Kaulir Kisor Chatterjee

Macro-Economics
of Mineral and
Water Resources
Macro-Economics of Mineral and Water Resources
Kaulir Kisor Chatterjee

Macro-Economics
of Mineral and Water
Resources
Kaulir Kisor Chatterjee
Indian School of Mines
Nagpur, India

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Dedicated to my inner God
who inspires me to do all that I do
Preface

This book had for long been in my mind. The issues like land acquisition, forest and
biodiversity conservation, environment preservation, energy security and water
security have been and are being talked about in many countries by the planners and
industries alike. In some countries, the more visionaries amongst the planners are
beginning to worry about even mineral raw material security for sustaining the
industries without affecting agriculture and food security. By now, the industrial
products have so much pervaded into the daily lives of one and all that today’s
humans cannot imagine a single day without them just like food and water.
After publishing my three books on the uses of energy minerals, metals and
metallic minerals, and industrial minerals, rocks and freshwater during the last
decade, I was somewhat disturbed by the absence of a single ready-reckoner from
which one can know about the uses of hundreds of metals, minerals and rocks in
countless industrial processes and products and also from which one can quickly
know, given the name of a product or process, the metals, minerals and rocks that go
into it. Another disappointing situation arises from the fact that I have not yet come
across a policy research institution dedicated to and engaged in holistic research
covering all intricately interrelated policies concerning land, water, mineral, energy,
forest, biodiversity, environment and industry for which the first step is to recognize
the complexities of the relationships and the limitations of the options.
However, launching of this book project had somehow been getting delayed. It
was only when I was one day sharing my thoughts with Mrs. Varsha Avinash
Gharote, my ex-colleague in the Indian Bureau of Mines, that my long-dormant
plan got revived and I mustered my will and resolution to draw up a plan of the
chapters and their outlines and jotted down the first line of the first chapter. That
small step about a couple of years ago has now given birth to this book. I am indeed
indebted to her.
Besides my personal field studies and interactions, this writing has required me
to rummage through whatever relevant literature that I came across and to surf
through the sites of the UN, USA, World Energy Agency, World Coal Institute and
many more international government and non-government bodies including those

vii
viii Preface

of India and USA. For keeping me up-to-date with news of current developments,
the newsletters/journals published by the Federation of Indian Mineral Industry, the
Mining Metallurgical Geological Institute of India, and the Mining Engineers’
Association of India and various other journals and newspapers were also helpful.
It is hoped that the book will be useful to policy researchers across the world and
also the teachers and students of mineral economics, mining engineering and
geology. The latter section of readers may find Chaps. 9 and 10 especially useful.

Nagpur, India Kaulir Kisor Chatterjee, Ph.D.

October 7, 2014
Introduction

Minerals have been both the means and the cause of countless battles and wars
fought since time immemorial. But, today, wars are fought not merely with weapons
but with economic and industrial strength, which in turn come from the minerals.
Mineral resources being natural endowments most erratically distributed over the
globe, there is not a single nation or state that is fully self-sufficient in all the miner-
als needed by its industries and people. In modern times, a country’s military
strength is ultimately determined by how many minerals and how much resources it
possesses. From the first mineral flint used more than 100,000 years ago to fullerene
and shirasu towards the fag end of the twentieth century, and still later, in the twenty-
first century, longsdaleite, a mineral harder and tougher than diamond; from the first
metals copper and gold around 6,500 years ago, to the host of nuclear metals discov-
ered during the twentieth century; and from the energy harnessed from coal for
running industries in the early seventeenth century to that harnessed from uranium
in the twentieth century—the evolution of economic usage of minerals has kept
pace with that of the human civilization. Goods and services are turned out by the
industries every day and we see and use them. But the minerals, which are made use
of by the industries for producing those goods and services, are not at all seen by us.
Every moment of our lives, we are using one or the other mineral without being
conscious of it.
Humans need three basic natural entities for not only progressing but also surviv-
ing—land, ecology and mineral resources. Humans are born on land, depend on
ecology for breathing and living and they are differentiated from their animal pre-
decessors by how they exploit and utilize the mineral resources. While both land
and mineral resources are finite, the latter are invisible, underground and unpredict-
ably erratic both in geographic and geologic distribution as well as in their nature.
And today these entities are in fierce conflict with each other. This conflict has
become fiercer and fiercer since the onset of the industrial revolution about 250
years ago, later on getting a boost in the twentieth century by the two world wars
and the Great Depression in between them to manage which John Maynard Keynes
promoted the Epicurean ideology. Moreover, for extraction of minerals both land
and ecology have to be destroyed.
ix
x Introduction

This conflict has resulted in a significant shrinkage on the mineral resources

endowed by nature which can actually be extracted and supplied. On the other hand,
increasing population and industrialization are exerting relentless pressure on the
mineral supply triggering worldwide a sense of insecurity about how to keep the
industries going 20 or 30 or 50 years down the line. This underscores the impor-
tance of an approach to management of the mineral resources from a macroeco-
nomic perspective i.e. in a national or regional scale.
Another essential economic commodity is water. While groundwater is regarded
as a mineral, surface water is not. But they are links in the same water cycle along
with seawater, atmospheric water and wetland water. While the humans, the agricul-
ture and the industries directly consume potable freshwater, all the water subsys-
tems are equally important from the ecologic point of view. Sources of fresh
water—both surface and underground—were the cornerstones of the civilizations.
Yet hardly any attention is given to management of its resource by the governments
across the world.
The book seeks to bring to focus the indispensability of minerals, the vulnerabil-
ity of the humans and also the issues that the governments across the world have to
face and their management. It has been organized into ten chapters.
The first chapter ‘Mineral Resources and Land Cover’ deals with the paradoxical
relationship between the land and the mineral resources. In spite of the classical
economists considering the latter as a part of the former, the two are different in the
eyes of both nature and the laws of different countries. The evolution of the process
of division of land into geographical and political units and that of the ‘land owner-
ship’ concept have been traced back to the early civilization of the human race. And
this happened without affecting the mineral resources which lay hidden underneath
the land, in oceans and in space. Moreover, the geological history of minerals is
older than that of the land. It has also been highlighted how mining can contribute
to both destruction of and value-addition to land. In this chapter the attributes that
first determined the value of a land and how this value shifted to the mineral
resources lying underneath have been described and a brief history of conquering
land solely for acquiring control over mineral resources has been presented, then the
present day parameters of the value of land such as forests, industries, buildings,
freshwater source, infrastructure, various utilities and archeological significance
have been discussed; and finally the laws relating to land have been analyzed
objectively.
In the second chapter ‘Minerals and Other Economic Entities’, the special and
unique characteristics of mineral resources vis-a-vis various overground economic
entities have been explained. The latter include agricultural produce, forest and
wildlife, biodiversity, human settlement, industries, real estate and environment.
The essentiality of minerals to the very survival and civilization of man; the finite-
ness, non-renewability, invisibility and perpetuity of mineral resources; the uncer-
tainty of their quantity and quality; and their location-specificity and independence
of any political boundary—all together set mineral resources apart from the other
economic entities. Keeping these differences in view, the economic significance of
each of these entities as well as their pros and cons has been critically discussed in
Introduction xi

this chapter. The outlooks in India and other countries towards all these economic
entities have also been reviewed. Finally, the land management policy in India along
with the deficiency therein has been critically analyzed.
The third chapter ‘Relationship between Minerals and Human’ traces the history
and significance of minerals. All productions are essentially the result of interaction
between humans and one or the other mineral which comes through mining.
Although a section of the humans take part in the production of minerals, all humans
are actually consumers of minerals either directly or indirectly. Consumption of
minerals is related to growth of population and industrialization both of which have
registered stiff rise after the industrial revolution. The history of exploitation of vari-
ous forms of energy culminating in coal, petroleum and uranium and now in the
renewable energy has been tracked. The relationship between growth of population
and that of consumption of the important metallic and non-metallic minerals has
been analyzed with the help of statistical data. As regards production of minerals,
the limitations and the technological opportunities of exploration in remote loca-
tions, ocean and space resulting in augmentation of the knowledge of the reserves
and resources have been described and explained with the help of statistical data.
The emerging technologies have created new demand for certain not-so-widely
used metals like gallium, germanium, rare earth metals etc., and this trend has been
demonstrated with the help of statistical data. The need for management of such
challenges by policy measures has been stressed.
The fourth, fifth and sixth chapters deal with different issues relating to energy
and include sources, security etc. In these three chapters, as many as 29 sources of
energy have been grouped into nonrenewable conventional, nonrenewable uncon-
ventional, renewable conventional and renewable unconventional. Each of these has
been described and analyzed in terms of their advantages and disadvantages, mea-
sures for mitigating the disadvantages, status of production and consumption in
India and certain other economically important countries, governmental policies
and future trends. Finally, the determinant factors for deciding on the optimum
energy mix in any country have been critically analyzed—need for diversification of
generating capacity, local availability, ease of transportation, infrastructure, human
skill level, cost and price, requirement of investment, dynamics of fiscal and other
policies of governments, political viability, risks of natural hazards and man-made
disruptions, nature of resources, geological factors, substitution, accessibility to for-
eign source, environmental and ecological regulations, problems of land acquisition
and those of mindset. Evolution of energy-mix models in the world, USA and India
have been shown with the help of statistical data sourced to Indian and international
agencies. Finally the energy security aspects and some significant innovations in the
field of energy have been described. In these chapters, statistical data have been
quoted profusely and there are as many as 26 tables.
The seventh chapter is about groundwater and water management. Mode of
occurrence of ground water has some similarities with that of the minerals, particu-
larly petroleum, and it is legally recognized as a mineral whereas surface and atmo-
spheric waters are not. However, groundwater, surface freshwater, ocean water,
atmospheric water and wetland water behave as parts of the whole water resource
xii Introduction

system and there are constant and smooth interactions amongst all these forms of
water. In this chapter the desirability of approaching them as one system has been
emphasized. Quality parameters of water have been described as also the economic
significance of virtual water, blue water and grey water. Uses and consumption of
water for agriculture, industries, drinking, household activities and mineral water
production have been described with the help of statistical data as also the economic
significance of all the forms of water and the role of environment. Critical appraisal
of the management challenges like resource nationalism; quality; distribution
amongst the different end-users; various socio-political and economic issues; and
ensuring sustainability through science, technology and innovation has been pre-
sented. The reasons why many countries have not been able to formulate water poli-
cies have been identified, and finally a comparative evaluation of the current status
of progress towards water policies in India, USA, European Union, Russia, South
Africa and Australia has been made with reference to 12 parameters.
The eighth chapter is titled ‘Sustainability and Sustainable Development of
Mineral Resources’. Sustainability of mineral resources is security-centric whereas
sustainable development of mineral resources is welfare-centric. The backdrop of
growing insecurity about mineral raw material availability to feed the industries has
been described in terms of firstly, the conflict between epicurean and environmen-
talist approaches; secondly, the importance of minerals to human life; thirdly,
human resource development; fourthly, growing political unviability of mining
projects; and lastly, policy measures. The evolution and diversification of use of the
minerals and the role of particularly two minerals, namely aggregates and gold,
have been explained with the help of statistical data. This has been followed up by
an analysis of the various available options such as military control, recycling, sub-
stitution and foreign sourcing. Under sustainable development of mineral resources,
issues relating to human health, corporate social responsibility and industrial ethics,
business opportunities from closed mines and the sustainable development frame-
work parameters have been described.
The text is followed by Chaps. 9 and 10 and then a glossary. Chapter 9 is a unique
one in which over 925 consumer products and processes are listed and against each
of them can be found a list of the minerals, metals and rocks as well as the interme-
diate chemicals and alloys which go into the making of that product or that process.
Chapter 10 is a list of about 835 minerals, metals, rocks and intermediate chemicals
and alloys and against each of them are listed the names of the end-products and
processes for which they are used. Thus, Chaps. 9 and 10 are complementary to
each other. If a reader has a consumer product or is concerned with some industrial
process, he can immediately find out from Chap. 9 the names of the minerals that
are necessary as raw materials for it. On the other hand, if he is concerned with min-
ing or, in any other way, with some mineral or metal or rock, he can see from Chap.
10 the names of the consumer products or industrial processes in which it can be
used. These two chapters and the glossary together are expected to serve as a ready-
reference material for those concerned with industrial usage of the economic miner-
als, metals and rocks, and also with the manufactured products and the manufacturing
Introduction xiii

processes. When we talk about the industrial uses of minerals etc., there are three
questions to find answers to:
1. What is the use?
2. Why is the use?
3. How is the use?
These chapters readily answer the first question. For the other two, the reader
will have to refer to some other books dealing with industrial uses of minerals, met-
als and rocks.
Now-a-days, the roles of the professionals and the governments concerned with
mineral development have gone beyond exploration for and production of minerals
and metals. Whenever and wherever an exploration or mining or industrial project
is started, it seldom happens that there is no opposition from the local people or
environmentalists. In this book no solution is provided because there is no quick-fix
solution. The first step towards that is identification of the root of the problems
responsible for the perceived threats to shortage of mineral raw materials and to
growing insecurity resulting in social tensions world over. The solution will come
only through holistic research covering all the natural resources—particularly the
competing ones—required by humankind. No such initiative is visible anywhere.
This book seeks to concentrate on the first part which is a sine qua non for the sec-
ond one.
It is primarily targeted to the students, teachers, professionals and researchers in
the fields of geoscience, mining engineering and metallurgy as well as those associ-
ated and concerned with the industrial use of minerals, metals and rocks.
Contents

1 Mineral Resources and Land Cover...................................................... 1

1.1 Division of Land and Ownership Syndrome .................................... 1
1.2 Land-Mineral Relation ..................................................................... 3
1.3 Land and Mining .............................................................................. 4
1.4 Value of Land ................................................................................... 5
1.5 Law Relating to Land ....................................................................... 7
2 Minerals and Other Economic Entities................................................. 11
2.1 Mineral Resources ............................................................................ 11
2.2 Overground Economic Entities......................................................... 15
2.2.1 Agriculture .......................................................................... 16
2.2.2 Forest and Wildlife ............................................................. 17
2.2.3 Biodiversity......................................................................... 21
2.2.4 Human Settlement .............................................................. 22
2.2.5 Industries ............................................................................ 24
2.2.6 Real Estate .......................................................................... 25
2.2.7 Environment ....................................................................... 25
2.3 Land-Use Management .................................................................... 26
References ................................................................................................. 29
3 Relationship Between Minerals and Human ........................................ 31
3.1 Humans as Consumers of Minerals .................................................. 31
3.2 Humans as Producers of Minerals .................................................... 40
3.2.1 Dynamics of Reserves/Resources....................................... 41
3.2.2 Technology of Exploration and Mining.............................. 47
3.3 Singularity of Ultimate Human Capability....................................... 50
References ................................................................................................. 51
4 Minerals and Energy—Non-renewable Sources .................................. 53
4.1 Conventional Sources ....................................................................... 53
4.1.1 Coal..................................................................................... 53

xv
xvi Contents

4.1.2 Petroleum ............................................................................ 60

4.1.3 Natural Gas ......................................................................... 64
4.1.4 Uranium .............................................................................. 68
4.2 Unconventional Sources ................................................................... 76
4.2.1 Methane .............................................................................. 76
4.2.2 Thorium .............................................................................. 80
4.2.3 Oil Shale (or Kerogen Shale or Shale Oil) ......................... 81
4.2.4 Tight Oil (or Shale Oil)....................................................... 83
4.2.5 Shale Gas ............................................................................ 83
4.2.6 Tight Gas ............................................................................ 85
References ................................................................................................. 85
5 Minerals and Energy—Renewable Sources ......................................... 87
5.1 Conventional Sources ....................................................................... 88
5.1.1 Mega- and Micro-hydropower ............................................ 88
5.1.2 Firewood and Charcoal ....................................................... 91
5.2 Unconventional Sources ................................................................... 92
5.2.1 Solar Power......................................................................... 92
5.2.2 Wind Energy ....................................................................... 96
5.2.3 Bio-fuel (Biomass) ............................................................. 99
5.2.4 Geothermal Energy ............................................................. 104
5.2.5 Hydrogen ............................................................................ 108
5.2.6 Fuel Cell ............................................................................. 109
5.2.7 Fusion Power ...................................................................... 111
5.2.8 Methane Hydrate (or Gas Hydrate or Clathrate) ................ 112
5.2.9 Ocean Energy ..................................................................... 114
5.2.10 Bacteria ............................................................................... 115
5.2.11 Industrial Waste Heat .......................................................... 116
5.2.12 Wood and Wood Pellet ....................................................... 116
References ................................................................................................. 117
6 Energy Mix and Energy Security .......................................................... 119
6.1 Determinant Factors ......................................................................... 119
6.2 Evolution of Energy-Mix Model ...................................................... 124
6.3 Energy Security ................................................................................ 128
6.3.1 Energy Demand .................................................................. 128
6.3.2 Price Subsidy ...................................................................... 130
6.3.3 Future Outlook.................................................................... 131
6.4 Scientific and Technological Innovations ......................................... 131
References ................................................................................................. 135
7 Groundwater and Water Management ................................................. 137
7.1 Quality of Water ............................................................................... 138
7.2 Economic Significance of Water ...................................................... 139
7.2.1 Groundwater and Surface Freshwater ................................ 139
7.2.2 Atmospheric Water ............................................................. 142
Contents xvii

7.2.3 Wetland Water..................................................................... 143

7.2.4 Seawater (Including Brackish Water) ................................. 143
7.3 Role in Environment ......................................................................... 143
7.3.1 Hydrologic Cycle................................................................ 143
7.3.2 Watershed ........................................................................... 144
7.3.3 Wetland Water..................................................................... 145
7.4 Policy and Management ................................................................... 145
7.4.1 Broad Issues Involved ......................................................... 145
7.4.2 Policies ............................................................................... 151
7.4.3 Comparative Analysis of the International
Policy Efforts ...................................................................... 157
References ................................................................................................. 160
8 Sustainability and Sustainable Development
of Mineral Resources .............................................................................. 161
8.1 Sustainability of Mineral Resources ................................................. 161
8.1.1 The Backdrop ..................................................................... 162
8.1.2 The Options for Mineral Raw Material Security ................ 167
8.2 Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources .............................. 177
8.2.1 Concept and Key Factors .................................................... 177
8.2.2 Sustainable Development Indicators .................................. 178
8.2.3 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) .............................. 179
8.2.4 Industrial Ethics .................................................................. 181
8.2.5 Human Health ..................................................................... 182
8.3 Human Resource Development ........................................................ 185
8.4 Governmental Role ........................................................................... 186
References ................................................................................................. 188
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals,
Minerals and Rocks ................................................................................ 189
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks ...... 233

Glossary ........................................................................................................... 283

Further Readings ............................................................................................ 295

Index ................................................................................................................. 297

Chapter 1
Mineral Resources and Land Cover

The relationship between land and mineral resources is paradoxical. Classical

economists have clubbed the two under land resource; thus, at one stroke, refusing
to recognize any distinction between the mineral resources on one hand and any
other natural resource or man-made commodity on the other. But what is meant by
land is its surface and in that sense it is totally different from mineral resource.
Firstly, land can be and is divided by boundaries into large and small parcels each
of which is associated with individual or collective ownership; secondly, mineral
resources are independent of land; and thirdly, land has to be destroyed in order to
mine out minerals. Besides, the laws concerning land and minerals have evolved
independently.

1.1 Division of Land and Ownership Syndrome

No one person has ever drawn the boundaries on the land. They have been drawn
themselves because of interactions amongst groups of humans—either through
encounters or wars or negotiations or sorts of quid pro quos. In fact, the animals also
have some kind of sense of ownership attached with the places where they live.
Habits perpetuated through generations developed into instinct. Birds, after hours or
even months of flying, return to the same tree or nest for rest. It is difficult to dis-
lodge a tiger or a lion from its home forest. Snakes, moles and rabbits always go
back to their respective holes and bees, wherever they may go in search of honey,
will invariably come back to their own hives. This trait was passed on to the prehis-
toric cave-dwelling humans also. A human would normally not tolerate any intruder
to drop in his cave. Again, such ownership seldom went unchallenged and the stron-
ger ones amongst those humans could grab the better and safer dwellings.
In time, the individual humans formed into groups for reasons of security and
hunting. A group needed an area around the dwellings. This process accelerated
after tonal and verbal communication capabilities developed. But it received the real

© Capital Publishing Company 2015 1

K.K. Chatterjee, Macro-Economics of Mineral and Water Resources,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-15054-3_1
2 1 Mineral Resources and Land Cover

impetus around 8000 BC, when the humans developed agricultural skill and started
settling down in groups near river banks. Larger land meant more food not only to
satisfy the current needs but also to store for future as the population of a group kept
increasing. These groups expanded to form communities and societies and, later on,
civilizations. And the initial areas evolved into villages, kingdoms and countries
with organized social and political structures, each having its own powerful chief,
elite class and working class. The heads decided the division of labour to do multi-
farious jobs necessary for keeping the inhabitants together and self-sufficient. Most
of the works were labour-intensive requiring large number of manual labourers.
Besides, the rich kingdoms with abundance of fertile land, food and labourers were
at the same time the most insecure ones, being constantly in the eye of predatory
kingdoms. Defence was a priority concern of the chiefs who needed to maintain a
large army and enough surplus food to feed the army. Consequently, those rich and
yet needy civilizations turned predators themselves attacking and conquering
weaker ones with a view to acquiring land and capturing men and women to work
as slaves. When civilizations advanced, along came mastery over the uses of many
other materials in which minerals were the most important. Many battles and wars
were fought amongst the civilizations for acquiring control over lands not for their
agricultural potentialities but for the minerals that lay underneath.
The earliest civilization was the one that thrived around the valley of Hwang Ho
river (Yellow River) in China during ca 7000–6000 BC. The next oldest civilization
was the Assyrian Civilization of the central region of Mesopotamia which started
rising in 6500 BC, reached its peak during 2300–1760 BC, after which it declined
and finally reached its end in 612 BC. Meanwhile, in a region around the Indus
Valley (present day Pakistan), the Dravidian Civilization had been rising since 5500
BC and its golden period lasted from 2600 BC till 1900 BC—at the end of which,
according to many scholars, a nomadic tribe from Asia Minor (north-east part of
present day Turkey) invaded and overran it and started another Great Civilization
known as the Indo-Aryan Civilization.
More or less contemporary with the Dravidian Civilization were the Sumerian,
Nile Valley and the Persian civilizations. The Sumerian Civilization flourished in
southern Mesopotamia, Akkad and Chaldea (southern part of present day Iraq and
surrounding regions) during the period 5300 BC to 1700 BC when its place was
then taken over by the Babylonian Civilization (1700–600 BC). The Nile Valley
Civilization, which started in Ethiopia sometime in the sixth millennium BC,
reached its peak in Egypt during 3100–300 BC. The Persian Civilization started
rising by 5000 BC, matured during 3200–331 BC and then the Macedonian emperor
Alexander conquered and subjugated Persia.
Amongst the next generation of civilizations, the important ones were Minoan,
the Phoenician, the Olmec and the Mayan civilizations. The Minoan Civilization
thrived around Knossos in Crete Island of Greece during 2700–1450 BC, and it was
followed by the New Greek (or Aryan Greek) Civilization. The Phoenician
Civilization started rising in 2300 BC in the coastal regions of present day Lebanon,
Syria and Israel and was at its peak during 1200–800 BC after which it started
declining and finally reached its end in 65 BC. Being born along the Mediterranean
1.2 Land-Mineral Relation 3

Sea, their people achieved a high level of competency in maritime trade and extended
up to Carthage (near present day Tunis). The Olmec civilization of Mexico—famous
for its volcano-shaped pyramids—began around 1500 BC and matured during
1200–400 BC when it was conquered by the Mayan Civilization of Yucatan also of
Mexico. The latter thrived until 900 AD and spread over a wide area in Central
America.
The last ones of the Great Civilizations comprised the Toltec, the Aztec and the
Inca civilizations. The Toltec conquered the Mayan Civilization of Mexico and
Central America in the tenth century AD and itself was later conquered by the
Aztecs in 1300 AD. The Aztecs established their own civilization for a brief period
ending in 1521 AD when their land was destroyed, conquered and colonized by
Spain. The Inca Civilization started independently in Peru in 1325 AD and it sur-
vived till the early sixteenth century. It was also destroyed by Spain.
There were fights amongst and within civilizations; sometimes, a civilization
became too large for one ruler to rule; sometimes the ruler of a civilization became
too weak to rule his people; many times, a stronger civilization conquered a weaker
one and at other times, a civilization broke up into splinters. In the process many old
civilizations perished and vanished into oblivion destroying many peoples’ old
identities and giving them new identities. When these new identities persisted
through many centuries and countless generations, the peoples became used to a
sense of belonging to and pride for a civilization and the land occupied by it, ready
to fight and die for its protection against another civilization occupying another
land. In course of time, kingdoms and empires emerged out of the ruins of older
civilizations signifying shift of the identity from people to personality. In modern
times, especially after the two world wars (1914–1918 and 1939–1945), we see that
linguistic, religious, cultural and even personality factors have been outweighed by
political factors, and kingdoms and empires have given way to nations and states.
This process of division of the land into countries and of the people into nations
lasting through hundreds of centuries have instilled, as we see now, the “my land,
my country” attitude in the minds of the people. This attitude has played the most
important role in shaping of the preset-day international relationships.

1.2 Land-Mineral Relation

While the land was getting divided and subdivided, the mineral resources remained
unaffected because they are independent of land boundaries. The minerals not only
lie concealed under the land invisibly but also exist offshore and even in space all
along out of reach of the civilizations that divided the land. Offshore, minerals may
occur either dissolved in sea water or on the seafloor or deep within the seabed.
Potash and other salts, deuterium and some metals including gold are dissolved
in sea water. Besides, fresh water can be and is obtained from seawater by desalina-
tion. Furthermore, various forms of unconventional renewable energy (e.g., tidal
energy, ocean thermal energy, wave energy) are being harnessed from sea water. On
4 1 Mineral Resources and Land Cover

the seafloor are found nickel, cobalt, manganese, iron, copper, lead, zinc, gold,
silver and phosphates in various forms like nodules, sulphides etc. besides corals,
oyster shells, calcareous material and detrital deposits of monazite, ilmenite, rutile,
zircon, garnet etc. The most important minerals in the seabed are methane hydrate
(or gas hydrate or clathrate), oil and natural gas. In addition, coal, iron ore, sulphur,
diamond and high density brines rich in the metals like iron, manganese, zinc, lead,
copper, gold and silver are also occurring.
Insofar as space is concerned, there is unlimited resource of hydrogen regarded
as one of the sources of energy in the future. In addition the Moon, the Mars and the
asteroids are repository of rich resources of helium, nickel, iron, construction min-
erals and water. Although these extraterrestrial bodies are also land, they are never-
theless regarded as part of the Common Heritage of mankind.
Another attribute in the relation between land and mineral is connected with the
fact that the mineral resources are older than the land of the Earth. According to a
recent discovery, at least one mineral namely zircon crystallized even before the
process of formation of the land surface was complete. A crystal of this mineral
found in Jack Hills region in Australia in 2005 has been geologically dated to be 4.4
billion years old—just a couple of million years after the Earth came into being.
However, the surrounding rock i.e. gneiss has been dated to be 3.7 billion years old.
This signified that the mineral came into being when the surrounding rock was still
in molten state (magma) and 700 Ma later, when the rock solidified, the first land
could form there. Formation of land could not precede that of minerals because of
the processes involved. The molten mass of the Earth started cooling down from
outside and eventually, the surface solidified to become solid rock the surface of
which we call ‘land’; on the other hand, the primary minerals crystallized in a
matrix of magma deep inside the Earth and then were carried upwards by volcanic
eruptions.

1.3 Land and Mining

It becomes apparent, therefore, that the land has to be dug and destroyed for taking
out the minerals lying underneath. Pieces of minerals may, of course, be strewn on
the land and can simply be picked up without digging. But, as a rule, it is necessary
to first reach the mineral body by excavating a quarry, sinking a shaft or driving an
incline or adit. In the process, the land along with the trees, hills, buildings etc. on it
gets destroyed. This may at times be in direct conflict with the overground political
boundaries of land. It may happen—intentionally or unintentionally—that the min-
ers of one country may get into and mine out the mineral resources of another coun-
try underground. It is alleged that in the 1980s, Kuwait exploited oil this way from
under the soil of Iraq.
Although a running mine keeps on destroying the land, in the long run it may
also add value in a different way. About 150-year old Chile saltpetre mines of
Humberstone and Santa Laura located in Atacama Desert in the north-eastern area
1.4 Value of Land 5

of Chile have been declared by the UNESCO in 2005 as World Heritage sites after
which they attract tourists. However, the best example of mine tourism is served by
the 700-year old Wieliczka rock salt mine (started in 1288) just outside the city of
Krakow in Poland. The mine, included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage
list, has a labyrinth of tunnels—300 km total length—and has, at present, been pro-
ducing approximately 100,000 tonnes of salt annually from a depth of about 350 m.
It is renowned for its various structures carved out of the salt during mining—a
chapel with chandeliers, altarpieces (all carved out of salt), cafes, toilets, a museum,
and a sanatorium where beds are booked long in advance and where asthma patients
spend a few days to get relief from the salty and humid atmosphere. Around half a
million people visit the mine each year. But such fortune befalls a mining land
rarely and that too after many years of mining. In terms of a few generations, mining
is destructive to the land.
The laws governing ownership of lands and mineral resources are different.
Lands are owned by governments or private citizens or institutions. The tradition of
private ownership of land may be traced back to the times when the humans were
taking to settled lives about 10,000 years ago. But mineral resources are, in most
countries, owned by the governments and the miners can take them only on lease for
fixed tenures.

1.4 Value of Land

The area of the land is finite, but its economic value does not lie in the surficial
extent. The value of a land is determined by its utility which manifests itself in the
form of agricultural potentiality, forestry, residential construction, industries set up,
mineral resources underneath and so on. In the primitive era, land was valued for
animals by the primordial humans depending on how rich it was with regard to
games to hunt and fruits to gather. The criterion continued to be food after 8000 BC
which is generally accepted as the year when the humans learnt to domesticate wild
grains, took to agriculture and settled down in groups in fertile lands. So much so
that with a view to acquiring control over more and more fertile land, the groups
fought fierce battles amongst themselves. Somewhere up the time scale, when min-
erals and the metals extracted from some of them became the basis of a nation’s
economic and military strength (even for enhancing and storing agricultural pro-
duce), the value of land shifted to the mineral resources that lay underneath.
The earliest recorded evidence of conquering a foreign land solely for some min-
erals (apart from slaves) dates back to late pre-Christian and early Christian era.
Around that time the Romans invaded Cornwall for salt—a highly valued strategic
mineral in those days. They conquered Spain, Portugal and England also for acquir-
ing control over the resources and mines of gold, silver, mercury, tin, copper, lead
and iron. Of these, Spain was the most mineralized region known then and the
Romans got most of their fabulous wealth from there.
6 1 Mineral Resources and Land Cover

Venice fought three wars against Genoa (the last one in 1381) for gaining control
over the European salt-trade through the Mediterranean Sea. The salt was then a
vital strategic mineral for preservation of food of the soldiers fighting away from
their homes through weeks and months at a stretch. Towards the end of the nine-
teenth century, two bitter wars were fought in South America over control of min-
eral resources. One was the Chincha Islands war which raged between Spain on one
side and Peru and Chile on the other over possession of Chincha and certain other
islands off the western coast of South America which were rich in guano—a fertil-
izer mineral in those times. The other was the War of the Pacific between Chile and
the joint forces of Bolivia and Peru for possession of the world’s largest resource of
the mineral ‘Chile saltpetre’ in Atacama Desert located in the border zone of Chile,
Peru and Bolivia. Till the 1940s, Chile saltpetre was a highly sought after mineral
because it was a key ingredient in explosive besides being a fertilizer and a food
preservative.
Diamond has earned the sobriquet ‘blood diamond’ in certain African countries.
For acquiring desperate control over the lands rich in diamond resources, attacks
and counter attacks by the governmental and the rebel forces have been going on in
Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Liberia and Sierra Leone since the last
quarter of the twentieth century. The rebels try to mine and sell the diamonds for
buying arms and ammunition and the governments try to stop them from doing so.
In the first decade of the twenty first century, it is believed that the Swat valley of
Pakistan, where a lapis lazuli mine is located, was the target of the rebel forces.
The seabed below the Arctic ice is believed to be rich in oil—the single most
crucial mineral the countries and the people cannot do without today. Since the
Arctic ice is now melting very fast due to global warming, the eight Arctic countries
namely Russia, Canada, USA (Alaska), Norway, Sweden, Denmark (Greenland),
Finland and Iceland have now set their eyes on the ‘ice-free’ Arctic Ocean for their
share of the land and the oil underneath.
During the 1990s, two wars were fought between Iraq on one side and Kuwait
backed up by US-led forces for control of oil. In 2011–2012, tension and stray bat-
tles have been raging between Sudan and South Sudan over the possession of the oil
town of Hegjig on as-yet-undefined border between the two countries. More
recently, in 2012, when Afghanistan has been found to be rich in the resources of
oil, copper, gold, iron ore, lithium etc. powerful regional warlords there have started
trying to aggressively expand their territories to include areas with mineral wealth.
Today, however, the value of land does not depend on food-producing and min-
ing potentiality alone. There are other land-uses too which influence the value of a
land. These include:
1. Forests
2. Industries
3. Residential buildings
4. Bio-fuel cultivation (oil palm, corn, jatropha etc.)
5. Freshwater source (rivers, lakes, groundwater aquifer etc.)
6. Roads and communication
1.5 Law Relating to Land 7

7. Parks and gardens

8. Recreation centres
9. Archeological and historical ruins
10. Utilities (markets, hospitals, schools, universities etc.)
11. Funeral sites
However, all these criteria notwithstanding, concerns of the common people
about food, mineral and energy securities have become so desperate that some peo-
ple have embarked on a land-grabbing spree in whichever country the conditions are
favourable with the motives of profiteering and speculation. Some governments are
also either encouraging or indulging themselves in such activities for ensuring secu-
rity of their own people. During the Mediaeval period, some European countries
colonized the countries of Asia, Africa, North America and South America for
acquiring control over the resources of industrial raw materials—minerals, cotton,
indigo etc., with the motive to sustain their industries and thereby accelerate their
economic growth. By the end of the twentieth century, practically all the colonies
have become independent. But now the same spirit seems to have returned in a dif-
ferent form. According to Washington-based World Watch Institute, between 2000
and 2011, a total of 70.2 million hectares of land worldwide have been sold or
leased to private and public investors mainly in the low-income countries of Africa
(Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria and
Tanzania, Zambia and Madagascar) and S-E Asia (Indonesia, Thailand and Laos).
These lands are mainly agricultural, but include some rainforest and wildlife habitat
also and they account for 1.4 % of world’s 5 billion hectares agricultural land. This
trend of land-grabbing spree has been particularly driven by the emerging economy
countries. These countries are beset by problems of widening gap between demand
and supply of energy, large population and shrinking area of arable land and conse-
quent vulnerability to financial and food crises and yet they are racing to catch up
with the developed countries. The three countries—India, Brazil and China—
accounted for as much as 24 % of this land grab. Besides, some British firms and
Saudi Arabia were also among those in the fray.

