Mineral Resource Distribution in India

A mineral is a natural substance with a fixed inner structure. Rocks are made of minerals. Some rocks, like limestone, hold just one mineral. Most rocks hold several.

What is an ore?

Minerals are usually found in ores. An ore is a mix of a mineral with other elements. It is worth mining only when the mineral is rich enough to make a profit.

How are minerals grouped?

Minerals fall into a few simple groups.

• Metallic, ferrous: Iron ore and manganese. They feed the iron and steel industry.
• Metallic, non-ferrous: Copper, bauxite, lead, zinc and gold. They contain no iron.
• Non-metallic: Mica and limestone.
• Energy minerals: Coal, petroleum, natural gas, uranium and thorium.

Ferrous minerals make up about three-fourths of the value of metallic mineral output.

Where in India are minerals found?

The old rocks of the peninsula hold most of the coal, metal ores and mica. The wide river plains of the north have almost no useful minerals. Sedimentary rocks in Gujarat and Assam hold most of the oil.

How are minerals taken out?

Shallow minerals come out of open pits and quarries. Deep minerals need underground mines with shafts. Oil and gas come out through wells.

In Meghalaya, some coal is dug by family members through long, narrow tunnels. This is called rat-hole mining. The National Green Tribunal has declared it illegal.

What is a placer deposit?

Some minerals wash down into the sands of valley floors. These are placer deposits. They hold minerals that water does not wear away. Gold, silver, tin and platinum are the most important ones.

Coal is India’s main energy mineral. India’s total coal resource was about 400,715 million tonnes (Mt) as on 1 April 2025.

Which states hold the most coal?

Three eastern states lead. As on 1 April 2025, Odisha had 100,975.78 Mt. Jharkhand had 93,254.06 Mt. Chhattisgarh had 85,263.22 Mt. West Bengal came fourth, with 34,386.09 Mt.

What are Gondwana and Tertiary coals?

India’s coal comes from two rock ages. Gondwana coal is a little over 200 million years old. Tertiary coal is only about 55 million years old.

Gondwana coal is by far the larger store. It made up 399,020.80 Mt as on 1 April 2025. Tertiary coal made up just 1,694.65 Mt.

Where are the main coalfields?

Most Gondwana coal lies in the Damodar valley, across West Bengal and Jharkhand. Jharia, Raniganj and Bokaro are its key coalfields. The Godavari, Mahanadi, Son and Wardha valleys also hold coal. Tertiary coal occurs in Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

India has two main kinds of iron ore. They are haematite and magnetite. Each sits in a different part of the country.

How do haematite and magnetite differ?

Magnetite is the finest iron ore. It holds up to 70% iron. Haematite holds a little less, about 50 to 60% iron. But haematite is the ore India uses most.

How much of each does India have?

As on 1 April 2020, haematite resources stood at 24,057 Mt. Only 6,209 Mt of this, or 25.80%, counted as reserves. Magnetite resources stood at 11,227 Mt. Only 202 Mt of that counted as reserves.

Which states hold the haematite?

About 79% of haematite lies in the eastern states. Odisha holds 39%. Jharkhand holds 20% and Chhattisgarh 19%. Karnataka holds 12% and Goa 5%.

Which states hold the magnetite?

About 93% of magnetite lies in the south. Karnataka alone holds 69.50%. Andhra Pradesh follows with 13.10%, then Rajasthan with 7.10%.

Which iron ore belts should you know?

• Odisha-Jharkhand belt: Badampahar mines in Odisha, and Gua and Noamundi in Jharkhand.
• Durg-Bastar-Chandrapur belt: The Bailadila hills in Chhattisgarh hold 14 deposits of very high-grade haematite.
• Ballari-Chitradurga-Chikkamagaluru-Tumakuru belt: Kudremukh in Karnataka is a 100% export unit. Its name means “horse face” in Kannada.
• Maharashtra-Goa belt: Ore from Goa leaves through Marmagao port.

