khetri, and gold deposits in Karnataka. The mining techniques used back then were much ahead of their time specially the smelting techniques. A timeless example of the mastery of the old times craftsmen is the Iron Pillar in the Qutab Minar complex in New Delhi.
Mining Products Locations in India:
India mining products include a total of 84 minerals consisting of 4 fuels, 49 non-metallic industrial minerals, 11 metallic minerals, and 20 minor minerals. These mined products include: Aluminium, coal, cobalt, copper, chromium, diamond, gold, iron ore, lead, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, oil sands, palladium, platinum, silver, tantalum, tin, titanium, tungsten, uranium, vanadium, zinc, etc.
- Petroleum: Bombay High Field, Gujarat and Assam
- Coal: Tamil Nadu, Chhatisgarh, Maharashtra, Orissa, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh
- Iron Ore: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan etc.
- Diamonds: Panna Mines in Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa
- Gold & silver: Kolar fields in Karnataka, Dona block in Andhra Pradesh, Bansawar district Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
- Bauxite: Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Bihar
- Chromite: Byrapur, Karnataka, Boula, Kathpal, and Orissa
- Copper Ore: Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Sikkim
- Granite: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh etc.
- Lead and Zinc Ore: Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh
- Manganese Ore: Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, West Bengal and Karnataka
Mining Companies in India:
- NCDC – National Coal Development Corporation of India
- NMDC – National Mineral Development Corporation of India
- BALCO – Bharat Aluminium Company
- PPCL – Pyrites, Phosphates and Chemicals Ltd.
- HZL – Hindustan Zinc Ltd.
- NLCL – Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited
- HCL – Hindustan Copper Ltd.
- BGML – Bharat Gold Mines ltd.
- SAIL – Steel Authority of India Limited (formerly it was Hindustan Steel Ltd.)
Role of India Government:
The government of India has different ministries for coal & mines, iron & steel, chemicals & fertilizers industry, atomic energy, petroleum &natural gas, environment & forests and labor industry. The survey and exploration of all minerals except petroleum, natural gas & atomic minerals. The mining industry is the responsibility of the ministry of mines (MoM) India. They device the mining policy and strategy for non-ferrous metals (Aluminium, Copper, Zinc, Gold, Nickel etc.) mining jobs.
The sub-ordinate organizations of the ministry of mines include:
- Geological Survey of India (GSI): It conducts scientific surveys and research to locate mineral resources. GSI makes all the mining maps in India and also provides mines and mineral resources maps based on the research they do.
- Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM): IBM is responsible for compilation of the mining exploration data and mineral maps for providing complete info on the new mines and fields in India. All the statistical information on mining industry in India – the mines, minerals, metals and the mineral based industries are available with the Indian Bureau of Mines.
India’s contribution in the mineral production in world:
- India is leading producer of mica blocks and mica splitting
- Third largest Chromite producer in the world
- Third in production of coal, lignite and barites
- Fourth largest iron ore producer
- Sixth largest bauxite and manganese ore producer
- Tenth position in Aluminium
- Eleventh position in crude steel production in the world