1.5 Law Relating to Land

The land ownership concept has developed through wars amongst groups, civiliza-
tions and, later on, kingdoms and nations and it has been firmly ingrained in the
minds of individuals and families through generations. System of land records
started in organized civilizations. Ownership was already in place, records and doc-
uments were made much later to regularize those ownerships. Naturally, in case of
the tribals and aboriginals, the limits of ownership have not been recorded in any
map or document but are known as a matter of understanding in the respective com-
munities. Even in many organized civilized societies, land records are not up to
date. This is the situation in India because here, countless kings and feudal lords of
8 1 Mineral Resources and Land Cover

the past gave away lands—both residential and agricultural—to people as reward
for some good deed, in return for some service or payment and so on. Distant fore-
fathers of the present generation of people might have got lands many centuries ago
and the ownership has been perpetuated through their descendants. Perpetuation of
ownership through generations is an important attribute of land. This perpetuation
has created many intermediary interest-holders to such an extent as to make the
process of division of land amongst the heirs of a deceased owner fraught, at one
stage or other, with litigation. The system of land records has still not become con-
clusive and it continues largely to be presumptive.
The second attribute is the owners’ emotional attachment to their respective
lands—particularly the lands where they are residing or farming. This may not be
the case in highly materialistic societies, but is true for a large population living in
the developing countries like India. For such people, land has become an integral
part of the family and for them family means not just the present generation. Their
emotional attachment is in the same way as they are attached to their parents and
children.
The third attribute is that land is not only a source of livelihood for the family
members of the owners but also a cornerstone of financial security. In a country like
India, nearly 60 % of her 1.2 billion citizens depend on farming for a living and, on
an average, each hectare of farmland supports five people. Besides, land-holding is
a mark of social standing of the owner.
Fourthly, the monetary value of land, as has already been said, lies in its utility.
Utility may change unpredictably with time and so does the monetary value. Today,
an agricultural land in a remote inaccessible area may carry a certain low value, but
tomorrow if infrastructure and industries come up in the vicinity, the value may
increase several fold. Even if the land remains agricultural, its value may change
according to the level of irrigation, the nature of cultivation and the type of produce.
This element of unpredictability in the status of land-use and, consequently, mone-
tary value of land create most of the legal complications in land acquisition for
industrialization.
Fifthly, there is no free land market as such where both demand and supply have
a free play to determine price. In this case there is no flexibility in the supply of land
as such whereas its demand can go up or down depending mainly on the buyers’
income. This absence of land market combined with its scarcity and the unpredict-
ability of its monetary value has made land an ideal object of speculation.
These attributes make land acquisition for mining or any other industry extremely
difficult in developing democratic countries with high population density as in the
case of India. Buying a land here leads to buying the litigation attached to it and,
over and above this, any land deal has become a politically hypersensitive issue. The
Constitution of India has accepted the right to property as a fundamental right of
citizens and as in the case of any other fundamental right, this right has also changed
the focus from state-dominated interest to people-centric objective. Under this
Constitution, land is a state subject but land acquisition is a concurrent subject fall-
ing under the jurisdiction of both the state and the central governments. The general
principle of estate acquisition is based on ‘eminent domain’ which means absolute
1.5 Law Relating to Land 9

power of acquisition and requisition of any property for the use of the state in
discharging its sovereign functions. But acquisition of agricultural land owned by
village folk has always been a ticklish issue in a developing democratic country like
India because there is asymmetry of power and information between those wanting
to acquire the land and those whose lands are being acquired.
The land, in India, is classified into tenancy land and government land; the latter
may be forest land or non-forest. Transfer of government land is relatively easier.
But it is the tenancy land which is the most problematic because its acquisition
involves displacement of the occupants. The land acquisition here is governed by
the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. According to this Act, the purposes of land acquisi-
tion include public interest and for use of companies. But public interest has not
been defined and is presently open to interpretation in various ways. It is possible to
establish public interest for using the subterranean mineral resources as also for
constructing infrastructure (roads, ports etc.), for building utility centres (hospitals,
schools etc.) and for generating agricultural goods irrespective of whether the activ-
ities are by the Government or some private company. This is one of the reasons
why land disputes in India do not get resolved quickly.
The above Act of India is now being amended so as to give exclusive right to the
State in matters concerning land acquisition while at the same time striking a bal-
ance between the State’s role and consent of the land-holders. From the amended
Act will be excluded various activities like mining, highway construction etc. for
which there are separate acts. Another important feature of it is the incorporation of
obligatory provisions of relief and rehabilitation of the ousted people. And similar
provision in the other acts governing mining etc. may be made in the future.
Therefore, in reality mineral resource is not part of the land resource, the two
being independent economic as well as legal entities contrary to what some econo-
mists contend. The prices of mineral commodities are guided by the law of demand
and supply to a greater extent than land and the two resources are governed by sepa-
rate sets of laws all over the world.
Chapter 2
Minerals and Other Economic Entities

The mineral resources compete with other resources. But in this competition there
is no winner or loser from the point of view of utility to the humans. All resources
are useful and it is difficult to pinpoint any one of them as more useful than others.
Nevertheless, competition is for the same piece of land because, as a rule, development
and/or exploitation of all resources will have to be related to land the exception
being the resources in seawater and space. While the mineral resources are under-
ground resources, all other resources are overground.

2.1 Mineral Resources

There are some special and unique characteristics of mineral resources found in no
other resource—natural or manmade. These characteristics are as under:
1. Minerals are basic to the survival and civilization of man, all other outputs
(including agricultural and industrial) being the result of interaction between
human and mineral resources. In fact, as long as there is life on the Earth, the
minerals will be needed—mined or unmined. The history of use of minerals by
man is as old as the Palaeolithic era—long before man came to learn about and
started practising agriculture. Today, minerals are the ultimate raw material for
anything and everything that the humans consume (see Chaps. 9 and 10).
Economic value of mining and minerals is substantial and they create a multi-
plier impact on economies that go for downstream processing. Smelting and
refining capture value while manufacturing is the key to maximization of value
from mineral resources. For the humans, this whole process has not only huge
economic benefits but also social benefits including productive employment.
2. Mineral resources are finite and non-renewable while other tangible natural
resources like forest, wildlife etc. can be created by man and hence are
renewable.

© Capital Publishing Company 2015 11

K.K. Chatterjee, Macro-Economics of Mineral and Water Resources,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-15054-3_2
12 2 Minerals and Other Economic Entities

3. Mineral resources are invisible, being hidden under the surface of the land
while other resources like forest, wild life, agricultural crop, factories etc. are
all visible, being on the surface.
4. Being underground, mineral resources have the depth dimension in addition to
the lengths and widths.
5. A mineral deposit, if not exploited, remains a perpetual asset. Even catastro-
phes like earthquake and tsunami cannot destroy a mineral deposit; they can, at
the worst, alter their location and configuration. Most of the mineral deposits
are also immune to fire, only exceptions being coal, petroleum and natural gas.
It is true that fire can destroy these minerals; but it is also true that there is no
chance of natural fire underground. Fire can only break out due to anthropo-
genic causes.
6. Mineral deposits are creations of nature and hence, the vagaries of their physi-
cal characteristics and chemical qualities have to be accepted as endowed by
nature; any improvement is possible through processing only after mining.
This implies that the choice of raw materials for the mineral-based industries is
extremely limited and the technologies for processing of the minerals have
to be adopted according to the natural quality of the available mineral raw
materials and not the other way round. There is another economic fallout of
the natural physical characteristics which can be explained with the help of
examples of two minerals namely hematite and chromite in India.
Hematite occurs in nature as compact lumps and as friable ore which crum-
bles to fines while mining, their ratio being 1:2–1:3. Demand within India is for
lumps but for every tonne of lumpy ore 2–3 tonnes of fines will automatically
be produced resulting in accumulation of hundreds of thousands of tonnes of
fines at mine-heads. The problem of chromite in Odisha is similar except that
the ratio of lumps to fines is 1:4. The solution, of course, lies in agglomerating
and then using the fines. But the benefit-cost comparison is between exporting
the fines and exporting the energy-intensive agglomerates (sinters, pellets).
In 2012, the Government of India has taken some policy decision in favour
of exporting pellets by reducing the export duty on pellets and increasing that
on ore.
7. Mineral deposits are location-specific and have to be mined where nature has
created them. Nature has created mineral resources in certain locations with
favourable geological environment. Certain minerals are highly localized so as
to give almost monopolistic power to a few select countries. Oil is a typical
example of such minerals. Its resources are hugely concentrated in the Middle-
East region and a few other countries which, having exportable surplus, feed
practically the whole world. Most of these oil-rich and oil-exporting countries
have formed a cartel (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries or
OPEC). This cartel dictates the price of oil in the international market holding
the oil-importing countries practically at its mercy. And this situation has made
oil a speculator’s favourite commodity. Due to such localization of minerals a
situation has arisen where no country is self-sufficient in all the minerals that
are needed. Every country has to import some minerals in exchange of export
2.1 Mineral Resources 13

of some other commodities in which it has abundant resource. Taking the same
example of oil, the Middle-East countries have to export it so that they can
import other commodities. If for some reason the UN imposes sanction on any
such country, its economy becomes vulnerable. In 2012, this has happened with
Iran and earlier, with Iraq—both oil-exporting countries.
8. While land supports other natural resources and man-made assets and its
morphology remains intact, land has to be destroyed for exploiting mineral
resources. In fact, minerals present underneath a land support forests and
agriculture by supplying the nutrients.
9. Mineral resources, like rivers, are independent of political boundaries and they
may extend under the ground across international boundaries—unknown to the
peoples and governments.
10. The gestation period for developing a virgin mineral deposit to production stage
is longer compared to other commodities. Laws of India allow a maximum of
10 years for this purpose after getting the permit—3 years for reconnaissance,
5 years for prospecting and 2 years for mine development. But before the grant
of permit, a host of clearances including environmental, forest etc. and other
procedures take 5–8 years. And in case the land is subjected to litigation, this
period may be much longer. The total gestation period from application for
reconnaissance permit to production in a mineral property may go up to any-
thing like 15–20 years or even more (in case of a uranium deposit in Meghalaya
in India, over 30 years have passed since the exploration was carried out and till
March, 2013 it has not come to the production stage). The American petroleum
geologist M. King Hubert, who is credited to what has become famous as the
‘Hubert’s Curve’ for forecasting peak petroleum production, analyzed the
history of discovery of oilfields and oil production in US and concluded that the
production curve will match the discovery curve with a 30–40 year lag. Due to
this long gestation period of mineral development, the response time of supply
to a new demand is much longer compared to other commodities. Obvious
fallout of such supply constraint is that the price becomes hypersensitive to
demand.
Demand is the prime mover of all economic activities and not exclusive to those
concerning minerals. But in case of minerals, demand—not just for minerals
directly, but for any mineral-consuming commodity—sets in motion an activity
which is exclusive to mineral resources i.e., exploration. Mineral resources, being
hidden deep under the ground invisible to humans, cannot be measured or weighed
or counted through surveying unlike forest areas, agricultural crop or wildlife. Their
extents, quantities and qualities can at best be estimated indirectly by the process
called exploration. The invisibility and uncertainty are responsible for low success
ratio of identifying mineable resources. In case of oil, the average success ratio of
discovery is 10 % and as regards granite (dimension stone) in India the probability
of striking a mineable deposit is 25 %.
The uncertainties about geological nature, quantity, quality and usability of
minerals have modified significantly the economic principles and theories applicable
14 2 Minerals and Other Economic Entities

to minerals vis-à-vis other commodities like food grains, forest produce etc. For
example, the theory of competition as generally understood and as holding good for
different commodities does not apply to minerals. Mineral deposits being natural
and deep seated are controlled by geological parameters; and the cost of production
of a mineral cannot be reduced by human efficiency beyond a point, after which
geological factors become more important in determination of the cost. It has
happened in case of Mosabani copper mine of India which has closed down in 1996.
The depth of mining had increased to over 600 m and, the grade had been decreas-
ing with depth. When the mine started in 1928, the copper content of the ore was
over 2 % which decreased to barely 1 % by 1996. Compared to this, the centuries
old Chilean mining industry—the biggest player in the international market—was
producing higher grade ores from mines some of which were opencast. For exam-
ple, the ore from 300 m deep opencast mine Escondida (world’s largest) contains
1.51 % copper; that from 850 m deep Chuquicamala underground mine contains
2.58 %; and the ore of a yet-to-start Illapel project has been analyzed to contain up
to 5.5 % copper with an average of 4 %. There is no way that the copper produced
from the Mosabani mine could compete with that from Chilean mines.
Exploration is a high-risk zero-return technology-intensive and costly activity.
Risk is on account of success ratio of discovering a mineral resource and then delin-
eating minable reserves within the resource. It is zero-return because monetary
return can come only when mining starts long after exploration is completed.
The depth dimension calls for special technologies for exploration and mining.
Drilling is the most common technique of exploration of a deposit—whether shal-
low or deep. Special techniques are needed for drilling for oil which may go down
to depths of several 1,000 m (till 2012, the deepest offshore wells were 12,345 and
12,289 m from the sea surface in Sakhalin, Russia and Al Shaheen, Qatar).
As regards mining of solid minerals, the techniques are different for shallow and
deep deposit. In the former case, opencast and in the latter case underground mining
methods are practised. The deepest metal mines are the East Rand and Whitewater
Sand gold mines of South Africa which have reached depths in the range of 3,500–
3,600 m. But for ocean mining, special submersibles are deployed and research and
development are underway in countries like Canada, Japan, Korea, China and
Russia to use other technologies (a Canadian company is planning to use an
1,800-m-long hose for vacuuming up metal-rich silt from the bottom of Red Sea).
While China is in possession of a manned submersible, which by 2012 reached
depths of more than 7,000 m below sea level; USA, Japan, France, Russia and India
have automatically controlled submersibles having capabilities to reach depth
ranging 6,000–6,500 m. Such deep mining would require 4-days modelling, artificial
intelligence, tele-mining, endoscopic mining and integration of mining with infor-
mation and communication technology or ICT. All these would involve processing
and storage of enormous volumes of data requiring highly advanced system capa-
bilities (e.g., robotics, petaflop computers, etc.). In the Swedish conceptual study
‘Smart Mine of the Future’, it has been envisioned that the answer would lie in
continuous mechanical excavation, no human presence in the production area, and
pre-concentration.
2.2 Overground Economic Entities 15

The requirement of land for scientific mining depends on two parameters:

1. Plan area of the mineral body
2. Method of mining which depends on the depth of the mineral body
For mining a large deposit with large plan area, commensurately large area land
will be required. Otherwise the whole of the mineral resource cannot be exploited
and considerable portion of the precious non-renewable gift of nature will be wasted.
As regards method of mining, opencast mining requires large land while under-
ground mining needs relatively smaller area irrespective of the size of the deposit.
It is obvious that for scientific mining purpose, the division of land should only be
on the above considerations and not on any other. And for the knowledge of both
these parameters—plan area and depth—prior exploration by drilling etc. is sine
qua non.
Concerns for industrial raw materials security have reached such a proportion
that intensive research is going on in United States and some other countries for
achieving capabilities of extraterrestrial mining. The Moon, the Mars and the many
asteroids are rich in the resources of certain minerals like helium, nickel, iron, con-
struction materials etc. Exploration and mining in these celestial bodies will require
not only totally new technologies but also machines made of advanced materials.

2.2 Overground Economic Entities

Land is the common factor between the underground mineral resources and the
overground economic resources. Consequently, there will have to be claims and
counterclaims for exploitation in the same land. Additionally, there is competition
amongst the various overground resources and also within some individual
overground resource. These three levels of competition for the same land have
complicated the politico-economic climate of today. To add to the complication,
these entities are governed across the world by different sets of laws.
The overground resources can be broadly grouped under the following
categories:
1. Agricultural produce
2. Forest and wildlife
3. Biodiversity
4. Human settlement
5. Industries
6. Real estate
7. Environment
There is another kind of overground natural resource which has assumed enor-
mous importance now-a-days. This is the data communication spectrum. However,
this does not interfere with exploitation of any land-based resource; on the contrary,
it helps the exploitation processes.
16 2 Minerals and Other Economic Entities

2.2.1 Agriculture

Food security will be one of the major challenges worldwide in the years ahead.
According to Food and Agriculture Organization, the global food demand forecast
will rise by 70 % by 2050 accompanied by a steep increase in the demand for feed,
fibre and biomass. But this challenge is becoming all the more formidable due to
expansion of industries and human settlements at the cost of shrinking of arable
land, deterioration of soil quality by overuse of chemical fertilizers and insecticide
in many parts of the world (e.g., Europe), uncertainty of monsoon in the tropical
countries like India, lack of adequate investment in irrigation facilities in countries
like India where agriculture is dependent mainly on rain. The alarming trend of
decline in the population of the farmland birds over the last 50 years indicates dete-
rioration of the general quality of farming environment. In Europe the population of
various farmland birds like white grey partridges, turtle doves, wood pigeon, lap-
wings etc. has declined by up to 50 % between 1966 and 2011. These birds feed on
weeds and the variety of seeds available in environment-friendly farms. Monoculture
farming and use of insecticides and weedkillers are believed to be the chief causes.
In short, the challenge is not only to produce more but also to produce in a sustain-
able manner i.e. securing and maintaining the soil functionality.
Next to minerals, agriculture was the first economic activity of the humans when
they took to settled life circa 10,000 years ago. In India, agriculture along with its
allied activities is the lifeline of economy because:
1. It accounts for 19 % of the GDP.
2. It employs over half of the country’s total workforce.
3. Farm produce accounts for 11 % of the exports.
4. Farm sector provides raw materials to certain industries (e.g., textile, paper,
brewery, sugar).
5. Good harvest means disposable income for a large population of farmers who
thus get more to spend.
6. Cheaper food means that the city-dwellers have more money to spend and save.
7. More disposable money with both the rural and urban population spurs demand
boosting industrial production.
Agriculture is renewable and its gestation period is the shortest amongst the
resources, a few months upwards. But it depends on rain—directly or indirectly—
particularly in some tropical countries where agricultural economy is dominated by
monsoon. In case of non-irrigated land, the dependence on rain is direct whereas in
case of irrigated land, the water is sourced to the water reservoirs which are filled up
by rain or rivers fed from rain in the catchment areas. Even the rivers, which are of
glacial origin, collect rainwater during their courses. In non-irrigated land, agricul-
ture may also be sustained with the help of ground water which again depends on
rain for recharging. According to a World Bank report, in India, irrigated land con-
stituted only 34.66 % of the total agricultural land in 2008 and it marginally
2.2 Overground Economic Entities 17

improved to 35.12 % in 2009. The uncertainties of weather combined with the fear
of the adverse effects of global warming have created a near-panic situation
underscoring the peoples’ hypersensitivity to food security. During 2007–2009,
three consecutive years of drought in Australia, which had all along been the
principal rice supplier in the international market, engendered failure of Australia’s
rice production by 98 %. This resulted in doubling of international price of rice and
there was panic accompanied by violent protests and riots in countries as far
away as Haiti, Cameroon, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Senegal, Italy, Yemen
and Thailand.
While agriculture competes with mining for land, there is competition within
agricultural sector between food grain cultivation on the one hand and cultivation of
agricultural raw materials for industries and fuels on the other hand. Nowadays even
bio-fuel plants are competing with food crop plants in the same fertile land (bio-fuel
plants like corn, oil palm, jatropha etc. are sources of a kind of vegetable oil which
can substitute mineral oil). In US, diversion of substantial agricultural land for corn
cultivation triggered a shortage of food grains and public outcry in 2008.
Unlike mining, agriculture has practically unlimited flexibility with regard to
area of land-holding.

2.2.2 Forest and Wildlife

Forest and wildlife are inseparable. For the humans, they contain both tangible and
intangible economic values. Food, medicine, timber, paper, foot-wears etc. are
derived from the trees, animals and birds. The tangible value can be converted into
money. But the intangible value which pertains to the lives of the animals as well as
the emotions of the forest-dwelling tribals and the outside humans cannot be mea-
sured in terms of money. Death of any animal species disturbs the natural balance.
As regards the tribal people, they have not so far fully graduated to the stage of
agricultural economy unlike the non-tribal village folk; and their economy is a com-
plex mix of all stages of human progression from hunters and gatherers through
pastorals, shifting cultivation and settled agriculture. In other words they derive
their subsistence from the entire habitat and in the event of displacement, their emo-
tional bondage to their culture, traditions, community and, more importantly, their
pride, dignity and ethnic identity are destroyed (the latter, in particular, is the cause
of many conflicts, violence and riots on the issue of land encroachment in India).
Furthermore, in India, the descendants of some trees, which were once associated
with ancient saints, are considered sacred and worshipped. What’s more, they
perform an important function for man—transforming rocks into soil.
However, forests can be re-grown at a new place and wildlife can be translocated,
but it requires favourable soil and climate. Gestation period for growing a new
forest may vary according to the species of the trees. For certain fast growing trees,
18 2 Minerals and Other Economic Entities

it may be as short as a couple of years. But for wildlife to thrive, a variety of trees
will be required. Consequently, the total gestation period may grow up to 5–10 years.
And rehabilitation of wildlife can start only after a forest is fully ready and also the
area is large enough. According to the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), for every 20
breeding tigresses, an area of 800–1,000 km2 is required to be maintained inviolate.
However, problems arise about the tribals living in a forest. Rehabilitation of tribals
in an alien place is fraught with many problems and is now-a-days the cause of most
of the problems when mining or any other industry is created in a forest area.
Many countries recognize the importance of forests for the survival and wellbe-
ing of their people and have laid emphasis on conservation of forest. The somewhat
contrary policies in India and Australia along with the norms of the International
Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are discussed below.

2.2.2.1 Indian Policy

At the end of 2010, India had a forest cover 23.4 % of the land area vis-a-vis her
goal to gradually increase to 33 % in the plains (in the hills along the Himalayas, the
goal is 66 % and the achievement has by and large exceeded it). One of the steps in
this direction is based on net present value (NPV). For this purpose, the forest has
been classified into various types and eco-classes. The first level of classification,
based on canopy cover, is into three types namely:
(i) Very dense forest land (canopy cover above 70 %)
(ii) Dense forest land (40–70 % canopy cover)
(iii) Open forest land (10–40 % canopy cover)
Each type is further classified into six eco-value classes as follows:
Class I: Tropical wet evergreen forests, tropical semi-green forests and tropical
moist deciduous forests
Class II: Littoral and swamp forests
Class III: Tropical dry deciduous forests
Class IV: Tropical thorn forests and tropical dry evergreen forests
Class V: Sub-tropical broad-leaved hill forests, sub-tropical pine forests and
sub-tropical dry evergreen forests
Class VI: Montane wet temperate forests, Himalayan moist temperate forests,
Himalayan dry temperate forests, sub-alpine forests, moist alpine scrub and dry
alpine scrub
NPV of the trees cut is calculated on the basis of (i) value of timber and fuel
wood, (ii) value of non-timber forest produce, (iii) value of fodder, (iv) value of
eco-tourism, (v) value of bio-prospecting, (vi) value of ecological services of forest,
(vii) value of flagship species and (viii) carbon sequestration value, and the NPV
depends on the forest type and eco-value class. The NPV per hectare of forest in
India has been fixed by law as shown in Table 2.1.
2.2 Overground Economic Entities 19

Table 2.1 Net present value per hectare of forests as determined and enforced in India (Value in
INR)
Very dense forest Dense forest Open forest
Eco-value class I 1,043,000 939,000 730,000
Eco-value class II 1,043,000 939,000 730,000
Eco-value class III 887,000 803,000 626,000
Eco-value class IV 626,000 563,000 438,000
Eco-value class V 939,000 845,000 657,000
Eco-value class VI 991,000 897,000 699,000

Table 2.2 Categorization of the protected area of the IUCN

Category Type of the entity Definition
I Strict nature reserve/ Areas of land or sea possessing some outstanding or
wilderness area representative ecosystems, geological or physiological
features and/or species, available primarily for scientific
research and/or environmental monitoring. These are
largely unmodified land or water retaining their natural
character and influence without permanent significant
habitation which are managed mainly for science or
wilderness protection.
II National park Areas of land or sea designated to (a) protect the
ecological integrity of one or more ecosystems for the
current and future generations, (b) exclude exploitation
or occupation inimical to the purpose of designation of
the area and (c) provide a foundation for spiritual,
scientific, educational, recreational and visitor
opportunities, all of which must be environmentally and
culturally compatible.
III Natural monument These areas are protected mainly for conservation of
specific natural/cultural features which are of outstanding
or unique value because of their inherent rarity, aesthetic
qualities and cultural significance.
IV Habitat/Species These comprise the areas of land or sea which are subject
management area to active intervention for management purposes so as to
ensure the maintenance of habitats and/or to meet the
requirements of particular species.

2.2.2.2 IUCN Norms

As per these norms the corresponding term for the ‘Reserve Forest’ in India is
‘Protected Area’. These areas comprise the areas of land and sea especially
dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity and natural
and cultural resources which are managed through legal or other effective means.
These reserves are further categorized as I, II, III and IV (Table 2.2).
In the IUCN norm, there is no mention of any provision of economic exploitation
of the Protected Areas.
20 2 Minerals and Other Economic Entities

2.2.2.3 Australian Policy

In contrast to the Indian policy, the National Forest Policy Statement (NFPS) of
Australia has adopted region-specific goals and also clubbed biodiversity (see
later in this chapter) with forest. This forest conservation framework is called
Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative (CAR) System for Forests in
Australia and is characterized by:
(i) Comprehensiveness: It includes the full range of forest com-munities.
(ii) Adequacy: The ecological viability and integrity of populations, species and
communities are maintained.
(iii) Representativeness: The selected forests reasonably reflect the biotic diversity
of the communities.
While practically applying this system, the principles adhered to are as follows:
(i) Conservation effort is focused on regional priorities and not based solely on
meeting percentage targets.
(ii) Need for flexibility to allow changes to the CAR system as a result of changes
in knowledge and changes in biota (such as through climate change).
(iii) Utilization of the best available data in each region including local expertise
and knowledge.
(iv) Integration of conservation requirements with social and economic consider-
ations which include benefits accruing from non-timber uses of reserves
and costs associated with industry adjustments and resultant impact on
employment.
For the implementation of the CAR system, the land has been broadly classified
as follows:
1. Public land
(a) Dedicated reserves: This is equivalent to the ‘Protected Area’ of the IUCN.
(b) Informal reserves: These include areas which cannot be managed through
legal codes but otherwise possess same conservation values as the dedicated
reserves. Such forest areas are managed through some other secure tenure
management arrangements.
(c) Land having values protected by prescription: These values include those
with fragmented distribution, those naturally occurring in linear form
(e.g. riparian vegetation) etc. protection of which is prescribed by other
management codes.
2. Private land: Many of the most threatened forest species and ecosystems through-
out Australia occur in private lands. Mechanisms to protect them include
purchase of priority areas, development of incentives, covenants etc. However,
since the level of protection is limited, conservation efforts are focused only on
the priority forest species and ecosystems.
2.2 Overground Economic Entities 21

In all classes of land, certain criteria are applied which are centred on flexibility
varying from region to region. These criteria are as follows:
(i) Biodiversity criteria: Not everything is required to be reserved. The priority for
reservation of a forest ecosystem depends on how much remains relative to the
initial distribution and its vulnerability to threat. The cut-off year is 1750
(year of beginning of European settlement). As a general criterion, 15 % of
the pre-1750 distribution of each forest ecosystem should be protected with
flexibility considerations applied according to regional circumstances. But where
forest ecosystems are significantly threatened or are approaching 70 % reduc-
tion in areal extent, then at least 60 % should be reserved.
(ii) Old-growth forest criteria: An old-growth forest is defined as a forest that is
ecologically mature and has been subjected to negligible unnatural disturbance
such as logging, road construction etc. It can have a high value of a range of
biological, aesthetic and cultural significance. Where old-growth forest is rare
or depleted to less than 10 % of the extant distribution, protection should be
100 % and in other cases, 60 %.
(iii) Wilderness criteria: Wilderness is a cultural concept which relates to large
areas of usually undisturbed land free from the influence of European settle-
ment. Such areas provide opportunities of solitude and self-reliant recreation.
Their protection is left to the regions, and so are the guidelines regarding extent
of land to qualify as wilderness which is generally 8,000 ha plus or minus.
It is apparent that under the CAR system, considerable flexibility is provided to
the regions for deciding the extent of area to be protected; the pre-1750 distribution
of each forest ecosystem, depending on the regional factors and the areas available
for exploitation, may range up to 85 %.

2.2.3 Biodiversity

In India’s National Biological Diversity Act, 2002, which is administered by the

National Biodiversity Authority, both biological resource, and biological diversity
or biodiversity have been defined as under:
(a) Biological resources means plants, animals and micro-organisms or parts
thereof, their genetic material and by-products (excluding value added
products) with actual or potential use or value, but does not include human
genetic material.
(b) Biological diversity means the variability among living organisms from all
sources and the ecological complexes of which they are part and includes diver-
sity within species or between species and of eco-systems.
Under this Act, there is the National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP) for conser-
vation of aquatic biodiversity of the lakes. Recently it has been proposed that the
scope of this plan will be expanded to include wetlands and to re-designate the plan
22 2 Minerals and Other Economic Entities

as National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystem or NPCA (Hitavada,

Feb. 8, 2013).
Every habitat—ocean, polar ice, forest, tundra, desert, lake, river, mountain, wet
land etc.—supports an ecosystem and a biodiversity of its own. These ecosystems
with all its biodiversities make up the ecological balance of the Earth. The species
include trees, plants, birds, insects, fungi, microorganisms, and worms all of which
in one way or other help pollination and reproduction of the trees and plants and
they also provide nutrients to the soil. Thus the forests are sustained. The insects,
birds, herbivorous animals and carnivorous animals help check the overgrowth of
the population of different species and the scavenger animals and birds (e.g., hyena,
vulture) naturally maintain cleanliness. Formation of soil from rocks is a complex
process which is facilitated by many organisms. Plant roots break up rock to create
soil particles; earthworms, mites etc. help give soil its texture and fertility and are
crucial to its aeration; tiny microorganisms and fungi are responsible for recycling
essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur etc. making them
available to plants. It is therefore obvious that even a slight imbalance of the biodi-
versity would disturb the balance of a number of parameters like climate, oxygen,
food, water, health, economics etc.