How much iron ore does India mine?

India mined 253.97 Mt of iron ore in 2021-22. That was about 23.86% more than the year before. In 2018-19, about 97% of output came from Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Jharkhand. Iron ore is also the most valuable metal ore. Its output was worth about Rs 93,892 crore in 2024-25.

Odisha leads all three in resources. But the leader in output is not always the same. Exams test this gap often.

Who leads bauxite?

Bauxite is the ore of aluminium. As on 1 April 2020, India had 4,958 Mt of bauxite. Odisha held 41% of it. Chhattisgarh held 20%, Andhra Pradesh 12% and Gujarat 8%.

Odisha also mines the most bauxite. It made about 73% of India’s output in 2021-22. The Panchpatmali deposits in Koraput district are the state’s most important.

Why was aluminium once a luxury?

When aluminium was new, Emperor Napoleon III wore aluminium buttons. He served his most honoured guests on aluminium plates. Lesser guests got gold and silver.

Who leads manganese?

Here the answer splits. As on 1 April 2020, Odisha held 34% of manganese resources. Karnataka held 24%. Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra held 12% each.

But Madhya Pradesh mines the most. It made 31.50% of output in 2021-22. Maharashtra made 27% and Odisha 19%. Total output reached 2,827 thousand tonnes in 2022-23.

Why does steel need manganese?

Manganese is used mainly to make steel and ferro-manganese alloy. About 10 kg of manganese goes into one tonne of steel.

Who leads chromite?

Odisha leads chromite by a wide margin. It holds 96% of India’s chromite resources. The Sukinda and Nuasahi belt alone holds 95%. Odisha also holds 93% of nickel ore and 90% of platinum-group metals.

These minerals are scattered more widely than coal or iron. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka come up again and again.

Where is copper found?

India is short of copper. Rajasthan holds the largest copper ore resources, 868 Mt, or 52.25%. Madhya Pradesh holds 387 Mt, or 23.28%. Jharkhand holds 251 Mt, or 15.14%.

Output tells a different story. Madhya Pradesh made about 57% of copper concentrate in 2021-22. Rajasthan made the other 43%. Hindustan Copper runs mines at Malanjkhand in Madhya Pradesh, Khetri in Rajasthan and Ghatsila in Jharkhand.

Where is gold mined?

Karnataka made 99% of India’s gold in 2021-22. The rest came from Jharkhand. Hutti Gold Mines Ltd runs the Hutti and Hira-Buddini mines in Raichur district, and the Uti mine.

Resources are a different list. By primary gold ore, Bihar leads with 43%. Rajasthan has 24.92% and Karnataka 20%.

Where is mica found?

Mica splits into thin sheets. It is used in electrical and electronic goods. The Koderma-Gaya-Hazaribagh belt of Jharkhand is the leading producer. Ajmer in Rajasthan and Nellore in Andhra Pradesh are other belts.

On 20 February 2025, mica became a major mineral. Barytes, felspar and quartz moved with it. Mica, felspar and quartz occur in rocks that also hold lithium and beryl.

Where is limestone found?

Limestone is the main raw material for cement. As on 1 April 2020, India had 227,589 Mt of it. Karnataka held 25%. Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan held 13% each.

Rajasthan mines the most limestone. It made 22% of output in 2021-22. About 97% of that year’s limestone was cement grade.

Energy minerals give fuel and power. Critical minerals feed batteries, magnets and clean technology. Both now shape mining policy.

Where do oil and gas come from?

Mumbai High, Gujarat and Assam are India’s main oil areas. Ankleshwar is the most important field in Gujarat. Assam is the oldest oil-producing state. Its key fields are Digboi, Naharkatiya and Moran-Hugrijan.

Most gas lies in Mumbai High and nearby fields on the west coast. New gas has been found in the Krishna-Godavari basin on the east coast.

Is nuclear power conventional or non-conventional?