2.2.4 Human Settlement

Human settlement includes towns and villages along with various utilities (e.g.,
railways, roads, electricity and water distribution network etc.), social infrastructure
facilities (e.g., hospitals, schools, universities etc.), places of worshipping, funeral
sites, archaeological and historical ruins, parks and playgrounds, entertainment
houses, markets etc. The tiny settlements centred on fertile lands 10,000 years ago
evolved to villages and then to towns along with a few utilities like roads, places of
worshipping, funeral sites and markets. All the other components were consciously
created by the people of the towns and villages and their creation received a
boost after the industrial revolution in the second half of the eighteenth century.
Such settlements occupy large tracts of land, for which they compete with the
aforesaid entities.
The real problem started after the industrial revolution in the second half of the
eighteenth century. Within a short time thereafter, industries started multiplying,
international trade grew in leaps and bounds, a section of the people became rich
suddenly and there was population explosion. According to the most conservative
amongst various estimates including that by the UN, the world population during
the 300-year period 1,500–1,800 grew from 425 million to 813 million i.e., at an
average annual rate of 0.3 % whereas the growth during the 200-year period 1,800–
2,000 was from 813 million to 6,080 million i.e., at an average annual rate of 3.24 %
and the population is projected to reach a level 9.35 billion by 2050. This increase
in population naturally increased both the areas and the numbers of villages and
towns exerting pressure on the finite land.
2.2 Overground Economic Entities 23

Theoretically, villages and towns are not location-specific as the mineral

resources are. But in reality, a vast majority of them has evolved naturally starting
from the stage when the humans were still hunters and gatherers just as some primi-
tive tribals living in their settlements are even today. As the humans gradually
underwent transition to agriculture-centric lives, those tribal settlements evolved to
villages and then to towns. Many new towns have been and are being built by the
humans through conscious endeavours and their gestation periods are quite short.
But most of them are built either on some pre-existing villages or as extensions of
some pre-existing towns.
The crunch is not yet a global problem. But it is becoming more and more visible
in the countries with large population and high population density. Table 2.3 shows
the population densities of some industrialized and some developing countries.

Table 2.3 Population densities of selected industrialized and developing countries

Source of data (World
Population Prospects, UN,
Population 2004 edition updated as on
Country Total land area density (per km2) dates indicated)
World (land area 134.94 million km2 52 July 16, 2012
excludes Antarctica)
Bangladesh 147,570 km2 964 2011
Taiwan 35,980 km2 639 June 30, 2009
South Korea 99,538 km2 487 2009
India 3.29 million km2 368 March 1, 2011
Japan 377,873 km2 337 September 1, 2010
Vietnam 331,689 km2 259 April 1, 2009
UK 243,610 km2 255 January 1, 2010
Germany 357,022 km2 229 January 1, 2010
Italy 301,318 km2 200 June 2009
China 9.64 million km2 140 June 16, 2012
Poland 312,685 km2 122 January 1, 2010
Indonesia 1.90 million km2 121 2010
France 551,500 km2 114 January 1, 2010
Spain 506,030 km2 91 January 1, 2010
Burkina Faso 274,000 km2 58 2009
Mexico 1.96 million km2 57 —
Tanzania 945,087 km2 46 2009
South Africa 1.22 million km2 41 July 1, 2011
Colombia 1.14 km2 41 July 16, 2012
United States 9.83 million km2 32 July 16, 2012
Peru 1.39 million km2 29 October 23, 2011
Brazil 8.51 million km2 23 July 16, 2012
Chile 756,096 km2 23 July 16, 2012
Russia 17.10 million km2 8.3 —
Canada 9.98 million km2 3.5 January 20, 2012
Australia 7.68 million km2 3 July 16, 2012
24 2 Minerals and Other Economic Entities

The countries, which have low population density and large areas, enjoy
considerable flexibility in apportioning their land for different land uses including
human settlements and industries although they may not be endowed with much
mineral resources as is the case of Japan, Taiwan, South Korea etc. However, the
problems are the most acute in cases of the countries which have high population
densities and are also rich in mineral resources. Since mineral resources are totally
location-specific and have to be mined where they are, conflict with other land
uses may very often arise—especially human settlements that predate the mines.
The choice is either to displace the settlements or not to mine at all. Both the options
are real hard.

2.2.5 Industries

The increase in population after the industrial revolution supported by increased

volumes of international trade in the later part of the eighteenth century has increased
the demand for the manufactured products and hence an increase in not only towns
but also industries. The industrial products may be mineral-based or agro-based
(including horticulture- and forest-based). But the latter also need some minerals or
mineral-based products for processing of the raw materials. Therefore, industrial-
ization led to proliferation of the mining industries also.
Theoretically, industries are location-independent and should have unlimited
flexibility of land. But, there are eleven factors which influence the choice of the
location of an industry. These factors are as follows:
(a) Nearness to source of raw materials (mines, farms, orchards, forests etc.)
(b) Continuous supply of water to support both the industrial processes and the
employees and their families
(c) Scale of production and favourable benefit/cost ratio which requires not only
adequate but also contiguous land (a large steel plant may require 6–10 km2 of
land)
(d) Electric transmission line
(e) Roads and railways for transportation of both raw materials and products
(f) Nearness to ports in case of import of raw materials and/or export of products
(g) Additional land for building residential colonies for the employees
(h) Nearness to consuming centres for the products
(i) Nearness to villages and towns for the purpose of availability of labour and
social infrastructure (schools, hospitals, places of worship, market etc.) for the
employees
(j) Favourable policies of the local government
(k) Congenial political atmosphere in the area
Fulfilment of all these 11 conditions means that the location of an industry gets
automatically fixed, flexibility being very limited. In case of mining industry,
there is, of course, no choice of location and either the conditions have to be made
favourable or the mine would not start.
2.2 Overground Economic Entities 25

However, some of these conditions are required to be fulfilled for certain other
land uses like agriculture, forestry etc. And that gives an additional dimension to
the competition. There is also competition not only for land but also for water,
infrastructure etc.

2.2.6 Real Estate

The meaning of real estate is not limited to some residential property constructed on
a piece of land or an agricultural land. It is the land with which some vested
and business interest is associated. It may be a vacant land presently without any
economic activity but with investment and value-addition potentialities ranging
from residential to highway and infrastructure projects. Real estate sector plays
an important role in the economy of practically all countries. In India, this estate
sector is the largest employer after agriculture and is expected to grow at 30 % rate
(Dhake 2013).

2.2.7 Environment

Strictly speaking, environment is not a land-based tangible entity. That makes it

difficult to reliably quantify it and evaluate it in terms of money. It means the totality
of surrounding conditions and it deals not just with physical living, but it also entails
emotional values as may be derived from soothing landscapes, historical and
pre- historical ruins, man-made modern structures of aesthetic appeal, and folk
traditions. Environment includes both visible and invisible as also living and non-
living things which influence people’s bodies and minds. It manifests in the form of
some measurable physical entities as follows:
(a) Area of open space free from buildings and industries
(b) Amounts of impurities in solid and liquid anthropogenic wastes
(c) Degree of purity of air
(d) Degree of purity of ground water
(e) Canopy coverage of forests
(f) Number and type of wildlife, insect and plant species in different habitats like
forests, wetlands, deserts and oceans
(g) Area covered by wetland
(h) Degree of purity of ocean water
(i) Volumes of ice/snow in Antarctica, Arctic, Greenland and mountain peaks
(j) Intensity of noise generated anthropogenically in specific areas
(k) Intensity of artificial light
(l) Freedom from any disruption of the socio-cultural values in human settlements
26 2 Minerals and Other Economic Entities

The ultimate effect of all these elements of environment is on human health

directly or indirectly. In the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20)
held in June, 2012, poverty alleviation implying economic development and health
improvement have been recognized as important pointers towards environmental
sustainability. Besides, excess concentration of CO2, methane, nitrogen oxides
(NOx), sulphur oxides (SOx) and water vapour in air known as the greenhouse gases
are responsible for the global warming and climate change.
In India, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) under the Ministry of
Environment and Forest (MoEF) has issued on January 13, 2010, a framework
termed Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) by combining three
factors concerning environmental pollution in an industrialized area as follows:
(a) Pollutant: This factor has been categorized into groups and subgroups having
scores depending on presence/absence of toxins and their nature (whether
carcinogenic or not) and also scale of industrial activity.
(b) Pathway: It relates to (i) ambient concentration of pollutants and has been
categorized into low, moderate, high and critical having increasing marks;
(ii) mere evidence of adverse impact on people, (iii) definite proof of adverse
impact on people; and (iv) degree of adversity of the affection.
(c) Receptor: It relates to (i) number of people affected within 2 km distance;
(ii) level of exposure; and (iii) additional risk to sensitive receptors like sensitive
people, historical/archaeological monuments, places of worship, sanctuary,
national parks and ecological habitat.
(d) Additional high risk element: It pertains to (i) inadequacy or adequacy of
pollution-control measures; (ii) inadequacy or adequacy of design of the pollu-
tion control facilities; (iii) whether the facilities are operational or not; and
(iv) whether the facilities are maintained or not.
Aggregate CEPI scores are computed based on the above factors on a scale rang-
ing up to 100. It has been suggested in the framework that CEPI scores of 70 and
above should be considered as critically polluted industrial areas whereas CEPI
between 60 and 70 should be considered as severely polluted area. As per this
framework, some industrial areas including mining areas have been declared as
critically polluted.

2.3 Land-Use Management

In countries like India, large population combined with high population density
calls for delicate balancing insofar as allocation of land for different uses is con-
cerned. But, in India there is no land-use policy. In the absence of definite policy
direction on land-use, differences between executive and judiciary are frequent.
Even from the National Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation & Resettlement
(LARR) Bill in proposal stage as in July 2013, some sectors like mining (not other
industries), railways, roadways etc. have been left out and land acquisition for these
projects will remain under the purview of separate laws.
2.3 Land-Use Management 27

The first step for effective land-use management is delineation of the boundaries
of different natural resources and then earmarking of the balance area for other
anthropogenic uses. Natural resources like forest, wildlife, biodiversity, wetlands
and deserts have evolved naturally through hundreds of millions of years. Human
settlements have also evolved through hundreds of years on their own. Today they
are seen as occupying certain definite areas on the land. These lands, thus, stand
delineated naturally. A land-use policy should therefore appear simply to involve
allocation and demarcation of the balance areas in a country for agricultural and
industrial activities. But, in practice, it is not at all simple particularly in the cases of
the two invisible entities namely the overground environment and the underground
mineral resources.
Environment, of course, is the common denominator of all anthropogenic activi-
ties namely agriculture, human settlements, mining and other industries and
some of its elements like air, ocean and ice are independent of any political boundary.
The other elements are of course country-specific and land-use management policy
of a country must factor them. The environmentally fragile zones can also be
mapped and delineated. But the process is both time- and money-consuming, and
only very few countries have actually undertaken it, not to speak of completing. In
India, detailed environmental study is actually done only when an industry or a new
township is to be established and it is not, therefore, possible to know in advance
where it will be possible to set up a new industry or a new township.
It is, however, the mineral resources which, although independent of the political
boundaries, are considered as a country’s endowment. But, being underground,
without exploration (especially drilling) and feasibility study it is not possible to
delineate a definite boundary of land as mineral-bearing. But, a mineral resource is
also a dynamic entity; its minability at any point of time depends on technologies of
mining, processing and utilization at that point of time. At some other future time,
all these may change and so may the boundaries of the mineral resource. Moreover,
exploration involves long gestation as well as monetary investment without any
return and without any certainty of success. So, it is practically impossible to know
on which part of the land of a country, new townships or new industries or any other
overground human activity can be permitted without the possibility of any future
conflict with mining.
Generally, different land-uses are governed by different laws administered by
different authorities, in India as well as in other countries. The multiplicity of laws
complicates the problems of land-use management all the more. In India, the acts
(along with the rules under them) directly or indirectly influencing feasibility and
economics of exploration and mining of minerals are as follows:
1. Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) or MMDR Act [New revised
version under consideration of Parliament as in July, 2013]
2. Atomic Energy Act (stipulates that if during exploration any of the atomic min-
erals like those containing uranium and thorium, beryllium, lithium, tantalum,
zirconium and niobium is encountered, it has to be reported to the Atomic
Energy Commission who will regulate the activities)
28 2 Minerals and Other Economic Entities

3. Coal (Conservation & Development) Act (applicable for conservation and

development of coal)
4. Coal-bearing Areas (Acquisition & Development) Act
5. Oilfield (Regulation & Development) Act
6. Offshore Area Mineral (Development & Regulation) Act
7. Forest Rights Act, 2006 (comes into relevance when mineral deposits occur in
forest areas; conditions like compensatory afforestation charge for diversion of
forest land to non-forest activities like mining apply).
8. Environment Protection Act, 1986 (protection of heritage structures, flora and
fauna; prevention and control of air, water and noise pollution; restoration of
land; rehabilitation of project affected people (PAP); Coastal Management
Zone or CMZ regulation).
9. The Ancient Monuments & Archaeological Sites & Remains Act, 1958 (Mining
is prohibited in areas where ancient monuments are present).
10. Scheduled Tribes & Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest
Rights) Act, 2006 (it recognizes the traditional rights of people living and using
the forest; it recognizes both individual and community rights and stipulates
that these rights should first be settled before acquisition of land for a mining
project including exploration activities).
11. Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation & Resettlement Act [under consideration
of Parliament to replace the Land Acquisition Act; it concerns acquisition of
land other than certain land-uses including roadways, railways and mining]
12. Companies Act
13. Water Pollution (Prevention & Control) Act
14. Air Pollution (Prevention & Control) Act
15. Wildlife Protection Act
16. National Biological Diversity Act
17. Groundwater Act (it obliges all wanting electricity connection for pumping
ground water to obtain prior permit from the Groundwater Authority).
18. Panchayati Raj (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (Prior recom-
mendation of Gram Sabha (village council) is mandatory before granting of
prospecting licence or mining lease in Scheduled areas)
19. The Coal India (Regulation of Transfer & Validation) Act, 2000 (It empowers
Central Government to direct the transfer of land or of rights in or over land in
relation to a coal mine or coke oven plant vested in Coal India Limited which is
a public sector company under Government of India; it also obliges any author-
ity not to use a coal-bearing land for greenfield or brownfield town planning,
industry etc. without prior approval of the Ministry of Coal, Government of
India)
The fourth and the last two deal with land-use issues only in a limited manner
and none of the laws has anything to fully and comprehensively address the con-
flicts amongst the different land-uses although in the Forest Policy, mineral exploi-
tation has been made permissible in certain classes of forest. But mining in those
classes of forest is at a heavy cost which include not only the NPV but also the cost
of afforestation of twice the number of trees cut, in a non-forest area.
References 29

In some countries, coal mining, oil exploitation, other minerals mining and
environment including air and water pollution are clubbed under a single law
administered by a single authority. In South Africa, there is a plan to integrate
mining and preservation of biodiversity under a single administrative authority.
Ground water is vital and critical natural commodity. It is required in every sec-
tor of economy—agriculture, industry, human settlement etc. According to the laws
of various countries groundwater is a mineral just as oil and gas are. Some of the
characteristics of ground water (e.g., invisibility and depth) are similar to those of a
typical mineral resource. But there is no law to regulate the exploitation of this pre-
cious natural commodity in India or other countries (the Groundwater Act of India
seeks to regulate only the electricity connection for pumps). However, drilling a
borehole or digging a well for exploitation of ground water requires negligible land
and does not clash with the land-uses other than mining. But, in case of mining, the
quarry or shaft may pierce through groundwater table and the unregulated outflow
of ground water is mostly wasted or grossly misused resulting in drought-like
situation in the vicinity of the mines. The South African Government is planning to
introduce a system of water licensing while granting lease for mining. But till 2012,
there was nothing like that on ground.
Overall, a comprehensive land-use policy and management will not be practi-
cally possible because of insufficient knowledge of the hidden mineral resources
and also the dynamics of minability and usability of the known resources.

References

Dhake A (2013) Outlook—stock market, real estate and gold. Times of India, January 21, 2013
Hitavada, Nagpur: Press report (www.hitavada.com); Sept 29, 2006; Dec. 14, 2006; Dec. 20, 2006;
July 18, 2007; Mar. 5, 2008; March 9, 2008; July 6, 2008; Sept 11, 2008; Dec. 19, 2008;
Apr. 12, 2009; May 31, 2009; July 19, 2009; July 14, 2010; Aug 29, 2010; March 6, 2011;
April 1, 2011; Dec 8, 2011; Dec 11, 2011; Dec 23, 2011; Jan. 10, 2012; June 29, 2012; Aug 26,
2012; Dec 28, 2012; Dec 29, 2012; Feb 8, 2013
Chapter 3
Relationship Between Minerals and Human

Relationship between minerals and humans dates back to the era when the humans
were still primitive, much before they became “modern” about 120,000 years ago.
But the relationship then was not centred on conscious knowledge or effort.
Conscious relationship probably started with the invention of artificial fire made
with the help of flint about 30,000 years ago. Since then, from that single mineral,
usage by the humans has diversified to scores of minerals and metals which are
indispensable for humans. Moreover, harnessing of the mineral resources has also
graduated from primitive practice of picking up minerals strewn on the surface to
organized mining from the depths under the land and even seabed.
Economic development of a nation and a country comes from agricultural and
industrial production as well as from services rendered by the humans all of which
are measurable in terms of money. But ultimately, the intangible services either end
up in or are associated with some tangible agricultural or industrial product. And all
productions are essentially the result of interaction between humans and one or the
other mineral which comes through mining. Although a section of the humans takes
part in the production of minerals, all humans are actually consumers of minerals
either directly or indirectly.

3.1 Humans as Consumers of Minerals

Although the human population has all along been steadily increasing, the industrial
revolution during the second half of the eighteenth century and the population
explosion in course of the next 200 years (population jumped from 813 million in
1800 AD to about seven billion in 2010 AD and projected to be 9.3 billion by
2050 AD) have had a multiplying effect on mineral consumption which, in turn,
resulted in proliferation of mines all over the world. Annexure I and II bring out the
extent to which the humans are dependent on minerals.

© Capital Publishing Company 2015 31

K.K. Chatterjee, Macro-Economics of Mineral and Water Resources,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-15054-3_3
32 3 Relationship Between Minerals and Human

Energy is the prime-mover of all human activities—industrial and agricultural.

Total dependence on human energy for movement on land and also rivers by rowing
rafts gave way to animal energy when horses were domesticated around 50,000 years
ago. Long after that, about 4000 BC, wheel and carts were invented. Alongside,
sometime after 8000 BC, when linen was made out of some plant fibres, sailing
boats aided by wind energy were a big leap forward in sea transportation and inter-
national trade. But the industrial revolution in the second half of the eighteenth
century followed by trade with the help of coal-fired steam ships, changed the sce-
nario altogether. Huge volumes of international trade necessarily triggered indus-
trial activity. Coal replaced charcoal in various metallurgical processes to convert
minerals to metals needed to manufacture machinery and various industrial prod-
ucts much in demand by the people. Population explosion that followed, multiplied
this demand and hence, industrial activity. Later on, appearance of petroleum in
human life in a big way after 1859 followed much later by natural gas gave further
boost to this development. Meanwhile transmission of electricity for practical use
became a reality. Energy from uranium started being harnessed from the 1950s.
Today, the linchpin of energy is electric power and that of transportation is petro-
leum. And as regards power, coal dominates the scenario supplemented by other
non-renewable sources of energy (e.g. natural gas, uranium) and renewable energy
sources (e.g. hydroelectricity, solar energy, wind energy etc.). As regards, uranium,
its contribution is far less in comparison to coal in the global context. There are only
a few countries in the total power generation of which uranium accounts for a sub-
stantial share. France has only recently become dependent on nuclear energy after
its last coal mine was exhausted in 2004; Canada and Germany are also phasing out
their nuclear power plants. The extent to which different countries depend on coal
for fulfilment of power demand, can be gauged from Table 3.1.
In 2006, coal accounted for over 39 % of the world’s electricity and its growth
till 2030 has been projected by the International Energy Outlook to be at the rate of
1.5 %.
Overall, the rate of energy growth exceeded that of population growth between
the period 1990 and 2008 as shown in Table 3.2.
The above growth is notwithstanding the fact that 1.46 billion or about 24 % of
the people in the world did not have any access to electricity (IEA 2009). The cor-
responding figures for India and sub-Saharan Africa are 400 million (35 % of the
population; mostly rural) and 90 % of the rural population respectively.

Table 3.1 Share of coal in power generation

Poland: 94.8 % South Africa: 93.0 % India: 66.0 %
Australia: 76.9 % Israel: 77 % China: 76.2 %
Kazakhstan: 70 % Czech Republic: 66.7 % Morocco: 68 %
Greece: 62.3 % Germany: 52.0 % USA: 49.9 %
Denmark: 47.3 % UK: 32.9 % EU countries: 27.2 %
Source: IEA (2005, 2006)
3.1 Humans as Consumers of Minerals 33

Table 3.2 Growth of population and energy usage (per capita and total) in different regions/
countries during 1990–2008
Total energy use
Per capita energy use (non-renewable and
(non-renewable and renewable) (1,000
renewable) (kWh/capita) Population (million) TWh)
Growth Growth Growth
Country 1990 2008 (%) 1990 2008 (%) 1990 2008 (%)
World 19,422 21,283 10 5,265 6,688 27 102.3 142.3 39
USA 89,021 87,216 −2 250 305 22 22.3 26.6 20
EU (27 40,240 40,821 1 473 499 5 19.0 20.4 7
countries)
Middle East 19,422 34,774 79 132 199 51 2.6 6.9 170
China 8,839 18,609 111 1,141 1,333 17 10.1 24.8 146
Latin America 11,281 14,421 28 355 462 30 4.0 6.7 66
Africa 7,094 7,792 10 634 984 55 4.5 7.7 70
India 4,419 6,280 42 850 1,140 34 3.8 7.2 91
Others 19,422 21,283 10 5,265 6,688 27 102.3 142.3 39
(remaining
countries of
Asia and
Oceania)
Source: IEA and World Bank (downloaded through www.google.com)

As regards only the non-renewable energy sources, coal is at present and will
remain, at least till 2030, the linchpin of power generation in the world. The
International Energy Outlook 2004 projects that its use is expected to increase in all
regions with the exception of Europe and the CIS countries outside Russia. Till
2030, the share of coal in the primary energy supply will continue to be at the pres-
ent level of 80–81 %. And power is the motive force behind both industrial and
agricultural growth. Table 3.3 shows how coal production has grown vis-à-vis the
population in the world and in the two countries namely US (the largest economy)
and India (developing economy).
Table 3.3 shows that while the overall coal consumption in the world during the
last century has increased steadily in sync with the population, the former has
always been ahead of the latter. Same is the situation in India where coal has the
most dominant role in power generation. The situation in US, however, is somewhat
different. Till 1950, coal was ahead of population in growth rate, but thereafter it has
registered negative or low rate. The reason is that after 1950, other sources of energy
like nuclear, hydro, coal mine and coal bed methane, natural gas and, in recent
years, shale gas have pitched in so much so that today the contribution of coal in
total power generation has fallen below 50 % (Table 3.1). In India, however, the
phenomenal growth has always been sustained due to double effect of abundance of
coal resource and dearth of resources of the other non-renewable energy minerals.
Only of late, due to environmental constraints, India’s dependence on imported coal
has been rising but still, indigenous production is far more than import.
34

Table 3.3 Growth of population and coal consumption in world, US and India
World US India
Population Coal consumption Population Coal consumption Population Coal consumption
Annualized Quantity Annualized Annualized Quantity Annualized Annualized Quantity Annualized
Number growth rate (million growth rate Number growth rate (million growth rate Number growth rate (million growth rate
Year (million) (%) tonnes) (%) (million) (%) tonnes) (%) (million) (%) tonnes) (%)
3

1900 1,650 – 780 – 76.21 – 0.20 – 271.31 – 6.22 –

1910 1,750 0.61 – – 92.23 2.10 0.32 6.00 260.28 −0.41 12.97 10.85
1920 1,860 0.63 1,200 2.69 106.02 1.38 1.07 23.44 249.70 −0.41 18.25 4.07
1930 2,070 0.11 – – 123.20 1.72 1.80 6.82 277.18 1.00 24.18 3.25
1940 2,300 0.11 1,700 2.08 132.16 0.73 1.75 −0.28 316.00 1.40 29.86 2.35
1950 2,556 0.11 – – 151.33 1.45 2.75 5.71 350.45 1.09 31.90 0.68
1960 3,039 0.19 2,100 1.18 179.32 1.85 2.20 −2.00 431.46 2.31 51.27 6.07
1970 3,707 0.22 – – 203.30 1.34 2.42 1.00 539.08 2.49 71.24 3.90
1980 4,454 0.20 3,444 3.20 226.54 1.14 2.18 −0.99 688.96 2.78 109.32 5.35
1990 5,279 0.19 4,558 3.23 248.71 0.98 0.54 −7.52 833.93 2.10 214.99 9.67
2000 6,083 0.15 4,440 −0.25 281.42 1.32 0.73 3.52 1,014.00 2.16 350.04 6.28
2010 6,849 0.13 7,244 6.30 308.75 0.97 0.54 2.60 1,170.01 1.54 648.28 8.52
2030 8,247 1.02 9,417 1.50 – – – – – – – –
(projected) (projected) (projected)
Relationship Between Minerals and Human
Source: (1) US Census Bureau; (2) United Nations, 1999, The World at Six Billion, World Population from Year 0 to Stabilization; (3) US Census Bureau, 2008,
3.1

The Mid-year Population for the World: 1950–2050; (4) Registrar of Census, Government of India; (5) Matos, G.R. and Wagner, L.A., 1998, Consumption of
materials in the United States, 1900–1995, Annual Review of Energy and the Environment, v. 23; (6) US Energy Information Administration, 1982–2010; (7)
Annual Energy Review, 1980–2010, US; (8) USBM & USGS, Mineral Year Book, US; (9) Central Statistical Organisation, Government of India, Energy
Statistics, 2011; (10) Ministry of Mines, Government of India, Annual Report, 2010–2011; (11) Indian Bureau of Mines, Growth of Indian Mineral Industry
(1947–1991), February, 1992; (12) Chatterjee, K.K., 2006, Uses of Energy Minerals and Changing Techniques, New Age International, New Delhi; (13)
Coggin Brown, J. and Dey, A.K., 1955, Oxford University Press
Notes
1. Coal includes lignite
2. For the world, consumption is assumed to be equal to production, because the imports and exports cancel each other and the stocks and inventories, for which
reliable data are not available, are mostly short term and hence ignored
3. The data for US pertain to apparent consumption
4. For India, the data for the years 1970 onwards pertain to the period April to March of the following year
5. For India, data pertain to apparent consumption [production + import − export − stock (up to the year 2000 only)]; prior to 1950, both import and export were
Humans as Consumers of Minerals

negligible and then up to 1980, import was negligible

6. Prior to 1950, the data pertaining to India include those to Pakistan and Myanmar
35
36 3 Relationship Between Minerals and Human

As regards the two non-renewable energy minerals namely oil and gas which
have become the backbone of economy in practically all the countries including
those with abundant coal availability, the trends in their growth in the world, US and
India are shown in Table 3.4.
Oil is indispensible for transportation and natural gas is mainly utilized in
thermal power and fertilizer industries. In the latter two industries coal also plays
a significant role as has been discussed earlier. Table 3.4 shows that growth in
these industries has been far outstripping the growth in population. In other
words, the mobility and agricultural activity of the humans have been ever
increasing at a fast pace.
Besides the energy minerals, an essential ingredient of fertilizers is phosphate
minerals. There are three vital plant nutrients namely nitrogen, potassium and phos-
phorus. Nitrogen is commonly provided to the plants through urea, organic manure
etc. Till the nineteenth century, Chile saltpetre was the only mineral providing nitro-
gen to the plants. But in the early twentieth century, synthetic fertilizer manufactur-
ing process was developed and, by the 1940s, use of this mineral for fertilizer
manufacturing petered out. Of the other two nutrients, phosphate is by far more
common in chemical fertilizers which account for 80–85 % of its use and its con-
sumption is the key indicator of fertilizer consumption and agricultural activity.
The most important indicator of construction activities is the consumption of
cement and steel and that of communication infrastructure is copper consumption.
The principal mineral raw material for steel manufacturing is iron ore and that for
cement manufacturing is limestone.
The world consumptions of phosphate, steel, iron ore, cement and copper vis-á-
vis the population growth are shown in Table 3.5.
Consumption of fertilizer (hence that of phosphate) is influenced by the follow-
ing factors:
(a) Village-centric market and hence sensitivity to politics particularly in the demo-
cratic countries
(b) Dispersed nature of demand
(c) Level of crop yields
(d) Degree of variability in crop yields (different crops require different types and
doses of fertilizer)
(e) Lack of knowledge among the rural people of many poor countries about the
fertilizer and their benefits
(f) General apathy of the illiterate or semiliterate rural farmers to go against
traditions
(g) Availability of the right fertilizer at the right time
(h) Price of fertilizer relative to crop prices (invariably higher price making the
benefit-cost ratio unfavourable calling for subsidization by the governments)
(i) Efficiency or inefficiency of making the benefits of government subsidies to
reach the small farmers which constitute the overwhelming majority in the
developing countries
(j) Environmental lobbies in some developed countries against use of chemical
fertilizers
Table 3.4 Growth of population and oil and gas consumption in world, US and India
3.1

World United States India

Consumption of Consumption of oil & Crude petroleum
petroleum products gas products consumption Natural gas utilized
Total (million
Rate of tonnes except
Annualized consumption Annualized Annualized where
population (million Annualized population Total Annualized population mentioned as Annualized Total Annualized
growth rate barrels per growth rate growth rate (million growth rate growth rate ‘million growth rate (billion growth rate
Year (%) day) (%) (%) tonnes) (%) (%) litres’) (%) m3) (%)
1900 – – – – 1.29 – – 3.42 million – – –
litres
Humans as Consumers of Minerals

1910 0.61 – – 2.10 1.81 4.03 −0.41 16.00 million 36.78 – –

litres
1920 0.63 – – 1.38 2.37 3.09 −0.41 50.37 million 21.48 – –
litres
1930 0.11 – – 1.72 3.59 5.15 1.00 220.77 million 33.56 – –
litres
1940 0.11 – – 0.73 4.54 2.65 1.40 300.00 million 3.59 – –
litres
1950 0.11 – – 1.45 10.21 12.49 1.09 0.30 – 0.15 –
1960 0.19 – – 1.85 23.12 12.64 2.31 6.20 196.67 0.68 35.33
1970 0.22 – – 1.34 49.40 11.37 2.49 18.51 19.85 0.65 −0.44
1980 0.20 63.10 – 1.14 87.26 7.66 2.78 26.76 4.46 1.52 13.38
1990 0.19 66.51 0.54 0.98 85.25 −0.23 2.10 53.72 10.07 12.77 74.01
2000 0.15 76.78 1.54 1.32 108.54 2.73 2.16 106.52 9.83 27.86 11.82
2010 0.13 83.71 (2009) 1.00 0.97 93.89 −1.35 1.54 192.95 81.14 47.25 6.96
(continued)
37
38

Table 3.4 (continued)

Source: (1) US Census Bureau; (2) United Nations, 1999, The World at Six Billion, World Population from Year 0 to Stabilization; (3) US Census Bureau, 2008,
The Mid-year Population for the World: 1950–2050; (4) Registrar of Census, Government of India; (5) Matos G R & Wagner L A, 1998, Consumption of
materials in the United States, 1900–1995, Annual Review of Energy and the Environment, v. 23; (6) US Energy Information Administration, 1982–2010; (7)
Annual Energy Review, 1980–2010, US; (8) USBM & USGS, Mineral Year Book, US; (9) Central Statistical Organisation, Government of India, Energy
Statistics, 2011; (10) Ministry of Mines, Government of India, Annual Report, 2010–2011; (11) Indian Bureau of Mines, Growth of Indian Mineral Industry
(1947–1991), February, 1992; (12) Chatterjee, K.K., 2006, Uses of Energy Minerals and Changing Techniques, New Age International, New Delhi; (13)
Coggin Brown, J. and Dey, A.K., 1955, Oxford University Press
Notes
1. For the world, consumption has been calculated from the figures of consumption in India and India’s share in the world consumption both sourced to Titi
Tudorancea Bulletin, Global edition, 21.10.2010
2. The data for US pertain to apparent consumption
3. For India, the data for the years 1970 onwards pertain to the period April to March of the following year
4. For India, data pertain to apparent consumption [production + import − export]; for crude petroleum, export was practically nil; and for natural gas both
import and export were practically nil
5. Prior to 1950, the data pertaining to India include those to Pakistan and Myanmar
6. Data for natural gas pertain to the gas utilized after excluding that flared and re-injected into reservoirs for secondary production
3
Relationship Between Minerals and Human
Table 3.5 Growth of population and consumption of steel, iron ore, cement, copper and phosphate in the world
3.1

World consumption
Annualized Steel Iron ore Cement Copper Phosphate
population Total Annualized Total Annualized Total Annualized Annualized Total Annualized
growth rate (million growth rate (million growth rate (million growth rate Total (million growth rate (million growth rate
Year in world (%) tonnes) (%) tonnes) (%) tonnes) (%) tonnes) (%) tonnes) (%)
1900 – 28.30 – – – – – 0.50 – – –
1910 0.61 60.30 11.31 – – – – 0.86 7.20 – –
1920 0.63 72.50 2.02 – – – – 0.96 1.16 – –
1930 0.11 95.10 2.38 – – 62.10 – 1.61 6.77 – –
1940 0.11 140.60 4.78 – – 81.00 3.04 2.13 (1939) 3.59 – –
Humans as Consumers of Minerals

1950 0.11 191.60 3.63 – – 133.00 6.42 – – – –

1960 0.19 346.40 8.08 – – – – 5.90 8.43 43.00 –
(1961)
1970 0.22 595.40 7.19 780.51 – – – 7.59 2.69 81.10 9.84
(1971)
1980 0.20 717.40 2.05 931.34 2.15 – – 9.26 2.20 142.90 7.62
1990 0.19 770.46 0.74 984.45 0.57 – – 10.80 1.66 160.60 1.24
2000 0.15 848.93 1.02 1,050.65 0.67 1,600.00 22.06 14.99 3.88 146.40 −0.88
2010 0.13 1,417.26 6.69 2,349.65 12.36 3,310.00 10.69 15.90 0.60 178.50 2.19
Source: (1) International Iron & Steel Association, Brussels, Steel Statistical Yearbook, 1978–2011; (2) USGS, Mineral Commodities Summary, 2000, 2001,
2012; (3) USGS, Cement Statistics, 2010; (4) USGS, 2010, Copper Statistics (1900–1939); (5) International Copper Study Group, 2010, World Copper Fact
Book (1950–2000); (6) International Fertilizer Industries Association, Paris, 2011, Global Phosphate Production—Trends from 1961 to 2000
Notes
1. World consumption is assumed to be equal to production, because the imports and exports cancel each other and the stocks and inventories, for which reliable
data are not available, are mostly short term and hence ignored
2. The disproportionately high figure for iron ore compared to steel in 2010 is due to the fact that the accumulated stocks of the ore in Chinese ports and also
of the ore fines in Indian mines were large
39
40 3 Relationship Between Minerals and Human

Due to one or more of the above reasons, the consumption of fertilizers (and
hence phosphate) has been erratic particularly in the poor countries of Africa and
Asia which may be the cause of the negative growth in the consumption of phos-
phate during the decade 1990–2000 (more precisely 1988–1994).
The above tables decisively indicate that the pace of industrialization (including
that in the agricultural sector) has been much faster than that of the population
increase in the US, in India and in the world as a whole since the beginning of the
twentieth century exerting ever-increasing pressure on the Earth’s finite non-
renewable mineral resources. In other words, post-industrial revolution, the pace of
rise in average per capita consumption of minerals is too fast. And this scenario is
notwithstanding the fact that demand is generally more than consumption if we go
by the common concept of demand being the capacity to consume. For example,
production of coal in India during the 1-year period April, 2011-March, 2012 was
533 million tonnes (Ministry of Mines, Government of India, Annual Report, 2011–
2012). Since this was short of the need of the consuming industries (mainly thermal
power, iron & steel and cement), a quantity of 98.9 million tonnes was imported
during the same year (London Commodity News, May 8, 2012). Export being negli-
gible save some small quantities exported to Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, the
apparent consumption during that year was about 631 million tonnes. Even this was
substantially short of the projected demand of 696 million tonnes for 2011–2012.
And this gap of 65 million tonnes between demand and consumption would have
widened many times if we consider that 35 % or 400 million people were yet to gain
any access to electricity and the needs of a vast majority of Indian homes and indus-
tries are only partially fulfilled (e.g., in the state of Manipur, there is hardly 2–3 h of
power supply daily as in 2012–2013). Shortfall in domestic production in an indi-
vidual country can be made up through import from another country, but shortfall in
the world cannot be.

3.2 Humans as Producers of Minerals

It is apparent from the foregoing that demand management alone is not the answer
and austerity cannot be forced on a selected section of the people. There is need also
to address the issues concerning production or supply. However, the mineral
resources being finite as well as location-specific, there is the danger of overexploi-
tation. Many easy-to-mine near-surface mineral deposits have already exhausted,
limiting the option to go for difficult and deep-seated deposits located off-shore and
perhaps (in the foreseeable future) in asteroids and planets making mining and min-
erals costly. Since the population and industrialization are growing relentlessly and
a life without minerals and industries is ruled out, sustainability of mineral resources
i.e. raw material security has now become the primary concern in most, if not all, of
the countries worldwide. The challenge is to keep producing minerals till the distant
future and beyond. The answer lies in not only extending the life indices of the
3.2 Humans as Producers of Minerals 41

available mineral resources but also opening newer and newer frontiers of technology
for fulfilling the needs for minerals. All these issues are discussed as follows.

3.2.1 Dynamics of Reserves/Resources

Mineral resources being located underground remain invisible to humans and it is

never possible to estimate with cent per cent accuracy the quantity and quality of the
resources at the exploration stage before mining. The technologies of exploration,
mining and recovery also keep changing with research, development and innovation
bringing to light new resources and altering the parameters of minability, utilization
and economics. Such factors bring in an element of dynamics to the quantities of
economically minable reserves of different minerals. The factors can be specified as
follows:
(a) Exploration: This may or may not lead to discovery of new reserves depending
on the success ratio, which varies from mineral to mineral. For example, suc-
cess ratio for simple deposits like those of coal is high but for petroleum, it can
be as low as 10 %. It also depends on whether the area is already well-explored
or virgin. Furthermore, it will depend on the minable depth which in turn will
depend on the long-term market price of the mineral. For example, a low-priced
mineral like limestone or aggregate cannot be economically mined beyond a
shallow depth and consequently, discovery of deep-seated deposits of such min-
erals will not lead to addition of any minable reserve. On the other hand, high-
priced minerals like gold, diamond, copper etc. can be explored to great depths.
And if exploration is successful, it will result in augmentation of the reserves.
(b) Cut-off grade: This is the minimum economic grade above which minerals are
mined from a deposit. Since this has an economic connotation, it is both min-
eral- and time-dependent. In other words, with time the economic parameters
like price, costs of technologies for mining and recovering etc. keep changing.
The reserves of a particular mineral at a particular point of time are estimated
above its cut-off grade at that point of time and the resources estimated below
it. So, when cut-off grade is brought down due to favourable changes in the
economic parameters, portion of the resource will become reserves and the lat-
ter will increase.
(c) Cut-off thickness: This applies to bedded deposits subjected to mining by mech-
anized method (e.g. coal, sylvite) and is the minimum thickness at which the
cutting machine can cut the mineral bed without mixing up with the waste rocks
of the hanging or foot walls. Obviously it depends on the design parameters of
the machine available in the market at a particular point of time and is, there-
fore, a matter of business decision by the investor. Quantities in the mineral
beds which are thinner than the cut off limit will be resource and in those which
are thicker will be reserve. If and when new machines are manufactured with
42 3 Relationship Between Minerals and Human

new design parameters, the cut-off thickness may change and so may the min-
able reserves.
(d) System of classification: Historically, different countries had been following
different systems of classification of the total geological resources according to
their level of geological exploration and techno-economic feasibility. Broad
categories generally used were ‘resource’ and ‘reserve’, the former estimated
with relatively low level of exploration and not conceived to be minable in the
near-future while the latter with relatively more intensive exploration and also
tested to be minable. But the definitions of the reserve and resource and the
subcategories under each varied from one system to another. Only in the begin-
ning of this century, the United Nations Economic Cooperation for Europe
(UNECE) has brought about the United Nations Framework Classification
(UNFC) system which has been adopted by many countries including India as
the standard classification system. Of course some developed countries like
Australia, US, UK, Canada, Russia etc. still follow their respective classifica-
tion systems (JORC, SME, IMMM etc.) their definitions are by and large simi-
lar to those of UNFC system. Now, when we examine the archival data on
reserve of different minerals they might be on the basis of different systems and
definitions. This may be a reason for any apparent change of the reserve figure
vis-a-vis the resource and the change may be drastic as happened in India in
2000 to the inventories of the metallic and industrial minerals (Table 3.7).
(e) Depletion: Reserves in the mines have been under exploitation continuously
resulting in their decrease or depletion. This, obviously, has a negative effect on
the available reserve.
(f) Degree of reliability of the primary source of data: When we compare reserve
figures of a country or of the world reported at different times, the agency
responsible for estimation or compilation of the data may make a difference to
their reliability. The reliability depends on the following factors:
(i) Coverage of the data/survey
(ii) Method of estimation of the resources and reserves
(iii) Method of sampling and compilation
(iv) System of classification of resources followed
It may not be possible that the same agency’s data will always be available
especially in case of archival data.
(g) Governmental policy: Governments’ policies may indirectly affect the national
inventories of reserves and resources. Such inventories are necessary for mac-
roeconomic policy planning like land-use planning, prioritization of infrastruc-
ture development, export-import policy formulation, prioritization of regional
exploration programmes etc. The impact of governments’ policies on reserve
dynamism in the national scale is discussed as follows:
(i) Policies may encourage or discourage regional exploration. In 2003, in
South Africa the mineral rights were unshackled from the exclusive con-
trol of the whites and opened up; this liberalization policy had a dramatic
effect on the investment on mineral exploration which jumped up by over
3.2 Humans as Producers of Minerals 43

46 % compared to 2002. In India, a private company is allowed to mine

coal only if it utilizes its entire produce in a captive plant (power, steel,
cement) or sell the surplus coal to the Coal India Limited (a public sector
company under the Government of India) at a price determined by the
Government; this restrictive policy has hindered investment in coal
sector.
(ii) Government may make it mandatory to adopt certain cut-off grade depend-
ing on the international practice and also in the interest of conservation of
resources or in some other national interest. A recent example from India
can be cited. In July, 2012, The Government of India has announced that
the cut-off grade for hematite reserves would be reduced from 55 % Fe to
45 % Fe. This implies that the ore in the range 45–55 % Fe, which was
being rejected and dumped as waste, can no longer be treated thus and will
have to be treated as useful and stacked separately for proper utilization.
They may be used for blending with higher grade ore (as China is doing)
or beneficiated and upgraded. In both cases it will serve the cause of con-
servation of iron ore resources. An obvious fallout of this policy announce-
ment is that a substantial portion of the hitherto resource will move to
reserve category and the country’s iron ore reserve inventory will go up
substantially in one jump enabling the Government to liberalize export.
Incidentally, industries are currently doing R & D to work out the usability
of the banded hematite quartzite (BHQ) which has a still lower grade rang-
ing from 35 to 45 % Fe; and if successful and if the Government follows
up by making it mandatory to categorize it under reserve, the reserve of
iron ore will be further augmented.
(iii) Government may mandate a particular resource classification system to be
followed by all agencies in a country. In India, it was at the Government’s
behest that the Geological Survey of India system was introduced in 1982
and again the UNFC system in 2002.
(iv) Export-import policy may serve to alter the reserve-resource ratio in the
national inventory. In India, in most of the iron ore mining areas, the mode
of occurrence of the ore is such that for every tonne of lump 2–3 tonnes of
fines are produced which do not have any use in the indigenous iron and
steel plants due to lack of enough agglomeration facilities. Consequently,
a substantial portion of the unwanted fines locked up in the deposits are
considered as resource although a portion of the fines produced (uninten-
tionally along with the lumps) is exported. In 2012, the Government of
India abolished the export duty on iron ore pellets (made from fines) while
increasing the export duty on fines as such. This is expected to facilitate
large scale investment for setting up pelletization plants to convert the
fines to pellets and then export. In due course, the resource of the fines will
move up to reserve category.
(v) Laws for preservation of environment and for conservation of forest may
severely restrict mining in otherwise economic deposits and thus the
reserves can be relegated to resource category.
44 3 Relationship Between Minerals and Human

Table 3.6 Dynamics of estimated reserves of oil, natural gas and coal in world
Quantities of estimate
Oil (Proved reserve Natural gas (Proved reserve Coal (Recoverable reserve
Year in billion barrels) in trillion cubic metres) in billion tonnes)
1960 302.00 – 4,209.99
1970 611.40 – –
1975 – 72.05 536.35 (1974)
1980 648.50 72.84 661.41
1985 – 96.31 –
1990 1,001.00 112.93 1,038.74
2000 1,017 145.70 987.94
2010 1,349 187.10 861.00
Source: (1) Energy Statistics, Department of Energy, US Government (for the oil reserves); (2) US
Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration (for natural gas reserves up to 2000);
(3) British Petroleum, June, 2011, Statistical Review of World Energy (for natural gas reserves for
2010); (4) US Department of Interior, Geological Survey, A progress Report, January 1, 1960 (for
estimate of coal reserve for 1960); (5) Coal Reserves & Resources, Gentle Cough, 2007 (unofficial
estimate of coal reserve for 1974); (6) World Coal Study, 1980 (for estimate of coal reserve for
1980); (7) Energy Information Administration, USA, 2012, Security of World Coal Reserves (for
coal reserve of 1990); (8) Colorado River Commission of Nevada, 2002, World Fossil Fuel
Reserves and Depletion (for estimate of coal reserve for 2000); (9) World Energy Council (for
estimate of coal reserve for 2010)
Note: All units have been converted to metric system

All these factors positively or negatively impact the reserve of a mineral through
the years and net balance of its increase/decrease in respect of the world reserves of
the key energy minerals is demonstrated in Table 3.6.
The high coal reserve in 1960 was estimated without any consideration of the
cut-off thickness; it may not indicate its recoverability and by today’s standards,
may not be categorized as reserve. From 1975 onwards, the reserves are on the basis
of cut-off thickness of 0.6 m (Table 3.6).
Table 3.7 demonstrates the dynamism of reserves through the past in respect of
the key minerals for energy, industry and agriculture.
It can be seen from Tables 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, and 3.7 that the increasing consump-
tion, and hence production, of minerals has little effect on the long-term increase/
decrease of the balance reserves as far as most of the key minerals are concerned.
However, coal is an exceptional case. Overall world reserves have shown declining
trend since 1990 although in India it has been registering a reverse trend. The rea-
sons are:
(i) In the developed countries, virgin areas for discovering new deposits have
become scarce.
(ii) In those countries, since the 1990s, environmental activists advocating clean
coal have become increasingly more vocal restricting the minable reserves
further.
Table 3.7 Dynamics of estimated reserves of chromite, coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, manganese ore and phosphate in India (Production in million tonnes)
Coal Petroleum Natural gas Iron ore Chromite Manganese ore Phosphorite
Reserve Reserve Reserve Reserve Reserve Reserve Reserve
(billion (million (billion (billion (million (million (million
Year Production tonnes) Production tonnes) Production m3) Production tonnes) Production tonnes) Production tonnes) Production tonnes)
1960 53 6 (600 m) 0.5 49 N.A. 21 16.6 1 0.1 5 1.5 183 Nil Nil
1970 74 94 (0.45 m, 6.8 130 N.A. 66 31.4 10 0.3 14 1.7 108 0.2 57
600 m)
1975 96 81 (1.2 m, 8.7 125 N.A. 68 41.8 13 0.5 17 1.6 80 0.5 65
600 m) (1974) (1974)
1980 109 86 (1.2 m, 9.4 366 N.A. 352 41.9 18 0.3 111 1.7 117 0.5 130
600 m)
(1978)
1985 150 158 (0.5 m, 29.9 500 N.A. 479 44.1 13 0.6 139 1.3 154 0.9 115
1,200 m)
1990 202 170 (0.5 m, 33.3 638 N.A. 579 54.6 13 1.0 88 1.4 176 0.7 115
1,200 m) (1988) (1988)
(1988)
1995 273 197 (0.9 m, 34.9 779 N.A. 640 66.6 13 1.7 86 1.8 167 1.4 145
1,200 m) (1996) (1996)
(1994)
2000 314 212 (0.9 m, 32.4 645 N.A. 647 80.8 9 2.0 47 1.6 105 1.4 75
1,200 m)
2005 407 253 (0.9 m, 32,2 786 N.A. 1,101 165.2 7 3.7 66 1.4 132 2.1 53
1,200 m)
(2006)
2010 537 277 (0.9 m, 38.0 775 N.A. 1,149 212.6 8 3.9 54 2.9 142 1.7 35
1,200 m)
(continued)
Table 3.7 (continued)
Source: (1) Indian Bureau of Mines, Indian Mineral Year Book, 1960–2007 (for reserve data up to 2006; (2) Indian Bureau of Mines, Growth of Indian Mineral Industry
(1947–1991), February, 1992 (for production data from 1960 to 1990); (3) Indian Bureau of Mines, Indian Mineral Year Book, 1997–2008 (for production data from 1995 to
2005); (4) Ministry of Mines, Government of India, Annual Report, 2012 (for reserve data pertaining to 2010 in respect of all minerals other than coal, petroleum and natural
gas); (5) Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Statistics, 2010–2011 (for reserve data of petroleum and natural gas for 2005 and 2010)
Notes
1. The figures are rounded off
2. All reserve figures till 1995 (minerals other than coal, petroleum and natural gas) are in situ geological reserve categorized as per old Indian system
3. Reserves (minerals other than coal, petroleum and natural gas) as in 2000 onwards are as per UNFC system
4. For the reserves of coal, cut-off thickness and depth of estimation are shown within parentheses
5. Wherever the year of estimation is different from the year indicated in column, the same is indicated within parenthesis
6. As regards coal, petroleum and natural gas the classification system followed is not UNFC
7. The reserves of natural gas as in 2005 and 2010 include coal bed methane
8. The production from 1995 onwards pertain to April-March, the following year
9. “N.A.” means “Not available”
10. As regards production of natural gas, the published data pertain to “utilized” natural gas which is the same as consumption (see Table 3.4) and the data for production,
which should be more than that for consumption, are not available
3.2 Humans as Producers of Minerals 47

(iii) In India, the above factor has still not become a formidable obstacle against
mining of coal.
(iv) Besides, the restricting geological factors like seam thickness, depth etc. are
more and more coming to light in the yet-to-be mined deposits in some of the
developed countries.
(v) The rate of growth in coal production and consumption in the fastest develop-
ing and biggest producing country China has been very high during the recent
years.

3.2.2 Technology of Exploration and Mining

From four-hundredth century BC to the twenty-first century AD, the techniques of

exploration and mining have been an open-ended advancement. The earliest evi-
dence of mining based on some dolerite hammers and picks, which have been dated
to 42,000 years ago, consisted in shallow open cast pits to dig out hematite and yel-
low ochre in Swaziland. And today, application of sophisticated metals and infor-
mation & communication technology (ICT) are being talked about for opening
newer and newer frontiers of mining.
External geo-political circumstances are now directing the attention of policy
makers to assess the feasibility of exploiting mineral resources which are located
under such difficult geo-environmental conditions and depths that a few years ago
they would have been out of scope of mining operations. The exploitation of these
resources will require paradigm shift to the use of robotics in mining and the inte-
gration of ICT into all phases of minerals extraction. At the same time mineral
extraction is an expanding large-scale activity in many of the lower and middle-
income countries of the world with an urgent need for safer and more environmen-
tally sound operations. These boundary conditions will define new ways for the
integration of ICT for future mining operations. Focus will be on fully automated
deep underground operations of strategic minerals coupled with in-situ mineral pro-
cessing and on safer ways of mineral extraction.
Since around 1960, there has been a revolution in the field of various new materi-
als of the kinds of electronic chips, highly special glass and advanced ceramic prod-
ucts, the metal-matrix composites, special alloys and super-alloys, semi-conductors,
laser, radar, super-conductors, components of space ships, materials for artificial
human organs, nanotubes, materials required for geoengineering and environmental
hazard mitigation, wind turbine components etc. and the researches in material sci-
ence are currently going in this direction. Mineral commodities like graphite, fuller-
ene, helium, zeolite, quartz, micro-diamonds and metals like rare earth metals will
play increasing role in development of such materials and they will call for not only
shifting of focus but also development of new methods of exploration and mining.
One of the most powerful forces influencing the economic importance of mineral
raw materials needed by the humankind in the future is technological change. In
many cases, their rapid diffusion can drastically increase the demand for new metals
48 3 Relationship Between Minerals and Human

Table 3.8 Global demand for selected metals in emerging technologies during 2006 and 2030
related to their total production during 2006
Demand from emerging Demand/2006-
Production 2006 technologies production ratio
Raw material (tonnes) 2006 (tonnes) 2030 (tonnes) 2006 2030
Gallium 152 28 603 0.18 3.97
Indium 581 234 1,911 0.40 3.29
Germanium 100 28 220 0.28 2.20
Neodymium 16.8 4.0 27.9 0.23 1.66
(rare earth)
Platinum 255 Negligible 345 — 1.35
Tantalum 1,384 551 1,410 0.40 1.02
Silver 19,051 5,342 15,823 0.28 0.83
Cobalt 62,270 12,820 26,860 0.21 0.43
Palladium 267 23 77 0.09 0.29
Copper 15,093,000 1,410,000 3,696,070 0.09 0.24
Source: European Commission (2010) (through web site)

and minerals. A study commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Economics

& Technology in 2010 has indicated that the emerging technologies have created
new demand for certain not-so-widely used metals and this trend is expected to
continue very rapidly till 2030 as shown in Table 3.8.
So, current technological research, development and innovation for management
of the material needs of the humankind with the help of the known and as-yet-
unknown natural resources are progressing in the directions of development of
novel technologies and new ICT-based processing sequences involving minimally
invasive technologies (endoscopic mining), 4-D modelling, virtual reality applica-
tions, detection and mapping of mineral occurrences at greater depths or in difficult
formations followed up with computer tomography of drill-core sample together
with remote, real-time processing of borehole data (e-exploration). The aim is the
development of the ‘Measuring While Drilling’ (MWD) concepts and of the sam-
pling and sensing techniques in order to increase the cost-efficiency and flexibility
of exploration sampling operations. The targets for exploration and mining through
application of all these technologies are as under:
(a) Depths beyond 4,000 m (the current maximum depth of mining of minerals
other than oil and gas) at minimum cost to the environment and other land-uses:
Technologies are still (2012) in conceptual stage and yet to be fully developed
for practical trials. However, the Swedish conceptual study “Smart Mine of the
Future” delivered its results in November 2010. Among other issues, the study
stated the need for fully automated continuous mechanical excavation, no
human presence in the production area, pre-concentration and resource charac-
terization. The emerging concepts centre on new deep-penetrating geophysical
technologies, near-zero impact surface operations requiring better management
of waste streams, advanced reclamation techniques, self contained extraction
3.2 Humans as Producers of Minerals 49

and processing systems and also advanced ICT (Abrahamson et al. 2009) for
ensuring security of personnel.
(b) Oceans: As of now (2012) the oceans are mostly unexplored. But whatever is
known they are the storehouse of abundant resources of a host of metals, the
reserves of which are scarce onshore. They include titanium, platinum, manga-
nese, copper, cobalt, nickel etc. needed by the manufacturers of electronic
goods, lithium car batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, flat screen television,
compact fluorescent light bulbs, missile guidance systems etc.; and also meth-
ane (or gas) hydrate. Some of the technologies developed or under development
are as follows.
(i) Robotics, computer mapping and underwater drilling for mining nodules
rich in manganese, nickel, cobalt and copper from about three miles below
the water surface between Hawaii and Mexico;
(ii) Ship or floating platform fitted with a nearly mile-long hose to vacuum up
fine silt suspended near bottom of the Red Sea;
(iii) Submersible vehicles to plough seabed and send mineral-rich slurry into
pipes for processing on the surface;
(iv) Ships capable of mining at depths up to 7,000 m aided by high-speed data
processing supercomputers with petaflop capability through a cluster
approach connected by a fibre optic switch which will enable modelling
and simulation of high-speed nuclear process including radiation model-
ling (China has the capability of mining at 7,000 m depth and some other
countries (e.g., US, Russia, Japan, India etc.) at depths ranging from 5,000
to 6,000 m); and
(v) An instrument called ‘ChemCam’ for chemical analysis of rocks from a
remote location (it uses laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy; the energy
from the laser excites atoms in a rock into an ionized, glowing plasma and
the ChemCam catches the light from the spark with a remotely located
telescope and analyses it with the help of spectrometers for information
about what elements are in the target rock).
Some of these technologies have not yet been tested in field. Nevertheless they
indicate the direction of the current thought process of the scientists.
(c) Extra-terrestrial bodies like asteroids, Moon, Mars etc.: Fairly sufficient knowl-
edge of mineral resources has been deciphered from the data gathered through
satellite reconnaissance and the analyses of (1) the samples collected by remote-
controlled sample-collectors and (2) in situ samples with the help of instru-
ments like ChemCam (see above).
The Moon contains recoverable elements that include silicon, iron, aluminium,
magnesium, calcium, hydrogen, deuterium, tritium, helium-3 and also ilmenite—all
entrapped in a thick layer of regolith. In the Martian regolith, while all these ele-
ments are present, additionally copper, sulphur and phosphorus are also available.
Interest in asteroid mining arose because of the high metal content—up to 91 % Fe,
8.5 % Ni and 0.6 % Co and also platinum, iridium, osmium and palladium; and the
water contained in the asteroids can be extracted and used for production of liquid
oxygen (LOX).
50 3 Relationship Between Minerals and Human

But currently it is the crypto-cometary bodies called Near-Earth-Objects (NEOs)

which are receiving relatively more attention on account of the Low-Earth-Orbit
(LEO) projects like establishment of International Space Station, orbital hotels,
geo-stationary solar power generators etc. and the high cost of delivering large pay-
loads from the Earth to the LEO. The resources in the regolith of the NEOs that are
currently being targeted are (1) propulsive fuel, (2) consumables for life support and
(3) structural materials. Besides, their cores are believed to be made up of iron and
nickel.
The technological challenges of exploration and mining in the Moon, the Mars,
the asteroids and the NEOs are as follows:
(i) Remote sensing techniques of exploration pose no problem.
(ii) As regards drilling, special technologies for countering low gravity as well as
special coring devices (e.g., rock-melting and laser beam device) are under
R & D.
(iii) For extracting the huge resource of helium-3 from the regolith, the latter will
be required to be heated to 8,000 °C.
(iv) The challenges in NEOs are their small diameters ranging (from 6 m to
38.5 km) and negligible magnetic fields. Hence the mining equipment would
be exposed to the solar wind and would need radiation-hardened electronics.
(v) Mining in regolith, hard rock and cometary ices—each requires a different
approach.
(vi) The rapid rotation and asymmetric mass distribution of the asteroids and com-
panion moons will produce variable gravitational forces making approach and
landing difficult.
(vii) Another problem being addressed is development of highly efficient, easily
deployable, flexible photovoltaic cells for constructing solar power arrays to
meet the power requirements for mining.
From an economical perspective the development of deposits that are not eco-
nomically viable in 2012 may become an attractive resource within the near future.
In short term, the development of advanced robotics for underground and surface
operations along with tele-mining for mining under extreme geo-environmental
conditions like those under the sea appears to be well within the horizon. Tele-
analysis of rocks using the instrument ChemCam is currently underway by the Mars
rover CURIOSITY.

3.3 Singularity of Ultimate Human Capability

As civilization advanced, humankind moved away from non-mineral to non-

renewable minerals. Animal bones and logs of wood gave way to rocks and metals
for weapon-making; horses gave way to horse-driven wheeled carts, steam-powered
carriages and motorized vehicles for movement on land; logs of wood gave way to
boats and mechanized ships for crossing the waters; wood gave way to charcoal,
References 51

coal, oil, gas and uranium for sourcing energy and finally, even if we, as scientists
are predicting, move more towards inexhaustible sources of energy like solar, wind,
hydrogen, nuclear fusion (using deuterium, tritium and helium-3), we will need
more minerals and technology to harness them.
According to an estimation made in 2002, an American consumed 23 tonnes of
mineral raw material per year, a citizen of European Union about 15 tonnes and an
average Indian about 0.75 tonnes and there will be a quantum jump in these figures
in the medium term. Economists expected that the level of total mineral production
which was in the region of 30 billion tonnes in 2002 would double in 2030. And
the challenge is to exploit all minerals and metals needed by humankind at afford-
able cost, at minimal strain to the environment of the Earth and in a socially compat-
ible manner. The answer to this challenge lies in technology and human resource
development.
As regards technology, continuous endeavours are underway for development
and innovation in the fields of deep mining, ocean exploration and mining and
exploitation of extra-terrestrial resources. And technology is advancing at a very
fast pace. So much so that it is indeed difficult to envision the point which the
advancement of technology will ultimately take us to. The term ‘singularity’ has
been in use by mathematicians and physicists to convey the breaking down of the
predictive ability of physics at the primordial point of time when the density of the
universe and the curvature of space-time would have been infinite. Ray Kurzweil, in
his Law of Accelerating Return, which was propounded in 2011, has used the term
“technological singularity” to conceive a postulated time in the future when social,
scientific, technological and economic changes will be so fast that we cannot even
imagine what will happen from our present perspective.
And the question arises: are our new generation scientists, geologists and mining
engineers being prepared by the universities and the institutes for this challenge?

References

Abrahamson et al (2009) Future of metal mining—16 predictions. An analysis based on three

international mining conferences. Int J Min Miner Eng 1(3):304–312
Chatterjee KK (2006) Uses of energy minerals and changing techniques. New Age, New Delhi
European Commission (2010) Renewable energy newsletter
IEA (International Energy Agency) (2005) Key world energy statistics
IEA (International Energy Agency) (2006) Key world energy statistics
IEA (International Energy Agency) (2009) Key world energy statistics
Chapter 4
Minerals and Energy—Non-renewable Sources

4.1 Conventional Sources

The non-renewable sources of energy, as known in April, 2013 can be grouped as:
1. Conventional (traditionally established)
• Coal
• Petroleum
• Natural gas
• Uranium
2. Unconventional (recent)
• Methane [Coal bed methane (CBM); Coal mine methane (CMM); Abandoned
mine methane (AMM); Ventilation air methane (VAM)]
• Thorium
• Oil shale
• Shale gas
• Tight gas
These are discussed as follows.