This is a common trap. NCERT’s Class X list puts hydel and thermal power under conventional sources. It puts atomic energy under non-conventional sources, with solar, wind, tidal, geothermal and biogas.

Where are uranium and thorium found?

Uranium and thorium occur in Jharkhand and the Aravalli ranges of Rajasthan. The monazite sands of Kerala are rich in thorium.

What are India’s rare earth resources?

India holds the world’s third-largest rare earth resources, as per a January 2025 global survey. About 7.23 Mt of rare earth oxide sits in 13.15 Mt of monazite. This monazite lies in coastal sands of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and other states.

Hard rocks in Gujarat and Rajasthan hold another 1.29 Mt.

A Rs 7,280 crore scheme for rare earth magnets was approved on 26 November 2025.

Has India found lithium?

On 9 February 2023, the Geological Survey of India first established lithium resources in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. It is an inferred resource of 5.9 Mt of lithium ore. Inferred means it is an early, rough estimate.

Minerals form over millions of years. We use them far faster than nature can replace them. So mineral resources are finite and non-renewable.

How can we save minerals?

Better technology lets us use low-grade ores at low cost. Recycling metals and using scrap also help. So does using substitutes in place of scarce minerals.

Which law governs mining?

The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 is the main mining law. People call it the MMDR Act.

The 2015 amendment made auction the only way to grant new mining rights. It also set up a District Mineral Foundation in every mining district. This fund helps people hurt by mining. A National Mineral Exploration Trust was planned to fund exploration.

What changed after 2015?

• 2021: The line between captive mines and merchant mines was removed.
• 17 August 2023: 24 minerals were notified as critical and strategic. The Centre now auctions these Part D minerals.
• 2023: Six minerals left the atomic minerals list, including lithium and beryl.
• 2023: A new Exploration Licence was added for deep-seated and critical minerals. The winner is chosen by reverse bidding for a share of the auction premium.
• 29 January 2025: The Cabinet approved the National Critical Mineral Mission. Its total outlay is Rs 34,300 crore over seven years.

How are the auctions going?

By December 2025, 585 mineral blocks had been auctioned since 2015. In 2025 alone, 141 blocks were sold by 5 December.

The 7th tranche of critical mineral auctions was announced for 23 March 2026. It offered 19 blocks. By 23 June 2026, 56 of 88 critical mineral blocks put up by the Centre had been sold. That is a success rate of over 63%.

Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Telangana saw such blocks sold for the first time. Exploration Licence blocks sold reached 11.

• Coal: Odisha first, then Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Jharia and Raniganj are key coalfields.
• Iron ore: Haematite in the east, magnetite in the south. Bailadila has high-grade haematite.
• Bauxite: Odisha leads resources and output. Panchpatmali is the key deposit.
• Manganese: Odisha leads resources. Madhya Pradesh leads output.
• Chromite: Almost all of it is in Odisha’s Sukinda and Nuasahi belt.
• Copper: Rajasthan leads resources. Madhya Pradesh leads output.
• Gold: Karnataka makes nearly all of it.
• Mica: Koderma in Jharkhand. A major mineral since February 2025.
• Law: MMDR Act 1957. Auctions since 2015. Part D critical minerals since 2023.

What are the traps?

1. Resources or output. Odisha leads manganese resources. Madhya Pradesh leads manganese output.
2. One state, many minerals. Odisha tops bauxite and chromite together. Do not assume each mineral has a different leader.
3. Main iron ores. Haematite and magnetite are the main types. Limonite and siderite are not.
4. Nuclear power. In Class X NCERT it is non-conventional. Hydel is conventional.
5. The 39% figure. It is Odisha’s share of haematite, not of bauxite.

Has this come up in the exam?

The answer is (d) Odisha. It holds 41% of bauxite and 96% of chromite resources.

The answer is (a) 1 and 2 only. Haematite and magnetite are the most important iron ores in India.