4.1.1 Coal

Coal is the oldest energy mineral used by the humans in general and industries
in particular. Like everything else, coal has both positive and negative points.
The positive points include:
1. Coal is abundant and widespread. Its resources occur in over 70 countries and
it is produced in over 50 countries. They comprise major developed and

© Capital Publishing Company 2015 53

K.K. Chatterjee, Macro-Economics of Mineral and Water Resources,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-15054-3_4
54 4 Minerals and Energy—Non-renewable Sources

developing countries like US, China, India, Russia, Australia, South Africa,
Germany, Ukraine and Indonesia.
2. Due to its geological nature of occurrence, cost of its exploration and mining is
the lowest amongst the energy minerals.
3. Due to well-spread production centres and low cost, coal is subjected to free
competition worldwide and consequently, its price remains affordable.
4. Coal is readily available from a wide variety of sources in a well-supplied
worldwide market.
5. Being a solid mineral, it is easy to transport to demand centres by rail and ship
quickly, safely and easily and also store it in bulk in open yards.
6. Besides thermal value, it is also a source of a wide variety of chemicals.
7. It is widely used in an array of industries from brick to electricity as well as in
millions of rural homes.
8. The technologies of harnessing its thermal and chemical values are
well-established.
9. It is the most used mineral in thermal power industries and is a critical raw
material in iron and cement industries–all infrastructure industries vital for eco-
nomic growth.
10. Coal is not dependent on weather or rainfall unlike many of the unconventional
kinds of energy like hydro, solar and wind energy.
On the other hand, the environmentalists regard coal as the enemy of humanity
due to the fact that it is the most carbon-intensive fuel and is one of the most
potential pollutants. The negative points are:
1. Particulate emissions such as ash resulting from coal combustion.
2. Emission of harmful trace elements like mercury, selenium and arsenic.
3. Oxides of nitrogen collectively referred to as NOx which are formed from the
combustion process where air is used and/or where nitrogen is present in the coal
and which can contribute to smog, ground level ozone, acid rain and greenhouse
gas emissions.
4. Oxides of sulphur collectively referred to as SOx which are formed from the
combustion of the sulphur contained in many coals and which can cause acid
rain.
5. Waste material consisting primarily of mineral matter with small amounts of
unburnt carbon posing problems of disposal.
6. Generation of CO2 from burning of coal which accounts for over 40 % of global
warming (besides coal, other sources like firewood also contribute to the total
CO2 to the extent of 15–20 %).
7. Large land requirement: A coal-based power plant usually requires an area of
36.32 ha for generation of every megawatt-hour of electricity.
8. Freshwater requirement: A coal-based power plant may require over 1000 l of
freshwater for generation of every megawatt-hour of electricity.
The disadvantages notwithstanding, coal continues and will continue to play a
unique role in meeting the demand for energy in most of the countries for both
power generation and industrial applications without raising geopolitical safety
4.1 Conventional Sources 55

issues. Indigenous coal resources enable socioeconomic development of a large

number of countries and can guard against import dependence and price shocks.
The economic and social benefits can be summarized as follows.
1. Coal can be transported to demand centres quickly, safely and easily by rail, road
or ship.
2. Coal produces 39 % of the world’s electricity and around 70 % of the world’s
steel (IEA 2002; WCI 2003).
3. Coal used in power generation is projected to grow 60 % by 2030 (IEA 2002).
4. The benefits amount to a gain of billions of dollars to the developed and develop-
ing countries alike.
5. Over one billion people have gained access to electricity via coal since the
early 1980s (China has achieved almost 100 % electrification–over 84 %
coal-based–and the highest GDP growth rate in the world).
6. Coal provides over seven million jobs worldwide and coal production is key
economic activity in many communities (WCI 2002).
7. Coal has provided people with dependable and affordable access to modern
energy, particularly electricity which has, in turn, served to improve public
health, enable access to modern information and education services and save
people from subsistence tasks such as gathering fuel thus allowing them to
pursue other more rewarding activities.
As regards the concerns of greenhouse gas and global warming, extensive and
intensive researches are underway for developing technology pathways. In fact,
technologies are already known, but the scientists and technologists are trying to
answer the question of how to reduce the cost of making coal environment-friendly.
The technologies include:

4.1.1.1 Clean Coal Technology (CCT)

These technologies are a range of technological options which improve the environ-
mental performance of coal. They reduce emissions, reduce waste and increase the
amount of energy gained from each tonne of coal. The environmental benefits and
the technology options for achieving them are discussed as follows.
(i) Reduction of particulate emissions: Emissions of particulates such as ash,
which impact local visibility and affect people’s respiratory systems, are the
more visible side-effects of coal combustion. The common technologies in
vogue are the different coal washing/beneficiation processes and electro-static
precipitators (ESP) and fabric filters (or bag-houses). The former is for reduc-
ing ash before combustion (generally at or near the mine-head) and thus
improving the efficiency of power plants which leads to reduction of emis-
sions. In the ESP, particulates are removed by over 99.5 % from the flue gases
emitted during combustion of coal.
(ii) Reduction of trace element emissions: ESP and fabric filters (described above)
and fluidized combustion and desulphurization equipment (described in the
56 4 Minerals and Energy—Non-renewable Sources

next paragraph) can significantly reduce trace element emissions. In addition,

activated carbon injection technique is especially suitable for this purpose.
It involves activated carbon being injected into the flue gas stream exiting the
boiler and absorbing the trace element pollutants onto the particulate matter,
which is then removed in the particulate control equipment (ESP etc.).
(iii) Prevention of acid rain and smog: Acid rain came to global attention during the
latter part of the twentieth century when acidification of lakes and damage of
trees in parts of Europe and North America were discovered. The reasons have
been traced to the emission of oxides of sulphur (SOX) and of nitrogen (NOX)
during combustion of coal which react chemically with water vapour and other
substances in the atmosphere to form acids and are deposited in rainfall. NOX
can also contribute to the development of smog. The technology option for
removal of SOX is the flue gas desulphurization (FGD or scrubber) process for
use in coal-fired power stations. By this technology up to 99 % of SOX can be
removed. The technology options for removal of NOX are the selective cata-
lytic and non-catalytic reductions (SCR and SCNR) which can remove NOX by
80–90 % post-combustion. Fluidized bed combustion (FBC) is a high-
efficiency advanced technological approach to reducing both NOX and SOX
emissions. FBC has achieved reduction of over 90 %.
(iv) Reducing CO2 emission: CO2 emission can be reduced by improving the ther-
mal efficiency (i.e. fuel conversion efficiency) of coal-fired power stations. The
global average thermal efficiency of coal-fired powered stations was around
30 %; but in new super-critical plants operating at higher steam temperature
and pressure than conventional plants, this has improved to 43–45 %.
Near zero emission of CO2 has been achieved through carbon capture and
sequestration (CCS). This technology allows emissions of CO2 to be stripped
out of the exhaust stream of coal combustion and deposited in such a way that
they do not enter the atmosphere. As regards storage of the captured CO2, the
preferred option presently is underground–in natural geological structures, in
depleted oil and gas wells, in deep saline aquifers and in coal seams which are
not mineable. The captured CO2 can also be used economically for food pro-
cessing, fish farming etc.
However CCS technologies face challenges like huge investment and land
requirements. Moreover, maintaining a CCS system requires a lot of energy
thus delivering less net energy per unit of coal.
An alternative approach is to produce a gas from coal in integrated gasifica-
tion combined cycle (IGCC) systems. In this, coal is not combusted directly
but reacted with oxygen and steam to produce what is called ‘syngas’ com-
posed mainly of hydrogen and carbon monoxide (CO). This syngas is cleaned
of impurities and then burnt in a gas turbine to generate electricity and to pro-
duce steam for a steam power cycle. The efficiency level of IGCC systems is
high–50 % or even more. They also remove 95–99 % of the NOX and SOX
emissions.
4.1 Conventional Sources 57

According to data compiled by the World Coal Institute (WCI 2005), the levels
of CO2 reduction by different technology options are: up to 5 % by coal upgrada-
tion, up to 22 % by efficiency improvements of existing plants, up to 25 % by
advanced technologies and up to 99 % by CCS technology.

4.1.1.2 Coal Liquefaction to Convert It to Gasoline and Diesel

Germany first produced coal-derived liquid fuels during the World War II followed
later on by South Africa which is now the leading producer. China is also experienc-
ing growth in coal liquefaction as a way of utilizing the country’s enormous reserves
of coal. As in 2012, India is yet to make a beginning in this area. There are two key
methods of liquefaction:
(i) Direct coal liquefaction through a single process
(ii) Indirect coal liquefaction where coal is first gasified and then converted to
liquid
The commercial scale coal liquefaction process currently in operation worldwide
is the indirect Sasol (Fischer-Tropsch) process. The liquefied coal can be refined to
produce transport fuels and other oil products, in a way acting as a substitute of
crude oil.
The IEA has in 2004 made a forecast about indispensability of coal in everyday
life in 2030. A comparative scenario between 2002 and 2030 are shown in Table 4.1.
It can be surmised that the trend is towards more and more coal-based thermal
power generation capacity at the cost of all other applications mainly due to increase
in the electrification rates in the developing countries from 66 % in 2002 to 78 % in
2030 thanks to the affordable cost of coal. However, subsequent to 2004, environ-
mental lobbies against coal mining have become more and more vocal. One of their
arguments is that the costs of the externalities are never factored in determination of
the cost of coal. The externalities comprise the damages to environment and climate
caused by the emissions from coal-fired power plants; and if all the mitigation
measures are implemented, the cost will no longer be low. In other words, it is
fallacious to consider only the present monetary cost of coal leaving out the costs of
the externalities which encourage its uninhibited use. Exact cost implications of the
externalities in monetary terms have not yet been standardized; but according to the
estimation of the WWF International (Ina Pozon 2006), the indicative externality
impact on cost per kWh of power in Europe could be 3.5–4.0 times of the current
apparent cost. According to data compiled by Justin Mundy (2006), the incremental

Table 4.1 Comparative coal Coal usage 2002 (%) 2030 (%)
usage in 2002 and 2030
Power generation 69 79
Industry 16 12
Residential 3 1
Other 12 8
58 4 Minerals and Energy—Non-renewable Sources

Table 4.2 Comparison among China and EU regarding CO2 emission in 2002 and 2030
CO2 emissions
(million tonnes/year) 2002 2030 Change
World – total 23,579 38,214 14,635 (62.1 %)
World – coal 9,023 13,866 4,843 (53.7 %)
China – total 3,307 7,144 3,837 (116.0 %)
China – coal 2,621 5,194 2,573 (98.2 %)
EU – total 3,731 4,488 757 (20.3 %)
EU – coal 1,170 1,091 –79 (−6.8 %)
Coal-fired power plant capacity (gigawatts)
World 1,135 2,156 1,021 (90.0 %)
China 247 776 529 (214.2 %)
EU 111 87 –24 (−21.6 %)

cost of clean coal was hypothesized to be in the range Euro 200–600/kWh.

The range itself is wide; besides there was and is still no real market, hence this
hypothesis has not yet been tested and it is not possible to know the actual cost.
Nevertheless, the cost of clean coal will be significantly higher than raw coal.
This will imply that coal will, no doubt, lose its principal forte of being affordable
to the common people of the developing countries. It is, therefore, necessary that
the R&D efforts on carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology be made
business-oriented and market-friendly. Achieving this will require scaling up of the
R&D and increasing the number of commercial scale storage pilot projects ensuring
that the general public is consulted throughout.
According to data compiled by Justin Mundy (2006), China will play an impor-
tant role as far as CO2 emissions–especially due to coal-fired power generation–is
concerned till at least 2030 (Table 4.2).
Different governments are responding differently to the problem of CO2 and par-
ticulate emissions and also global warming associated with coal. The governmental
response is manifest in the form of both incentives and disincentives–mainly fiscal
and legislative–as follows.
1. Carbon credit: A system of tradable carbon credit is now well established. These
credits are generally represented as a GHG reduction equivalent to a tonne of
carbon dioxide or carbon or methane. They are issued in the form of “Certificates
of Emission Reduction” (CER) by the United Nations Framework Convention
for Climate Change (UNFCCC) on the basis of verification certificate (Verified
Emission Reduction or VER) by an authority designated by the UNFCCC for
each country. A plant able to achieve reduction in GHG emission will earn ‘cred-
its’, which it can sell to a plant emitting excess GHG. The bench mark for mea-
suring reductions and excesses could be the targets set in Kyoto Protocol (1997)
to which many countries are signatories. The credit can be earned through what
is called Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) which can be implemented in
the following two ways:
4.1 Conventional Sources 59

(i) By reducing emission of pollutants from the coal used, through clean coal
technology (CCT), and
(ii) By reducing emission of pollutants from coal by partially substituting
unclean coal by some clean energy.
London has become an important centre for carbon market. But demand and
trade volume of CER is highly sensitive to economic growth because high eco-
nomic growth means high consumption of energy and high rate of emission of
CO2.
2. India’s energy saving certificates: In India, the National Action Plan on Climate
Change has been announced in 2008. This plan mandates setting up of energy
bench marks for each sector and allows trade in energy saving certificates in the
domestic market. Those who surpass their targets will be given energy certifi-
cates which can be sold in an open market; they can also set off the extra savings
for future adjustments when the targets are revised. The plan (in combination
with the Energy Conservation Act, 2001) is intended to move the industries
towards a cleaner route at the least cost to the industry and the economy.
3. Emission tax: In Russia, a system of imposing Emission Tax has been introduced
to discourage use of CO2-emitting technologies.
4. Climate change levy (CCL): In UK, the “green energy” producers are encour-
aged by exempting them from this levy which they would otherwise be required
to pay.
5. Tax credit: This provision is available to environmentally beneficial projects in
US.
6. Subsidy: A policy of subsidizing “green energy” introduced in Germany in 2000
has enabled many CCT projects commercially viable there.
7. Mix of tax and state funding: In China, the policy is to levy tax on sale of carbon
credits and then to use the fund so collected for raising awareness of climate
change and cutting emissions.
8. India’s steam coal, which is used for power generation, contains high ash up to
50 % causing problems of disposal of bottom and fly ash and particulate emis-
sion. The Government of India, in 2001, has made it mandatory for the power
stations located 1,000 km or more away from the supply source and for those
located in urban, sensitive or critically polluted areas (irrespective of the dis-
tance) to use washed coal that has an ash content of not more than 34 %.
9. Carbon tax: Australia, in 2012, imposed carbon tax at a flat rate of A$ 23 per
tonne of CO2 emitted. The rate may change in future. This is in addition to the
30 % Minerals Resource Rent Tax on profits earned from coal mining which has
nothing to do with pollution.
However, the current trend indicates that the role of coal as a source of electricity
is becoming all the more important irrespective of the effectivity of technological,
fiscal and legislative responses despite temporary set-backs on account of economic
slowdown.
60 4 Minerals and Energy—Non-renewable Sources

4.1.2 Petroleum

Chemically, crude oil refers to the chain of hydrocarbons having composition C3H8
(propane), C4H10 (butane) and onwards. The world has come a long way since the
drilling of first oil well in US on August 27, 1859. As of 2011, the world has con-
sumed around 1,100 billion barrels of crude oil since then; and the remaining proved
reserves stood at around 1,000 billion barrels. As in 2012, the average per capita
consumption of petroleum is 14 barrels/day in the developed countries, three
barrels/day in the developing countries and 1.2 barrels/day in India. A number of
products are derived from crude petroleum and each of them has carved a niche
utility where it is indispensable. Table 4.3 illustrates the broad scenario in the world.
In all the regions the demand of practically all the products declined in 2011.
This is consistent with the global economic recession, particularly in the US and
Europe. However, in most of the end-uses the scope of superior substitution is lim-
ited. The scenario in India, which is dependent on import to the extent of 65–70 %
of its demand, may be seen from Table 4.4.
It can be seen that although the overall growth in demand during the period
1970–2009 was positive for all the individual products, there were ups and downs
within the period. The surge of demand of LPG (mixture of propane or C3H8 and
butane or C4H10) which is a cooking fuel was due to the Government’s policy to
discourage use of firewood by the poor people and heavy subsidization. Naphtha is
a feedstock for both power and fertilizer; but it is also relatively costlier than the
other competing raw materials in India and hence it is seen that towards the end of
the period its use dwindled significantly. The decrease in demand for motor gasoline

Table 4.3 Utilitywise oil demand in different regions of the world during 2010 and 2011 (Million
barrels/day)
LPG and Motor Gas oil/ Residual
Year ethane Naphtha gasoline Jet/kerosene diesel fuel oil Others Total
Americas (minus Chile)
2010 2.9 0.35 10.64 1.67 4.97 0.96 2.54 24.12
2011 3.01 0.36 10.39 1.67 5.08 0.91 2.50 23.92
Europe
2010 0.96 1.27 2.21 1.23 6.20 1.31 1.51 14.70
2011 0.96 1.17 2.11` 1.24 6.14 1.26 1.49 14.37
Asia-Oceania + Chile
2010 0.86 1.71 1.63 0.90 1.69 0.79 0.51 8.10
2011 0.85 1.71 1.61 0.88 1.70 0.79 0.59 8.13
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD countries)
2010 4.81 3.33 14.47 3.81 12.87 3.07 4.56 46.91
2011 4.82 3.24 14.12 3.79 12.91 2.96 4.58 46.41
Source: IEA: Oil Market Report dated August 10, 2012
Note: The figures pertain to demand which may be different from actual consumption
4.1

Table 4.4 Utilitywise demand of petroleum in India (Million tonnes)

Petrol or motor Gas oil/diesel
Year LPG Naphtha gasoline Jet or ATF Kerosene (HSD & LDO) Fuel oils Others Total
1970 0.18 0.90 1.45 0.69 3.28 4.93 4.66 3.05 19.14
Conventional Sources

1975 0.34 (15 %) 1.84 (17 %) 1.28 (−2 %) 0.90 (5 %) 3.10 (−1 %) 7.48 (9 %) 5.78 (4 %) 2.97 (−0.4 %) 23.69 (4 %)
1980 0.41 (4 %) 2.33 (5 %) 1.52 (4 %) 1.13 (5 %) 4.23 (7 %) 11.47 (11 %) 7.47 (6 %) 3.72 (5 %) 32.28 (7 %)
1985 1.24 (40 %) 3.11 (7 %) 2.28 (10 %) 1.45 (6 %) 6.23 (9 %) 16.01 (8 %) 7.90 (1 %) 5.15 (8 %) 43.37 (7 %)
1990 2.42 (19 %) 3.45 (11 %) 3.55 (11 %) 1.68 (3 %) 8.42 (7 %) 22.65 (8 %) 8.99 (3 %) 6.61 (6 %) 57.77 (7 %)
1995 3.92 (24 %) 4.15 (4 %) 4.68 (6 %) 2.08 (5 %) 9.93 (4 %) 33.57 (10 %) 11.16 (5 %) 8.58 (6 %) 78.07 (7 %)
2000 7.02 (16 %) 11.67 (36 %) 6.61 (8 %) 2.25 (2 %) 11.13 (2 %) 39.36 (3 %) 12.65 (3 %) 16.11 (18 %) 106.8 (7 %)
2005 10.46 (10 %) 12.19 (1 %) 8.65 (6 %) 3.30 (9 %) 9.54 (−3 %) 41.07 (1 %) 12.83 (0.3 %) 24.36 (10 %) 122.4 (3 %)
2009 13.12 (6 %) 10.24 (−4 %) 12.82 (12 %) 4.63 (10 %) 9.30 (−0.6 %) 56.78 (10 %) 11.59 (−2.4 %) 31.32 (7 %) 149.8 (6 %)
Growth 73 times 11 times 9 times 7 times 3 times 12 times 2.5 times 10 times 8 times
(40 years)
Source: Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (Government of India): Energy Statistics, 2012
Notes
1. The figures pertain to demand which may be different from actual consumption
2. The years refer to the period April to March of the following year
3. LPG means liquefied petroleum gas
4. ATF means aviation turbine fuel
5. HSDO means high speed diesel oil
6. LDO means light diesel oil
7. Others include lubricants, bitumen, petroleum coke, refinery fuel etc
61
62 4 Minerals and Energy—Non-renewable Sources

during the first half of the decade of 1970s was due to the ‘oil shock’; but later on,
oil exploration was intensified in India leading to the discovery and development of
the Bombay High and other offshore oilfields and the growth became consistent.
ATF demand was throughout moderate but consistent because not only domestic
aircrafts, but also foreign ones fill up their tanks in India. Kerosene (C10H22 to
C14H30) is the poor people’s fuel and light in India and is heavily subsidized by the
Government; but still it registered negative growth at times because of progress in
rural electrification and encouragement by the Government for use of LPG also.
HSD is used for running buses and trucks and LDO for tractors and industrial
machines; and there has been a steady increase in the public road transport system
as well as of deployment of tractors in agricultural farms. Fuel oil is used for initial
firing of industrial furnaces and its growth was always low and even negative during
industrial slowdown.
Technology-related aspects which play a key role in determining the competitive
advantage/disadvantage of oil over other energy sources can be grouped as under:
1. Upstream exploration and exploitation: The progress in oil exploration during
the last over 150 years has been phenomenal. From the ‘cable tool method’
deployed by Drake in 1859 for drilling the first oil well, technologies of remote
sensing, geophysical surveys (gravity, magnetic, seismic and electric) and
advanced drilling techniques during the second half of the 20th century are now
being supplemented by 3-D and 4-D seismic imaging coupled with computer-
enhanced processing, drilling engineering, wire-line imaging and advanced
well-testing etc., which have opened up new vistas for exploration and develop-
ment. Now, drilling for oil has reached depths beyond 11,200 m (Sakhalin Island
at Russia’s far-east).
2. Transportation: Depending on the geographical locations and the distances from
the oilfield to the refinery or the market centres, various modes of transport for
crude oil are put to use as under:
(i) By road in oil tankers
(ii) By rail in tank wagons
(iii) By sea in large (75,000–115,000 dwt capacity), very large crude carriers or
VLCC (150,000–320,000 dwt capacity) and ultra large crude carriers or
ULCC (320,000–550,000 dwt capacity)
(iv) By pipelines for distances that may be as long as 3,200 km (Alberta to
Toronto, Canada)
However, grave environmental damages are associated with oil spills which are
not uncommon particularly during maritime transportation. The oil spill in the Gulf
of Mexico on April 20, 2010 (60,000–96,000 tonnes) and in 1979 (1 million tonnes),
in California in 2007 (220,000 tonnes), in Spain in 1992 (80,000 tonnes) etc. have
illustrated the extent of damage possible to the aquatic environment (estimations
ranged up to hundreds of billions of dollars). The adverse effects including those on
4.1 Conventional Sources 63

aquatic life as well as on shorelines can last for tens of years and cleanup operations
are also very costly. Presently, the technologies comprise:
(i) Mechanical: The equipments include a variety of brooms, skimmers and natural
and synthetic sorbent materials which are used to capture and store the spilled
oil until it can be disposed properly.
(ii) Chemical: These include dispersants and gelling agents for preventing oil from
spreading.
(iii) Biological: Certain bacteria have the ability to consume oil.
Besides, during pipeline transportation, broken pipes can contaminate water
supplies.
3. Refining: It includes fractional distillation and then refining. It is at the stage of
fractional distillation that mixtures of different useful products are separated into
light distillates (LPG, motor gasoline, naphtha etc.), middle distillates (kerosene,
ATF, HSD and LDO), heavy ends (lubricants, petroleum coke etc.) and other
special products (white oil, paraffin wax etc.), which are then refined. Refining
involves chemical conversion by cracking (breaking down of molecules at high
temperature generally in presence of a catalyst to obtain a new product).
4. Downstream non-fuel products: By cracking, aromatics and olefins are obtained
which are subjected to further chemical processing. As a result of this processing
various non-fuel industrial products like detergents, synthetic rubber etc. are
obtained.
Sulphur in crude oil has an ambiguous role. Petroleum contains sulphur varying
in amount up to 5 %. Sulphur-containing compounds get into oil during its forma-
tion itself. If its content is up to 0.45 %, the oil is called ‘sweet oil’ (e.g., Brent crude
of Texas). If it is recovered as by-product it adds to the economic value of the oil;
but if it remains in the petroleum products, it is objectionable. And the sulphur
along with carbon dioxide then adds to the vehicular pollution. As in 2009, it was
estimated that the US enjoying the distinction of highest rate of car ownership
(five cars for every six people) and one of the lowest fuel efficiency (its cars emitted
much more carbon dioxide per year than all the cars in Japan, China, India, Russia,
France, Italy, Germany, Britain and Canada put together). Improvement of fuel
efficiency is one of the options being exercised by different countries including
China and European Union which have set targets of vehicular emission for 2016–
on an average 45 miles per gallon (mpg).
However, the problem of oil supply is extraordinary. It suffers from some excep-
tional barriers to additional production:
1. Production from existing major oilfields is declining sharply by two million
barrels/day.
2. The most accessible oilfields have already been found and exploited.
3. Future discoveries lie in deep water and difficult geological structures miles
underground (e.g. Arctic seabed).
64 4 Minerals and Energy—Non-renewable Sources

4. Lack of equipment to drill in deep waters has delayed exploration by several

countries.
5. Even production from established new discoveries has been delayed for want of
deep-sea equipment.
6. Many countries are reluctant to expand drilling for oil even onshore because of
environmental concerns (e.g., Saudi Arabia, US in Alaskan Wilderness Reserve).
7. Because of indispensability of oil, speculation and hoarding are tending to rise.
8. Because of its indispensability and concentration in a contiguous belt extending
from the middle-east along the North Africa, it is the only mineral for which a
cartel (Organization of Oil-Exporting Countries or OPEC) has been able to suc-
ceed and the international supply and price of oil are controlled by this cartel.
9. Success ratio of discovery of economic oil and gas fields is low (about 10 %).
10. There has been attempts to forecast the peak year of oil production by applying
what is known as the ‘King Hubert’s Curve’, according to which the production
curve would continue to match the discovery curve with a lag of 30–40 years;
but the forecasts have so far missed their marks.
11. Due to the campaign against vehicular emission, the refining standards have also
become very stringent. Worldwide, the standard being followed is Euro-5 which
has set limits on emissions of NOx, total hydrocarbon (THC), non-methane
hydrocarbon (NMHC), CO and particulate matter (PM) in terms of grammes/
km. In 2014, the standards will be more stringent when Euro-6 comes into force.
As a result of all these factors, the response time of oil supply is the longest and
there are far-reaching repercussions on oil price and on economy as a whole. Due to
irresponsible speculation, oil prices sky-rocketed in 2008; as a result, consumers in
US, who received loans from banks for acquiring real estates, had to utilize their
resources for buying oil instead of servicing their bank loans; large scale defaults
resulted in a chain of bank failures and economic recession.
Moreover, majority of the countries will continue to remain dependent on
imported oil; and since the international oil market is linked to the US dollar (except
Venezuelan oil which is linked to Euro), the higher and higher import bills will
put greater and greater pressure on the US dollar which will make it vulnerable to
weakening, making oil even costlier. Besides, oil has become such a security issue
that natural calamities or even a mere possibility of a war in the oil-producing areas
sends a panic wave across the world shooting up its price. Summing up, it may be
surmised that, in the long run, availability of oil may not be an issue but its price
will be.

4.1.3 Natural Gas

Natural gas is a mixture of methane (CH4) and ethane (C2H6). It occurs either in
association with and above petroleum or independently. But the geological nature
of the trap is the same. Hence the exploration techniques are also same as those
4.1 Conventional Sources 65

for petroleum. However all of the industrial uses of natural gas are not the same as
those of petroleum.
Natural gas was once considered as an unwanted product (in India, till the 1960s)
during oil recovery and used to be burnt out. This was because of the problems of
the capital- and technology-intensive storage and transportation facilities. But now,
the situation has changed completely and it has become a very important part of the
energy stream–25 % of the world’s energy profile and about 9 % of India’s as in
2011. Exploration in and exploitation from independent natural gas reservoirs are
now a regular practice. Tables 4.5 and 4.6 show a comparative picture in US and
in India.
In US, natural gas has not been a high-growth fuel because there are other alter-
natives like coal, nuclear energy, coal mine methane and, more recently, shale gas.
US being self-sufficient in energy minerals, growth in the industrial use of natural
gas has been dependent there on its relative price advantage vis-à-vis the alterna-
tives. As regards commercial and residential use, the supply in US is mainly through
pipelines and this consumption has been excluded from the statistical report.
Nevertheless, in 2011 power generation accounted for 34 % of the total gas
consumption.
The scenario in India is however different. India is largely dependent on import
for its non-renewable energy needs–whether coal or natural gas or nuclear fuel.
Only recently a large reserve of natural gas has been discovered in Krishna-Godavari
(KG) basin which is linked with captive power and fertilizer plants. This explains
the spurt in growth in its use for power generation and fertilizer manufacturing after
2008 and as much as 45 % of the total consumption was accounted for by power
generation while 28 % for fertilizer manufacture. But that spurt has been neutralized
because:
(i) Production from that basin has declined (this trend has compelled the
Government in 2012 to decide against setting up any gas-based power plant till
2015–2016).
(ii) Cost of recovery has increased.
(iii) Price fixed in the contract between the Government and the private company is
under dispute.
(iv) Because of this dispute, other discovered reservoirs have not been developed.
(v) Import of natural gas is hampered by the problems of transportation and
storage.
(vi) Import price of natural gas from the Gulf countries is linked to oil; as a result
an increase in oil price automatically increases gas price thus creating problems
in substituting oil by gas.
The problem of transportation and storage is, in fact, formidable. There are
mainly two forms in which natural gas can be transported and/or stored as follows.
(a) Gaseous form: Natural gas can be transported either at normal pressure or in
compressed form. When it is transported through pipelines for either domestic or
industrial use, an elaborate network of pipelines has to be constructed–both on
66

Table 4.5 Consumption of natural gas in United States

Commercial
and residential Industrial Electric power generation Vehicle fuel Total
Growth over Growth over Growth over Growth over Growth over
Quantity previous year Quantity previous year Quantity previous year Quantity previous year Quantity previous year
Year (billion m3) (%) (billion m3) (%) (billion m3) (%) (billion m3) (%) (billion m3) (%)
2007 219.5 – 188.4 – 193.7 – 0.71 – 602.3 –
4

2008 227.8 3.78 188.8 0.21 188.8 −2.53 0.74 3.95 606.1 0.63
2009 223.6 −1.84 174.6 −7.52 194.6 3.07 0.76 3.80 593.6 −2.06
2010 223.3 −0.13 184.5 5.67 209.1 7.45 0.88 14.92 617.8 4.08
2011 223.5 0.09 190.1 3.04 215.2 2.92 0.93 6.38 629.7 1.93
Source: Based on US Energy Information Administration: Independent Statistics & Analysis
Notes
1. The figures were originally in billion ft3 which have been converted to billion m3 and rounded off (1 ft3 = 0.2831 m3)
2. LDO means light diesel oil
3. Lease and plant fuel and the gas distributed through pipeline are excluded
Minerals and Energy—Non-renewable Sources
4.1

Table 4.6 Industry-wise off-take of natural gas in India

Domestic fuel Industrial Electric power generation Fertilizer Others Total
Average Average Average Average Average
annual growth annual growth annual growth annual growth annual growth
during the during the during the during the during the
Quantity preceding Quantity preceding Quantity preceding Quantity preceding Quantity preceding
Year (billion m3) period (%) (billion m3) period (%) (billion m3) period (%) (billion m3) period (%) (billion m3) period (%)
Conventional Sources

1970 – – 0.14 – 0.26 – 0.19 – 0.07 0.66 –

1980 0.01 – 0.22 5.7 0.49 8.8 0.61 22.1 0.20 1.53 13.2
1990 0.05 40.0 1.33 50.5 3.63 64.1 5.61 82.0 2.15 12.77 73.5
2000 0.34 58.0 3.80 18.6 8.80 14.2 8.48 5.1 6.44 27.86 11.8
2005 0.08 −15.3 5.11 6.9 11.88 7.0 7.76 −1.7 6.21 31.04 2.3
2006 0.44 450.0 4.76 −9.2 11.96 0.7 8.50 9.5 5.71 31.37 1.1
2007 0.04 −90.9 4.91 3.2 12.04 0.7 9.82 15.5 4.06 30.87 −1.6
2008 0.10 150.0 7.17 46.0 12.60 4.7 9.08 −7.5 3.78 32.73 6.0
2009 0.03 −70.0 1.89 −73.6 21.37 69.6 13.17 45.0 10.79 47.25 44.4
2010 – – – – – – – – – 51.20 8.4
2011 – – – – – – – – – 46.85 −8.5
Source: (1) Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (Government of India): Energy Statistics, 2011; (2) Ministry of Mines (Government of India):
Annual Report, 2011–2012 (for the data for 2010 and 2011)
Notes
1. The years refer to the period April to March of the following year
2. The total consumption (referred to as ‘utilized’) in 2009 has subsequently been marginally revised to 47.51 billion m3, but industry-wise break-up has not been
published till 2012
3. Industry-wise break-up of the consumption (referred to as ‘utilized’) in 2010 and 2011 has not been published till 2012
4. Industrial use of natural gas includes plant fuel, tea plantation and petrochemicals
5. Others include captive use, LPG shrinkage and compressed natural gas (CNG) sale for use in vehicles
67
68 4 Minerals and Energy—Non-renewable Sources

land and under sea, which is again technology- and capital-intensive; moreover,
such pipelines require sustained measures to protect against sabotage. Otherwise
if it is used in the form of compressed natural gas (CNG) in cylinders for
vehicular use, it is necessary to set up a network of storage and filling facilities
(akin to petrol pumps).
(b) Liquid form: Liquid natural gas (LNG) or natural gas liquid (NGL) is made by
cooling the gas to cryogenic temperature under high pressure. Seventeen kiloli-
tres of gas at normal temperature condenses to 0.028 kl of liquid at
(−)161 °C. This is economical from the transportation and storage point of view
because a large volume of gas can be stored in a small space. On the other hand,
the process of liquefaction is not only extremely difficult and costly but also
extremely hazardous as LNG is highly inflammable and it has a tendency to
explode. Consequently, its transportation and storage requires technology- and
capital-intensive safety measures.
However, the dominant fraction of natural gas being methane, it contains four
parts of hydrogen to one part of carbon. This makes it an environment-friendly
energy source. One major gas pipeline can offset 120 tonnes of CO2 if it displaces
coal (Mottershead Chris). Now-a-days the emphasis is on combined cycle gas tur-
bines (CCGT) by which the kinetic energy of heated natural gas is first used to drive
turbines and then its thermal value is harnessed to boil water for generating super-
heated steam and driving another set of turbines. The efficiency of electricity output
has reached the level of about 60 %. Now, triple CCGT power plant project is under
construction in Japan which will precede the gas turbine by a solid oxide fuel cell
stack. This project is expected to be operational in 2015 and the efficiency is
expected to be as high as 70 %. But the main disadvantage of this triple CCGT
system is that a high temperature of 500–1,000 °C will be required to activate the
fuel cells.

4.1.4 Uranium

Uranium, the heaviest element known so far, has a fixed atomic number (92), but
varying number of neutrons (commonly 143 and 146) and hence its two economi-
cally significant isotopes are U235 and U238 (the other isotope U234 is very unstable
and not of economic significance). From the point of view of direct use for genera-
tion of energy, however, the naturally fissile U235 is the most important (U238 can also
be used, but indirectly; see ‘thorium’ later in this chapter). It is extremely rare in its
occurrence (its incidence in the Earth’s crust is 4 ppm) and the common ore
Pitchblende (a form of uraninite) mainly contains U3O8. It is only after the revolu-
tionary ‘special theory of relativity’ of Einstein in 1905 that the potential of this
metal as an agent of unimaginable energy was first foreseen. Subsequently, a series
of experiments and achievements led finally to the realization of chain reaction by
Enrico Fermi in 1942 and the first economic (?) use of this metal in the form of atom
or fission bomb was witnessed in 1945 when the World War II came to an end.
4.1 Conventional Sources 69

Further research post-war resulted in atomic reactors in which heat energy could be
released in a slow and sustained manner so that it could be harnessed to boil
water to produce superheated steam which could then be used to generate thermal
power. This was in contrast to the instantaneous and violent release of heat energy
in bombs.
For the purpose of power generation in reactors, it has later been found that UO2
containing U235 is also effective and the key to release of energy is the gamma rays
emitted during fission (for making bombs, the oxide is not suitable). Although other
compounds and some alloys are also suitable, yet their use is not common.
However, there are several problems associated with use of uranium for power
generation as follows.

4.1.4.1 Distribution

Its occurrences are known but its minable deposits and working mines are limited to
a few countries the important ones of which are shown in Table 4.7.
Some other countries also have reserves from which production is going on
regularly. In India, as in 2012, mining is going on only in two areas–the area sur-
rounding Jadugoda in West Singbhum district (Jharkhand) and Tummalapalle in
Cuddapah district (Andhra Pradesh).
There are some unconventional sources of uranium like certain phosphate depos-
its (100–200 ppm in sedimentary rocks and up to 1,000 ppm in igneous rocks),
seawater (3 ppb), black shale deposits and granite; but experiments have so far been
limited to laboratories only. Special attention is being given by scientists to
development of an absorbent material for recovering uranium from seawater
since 1960s initially in Japan followed by Russia, China, Germany, UK, India,
South Korea, Turkey and US. But none has emerged as economically viable so far.

Table 4.7 Uranium proved Total proved

reserves Country reserve (tonnes)
Australia 1,074,000
Kazakhstan 622,000
Canada 439,000
South Africa 298,000
Namibia 213,000
Russia 158,000
Brazil 143,000
United States 102,000
Uzbekistan 93,000
India 78,000
Source: (1) FIMI, Jan 1, 2009 (for India);
(2) World Nuclear Association 2011
(for other countries)
70 4 Minerals and Energy—Non-renewable Sources

4.1.4.2 Recovery

The usable components in the ore are UO2 and U-metal which need to be recovered
from the ore through a complex process. There are two kinds of gangue materials
associated with the ore–siliceous (as in Jadugoda) and carbonate (as in
Tummalapalle). The recovery from the former type of ore involves acid leaching
and the latter, alkali leaching. The acid leaching process is well established and the
two plants in Jadugoda area are running well. But the alkali leaching is not popular
because it requires a strong oxidant and the retention time is long. In India it has
been recently commissioned in Tummalapalle and as in November, 2012, it has not
stabilized. Another problem particularly in India is that this process requires caustic
soda as the alkali and it is very costly here. Production is reported from all the coun-
tries shown in Table 4.7 and also from several other countries as can be seen in
Table 4.8 later in this chapter.

4.1.4.3 Enrichment

In natural ore, the U3O8-content is very low–of the order of 0.5–1.0 % and the
U-content may be as low as 0.1–0.2 %. Then this uranium metal contains only
0.718 % of the economically important U235, the rest being U238 (99.278 %) and U234
(0.0056 %). Enrichment is about increasing the concentration of the U235-content to
different levels as follows.
(a) Slightly enriched uranium (SEU): It has a concentration of 0.9–2.0 % and is
used in some heavy water reactors for power generation.
(b) Reprocessed uranium (RepU): It is a product of nuclear fuel cycles involving
reprocessing of spent fuel recovered from light water reactors. The spent fuel
contains slightly more U235 than natural uranium and can be used in certain
types of reactor.
(c) Low-enriched uranium (LEU): Its concentration varies from 3 to less than 20 %.
The lower fraction (3–5 %) is used in the widely prevalent light water reactors
while for use in research reactors higher concentration ranging from 12.00 to
19.75 % is required.
(d) Highly enriched uranium (HEU): This involves enrichment to 20 % and beyond.
For fast neutron reactors, the grade is about 20 % or somewhat more (in one
type of fast reactor, 26.5 % is used). Naval reactors typically use 50–90 %.
The fissile uranium in nuclear weapons usually contains at least 85 % (the atom
bomb dropped at Hiroshima in 1945 contained 64 kg of 80 % enriched
uranium). But in later generation weapons wherein plutonium239 is used in
the primary stage, uranium enriched to 40–80 % is used in the secondary stage.
For criticality experiments, enrichment to over 97 % has been accomplished.
The technology for enrichment has been developed by a select few countries like
US, Russia, China, UK, France, India, Pakistan etc. and it is kept as a secret.
The first five belong to what is called ‘Nuclear Club’. Under the Non-Proliferation
Table 4.8 Uranium supply during 2004–2011 (by country)
4.1

Production & demand of contained ‘U’ in ore and equivalent U3O8 (tonnes) Change during
Country 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2004–2011 (8 years) [%]
Australia 8,982 9,516 7,593 8,611 8,430 7,982 5,900 5,983 –33.39
Brazil 300 110 190 299 330 345 148 265 –11.67
Canada 11,597 11,628 9,862 9,476 9,000 10,173 9,783 91,45 –21.14
China (estimated) 750 750 750 712 769 750 827 885 18.00
Conventional Sources

Czech Republic 412 408 359 306 263 258 254 229 –44.41
France 7 7 5 4 4 8 7 6 –14.29
Germany 77 94 65 41 0 0 0 52 –32.47
India (estimated) 230 230 177 270 271 290 400 400 73.91
Kazakhstan 3,719 4,357 5,279 6,637 8,521 14,020 17,803 19,451 423.02
Malawi – – – – – 104 670 846 713.46 (change in 3 years)
Namibia 3,038 3,147 3,067 2,879 4,366 4,626 4,496 3,528 16.13
Niger 3,282 3,093 3,434 3,153 3,032 3,243 4,198 4,351 32.57
Pakistan (estimated) 45 45 45 45 45 50 45 45 Nil
Romania 90 90 90 77 77 75 77 77 –14.44
Russia 3,200 3,431 3,262 3,413 3,521 3,564 3,562 2,993 –6.47
South Africa 755 674 534 539 655 563 583 582 –22.91
Ukraine (estimated) 800 800 800 846 800 840 850 890 11.25
US 878 1,039 1,672 1,654 1,430 1,453 1,660 1,537 75.06
Uzbekistan 2,016 2,300 2,260 2,320 2,338 2,429 2,400 2,500 24.01
World total supply (uranium) 40,178 41,719 39,444 41,282 43,852 50,773 53,663 53,765 33.82
World total supply (equivalent U3O8) 47,382 49,199 46,516 48,683 51,716 59,875 63,285 63,389 33.82
World demand (U3O8) – 75,691 73,834 76,067 76,053 76,763 81,135 74,575 –1.47
% satisfaction of demand (U3O8) – 65 63 64 68 78 78 85
Source: Based on US Energy Statistics & World Nuclear Association 2012
71

Note: The figures pertaining to Germany refer to supply from decommissioned reactors; all other figures refer to mine production
72 4 Minerals and Energy—Non-renewable Sources

Treaty (NPT), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitors the facilities
in all signatory countries other than the five members of the so-called Nuclear Club
to ensure that they are not engaged in enrichment above the power grade and are not
moving towards the weapon grade.

4.1.4.4 Trade and Supply

There are 45 countries which have either uranium ore or technologies of recovery/
enrichment/reactor-construction and they have formed what is called Nuclear
Suppliers’ Group (NSG). All of them are signatories to the NPT. As per the provi-
sions of the NPT, all trades in ore and technology have to be limited to this group
only and the IAEA is responsible for monitoring it. So it is obvious that any country
outside this Group has to be self-sufficient in both ore and technology in order to
harness nuclear energy. In case a country is suspected to be moving towards devel-
opment of bomb-grade uranium, it may face international sanctions imposed by the
UN. Although India is neither a signatory to the NPT nor a member of the NSG, it
has managed to get special exemption to import ore and technology under a Pact
signed in 2008. As a result, the capacity factor of the 20 operational nuclear power
plants of India, which plummeted to 50 % in 2008–2009, has bounced back to 78 %
during January-September, 2012 with the help of uranium imported from Russia,
France and Kazakhstan. But all countries outside the NSG are not so fortunate and
for them, the restrictive supply situation is a formidable impediment to harnessing
of nuclear energy.

4.1.4.5 Price

Since the supply of uranium does not depend only on the mine production so does
not its spot price. Moreover, some extraneous factors can also determine its price.
In the early 1990s when the cold war ended, US and Russia signed the Nuclear
Disarmament Treaty under which both the countries were to dismantle their huge
stocks of nuclear arsenal within a timeframe. Accordingly, large quantities of
uranium were obtained from those decommissioned nuclear warheads. All of that
uranium was released into the market suddenly increasing the supply followed by
crashing of the price of uranium (in terms of UO2) to $20/lb (as in July, 2007 the
price was $136/lb and in December, 2010, it was ruling at around $65/lb).

4.1.4.6 Waste Disposal

Nuclear electricity generation creates large quantities of radioactive wastes at all

stages of the nuclear chain from uranium mining to decommissioning of nuclear
facilities. The most highly radioactive wastes are those which are produced in the
core of the reactor. A total of 10,000 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel are being produced
4.1 Conventional Sources 73

globally each year and the waste inventory is projected to be over 445,000 tonnes by
2020 (MGMI 2011). Yet no country has achieved an effective solution for the
long-term management of spent nuclear fuel worldwide research notwithstanding.
There are four categories of radioactive waste:
(a) Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM): These are created by
mining and milling of naturally occurring uranium ores.
(b) Low-level wastes (LLW): These constitute the bulk of the volume of waste
produced in the nuclear fuel chain, consisting of materials such as paper, rags,
tools, clothing and filters which emit small amounts of mostly short-lived
radiation.
(c) Intermediate level wastes (ILW): These contain higher levels of radioactivity
normally requiring shielding and includes resins, chemical sludge, metal fuel
cladding and contaminated materials from the decommissioning of reactors or
from nuclear reprocessing.
(d) High level wastes (HLW) and spent nuclear fuel: Both contain fission products
and transuranic (atomic number greater than 92) elements generated in the
reactor core.
Repository programmes for highly radioactive wastes mainly involve burial in
deep geological formations in copper or steel containers (e.g. crystalline rock, clay
formations) or old mines (salt, granite, clay, basalt mines) and these programmes
are underway in Sweden, France, Finland, Switzerland, Canada, South Korea,
Belgium, UK, Russia, India and China. But the practice has not yet come out as
foolproof and a number of discouraging possibilities have been identified as under.
(a) Damage to adjacent rocks during excavation of the repository
(b) Corrosion of the containers by the radioactive waste
(c) Intense heat generated by radioactive decay and chemical/physical disturbance
due to corrosion, gas generation etc.
(d) Escape of radionuclide through fractures and pores of the geological formations
created due to build-up of gas pressure in the repository as a result of corrosion
and degradation of organic material
(e) Poor understanding of the movement of the colloidal plutonium
(f) Unidentified faults and fractures in the rocks
(g) Effect of future earthquakes, glaciation etc.
(h) Accidental digging by ignorant future generations
Besides, the transportation of the waste to the repository sites is also a key
issue to be addressed. In India, technology development is underway to build an
underground repository about 1 km deep and for this purpose a laboratory in an
abandoned mine is being planned.
Recently, in 2008, research in the Dundee University, Scotland indicated that
fungi could colonize on uranium waste surfaces and transform it into nontoxic
uranyl phosphate minerals. But commercial trial of this experiment has not been
reported.
74 4 Minerals and Energy—Non-renewable Sources

Scientists of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), India have reportedly
found a novel way of recovering uranium from nuclear waste using a radiation-
resistant microbe (Deinococcus radiodurans); the process termed a ‘bioremediation
of radioactive wastes’ has allowed precipitation of 95 % uranium from extremely
low uranium-containing effluents (Hitavada, Dec. 20, 2006). All such laboratory
experiments should be pursued to confirm whether they are commercially viable or not.

4.1.4.7 Negative Public Perception

This is a problem haunting everybody all over the world. Negative public perception
started from the first visible use of uranium in 1945 when two nuclear fissile bombs
(popularly called ‘atom bomb’) were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki at an
interval of only 3 days. Deadly radiation reached over 10,000 Rad killing and inca-
pacitating millions of humans through generations (humans die at exposure to 100
Rad). The memory has been repeatedly revived through numerous stories, photo-
graphs, media features and films, and the fear instilled in human mind has still not
worn off. Then happened the accident in Three Mile Island, US in 1979 and the
infamous industrial disaster in Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Russia’s Siberian
region in 1986. Now, the memory of the devastating effect of tsunami and earth-
quake (magnitude 9.0 on Richter scale) on March 11, 2011 on the Fukushima
Daiichi plant in northern Japan is too vivid in human mind to generate any positive
perception about the nuclear power. Under pressure from public, Japan government
in 2012 has set a target to make the country nuclear-free by 2030. German govern-
ment, which began switching from coal-based power to nuclear power under
pressure from anti-coal environmental groups only recently, has closed down
permanently eight of its older nuclear reactors and has decided to phase out
the remaining nine by 2022 under pressure from another environmental group–anti-
nuclear. A referendum in Italy has rejected a plan to generate 25 % of the country’s
electrical power from nuclear reactors by 2030. Swiss government has decided not
to replace its five reactors when they reach the end of their useful lives. In India
there has been sustained agitation during 2011–2012 by antinuclear groups against
the Kudankulam reactor in Tamil Nadu; relatively richer uranium deposits located
in Kyelleng-Pyndengsohiong and other adjoining areas in West Khasi Hills district,
Meghalaya was first explored by the Atomic Minerals Directorate of Exploration
and Development (AMDED) in late 1970s and early 1980s; but even after over 30
years is yet to come to production stage due to resistance of the local
population.

4.1.4.8 Large Land Requirement

A nuclear power plant usually requires a land area of 36.32 ha for generation of
every megawatt-hour of electricity.
4.1 Conventional Sources 75

4.1.4.9 Freshwater Requirement

An inland nuclear power plant may require over 1,000 l of freshwater for generation
of every megawatt-hour of electricity.
All these problems notwithstanding, the positive aspects of nuclear power can by
no means be underestimated. They are:
1. Nuclear power is clean in the sense that it does not emit greenhouse gases like
coal or hydrocarbon-based power. As regards the danger from the radiation
emitted from nuclear reactors and waste materials, there is some truth no doubt
but more myths have been spread by misinformation campaign by ignorant or
motivated environmental groups, media etc. In 1955, the UN General Assembly
voted to set up a scientific committee that regularly assesses and reports on radia-
tion dangers. These reports help to compare the magnitude of different sources
of radiation. An examination of the risk in perspective reveals that over 500
detonations during the cold war pumped the global atmosphere full of deadly
radioactive particles some of which are still emitting radiation. According to
these reports, the total bomb radiation from decades of atmospheric testing is
about 70 billion curies in contrast to 100 million curies released by Chernobyl
nuclear plant in 1986, 50 million curies by the Three Mile Island, in 1979 and 10
million curies by the Fukushima Daiichi plant in 2011. True, there will be death
and destruction in the vicinity of a leaking nuclear reactor, but technology has
advanced a lot and is still advancing to increase the safety of modern reactors.
The paranoia about radiation, witnessed in villages against not only reactor-
construction but also mining of uranium and even its exploration, is not therefore
based on any informed risk assessment.
2. The shore-based nuclear reactors (Advanced Heavy Water Reactor or AHWR)
can yield a vital by-product namely desalinated potable water. For desalination,
the excess power generated by the power plant itself is utilized. Such projects
have been undertaken by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in India.
3. Uranium is a high-value low-volume material and very small quantities are
required for power generation (theoretically, 1 g of U can generate 2,300 KWh
of electricity). So, a large inventory can be maintained in a small space unlike
coal, oil, natural gas etc.
4. The U238 isotope present in the uranium ore is carried into the enriched uranium
and the reactor. It does not have a direct role in fission, but surplus neutrons freed
from the atoms of the U235 during its fission process, hit the atoms of the
surrounding U238. This triggers its transformation into unstable neptunium (Np239)
and finally into stable plutonium (Pu239) which is amenable to fission and can be
used in fast reactors for generation of power. Separation of the plutonium from
the nuclear waste is a high-tech process and only a select few countries are
privy to it.
5. During enrichment, the percentage of U235 is increased at the cost of U238−, part
of which goes into the tailing. This rejected U238 is called depleted uranium (DU)
and is a useful by-product of enrichment process. It contains much lower U235 and
76 4 Minerals and Energy—Non-renewable Sources

hence much less radioactivity than in natural uranium. Normally, the radioactive
emission of DU is 60 % compared to natural uranium and can even be less
depending on the degree of enrichment. According to World Health Organization
(WHO), there is no risk due to exposure to DU. Its civilian uses include counter-
weights in aircraft, radiation shielding in medical therapy and industrial radiog-
raphy equipments, containers for transporting radioactive material while its
military uses include defensive armour plating and armour-piercing projectiles.
The net effect of the positive and negative factors associated with nuclear reac-
tors is that the world as a whole cannot fulfill its energy demand without this source
at least until alternative sources of energy can make up the shortfall. As in September,
2010, there were 438 operational nuclear reactors in 31 countries with a total
installed capacity of 372 GW. These reactors are generating and supplying electricity
for the general public, agriculture and industries without any glitch. These reactors
are getting their supplies of uranium from both within and outside. Table 4.8 shows
the supply–demand scenario in the world.
Table 4.8 brings out certain facts. The overall world supply has increased signifi-
cantly during the eight years before 2012 but the demand remained more or less
stable. Still, the supply (mainly from the mines) has been far short of the demand.
Shortfall is made up by blending with decommissioned military stocks (largely in
Russia) and by reprocessing of spent fuel into mixed oxides fuel. Amongst the
countries, mainly the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) have shown decline in supply in contrast to the US and most
of the developing countries. Germany was on a sudden decommissioning spree in
2011 when the Fukushima disaster took place.
In fact, the countries that are building new nuclear power capacity include many
non-OECD countries. The country with the largest number of planned facilities is
China with 26 reactors under construction, 52 reactors planned and 120 reactors
proposed. If the trend continues, China’s capacity should be almost double that of
US, currently the world’s largest producer of nuclear electricity. The two countries
behind China in adding new reactors are Russia (10 under construction, 14 planned
and 30 proposed) and India (five under construction, 18 planned and 40 proposed).
Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam and many other emerging-economy countries
are also planning new reactors.

4.2 Unconventional Sources

4.2.1 Methane

Methane (CH4) contains even less carbon and more hydrogen than natural gas
and hence it pollutes the air much less. Being one of the greenhouse gases, when
allowed to escape to the atmosphere, it adds to the green house gas concentration.
4.2 Unconventional Sources 77

Methane is used in power generation, fertilizer manufacturing, cooking gas and

many other industrial processes in the same way as natural gas. The sources of
methane are discussed as follows.

4.2.1.1 Coal Bed Methane

Coal bed methane or CBM refers to the entrapped methane held in coal bed in
monomolecular state (i.e. not as free gas) and its economic exploitability depends
on the following five factors.
(i) Methane content should be high–15–30 m3/tonne at cut-off of 6 m3/tonne.
(ii) Permeability should be good–15–30 mD (cf. +100 mD in exploitable oil res-
ervoir; +5,000 mD in unconsolidated sand).
(iii) Depth of the coal bed should be less than 1,000 m because the high pressure at
greater depths would tend to close the cleat structure and reduce permeability.
(iv) The coal should otherwise not be economically minable.
(v) The rank of coal should be preferably bituminous, but anthracite is also
amenable.
In US, it was extracted commercially first in 1985, followed by Australia and
China. The annual production in the US stood at the level of 49.67 billion m3 during
2005–2007. During 2012, the rates of production in some of the countries are shown
in Table 4.9.
In addition, Canada also produces CBM. According to Camac Energy Inc, the
world CBM production is expected to be around 146 billion m3.
Insofar as India is concerned, the ONGC carried out investigations in some of the
coalfields till 2006 and the results are shown in Table 4.10.
In 2009, a US scientist named Craig Venter announced the discovery of the role
of a kind of bacteria which have a unique enzyme capable of breaking down coal to
form methane. According to him, one group of bacteria eat coal and break it down
into organic acids, hydrogen and CO2 which are then taken by another group of
organisms with enzymes to make methane. Thus produced, the methane is called
‘microbially enhanced coal bed methane’.

Table 4.9 Rate of CBM production during 2012 (in selected countries)
Average rate of production Number of years after which
Country (million m3/day) production level has been achieved
United States 141.6 27
China 4.1 20
Australia 17.0 8
India 2.8 4
Source: International Energy Agency (IEA) 2012
78 4 Minerals and Energy—Non-renewable Sources

Table 4.10 CBM content and resource in Indian coalfields

Coalfields where CBM blocks CBM-content CBM resources
were investigated and located (m3/tonne) (billion m3)
Jharia 7–17 85
East Bokaro 10–15 45
West Bokaro 2–10
North Karanpura 6–10 106
South Karanpura – 30
Raniganj – 115
Sohagpur – 159
Wardha – 20
Satpura – 29
Sonhat – 50
Barmer (lignite) 3–8.5 270
Source: Director General of Hydrocarbon, Government of India (Pande 2007)

The large production in US is mainly helped by tax incentives extended by the

Government. While announcing the policy for CBM in 1997, the Government of
India also offered some fiscal and regulatory incentives which include:
(i) No participative interest from the Government
(ii) Seven-year tax holiday from the date of commencement of commercial
production
(iii) Commercial bonus of US $300,000 on declaration of commercial assessment
(iv) Exemption of customs duty on imported equipments
(v) 100 % foreign direct investment for CBM exploitation.
As regards status of resource and investments, Table 4.11 shows a comparative
picture in the Asian countries. All the countries offer one or the other kind of fiscal
incentives.

4.2.1.2 Working and Abandoned Coal Mine Methane (CMM & ACMM)

It is the methane released during and after mining activity and is generated
automatically in many mines. This methane, being highly hazardous, is first and
foremost a safety issue. Technologies have been developed to capture and utilize it
for various industrial purposes like power generation, town gas, vehicle fuel, and
coal drying. Moreover, the technologies are eligible to earn carbon credits because
they serve to avoid the release of methane into the atmosphere thereby adding to the
greenhouse gas concentration. In US, during 2003, approximately 1.1 billion m3 of
CMM was captured and utilized. Besides, there is a number of projects underway
in different countries with the aim of not only generating industrial value but also
earning carbon credits (see Table 4.12).
4.2 Unconventional Sources 79

Table 4.11 Regional comparison (resources and investments)

Resources Number of
Country (trillion m3) contracts signed Stage of operation Investment (US $)
Indonesia 12.7 7 Exploration and 20 million (commitment,
feasibility study 2009–2011)
(as in 2009)
China 28.3 29 First production in 342 million
November, 2005 (actual up to 2007)
India 8.5 26 First production 150 million
in July 2007 (commitment)
Vietnam Unknown 2 Exploration and 1.5 million (commitment)
feasibility study
(as in 2009)
Source: Dipesh Dipu: Coal Bed Methane–from a Liability to an Asset, Mining Engineers’ Journal,
India, November, 2009

Table 4.12 Ongoing projects for capture and industrial utilization of methane from coal mines
(February, 2009)
Number of Number of Total amount of emission
Country CMM projects ACMM projects avoided (million tCO2e/year)
Australia 10 5 6.4
China 40 0 8.6
Czech Republic 1 0 1.4
Germany 9 36 7.5
Kazakhstan 1 0 0.2
Poland 21 0 2.1
Russia 7 0 0.7
Ukraine 9 0 1.9
US 13 26 16.4
World total 111 67 45.2
Source: International Energy Agency, Information Paper: CMM in China–Budding Asset with
Potential to Bloom; February, 2009
Note: “tCO2e” stands for “tonnes of CO2 equivalent”

As regards, abandoned mine methane, 200 MW power project fired with it have
already been developed in Germany.

4.2.1.3 Ventilation Air Methane (VAM)

It is the largest source of methane emissions from the ventilation systems of under-
ground coal mines. The World Coal Institute (2009) estimated the annual emission
in the world at about 300 million tCO2e and it represents about 60 % of all methane
emissions, China alone accounting for 24 % followed by US, Ukraine, Australia and
80 4 Minerals and Energy—Non-renewable Sources

Russia. The methane content in ventilation air is typically about 1 % or less, which
is as such not economically usable. But since methane is much more potent than
CO2 as a greenhouse gas, its reduction is eligible for carbon credit and the efforts
are, therefore, directed to reducing its release into atmosphere. In US, a technology
termed VAMOX has been developed to heat the ventilation exhaust air containing
methane to yield less potent CO2 and water vapour. As a result the effective reduc-
tion in greenhouse gas is 18 tCO2e for every tonne of methane. Since the oxidation
reaction is exothermic, the heat generated can sustain the process.

4.2.2 Thorium

Commercial deposits of thorium (Th232) occur essentially in the form of a complex

mineral namely monazite which is a phosphate of various rare earth metals, ura-
nium and thorium along with its isotope mesothorium. There are abundant resources
of monazite in the beach placer deposits of India as well as of Sri Lanka, US,
Australia, South Africa, Brazil etc. Thorium and also mesothorium can be harnessed
as nuclear fission energy. Th232 is poorly radioactive (half life 13.9 billion years)
and cannot therefore by itself sustain chain fission. It has to be first converted to the
fissionable substance U233. For this purpose, there are three methods:
(a) Thermal reactor: Th232 is first used in a thermal reactor with U235 which releases
neutrons some of which take part in chain fission and the remaining ones hit the
Th232 converting it to U233. The latter can be chemically separated and thereafter
can be used in an independent thermal reactor.
(b) Fast breeder reactor: The Pu239 produced in a uranium thermal reactor (see
‘Uranium/positive aspects’ earlier in this chapter) emits fast neutrons and may
be used in conjunction with Th232 in a fast breeder reactor. Here also U233 is
produced. The neutrons emitted by the latter not only by itself sustain chain
fission but also hit the unconverted Th232 converting it to more U233. After trig-
gering the initial fission, no more Pu239 will be required. But, since the thermal
reactors generally use UO2 as the fuel, the Pu239 will also be in the oxide form
which is less efficient than its metallic counterpart.
(c) Accelerator-driven system (ADS): In this technology, thorium is used indepen-
dently in a reactor. For enabling Th232 to attain criticality so that it can sustain
chain fission, “spallation” (see glossary) from an external source of neutrons is
needed. The technology of building an accelerator, which is the first step, is yet
to be developed.
The challenges are either to chemically separate and retrieve the U233 from a
uranium reactor (first method) or to recover Pu239 metal from its oxide (second
method) or to develop the technology for ADS (third method). In India, a fast
breeder reactor is under construction in Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu. After this reactor
becomes critical and more such reactors are built up, that will create an opening for
utilizing the vast resources of monazite in India.
4.2 Unconventional Sources 81

4.2.3 Oil Shale (or Kerogen Shale or Shale Oil)

Oil shale is a type of shale formed in brackish/freshwater environment and rich in

kerogen which has not yet transformed to petroleum. It can be mined by open cast
or underground method just like coal and from it liquid hydrocarbon called ‘shale
oil’ can be extracted. Well-explored economic reserves of oil shale are fairly widely
distributed in Western US (Green River), Australia (Queensland), Sweden, Estonia,
Jordan, France, Germany, Brazil, China, Southern Mongolia and Russia. World oil
shale resources were equivalent to more than five trillion barrels of oil in situ, of
which over one trillion barrels may be technically recoverable (IEA 2010).
The European oil shale industry had a long history albeit in a small scale. The
industry expanded during the first half of twentieth century due to limited access to
petroleum and the mass production of automobiles and trucks. But its production
was discontinued in many countries only to be revived when petroleum prices
increased several fold in 1973. World peak oil shale production was 46 million
tonnes in 1980 before again slumping to 16 million tonnes in 2000 when the
industry was discontinued in most of the countries mainly due to competition from
petroleum and other sources of energy. The history of oil shale industry till 2000 is
summarized in Table 4.13.
The reasons for discontinuation of oil shale industry can be traced to the five
formidable challenges as follows.
(a) Economic: Cost of extraction of oil from oil shale is very high and it does not
compete with petroleum unless either the price of petroleum is very high or its
supply is not accessible for geopolitical reasons.
(b) Environmental: Problems, like in coal mining and burning, include land use
degradation, waste disposal, wastewater management, greenhouse gas emission,
air pollution, acid drainage, mercury contamination of surface water and ground
water. In 2002, in Estonia, the largest producer and consumer of oil shale,

Table 4.13 History of oil shale industry in the world till 2000
Year of commencement
Country of production Year of discontinuation of production
France 1837 Discontinued long ago but year not known
UK (Scotland) 1880 1955
Estonia 1930 Continuing
China 1930 Continuing
Sweden 1940 1965
Russia 1945 2000
Germany 1950 1990
US 1986 1991
Brazil 1990 Continuing
Source: www.google.com/wikepedia
82 4 Minerals and Energy—Non-renewable Sources

about 97 % of air pollution, 86 % of total waste and 23 % of water pollution

came from the oil shale-fired power industry.
(c) Content of organic matter: The organic matter is the source of oil and its ratio
to mineral matter lies approximately between 0.75:5.0 and 1.5:5.0; and the
hydrogen to carbon ratio (H/C) is 1.2–1.8 times lower than that for crude oil and
1.5–3.0 times higher than that for coal.
(d) Content of injurious substances: The sulphur- and arsenic-contents in shale oil
is high. The sulphur content in the shale oil from Jordan is as high as 9.5 %
and that from Green River 0.76 % (cf. 0.42 % in Texas crude petroleum).
This implies higher treatment cost of shale oil before it can serve as a oil
refinery feedstock.
(e) Water consumption: The process of distilling and heating of oil shale is highly
water-intensive and may not be feasible in arid regions. In 2002, the oil
shale-fired power industry consumed 91 % of the water consumed in Estonia.
It has been estimated that the water consumption is 1–5 barrels per barrel of
shale oil extracted.
The oil shale industry has started again to revive since the beginning of the
twenty-first century. The status of production and uses of oil shale are shown in
Table 4.14.
By the following year (2009), Estonia has become the leading producer and user
of oil shale accounting for 80 % of the global production and the country’s oil

Table 4.14 Country-wise production and status of uses of oil shale

Production (tonnes) as
Country in 2008 (except in US) Industrial uses
China 375,000 Oil production, power generation (12 MW), cement,
chemical
Estonia 355,000 Oil production, power generation, cement, chemical
Brazil 200,000 Oil production
Germany – Power generation (9.9 MW), cement
Russia – Power generation (discontinued), chemical
Canada – Power generation after blending with coal (planned)
Turkey – Power generation after blending with coal (planned)
Jordan – Power generation (construction planned)
Egypt – Power generation (construction planned)
Israel – Power generation (discontinued)
Romania – Power generation (discontinued)
Australia – Oil shale project put on hold in 2004 under pressure
from environmental groups
United States 10,000 barrels/day Production on trial after the restrictive ‘Oil Shale Plan’
(2012) has been published by the Bureau of Land
Management, US.
Source: (1) Free Press, Canada, Nov 16, 2012 accessed through www.google.com (for US);
(2) World Energy Council 2008 (for other countries)
4.2 Unconventional Sources 83

shale-based power generation capacity has reached 2967 MW accounting for 95 %

of total capacity. As at the end of 2012, no commercial interest has been taken in
India to even explore for oil shale occurrences because of mainly abundant coal
reserves and environmental deterrence. Instead, coal-to-oil projects are considered
more attractive here.

4.2.4 Tight Oil (or Shale Oil)

In contrast to petroleum which occurs in sandstone, this term is used for oil-bearing
shale i.e. the shale deposits which contain petroleum (unlike oil shale which
contains kerogen) that is sometimes produced from drilling wells. According to
IEA, its production in US was 8.1 million barrels/day from some oil-bearing shale
formations in North Dakota and Texas. But till the end of 2012, this has not become
a popular energy source in the world.

4.2.5 Shale Gas

Shale gas refers to gas occurring naturally in shale. It was first extracted in Fredonia,
New York in 1825 in shallow low-pressure fractured zones. But in 1970s when pro-
duction potential from the hitherto known conventional natural gas reservoirs in US
started declining, interest in this unconventional gas was revived and intensive R&D
and demonstration projects were launched with a view to development of suitable
technology for commercial production. This led to the micro-seismic imaging, air-
drilled micro-fracture, massive hydraulic fracturing and slick-water fracturing tech-
niques. Special technologies were necessary because unlike in case of conventional
natural gas, the natural porosity and permeability of the reservoir rock in case of
shale gas is very low. The US Government also announced fiscal incentives. All
these developments led to the first commercial shale gas well in Texas in 1998.
Thereafter, shale gas has become the fastest growing contributor to total primary
energy (TPE) in the US. In 2005, there were 14,990 shale gas wells in US which
increased by 4,185–19,175 wells in 2007. Table 4.15 tracks the growth and projec-
tion of the shale gas industry in US.
US EIA estimated the technically recoverable resource as in 2012 at 13.65 tril-
lion m3. The development of shale gas industry has become a game changer in
international market. From deficit, the country has within a short time become
energy-surplus and this change has a far-reaching global impact. Because of increase
in production, the price of its closest rival namely natural gas has fallen in US mar-
ket (price plummeted from $ 13/mmbtu in 2006 to $ 4/mmbtu in 2010); as a result
power plants there are preferring natural gas to coal and the coal has become
surplus; consequently the coal mining companies have now started exporting it to
China at cheaper price; this has reduced China’s import of coal from Australia
84 4 Minerals and Energy—Non-renewable Sources

Table 4.15 Growth of US shale gas industry

Quantity of shale gas produced % share of shale gas in
Year (billion m3) the total gas production
1996 8.5 (from demonstration project) 1.6
1998 First commercial drilling –
2006 31.0 5.9
2008 57.0 –
2010 150 23
2035 – 49
Source: (1) US Energy Information Administration (EIA): Energy Outlook, 2013; (2) MGMI,
Jan.–March, 2013

forcing the Australian coal mining companies to cut both production and jobs
(London Commodity News, August 23, 2012).
In 2013, China has set up a target of boosting its annual production from near
zero to 60 billion m3 by 2020. The Chinese government has estimated the country’s
shale gas reserve at 25 trillion m3, but the shale formations so far drilled have been
analyzed to have a high clay-content which may make them less amenable to frac-
turing and for China to fulfill its target, the technologies may have to be modified
and improved (MGMI 2013).
In India considerable importance is being accorded by the Government to shale
gas exploration. Geological Survey of India has prognosticated an in-situ resource
of 1.52 trillion m3 within the Barren Measures (Ironstone Shale) in Gondwana basin
in the south-western part of Raniganj Coalfield (Mondal 2011). Other areas consid-
ered as prospective include Cambay basin, Krishna-Godavari basin, Assam-Arakan
basin, Gangetic plain, Rajasthan and Damodar basin. In the latter basin, ONGC has
started exploration for shale gas. The Government has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) in 2010 with US Government for exploration in some Indian
basins by the US Geological Survey. Indian private sector initiatives include signing
of an agreement by Reliance Industries Ltd with Pioneer Resources Ltd of US for
forming a joint venture company along with Newpeck, Mexico for the stake in the
Eagle Ford shale gas field for drilling and development. The public sector company
ONGC Ltd has signed an MOU with US-based ConocoPhillips for exploring shale
gas prospects in India and US. In October, 2012, two other public sector companies
Oil India Ltd (OIL) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) have acquired 30 % stake
in the shale gas assets of the US firm Carrizo Oil & Gas in the Niobrara basin in
Colorado. A fourth public sector company namely Bharat Petroleum Corporation
has acquired shale gas block in Australia in 2010 and started exploration there.
Thus the year 2010 has seen a spurt in initiatives by Indian companies to capture
and occupy some space in the shale gas sector.
In March 2013, the Government of India has formulated a draft shale gas policy
the main features of which are market-determined pricing and production-sharing
net of all statutory dues (MGMI 2013).
References 85

4.2.6 Tight Gas

Tight gas is similar to shale gas except that its reservoir rock is sandstone instead of
shale (rarely tight gas is trapped in limestone also). Tight gas differs from natural
gas in the nature of the sandstone. In case of natural gas, the sandstone belonging
to Tertiary formations is incompact and permeable enough to facilitate its easy
recovery under natural reservoir pressure; but the sandstone housing tight gas
belongs to Palaeozoic formation and was subjected to compaction, cementation and
recrystallization. Permeability of the reservoir sandstone rarely exceeds 0.01 mD
and may even be as low as one nano-Darcy. Recovery of tight gas, therefore, requires
hydraulic fracturing, acidizing and secondary production techniques.
Once written off as uneconomic, it is now emerging as an important source of
energy (like shale gas). The IEA has estimated the recoverable tight gas reserve in
US at 8.75 trillion m3. In 2006, the annual tight gas production in US stood at about
108 billion m3 accounting for approximately 19 % of the total gas production there
(Misra, 2012). Other countries like Canada, Australia and China are also paying
attention to this source of energy. India has only recently started to focus on its
investigation. According to Misra (2012), the potential formations include
Bhuvangiri Formation (permeability 0.033 mD) and Albian Andimadam sandstone
in Cauvery basin, Mandapeta sandstone in Krishna-Godavari basin (permeability
0.01 mD), Mukta and Bassen formations in Mumbai offshore basin, Wadu unit in
Cambay basin and Jabera in Vindhyan basin.

References

EIA (US Energy Information Administration) (2013) Annual energy outlook

FIMI (Federation of Indian Mineral Industries). FIMI News Bulletin. Aug 1, 2007; Jan 1, 2009;
Sept 15, 2009; Aug. 1, 2010; Jan 1, 2011; Feb. 15, 2012; March 1, 2012; June 15, 2012;
Aug 15, 2012; Sept 1, 2012; Oct. 15, 2012; Dec 1, 2012; Dec 15, 2012; Jan 15, 2013;
Feb 1, 2013; April 1, 2013; May 1, 2013; July 15, 2013
Free Press. Press report, Canada, 16 Nov 2012
Hitavada, Nagpur: Press report (www.hitavada.com); Sept 29, 2006; Dec. 14, 2006; Dec. 20, 2006;
July 18, 2007; Mar. 5, 2008; March 9, 2008; July 6, 2008; Sept 11, 2008; Dec. 19, 2008;
Apr. 12, 2009; May 31, 2009; July 19, 2009; July 14, 2010; Aug 29, 2010; March 6, 2011;
April 1, 2011; Dec 8, 2011; Dec 11, 2011; Dec 23, 2011; Jan. 10, 2012; June 29, 2012;
Aug 26, 2012; Dec 28, 2012; Dec 29, 2012; Feb 8, 2013
IEA (International Energy Agency) (2002) Key world energy statistics
IEA (International Energy Agency) (2010) World energy outlook
IEA (International Energy Agency) and Ministry of Mines & Energy, Brazil (2012) Technology
Roadmap–Hydropower. Hydro 2012 Conference, Bilbao. Reported by Sophie Vorrath,
Oct 30, 2012. www.google.com
London Commodity News, August 23, 2012
MGMI (Mining, Geological & Metallurgical Institute) (2011) Newsletter, July–Sept, 2011
MGMI (Mining, Geological & Metallurgical Institute) (2013) Newsletter, Jan–March, 2013
86 4 Minerals and Energy—Non-renewable Sources

Misra R (2012) Shale gas exploration in India: opportunities and challenges; AAPG search and
discovery abstract (2008). http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/abstracts. Accessed 16 Nov
2012
MNRE (Ministry of New & Renewable Energy), Government of India (2012) www.mnes.nic.in,
Energy Statistics, 2012
MOM (Ministry of Mines), Government of India (2012) Report of the Committee for Review and
Restructuring of the Functions and Role of IBM, 2012
Mondal A (2011) Geological survey of India. Shale gas resources in south-western part of the
Raniganj Coalfield–an approach for quantitative evaluation by indirect method; new paradigms
of exploration and sustainable development–vision 2050. In: Seminar organized by Department
of Applied Geology, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad and Indian Geological Congress,
November 2011
Mundy J (2006) Carbon financing initiatives–climate proofing the coal sector; coal for sustainable
energy. Seminar organized by World Coal Institute & International Energy Agency,
New Delhi
Pande SK (Coal India Ltd) (2007) CBM–at the doorstep of production in India. FIMI News
Bulletin, Feb 15, 2007
Pozon I (2006) Asia Pacific coal initiative. World wide fund: wanted 21st century coal–WWF
looks for visionaries behind enemy lines. Coal for sustainable energy, Seminar organized by
Word Coal Institute & International Energy Agency, New Delhi
WCI (World Coal Institute) (2009) E-Coal. December, 2009
WEC (World Energy Council) (2008) Status of oil shale
World Coal Institute (WCI) (2002) Sustainable entrepreneurship, the way forward for the coal
industry
World Coal Institute (WCI) (2003) Coal and Steel Facts
World Coal Institute (WCI) (2005) The coal resources–a comprehensive overview of coal
World Nuclear Association (WNA) (2011) Market report
World Nuclear Association (WNA) (2012) Market report
Chapter 5
Minerals and Energy—Renewable Sources

The renewable sources of energy are of following types.

1. Conventional (traditionally established)
• Mega-hydro power
• Micro-hydro power
• Firewood and charcoal
2. Un-conventional (recent)
• Solar power
• Wind energy
• Bio-fuel (biomass)
• Fuel cell (electrochemical energy)
• Hydrogen
• Fusion power [Deuterium; Tritium; Helium; and Ultra-dense deuterium
(UDD)]
• Methane hydrate (or gas hydrate or clathrate)
• Geothermal energy
• Ocean energy [Tidal; Ocean thermal energy conversion; Wave; Salt
gradient]
• Bacteria
• Industrial waste heat
• Wood and wood pellet
The pros and cons of all these sources are discussed in this chapter.

© Capital Publishing Company 2015 87

K.K. Chatterjee, Macro-Economics of Mineral and Water Resources,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-15054-3_5
88 5 Minerals and Energy—Renewable Sources

5.1 Conventional Sources

5.1.1 Mega- and Micro-hydropower

Hydroelectric power is renewable because it is based on the concept of potential

energy gained by water as it flows down from higher to lower altitude; and the
source of the water is either glacier or rain—directly or indirectly. For sustainable
generation of energy, dams are built to hold the excess water in reservoirs and heavy
turbines are installed (here comes the role of minerals). The hydropower is renew-
able because glaciers are replenished every winter and rain-fed rivers are recharged
whenever it rains in the catchment area. But in times of successive droughts the
reservoirs may dry up and glaciers, considered from a long-term point of view, are
also tending to recede due to global warming and other reasons. Consequently,
hydropower is not independent of climatic conditions.
Mega- and micro-hydropower stations differ in scale and, consequently, in utili-
ties and adverse fallouts. These are as follows.
(a) Gestation period: For obvious reasons, a large scale mega dam requiring thou-
sands of tonnes of material and hundreds of men will take several years to
complete in total contrast to a micro dam. The gestation period for the former
may extend indefinitely for reasons of resolution of land acquisition, environ-
mental and ecological concerns—a trend becoming more the rule than excep-
tion in countries like India.
(b) Electricity generation: The capacities of mega-hydroelectric stations are in
hundreds of megawatt and the electricity can be made grid-interactive implying
that its frequency is consistent with that of the electricity from other sources and
can be easily wheeled into transmission grid. The capacity of the largest genera-
tor unit in China is 800 MW. Capacities of micro-hydropower units built at local
village level, on the contrary, are in a few kilowatts or at best a few megawatts
and being of low and fluctuating, voltage it is difficult to maintain the normal
grid frequency and such units are best suited to off-grid applications (however
some of the modern projects using standard technology generate power which,
with the help of transformers, can be made grid interactive). A station which
was under construction in November, 2012 in the Upper Nilgiri Hills of India,
will generate 42 MW; 84 stations in Lamtung district of Nepal together gener-
ate 2,408 KW lighting 22,769 houses; and one project in West Sulawesi prov-
ince of Indonesia is planned (November, 2012) to generate 30 KW power.
(c) Irrigation potential: Mega-hydropower stations can store sufficient water so as
to irrigate a large area unlike their micro-scale counterparts. But this is turning
out to be a bane in case of large old dams built in the 1950s, 1960s or 1970s.
The river water has to be diverted for irrigation through a network of canals.
According to a report (WWF 2010), this has resulted in fall of the water table
and death of many underwater species in the downstream basins of at least 10
largest rivers namely Danube, Yangtze, Rio Grande, Salween, Nile, Indus,
5.1 Conventional Sources 89

Ganges, Plata and Murray-Darling; Nile that used to carry 32 billion m3 of

water a year now carries only 2; Indus in Pakistan has lost 90 % of its water in
60 years; in the Ganges, 60 % of the river-flow is diverted in canals for irriga-
tion (Bharti 2011).
(d) Direct monetary costs: Mega hydropower stations require large and high dams
and large heavy-duty turbines to be constructed along with a wide range of
paraphernalia. Hence their capital cost is high. This implies long amortization,
running costs per unit electricity generated is relatively higher than in micro
stations at least till the investment is fully amortized. The cost of the largest sta-
tion in Brazil under construction on Amazon River will be $12.6 billion if com-
pleted on schedule (costs in 2012). The micro stations are low-cost facilities
constructed at village level having off-grid applications and they require rela-
tively small capital investment which is quickly amortized.
(e) Environmental and ecological costs: Although this method of generation of
electricity does not pollute the air and water, yet large areas of forests may be
submerged and lost in case of mega stations, unlike their micro counterparts.
Besides, the reduced flow of the river downstream of a dam, along with the
forests will go without bio-diversity. The costs of resolving the ecological prob-
lems associated with irrigating large areas through network of canals from the
large reservoirs of mega dams in US have become so high that the US govern-
ment has stopped constructing new dams and, of the existing 5,500 dams, over
465 old ones have been demolished (Bharti 2011).
(f) Social costs: Large areas with villages may be submerged under reservoir of
mega-hydropower stations involving displacement of large number of people
which requires long time to settle—extending even to decades and this is the
primary reason for cost overruns. This is the bane of construction of such sta-
tions. The above-mentioned dam in Brazil will submerge 500 km2 of area and
displace 40,000 people. There is no such problem in case of the micro
stations.
(g) Siltation: A mega dam holds a large volume of flowing river water behind it for
a long time. As a result, the sediments carried by the river are all deposited
behind and at the bottom of the dam reducing the storage capacity of the reser-
voir, its power generating efficiency and also the soil health of the land down-
stream by depriving them of fresh sediments rich in nutrients. Frequent
de-silting is highly cost-intensive and adds to the maintenance costs of a large
aging hydropower station. The micro stations suffer from no such
disadvantage.
(h) Natural factors: The mega stations can be built in mountainous as well as plain
terrain, the only condition being large rivers with high banks. The natural veloc-
ity of flow of a river is not an overriding technical condition because the height
of the dam and volume of the reservoir water generate the necessary force to
drive turbines. Micro stations however can be built on small natural streams
gaining the force required to drive turbines, to a great extent, from their natural
velocity which is possible in mountainous terrains. Therefore, both are location-
specific but the latter by a greater degree.
90 5 Minerals and Energy—Renewable Sources

(i) Groundwater salinity: The water-flows of long ocean-going rivers decrease in

the estuarine areas due to interference by mega dams upstream. Consequently,
seawater is no longer flushed out of estuaries and it intrudes into groundwater.
There is no such problem in case of micro dams.
(j) Risk of dam-burst: The disastrous consequences of bursting of an old mega dam
may be very hugely catastrophic. Regulated discharge of water is a standard
practice when surplus water builds up pressure on the dam. But unlike in case
of a new dam, an old dam may give in the pressure suddenly and burst without
advance notice particularly at times of heavy rains in the upstream area. The
sudden man-induced flood along the lower course of the river may cause huge
losses of men, animals and land. Such risks in case of micro dams are practi-
cally nil.
(k) Rivers flowing across international and interstate boundaries: There are a num-
ber of long rivers like Nile, Indus, Brahmaputra etc. which flow across interna-
tional borders. A mega-dam built on such a river by any country would affect
the flow of water along that river in other countries. This may create conflicts of
interest among the stakeholder countries necessitating protracted international
negotiations and international treaties before construction of the dam. Similar is
the problem in case of rivers flowing across boundaries of the states in India
(e.g. Cauvery, Krishna).
All said and done, according to IEA as reported in Free Press Canada (Nov 16,
2012), hydropower accounted for only 2.2 % of the total energy generated in the
world in 2008 which increased to 6.0 % in 2011; and hydroelectric dams will be the
second biggest electricity generator in 2015 after coal. However, if only electricity
generation (instead of total energy) is considered, then hydroelectricity production
accounted for 16.3 % of world’s electricity as in October, 2012 when it was the lead-
ing renewable energy generation technology in 159 countries; and the global hydro-
electricity generation is projected to double in 2050 (IEA and Ministry of Mines and
Energy, Brazil 2012). In Brazil, when the dam on Amazon River is completed, it
will fulfill 78 % of Brazil’s electricity demand; and in Japan 8 % of electricity
demand is met through this source. Growth of hydropower capacity in India during
1970–2010 is shown in Table 5.1.
The negative growth during the year 2009–2010 is due mainly to (i) decrease in
generation because of drought and low water level in some of the reservoirs; and (ii)
stalling of projects on account of environmental, ecological and social factors.
During the same period (i.e. 2009–2010), India’s installed capacity of grid interac-
tive power generation through micro hydro-projects increased from 2,181 to
2,735 MW registering a growth of 25.40 % (NSO 2011).
The environmentalists claim that hydropower projects should not be built for any
other purpose than electricity generation. According to them, if after electricity gen-
eration the water is allowed to flow downstream without diverting it through canals,
then the long term ecological costs can be avoided. They also emphasize on more
and more micro hydropower projects.
5.1 Conventional Sources 91

Table 5.1 Growth of the world’s and India’s mega-hydropower capacity

World India
Average annual Average annual
growth with reference growth with reference
Generation to the previous data Generation to the previous data
Year capacity (TW) (%) capacity (MW) (%)
1971 – – 6,383 –
1976 – – 8,464 6.52
1981 0.60 – 11,791 7.86
1986 – – 15,472 6.24
1991 – – 18,753 4.24
1996 – – 20,986 2.38
2001 – – 25,153 3.97
2004 0.93 2.39 – –
2006 1.0 3.76 32,326 5.70
2009 – – 36,878 4.69
2010 – – 36,863 −0.04
CAGR during 4.48
1970–2010
Source: (1) National Statistical Organization (NSO), Government of India; (2) Energy Statistics,
2011 (for India); (3) US Energy Information Administration (for world)
Notes
1. In India the years refer to those ending on 31st March
2. CAGR stands for Compound Annual Growth Rate

5.1.2 Firewood and Charcoal

Firewood is a specific kind of biomass (see later in this chapter) comprising the logs
of hard wood and charcoal is a product based on this. In olden times, these fuels
were used not for electricity generation but for heating and river transportation. In
traditional manor houses (and also other houses) in the West firewood was the fuel
used in fireplaces. Even today, for about three billion people mostly in innumerable
villages of Asia and Africa, where electricity, coal and gas continue to be inacces-
sible to the people, firewood is a cheap (or even free) source of energy used for
cooking. And in India, the Hindus use mostly wood for cremating dead bodies.
However it is a highly polluting fuel emitting CO, NOx, volatile organic compounds
(VOC), black carbon etc. Besides, it is a wasteful practice of energy utilization
because as much as 66 % of the energy is actually wasted.
92 5 Minerals and Energy—Renewable Sources

5.2 Unconventional Sources

5.2.1 Solar Power

Solar power is essentially a manifestation of nuclear fusion which is constantly

going on inside the sun. The issue is how to transform sunshine into usable electric-
ity. The current and emerging technologies are as follows (Hopwood et al. 2012).
(a) Photovoltaic (PV): It uses arrays of PV modules mounted on buildings or
ground-mounted solar parks.
(b) Concentrated solar thermal power (CSP or CST): It uses concentrated solar
energy to make steam for generating electricity like any other thermal power
plant. It uses parabolic mirrors for concentrating solar energy.
(c) Concentrated photovoltaic (CPV): This is an emerging technology.
Solar power is 100 % environment-friendly. Solar industry is the fastest growing
renewable energy industry. Many industrialized nations are installing significant
solar power capacities in their grids as a supplement or an alternative to other power
sources and more particularly during 2010–2011, there is a surge in growth of solar
power worldwide as shown or Table 5.2.
It appears somewhat paradoxical that solar power has not caught up with the
African countries in spite of the fact that electricity is still inaccessible to 66 % of
Sub-Saharan population and 92 % of rural African population and that there is vast
tracts of uninhabited land (population density 30.51/km2) receiving abundant sun-
shine (JRC 2011). The reasons may not be far to seek. Despite the phenomenal
growth in many countries as shown in Table 5.2, there are some limiting factors
from which solar power suffers. These are as under.
(a) Solar panel hardware: High-efficiency photovoltaic cells require ultrahigh
purity (99.9999 %) single crystal silicon rod cut into ultrathin wafer (180–
350 μm); and such silicon can be made from quartz of very high purity, not
available everywhere. The preparation of single crystal silicon rods also requires
some special technology—Czochralski method or float zone refining method.
Then the rod has to be doped with boron to convert photons into light. However,
relatively low-efficiency cells meant for ordinary purpose can be made from
less pure quartz, but the technology is the same (Chatterjee 2009).
(b) Land: Industrial scale solar power plants (not the rooftop panels and suchlike
for off-grid applications) require large areas of land. They, therefore, have to
compete with other land-uses. As a thumb rule, one MW PV-based solar power
plant requires 5–10 acres of land while concentrated solar thermal power (CSP
or CST) has been found in US to need 2–4 ha per MW.
(c) Cost: After decades of intensive research, the energy efficiency of silicon cells
has, until 2007, improved from 6 to 18 % only. Besides, the existing technolo-
gies for making crystalline silicon is expensive and research to develop low-
cost technologies, although underway, is yet to yield results. Consequently, the
5.2 Unconventional Sources 93

Table 5.2 Growth of the world’s solar power capacity during 2010–2011
PV power
capacity (MW) Growth % share
in the world
Country 2010 2011 (%) during 2011 Remarks
World 39,778 68,410 71.98 100 The phenomenal growth of solar power
in practically all the countries listed here
and the world as a whole is mainly the
result of fiscal incentives granted by
different governments.
Australia 504 1,200 138.10 1.75 The largest station is 10 MW of
capacity. But the Government has
mooted a plan in 2009 to build a station
with 1,000 MW capacity at an
investment of US $ 1.05 billion.
Belgium 803 1,812 125.65 2.65 In 2009, it was planned to install
2,500 MW on roofs of public buildings.
Installation of 800,000 m2 of solar panel
in various places.
Canada 200 500 150.00 0.73 The country’s largest plant has an
installed capacity of 80 MW covering an
area of 380 ha.
China 893 2,900 224.75 4.24 There were over 400 PV companies
producing 23 % of the solar power
hardware. Solar water heating is
extensively practised.
Czech 1,953 1,960 0.36 2.87 —
Republic
France 1,025 2,831 174.49 4.14 After complete exhaustion of the
reserves, the 250 years old coal mining
had come to a stop in 2004. France is
now developing solar power to
supplement its nuclear power.
Germany 17,320 24,875 43.62 36.36 Germany has an ambitious plan to
replace its nuclear power mostly by
solar power by 2022.
Greece 206 631 206.31 0.92 Small PV farms exist throughout the
country.
India 189 450 138.10 0.66 A large project is proposed in
35,000 km2 of area in Thar desert which
will be sufficient to produce 700–2,100
GW and another in Jabalpur district of
Madhya Pradesh. The Government has
selected 60 cities to develop as ‘model
solar cities’ and promote use of solar
water heaters and rooftop solar panel.
There is a target to produce 20 GW by
2020.
(continued)
94 5 Minerals and Energy—Renewable Sources

Table 5.2 (continued)

PV power
capacity (MW) Growth
% share
in the world
Country 2010 2011 (%) during 2011 Remarks
Italy 3,502 12,764 264.48 18.66 At the end of 2010, there were 155,977
solar PV plants and the total energy
production was about 1906 GWH.
Japan 3,617 4,700 29.94 6.87 After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
plant accident in 2011, the Government
has decided to phase out nuclear power
by 2030 and increase its renewable
power capacity to make good the
shortfall (it is dependent on other
sources of energy like coal and natural
gas). Japan is also a top supplier of
hardware.
Slovakia 145 488 236.55 0.71 –
Spain 3,892 4,214 8.27 6.16 It is one of the European countries with
abundant sunshine and an advanced
country in solar energy development.
UK 72 1,014 1,308.33 1.48 The second tallest building in
Manchester, the CIS tower was clad in
PV panels at a cost of £ 5.5 million and
started feeding electricity to the national
grid in November, 2005. Till 2011, the
tariff subsidy was high so as to serve as
an incentive to solar power industry but
in August, 2011 the subsidy was
drastically reduced for installations over
50 KW.
USA 2,519 4,200 66.73 6.14 There is considerable activity and the
largest PV installation in the world is in
California with a capacity of
354 MW. Rooftop installations are being
encouraged.
Others 2,938 3,871 31.76 5.66 These countries include Portugal,
Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands,
Israel, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Bulgaria,
Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Cyprus and
Ukraine each of which had installed
capacities ranging from 10–190 MW in
2011. There was no African country.
Source: Wikipedia: Solar Power by Country; www.google.com, 2012

intrinsic cost of solar electricity is still much higher than the retail price of
power from conventional sources (Swaminathan 2007). Solar power costs Rs
9–10 per unit in rooftop PV panels. Though the cost of power generated in pilot
CSP (or CST) projects in US and Spain is estimated to translate into Rs 5 per
5.2 Unconventional Sources 95

unit in India, such plants consume huge quantities of water for cooling towers
and hence will be inappropriate in areas of water scarcity (Swaminathan 2010).
(d) Natural factors: Solar power depends on abundant and uninterrupted sunshine
for its efficacy. Not all countries and not all areas of a country can, therefore, be
suitable for installation of solar panels.
However, in spite of the above disadvantages, growth of the solar power industry
has been phenomenal because of the following factors.
(a) Global warming is now a worldwide concern thanks to the campaign of the
environmentalists supported by the scientists, UN and other institutions and the
governmental initiative starting from Kyoto Protocol in 1997 to Rio-2020 in
2012. Solar energy is totally pollution-free and it has great potentiality to earn
carbon credits (Swaminathan 2007).
(b) Every government is promoting development of this industry through liberal
subsidies in its eagerness to show to the world that it is doing a lot to reduce
greenhouse gas emission. (Swaminathan 2007).
(c) It is now recognized that solar power would increasingly supplement conven-
tional energy in fulfillment of growing energy demand.
The future outlook is gradually undergoing a change. The emerging trends are as
follows.
(a) Solar thermo-photovoltaic: Some scientists of the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology have invented a novel way to concentrate sun’s rays without using
mirrors as reported in the journal Nanoscale Research Letters in 2011. The
devise developed is called solar thermo-photovoltaic (solar TPV) which uses
what is called ‘photonic crystal’. This crystal prevented the absorbed heat from
escaping thereby achieving very high temperature without using costly mirrors.
This may be a more cost-effective substitute of CSP (Hitavada, Dec 8, 2011).
(b) Sun Believable Solar Paint: As reported in the journal ACS Nano published by
the American Chemical Society in 2011, researches in the Centre for Nano-
science and Technology, Notre Dame have led to the invention of an inexpen-
sive solar paint christened as ‘Sun Believable Solar Paint’. By introducing
power-producing nano-particles called ‘quantum dots’ into a spreadable com-
pound converting the latter to one-coat solar paint. This paint is based on nano-
sized particles of TiO2 coated with either cadmium sulphide or cadmium
selenide. When a coat of this paint is applied on a conducting surface and
exposed to sunlight, it creates electricity thus turning the painted surface to
solar cells (Hitavada, Dec 23, 2011).
(c) Copper-indium diselenide (CIS) solar panels: A project under the aegis of the
European Commission is aimed to develop photovoltaic roof tiles and overhead
glazing facade elements based on CIS materials incorporating therein architec-
tural and aesthetic aspects (European Commission 2005).
(d) Off-grid solar: The solar mission of the Government of India has envisaged off-
grid applications reaching 2,000 MW by 2022. Such applications would include
remote village electrification, irrigation pump sets, telecom towers, back-up
96 5 Minerals and Energy—Renewable Sources

power generation, city street lighting, billboard lighting etc. In India, huge
quantities of imported kerosene are consumed for lighting rural homes and this
is expected to be significantly substituted by off-grid solar electricity. The cur-
rent model proposes a combination of subsidy and low-interest loans for pro-
moting off-grid applications (Hitavada, July 14, 2010).

5.2.2 Wind Energy

The economic use of wind energy dates back to the prehistorical times between
8000 and 5000 BC when the technique of preparing linen cloth was invented fol-
lowed by its application in sailing boats to cross oceans. During the historical times
till the mass usage of electricity in the late nineteenth century, wind mills for grind-
ing wheat to flour, for pumping seawater for salt-making etc. were common. The
earliest evidence of converting wind energy into electricity for lighting dates back
to 1887 when a Scottish academic namely James Blyth built a cloth-sailed wind
turbine in the garden of his cottage to charge accumulators which he used to power
the lights in his cottage. The technology of modern utility-scale horizontal wind
power turbines was first developed in US in 1975 and this paved the way for tur-
bines of today which are capable of delivering 7 MW. The estimations of total eco-
nomically extractable wind energy vary from 18 to 170 TW. Power generation
usually comes from winds very close to the surface of the Earth, but winds at high
altitudes are stronger and more consistent in speed.
Commercial electricity from wind power is now-a-days generated in wind farms
which may consist of up to several hundreds of wind turbine towers covering an
extensive area of up to hundreds of square kilometres. But the effective land area
occupied by all the towers is small because the areas between the towers may be
used for agriculture or other purposes. Individual turbines in a wind farm are inter-
connected by a power collection system which is then connected to the grid through
a transformer. As of 2012, the two largest onshore operational wind farms were in
US having capacities of 1,012 MW and 781.5 MW while the farms in UK (300 MW)
and Denmark (209 MW) are the largest offshore (status as of 2010). As of 2011,
there were 83 countries in the world using wind power on a commercial basis. The
capacities and actual production of wind power in different countries are shown in
Table 5.3.
According to World Energy Council, the annual market for wind energy has been
increasing at an annual rate of 37 % and it has become one of the important players
in the energy market. It is the most important bait for the German Government in its
decision to close down all nuclear plants by 2022.
The main advantages of wind power are as follows.
(a) Land use: Although a wind farm requires on an average a relatively large area
of 13.35 ha, it does not interfere with the other land uses like agriculture, park
etc.
5.2 Unconventional Sources 97

Table 5.3 Capacities and production of wind power in the world

Estimated wind power capacity Wind electricity production
at the end of 2011 in 2010
% share in Production % share in
Country Capacity (MW) world total (TWH) world total
China 62,733 26.3 55.5 15.9
United States 46,919 19.7 95.2 27.2
Germany 29,060 12.2 36.5 10.6
Spain 21,674 9.1 43.7 12.7
India 16,084 6.7 20.6 6.0
France 6,800 2.8 9.7 2.8
Italy 6,747 2.8 8.4 2.5
UK 6,540 2.7 10.2 3.0
Canada 6,540 2.7 8.0 2.3
Portugal 4,083 1.7 9.1 2.6
Others 32,446 13.8 48.5 14.1
World 238,351 100 344.8 100
Source: Global Wind Energy Council

(b) Pollution: It is zero-pollution power.

(c) Energy storage and economic value: Although the energy generation depends
on speed of the wind which is variable according to the season, there are grid-
energy storages which can store the energy developed during high-wind periods
and the type of storage needed depends on wind penetration levels. Low pene-
tration requires daily storage while high penetration requires storage for as long
as a month or more. And this stored energy increases the economic value of
wind energy because it can be shifted to substitute higher cost generation during
peak demand periods.
(d) Convenient hedge: Wind energy can serve as a convenient hedge against unpre-
dictable price movements.
(e) Cost: Wind turbines require little maintenance. In US, the cost of wind electric-
ity per megawatt hour was estimated in 2006 to be $ 55.80 which was compa-
rable with coal ($ 53.10) or natural gas ($ 52.50).
(f) Off-grid wind electricity generation: Generally small scale wind power genera-
tion systems with capacities up to 50 KW which are located in remote and iso-
lated localities serve well households and offices. These serve the best when
used in conjunction with batteries, photovoltaic panels or diesel generators.
Equipments such as parking meters, traffic warning signs, street lighting and
wireless internet gateways can be powered conveniently by small wind turbines
possibly combined with photovoltaic system that charges a small battery doing
away with the need for a connection to the power grid.
(g) Carbon credit: Wind power systems—large and small scale—save considerable
CO2 emission and thus qualify for earning carbon credits.
98 5 Minerals and Energy—Renewable Sources

On the other hand, there are a few disadvantages as under.

(a) Offshore wind energy: In offshore areas wind speed is high and consistent but
the cost of transmission to the consumption centres is high.
(b) Environmental impact: There are reports of bird and bat mortality at wind
turbines.
(c) Raw materials: The raw materials for the permanent magnet—one of the vital
components of wind turbines—include some rare earth metals and oxides.
These are praseodymium, cerium, samarium and erbium metals alloyed with
cobalt and neodymium oxide. Although these rare earth metals are required in
small amounts, as of 2012 they suffered from some supply problems inasmuch
as 94 % of the global production is controlled by China which itself accounts
for 68 % of the global consumption for various high-tech electronic products.
China is curtailing supply by gradually reducing the number of mines and also
the cost of production is rising because of increasing costs of controlling the
pollution during treatment. Although about four to seven projects outside China
were in progress in 2012, it will not be before 2016 that they will start produc-
tion. Consequently, for these vital raw materials most of the countries will con-
tinue for now to be at the mercy of one country i.e. China which itself is a major
consumer of them. As regards India, it depends entirely on their import because
although there are abundant resources of monazite containing rare earth metals,
there is no production after 2004 due to high cost of extraction. (FIMI News,
Sept 15, 2009; March 1, 2012; June 15, 2012; Aug 15, 2012; Sept 1, 2012)
(d) Risk in urban areas: The rotor diameters of wind turbines are long (a 5-MW
turbine requires a rotor with 120 m diameter). This may cause strong wind
shear in locations near or around a group of high-rise buildings; and the wind
shear may generate areas of intense turbulence especially at street level. There
is therefore a high risk of mechanical or catastrophic failure associated with
wind energy development in densely populated areas which in turn enormously
increases the cost of insurance.
(e) Dependence on subsidy: Wind power generation is growing only because many
countries are subsidizing installation of wind farms. This has been vindicated in
2011 when economic recession and credit crunch in US have slowed down new
investments in wind power projects. According to IEA (2012), the total subsi-
dies given by all the countries amounted to $ 88 billion in 2011 and the future
holds a bright prospect of $ 240 billion total subsidy. But this all the more
underscores the overdependence of wind power industry on subsidy.
(f) Reliability and intermittency vis-a-vis grid integration: It is now generally
accepted that the level of wind power capacity in a grid cannot exceed 10 %
without the grid operator incurring costs to deal with the intermittency issues.
Consequently, wind power has to be balanced by flexible generation elsewhere
in the system (WCI 2006).
The Global Wind Energy Council or GWEC (2009) projected that 25 % of
India’s energy requirements would be met by onshore wind power by 2030; and if
offshore potentiality is fully harnessed that would fulfill much more of the demand.
5.2 Unconventional Sources 99

Besides, according to GWEC, around 5 billion tonnes of CO2 emission would be

cumulatively reduced during the period until 2030. The Council in 2012 has pro-
jected the installed wind turbine capacity in the world to more than double from its
2011 level to 493 GW in 2016.

5.2.3 Bio-fuel (Biomass)

Bio-fuel includes all the waste materials from living organisms—plants and ani-
mals. It comprises a wide range of household and industrial wastes as well as the
energy crops—edible and inedible, which can be converted to usable fuel. These
have become important energy sources in developing and developed countries such
as US, Australia, India etc. This fuel can be used for both power generation and
transportation. According to IEA (2008a, b), the rate of biomass-based electricity
generation in the world was 257 TWh/year in 2007 while the quantities of direct
heat generated by combustion technology and by combined heat and power cycle
were 4.5 EJ (or 105 tonne-oil-equivalent) and 2–3 EJ (or 47–70 tonne-oil-equivalent)
respectively. The popular as well as potential ingredients include the following.
(i) Agricultural/field/plantation biomass: There are three kinds:
• Residues left after each harvesting cycle (paddy and wheat straw, corn
stover etc.)
• By-products of agro-processing (rice husks, bagasse, molasses, coconut
shells, groundnut shells, maize cobs, potato wastes, coffee wastes etc.)
• Energy crops (jatropha, karanj, corn, grass, hybrid poplar, hybrid willow,
switchgrass, oil palm, sorghum, hemp etc. which are specially cultivated for
their value as sources of energy)
(ii) Industrial biomass: These comprise waste materials like distillery effluents,
textile wastes, black liqueur (waste from the processes of the pulp, paper and
paperboard industry) etc.
(iii) Urban waste biomass: These are constituted by pellets, construction wastes,
demolition debris, mill residues, city refuse, sewage, waste paper, used plastic
objects etc.
(iv) Forest biomass: The natural or anthropogenic waste material left in situ in
forests. Examples are rough rotten salvageable deadwood, excess small pole
trees, twigs, yard clippings etc. left as residues after timber harvesting and
logging.
(v) Aquatic biomass: Examples are algae, marine plants.
(vi) Animal biomass: This consists of animal dung, human excreta, rejected parts
of livestock etc.
Rotting biomass from agricultural, forestry and urban sources releases methane
gas which can be harnessed as useful energy. The oil extracted from the energy
100 5 Minerals and Energy—Renewable Sources

crops can be converted to transportation fuels like biodiesel and ethanol. Other
types of biomass can be used for electricity generation.
Molasses which is a waste product from sugar industry yields highly combusti-
ble ethyl alcohol (also called alcohol or ethanol) on fermentation. This ethanol is
added to gasoline as a partial substitute in US and Brazil and other countries where
petroleum is very costly and where molasses is available in plenty. Ethanol can also
be produced from maize but the energy balance (i.e. the ratio of energy content in
ethanol to the energy needed to produce it) is only 1.3 compared to 8.3 of the etha-
nol produced from sugarcane (Swaminathan 2007).
The energy crop jatropha (Jatropha curcas) is an inedible (for both humans and
animals) plant and is a potential bio-fuel. It is easily grown in dry waste land. Its life
is about 50 years and it can yield up to five tonnes of oil seeds per hectare. This plant
contains 25–35 % of oil which can be converted to biodiesel. The residue left after
oil extraction is a useful raw material for soap, candle, glycerin and compost. This
biodiesel is carbon neutral and its use qualifies to earn carbon credits. In 2006, the
cost of extraction of biodiesel from jatropha in India was estimated to be Rs 20/litre.
The technologies for energy recovery from biomass involve combustion, gasifi-
cation, pyrolysis and biochemistry (anaerobic digestion, fermentation and trans-
esterification). Each technology is unique so as to produce a major calorific
end-product and a mixture of by-products. Versatility of modern biomass technolo-
gies to use a variety of biomass feedstock has enhanced the supply potential. Small
economic size and co-firing with other fuels have also opened up additional applica-
tion as with bagasse, the final reject left after extraction of juice from sugarcane or
similar plants, which is added to coal as a partial substitute for power generation.
Biomass integrated gasifier/combined cycle (BIG/CC) technology has potential to
be competitive in comparison to coal for power generation since biomass has low
sulphur content. For electricity generation the most competitive technologies are
direct combustion and gasification. Typical plant sizes range from 0.1 to
50.0 MW. But combined cycle applications using steam cycle followed by direct
driving of turbines (cf. Natural gas discussed earlier in the chapter) have potential to
generate upto 40 MW at upto 42 % efficiency (Shukla 1998).
As regards the status of development of biomass-based energy, the developments
in US, China, India and Sweden (a country where biomass plays an important role
in its energy perspective) are discussed as follows.
(a) United States
The total availability of biomass was estimated in 2002 to be 590 million wet
tonnes per year which was equivalent to 3 GW of power. Of this, 20 million wet
tonnes were available at prices $1.25/mega-calories or less (cf. price of coal in US
in 2001 was $ 1.23). The on-grid biomass capacity as in 2011 was 11,000 MW
which accounted for 1.4 % of the total electricity supply. It has been projected that
by 2020, a total of 15.3 billion KWh of electricity (0.3 % of the total projected for
that year) will be based on biomass (US Energy Information Administration 2002).
In US, ethanol is produced from maize.
5.2 Unconventional Sources 101

(b) China
China has focused on (i) a process for converting a high-quality Chinese sorghum
breed into liquid fuel and (ii) pyrolysis and gasification of agricultural residue and
wood. In early 1980s, it has initiated a nationwide programme to disseminate
improved cooking stoves and biogas technologies leading to improvement of energy
efficiency of cooking stoves to 20 % and saving of 1 tonne of wood per household.
Biomass-based electricity generation penetrated the Chinese markets in the 1990s
with establishment of a total capacity of 806 MW in the sugarcane-producing prov-
inces of Guangdong and Guangxi (Shukla 1998).
(c) India
Biomass plays a vital role especially in rural households as a source of direct
heat. As regards electricity generation, the potential based on the agricultural wastes
alone has been estimated to be about 17,000 MW (Periaswamy 2011); but the esti-
mations made by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government
of India based on different parameters varies from 18,000 to 50,000 MW and an
additional 5000 MW based on bagasse generated in 550 sugar mills. The MNRE has
estimated that the production of biomass (agro and forest residues) in India is in the
range of 400–500 million tonnes per year and it contributes to 32 % of all primary
energy used here. The Government has made it mandatory to blend petroleum with
5 % ethanol in some of the states. However the emphasis is on biodiesel production
based on plants like jatropha, neem and mahua. According to MNRE, the total area
of waste land in India is 63 million hectares out of which 40 million hectares can be
developed for undertaking jatropha plantation, and the Government planned to plant
jatropha in a total area of 11.2 ha by the end of 2012. Indian Railways have planted
15 million jatropha saplings on railway land for eventually using the biodiesel as a
partial substitute of conventional diesel. In India, bagasse is used to run power gen-
eration units. In 2006, the potential in cogeneration by all the sugar industries as
existing then in India was estimated to be 1,200 MW. The MNRE grants financial
assistance on some kinds of projects. The status of biomass energy utilization in
India in 1999 and 2003 is shown in Table 5.4.
Research has been going on for developing a new technology to make ‘cellulosic
ethanol’ from not just cane juice but also bagasse and tall grasses which can be
grown on submerged waste land.
(d) Sweden
Swedish Energy Agency has set a long-term goal to promote the use of biomass
energy not only in homes but also to fuel power plant and its strategy is centred on
chips and pellets made out of extensive and fast-growing willows. A pilot plant
project of a consortium called “CHRISGAS” led by the Swedish Biomass gasifica-
tion Centre started in 2004 was based on an integrated gasification combined cycle
(IGCC) to provide both heat and power. A clean hydrogen-rich gas has been pro-
duced by steam/oxygen gasification of biomass followed by hot gas cleaning to
remove particulates and steam reforming of tar and light hydrocarbons. This gas
102 5 Minerals and Energy—Renewable Sources

Table 5.4 Status of biomass Oct. 12, 1999 Oct. 12, 2003
energy utilization in India
171 571
(1999 and 2003)
Target for 2020: Generation of 10 GW
biomass-based electricity
Source: MNRE: Jl. Biomass Energy in India, no. 7
(Jan.–Mar.), 2011

holds promise for production of vehicle fuel on industrial scale. This gas can even
be upgraded to commercial quality hydrogen for use in fuel cells discussed later in
this chapter (European Commission 2005).
Some other Asian countries like Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia
hold promise of development of biomass energy. The potential in Thailand is cen-
tred on bagasse and wastes from chemical, agro-processing and textile industries
while that in Indonesia on the wastes from the plywood plants and the saw mills
(Shukla 1998). A project was started in Western Australia in 2003 to produce heat
and finally electricity from the stumps, leaves and twigs of pine trees after cutting
them for veneer production (Chatterjee 2006).
The main obstacles of unbridled generation of biomass energy are as follows.
(a) Land-intensiveness: Cultivation of plants dedicated to only biomass energy
(e.g., jatropha, corn etc.) is highly land-intensive; areas varying from 80 to
240 ha are required for creation of each megawatt capacity of electricity gen-
eration (cf. 2–4 ha in case of solar PV panels).
(b) Clash between land-uses: Use of cultivable crop land only for energy crop
plantation remains controversial under ‘food versus fuel’ debate. One of the
reasons for tripling of the international prices of wheat, rice and corn in 2009
was the diversion of about 20 % of the corn grown in the US to bio-fuel
production.
(c) Fear of water scarcity: Cultivation of sugarcane only for producing ethanol has
been questioned by many stakeholders because this crop being a water guzzler
may result in severe water scarcity in the surrounding areas.
(d) Environmental impact of forest-based biomass: Some environmental organiza-
tions like Greenpeace have become vocal against forest-based biomass because
there would be a tendency towards whole-tree harvesting which would be dif-
ficult to control. This would remove more nutrients and soil cover than regular
harvesting and could be harmful to the long-term health of a forest. They also
argue that it can take many decades for the carbon released by burning biomass
to be recaptured by re-growing the destroyed trees (see also ‘wood pellet’ later
in this chapter).
(e) Biomass from forest-based industries and deforestation: Unregulated use of
the biomass like the rejects in sawmills and other forest-based industries may
trigger runaway deforestation which is not allowed under the law in India.
(f) Dependence on monsoon: In the tropical countries like India, production of
agricultural biomass depends heavily on the vagaries of monsoon (Shah 2011).
5.2 Unconventional Sources 103

(g) Lack of awareness amongst farmers: For Indian farmers, cultivation of jatropha
is a new venture and they lack in adequate education to appreciate its utility.
Moreover, in absence of a minimum support price (like cotton, wheat etc.) and
without any assured market or long term purchase contracts, they feel wary of
taking up its cultivation.
(h) Poor market penetration: Biomass in India is looked upon as a traditional
highly polluting rural fuel (cf. firewood) and is not, therefore, traded as a com-
mercial commodity.
(i) Availability and price of ethanol: In India, the Union Government sets the
policy regarding ethanol blending, but the state governments control the move-
ment of molasses across interstate boundaries. Often, the latter impose restric-
tions and also levy taxes on potable alcohol sales.
(j) Fodder versus biomass: Agricultural and agro-industry wastes are fodders for
cattle and other livestock.
(k) Governmental policies: Until the early 1990s, the policies of the Government
of India were oriented towards technology push rather than towards market
pull. It is only after the economic liberalization in the 1990s, a shift in the per-
spective to allow a greater role by the forces of market has been initiated, but
the response of the market is still not enough.
(l) Competition with fossil fuels: The cost of externalities on account of environ-
mental pollution associated with burning of the fossil fuels is not taken into
account by the industries and the governments also do not insist on that. This
is more so in India because the electricity generation, transmission and distri-
bution services are mostly in the public sector and the tariff rates of coal-based
power are heavily tilted in favour of the common consuming mass. This exclu-
sion of the costs of the externalities amounts to implicit incentive to fossil fuels
to the disadvantage of biomass energy.
(m) Cost of biomass: It is necessary to locate the biomass-based power plants at or
near the source of the biomass because, otherwise, the cost of transportation of
the latter would far outstrip its price. This restriction with regard to location
of a power plant may create some other problems because they would need not
only water but also other kinds of fuel like coal for blending; besides, if the
power consumption centre is far away then long transmission wires would be
necessary which again entail transmission losses.
In spite of the above obstacles, there is a growing realization that modern biomass
technologies can reduce the wastage of energy from 66 % in case of the traditional
biomass (firewood) to only 25 %. Besides, the modern biomass systems comprising
some of the energy crops are carbon-neutral because they have a one-year life cycle
meaning that the carbon emissions get captured by the root biomass of the destroyed
crops within one year following the emissions. Hence biomass energy utilization is
growing in a number of countries—particularly the developed ones.
In the present perspective of the Government of India, biomass is viewed as a
competitive energy resource which can be pulled through energy markets. Under
104 5 Minerals and Energy—Renewable Sources

this view, the Government’s role is not to push programmes, but to enact policies
which internalize social benefits and costs of competitive fuels. This shift in per-
spective towards market-based incentives has coincided with the development of
several advanced biomass technologies. This has resulted in its growth in India in
the recent times. In 2008, a 17.5 KW jatropha-based power plant was successfully
commissioned to supply 24 h electricity to a remote village (Ranidhera) in the state
of Chhattisgarh (TOI, New Delhi, 2008).

5.2.4 Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy indicates the heat generated deep inside the Earth due to fission
of radioactive materials in the Earth’s core and the rocks at some places become so
hot that the deep water bodies are converted to steam. When this steam comes out
in the form of hot springs, geothermal power is produced. It is one of the rare forms
of energy which is neither directly nor indirectly connected with solar energy. For
harnessing this energy, the technology essentially involves drilling two deep bore-
holes and pumping cold water through one of them causing the steam to come forth
through the other.
Geothermal energy can be used as a source of electricity as well as direct heat for
cooking and home-heating. The advantages of geothermal energy are as under.
(a) Environmental friendliness (CO2 emission is on an average 400 kg per MWH of
electricity which is a miniscule fraction of that in power plants based on fossil
fuels; and this emission can be sequestered)
(b) Zero contamination from toxic chemicals (in modern practice, the geothermal
fluids are injected back into the Earth to stimulate production, but along with
them the toxic chemicals like the salts of mercury, arsenic, boron and antimony
also go back into the Earth thus preventing them from causing any damage)
(c) Zero wastage
(d) Low maintenance cost
(e) Requirement of small areas of land
(f) Independence of weather conditions
(g) Sustainability of geothermal power because the heat extraction is small com-
pared to the Earth’s heat content
(h) Minimal land requirement of 404 m2/GWh (cf. 3,635 m2 for a coal facility and
1,335 m2 for a wind farm)
(i) Minimal freshwater requirement of only 20 l/MWh (cf. over 1,000 l/MWh by
coal-based or nuclear electricity generation)
However, it suffers from some disadvantages also as follows.
(a) Location-specificity like mines
(b) Limited number of potential sites
(c) Sites being usually far away from consuming market
5.2 Unconventional Sources 105

(d) High cost of drilling deep boreholes including that of transporting drilling rigs
often to remote sites
(e) High capital cost of installation of steam power plant
(f) Unpredictability of the amount of electricity that would eventually be
generated
(g) Possibility of emission of poisonous gases at some rare sites
(h) Possibility of seismic disturbance leading to earthquakes caused by digging of
deep holes and hydraulic fracturing in enhanced geothermal systems (distur-
bances of magnitude up to 3.4 on Richter scale have been measured)
(i) Requirement of considerable energy to pump in cold water and pump out steam
(j) Quick depletion of hot water resource in some local areas despite the overall
large resources in the crust.
The following technologies are deployed to generate electricity from geothermal
sources.
(a) Dry steam technology: This is the oldest and the simplest technology. Power
plants based on this technology directly use geothermal steam of at least 150 °C
temperature to drive turbines.
(b) Flash steam technology: This is the most common technology used today. The
power plants pull deep high-pressure hot water into lower-pressure tanks. Due
to the sudden drop in pressure, a flash of steam is released which is used to drive
turbines. The fluid temperature must be at least 180 °C and such high tempera-
ture fluid can only come from very deep underground.
(c) Binary cycle technology: This is the most recent technology having been first
demonstrated in Russia in 1967 and introduced in US in 1981. Power plants
based on this technology can accept fluid temperature as low as 57 °C. The
moderately hot geothermal water is used to flash vaporize another fluid of even
lower boiling point which then drives the turbines. This is the most common
type of geothermal electricity plants today. The second fluid can be some low-
boiling hydrocarbon like pentane, isobutylene and propane. The efficiency of
such plants is generally low—10–13 %.
(d) Hot dry rock (or Enhanced geothermal) steam extraction technology: This tech-
nology is suited to ground that is hot but dry or where water pressure is inade-
quate. In such conditions, injected fluid can stimulate production. This involves
drilling of two boreholes into the steam reservoir rock and fracturing of the rock
in between them with the help of explosives or high pressure water. Then water
or liquefied CO2 is pumped through one of the boreholes and it comes up
through the other as a hot gas which is then used for driving turbines. This tech-
nology is actually being used in France and Germany and is under development
in a few other countries.
Geothermal electricity and heat potential and actual electricity production as
estimated by the International Geothermal Association (IGA) in 2000–2001 in the
different continents are shown in Table 5.5.
106 5 Minerals and Energy—Renewable Sources

Table 5.5 Geothermal energy potential and actual electricity production in the world (2000)
High temperature potential
suitable for electricity Actual electricity Low temperature potential
generation (trillion watt production suitable for direct heat
Continent hour/year) (gigawatt hour/year) production (exajoule/year)
Europe 3,700 5,745 ≥370
Asia 5,900 17,501 ≥320
North 2,700 23,342 ≥120
America
South 5,600 ≥240
America
Africa 2,400 396 ≥240
Oceania 2,100 49,261 ≥110
World 22,400 96,245 ≥1,400
Source: IGA, March 28, 2001

Table 5.6 shows the country-wise growth of the installed geothermal electric
capacity during 2007–2010.
The dependency on geothermal energy for meeting electricity demand is very
high in Iceland, Philippines and El Salvador and is moderately high in the countries
of Costa Rica, Kenya, Nicaragua and New Zealand. But growth rate is not high in
majority of these countries except Iceland, New Zealand and Kenya. Incidentally,
the country registering the phenomenally high growth rate of about 50 % i.e. Turkey
was not much dependent on this form of energy in 2010. On the other hand, it has
been projected that Indonesia, which was having the third largest installed capacity
in the world and where the growth was moderate in 2010, could become a super-
power country in electricity production from geothermal energy (Al Gore 2011).
In US, which is the leading country in geothermal electricity production capac-
ity, there are 77 power plants. The largest group in the world is The Geysers (active
installed capacity 1,517 MW) which is located in Mayacamas Mountains in north-
ern California and its 22 plants are spread over an area of 70 km2; the steam comes
from over 350 wells drilled into the reservoir in greywacke sandstone and the pri-
mary source of the steam is a large magma chamber at a depth of 7 km and having
diameter of over 14 km; here micro-seismic events of intensity 0.5–3.0 on Richter
scale have been caused due to drilling. Other notable geothermal fields under har-
ness are (i) Cerro Prieto, Mexico (620 MW), (ii) Larderello, Italy (547 MW) and
(iii) Wairakei, New Zealand (216 MW). Although, there is great potential in the
Canadian Cordillera (estimations vary from 1,550 to 5,000 MW), this source of
electricity has not been developed until 2010 (IGA 2011).
Geothermal fields are closely associated with volcanic and tectonic activities. At
present, the maximum depth of the geothermal wells is 3 km, beyond which the cost
becomes prohibitive. However, geothermal resources have been prognosticated up
to a depth of 10 km. Technological research is now directed towards drilling wide
boreholes at low cost and to break larger volumes of rock.
5.2 Unconventional Sources 107

Table 5.6 Installed online geothermal electric capacity in the world

Online geothermal electricity Average annual Share in total
generation capacity (MW) growth during electricity production
Country 2007 2010 2007–2010 (%) in 2010 (%)
United States 2,687 3,086 4.61 0.3
Philippines 1,970 1,904 −1.12 27.0
Indonesia 992 1,197 6.89 3.7
Mexico 953 958 0.17 3.0
Italy 811 843 1.32 1.5
New Zealand 472 628 11.02 10.0
Iceland 421 575 12.19 30.0
Japan 535 536 0.06 0.1
El Salvador 204 204 Nil 25.0
Kenya 129 167 9.82 11.2
Costa Rica 163 166 0.61 14.0
Turkey 38 94 49.12 0.3
Nicaragua 87 88 0.38 10.0
Russia 79 82 1.27 –
China 28 24 −4.76 –
France 15 16 2.22 –
Germany 8 7 −4.17 –
Others 140 147 1.19 –
World 9,732 10,722 3.39 –
Source: IGA (2011)
Note: ‘Others’ consists of seven countries namely Papua New Guinea, Guatemala, Portugal,
Ethiopia, Austria, Australia and Thailand; capacity varies from 0.3 MW in Thailand to 56.0 MW
in PNG during both the years

Insofar as India is concerned, commercial harnessing of geothermal energy is

insignificant although there have been some experiments going on. The geologi-
cally potential belts are as under.
(a) Himalayan Province: Tertiary orogenic belt with Tertiary magmatism
(b) Areas of faulted blocks: Aravalli belt, Naga-Lushi, west coast regions
(c) Volcanic arc: Andaman-Nicobar arc
(d) Deep sedimentary basin of Tertiary age such as Cambay basin in Gujarat
(e) Radioactive Province: Surajkund (Haryana), Hazaribag (Jharkhand)
(f) Cratonic Province: Peninsular India
There are about 340 hot springs, but they are not of very high temperature and
discharge. During oil and gas well drilling high subsurface temperature, thermal
fluids and steam blow-outs have been encountered at depths ranging from 1.5 to
3.4 km. Till December, 2011, the following six most promising geothermal sites
have been identified.
108 5 Minerals and Energy—Renewable Sources

1. Tattapani (Chhattisgarh)
2. Puga (Jammu and Kashmir)
3. Cambay Graben (Gujarat)
4. Manikaran (Himachal Pradesh)
5. Surajkund (Haryana)
6. Chhumathang (Jammu and Kashmir)
There is a plan to set up the first geothermal power plant with 2–5 MW capacity
at Puga valley in Jammu and Kashmir.

5.2.5 Hydrogen

Hydrogen being the lightest of all substances tends to escape into the space and only
the hydrogen in the form of some compound like water, hydrocarbons, hydrates etc.
are found in the Earth. Its melting point is −259 °C and boiling point −253 °C, at all
temperatures above which the cryogenic hydrogen will flash. This property makes
it a highly explosive substance capable of releasing intensive energy. It is actually
not an energy substance but an energy-carrier which moves and delivers energy in a
usable form to consumers (cf. electricity).
Since mining of hydrogen from its unlimited resource pervading the space is not
in the realm of possibility in the immediate future, the only option for tapping this
energy source is to dissociate it from its compounds, most common amongst which
are hydrocarbons and water. Biomass has also been receiving considerable attention
(see ‘Bio-fuel’ discussed earlier in this chapter).
Zero pollution effect is the principal advantage of hydrogen, the product of its
burning being water. Hydrogen economy will depend on how economically hydro-
gen can be produced on industrial scale. There are two technologies of its produc-
tion as under.
(a) Electrolysis: Electricity is run through water to separate the hydrogen from the
oxygen atoms. However, if the electricity is sourced to fossil fuels, then the
zero-pollution advantage of hydrogen is lost to a large extent. Hence obtaining
hydrogen from this method by using biomass, wind or solar energy for the
required electricity is being studied as a viable low-cost and carbon-neutral
option.
(b) Reforming: In this method hydrogen is extracted from methane, natural gas and
other hydrocarbons by application of heat. However, it is attended with genera-
tion of the greenhouse gases CO2 and CO.
Nevertheless, in both the processes, more energy is required than can be retrieved
from the gas later on. Now-a-days the ability of some algae and bacteria, which give
off hydrogen under certain conditions by using sunlight as their energy source, is
receiving attention.
5.2 Unconventional Sources 109

Liquid hydrogen has been used in launching rockets. Now research is underway
in several countries such as Japan, US, Germany and India to make it a suitable fuel
for running transport vehicles. The most formidable problem is its susceptibility to
flash and explosion in ambient conditions which makes it risky to carry in tanks or
cylinders. Research efforts are therefore directed to development of some special
alloy which will absorb hydrogen, store it and later on release it slowly as per need.
Even then, its use as an aviation fuel may not be possible because of the possibility
of the exhaust steam instantaneously freezing to ice at high altitude. A technology
is being tested to combine hydrogen with CO2 extracted from the exhaust gases of
coal- and gas-fired power plants or from the air directly to make a synthetic octane
fuel suitable for use in vehicles (Dyer 2008).
In India, research, development and demonstration efforts are directed towards
bridging the technological gaps in different areas of hydrogen energy including its
production, storage, transportation, delivery and safety codes and standards. An
ambitious programme has been drawn to produce one million hydrogen-fueled
vehicles and 1,000 MW aggregate hydrogen-based power generation.
Hydrogen can also be converted to electricity in a fuel cell (see below).

5.2.6 Fuel Cell

A fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, heat and water by
converting electrochemical energy into electricity. It operates best on pure hydrogen
but some of them can be fuelled directly with methanol. A catalyst splits the hydro-
gen molecules into electrons and protons. The protons pass through an electrolyte
membrane, while the electrons create an electric current. The electrons and protons
are then re-united and combined with oxygen to create water.
A fuel cell generates a tiny amount of direct current (DC) electricity. So in prac-
tice, many fuel cells are assembled into a stack and the DC output must be routed
through a conversion device called inverter. A fuel cell contains an electrolyte which
must allow the ions of hydrogen or oxygen to pass through. As long as a supply of
hydrogen and oxygen is maintained, electricity will be generated. The electrolyte,
the material of the electrodes and the type of fuel are the key to the efficiency of a
fuel cell. Some fuel cells need pure hydrogen and need a reformer to purify it; some
others can tolerate some impurities but need higher temperature for running effi-
ciently; in others using liquid electrolytes, the latter has to be circulated and will
need pumps. Several types of fuel cell technology are in various stages of develop-
ment. Their names are after the electrolyte used as under.
1. Phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC): Efficiency ranges from 40 to 80 % and the
operating temperature from 150 to 200 °C. Output achieved so far is 200 KW,
but tested up to 11 MW. Platinum electrodes are used which double up as cata-
lysts. The fuel can tolerate up to 1.5 % CO and hence there is some flexibility in
the choice of fuel.
110 5 Minerals and Energy—Renewable Sources

2. Molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC): The electrolyte is composed of sodium,

magnesium, potassium or lithium carbonate and the temperature has to be high
enough to maintain it in molten state, as high as 650 °C—too hot for home use.
Efficiency ranges from 60 to 80 %. Units with capacity up to 2 MW have been
tested. The waste heat can be recycled to generate additional electricity. Nickel
electrode catalysts are used which are relatively inexpensive compared to plati-
num used in PAFC. Also, carbon ions are used up in the reactions and hence their
continuous replenishment through injection of CO2 is necessary.
3. Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC): The fuel (i.e. metallic oxides)
has to be specially purified. The electrolyte consists of a thin flexible permeable
polymer sheet, but expensive platinum catalysts have to be used on both sides of
the membrane. Efficiency is about 40–50 % and the operating temperature about
80 °C. Output ranges from 50 to 250 KW.
4. Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC): The electrolyte is made up of a hard ceramic com-
pound of zirconium or calcium oxides. Efficiency is about 60 % and the operat-
ing temperature up to 1,000 °C. Output ranges up to 100 KW. The advantages are
that at such a high temperature tolerance of hydrocarbons being more, a reformer
is not required for extracting hydrogen from the fuel and that the waste heat can
be recycled to generate additional electricity.
5. Green fuel cell: This is only a modified version of the SOFC aimed at by a
European Commission project, in which biomass gasification systems and
SOFCs are combined. The broad principle involves production of a low-tar gas
by means of a tar decomposition and gas-cleaning system followed by its inte-
gration with a woody biomass gasifier. (European Commission 2005)
6. Alkaline fuel cell: The fuel is composed of compressed hydrogen and oxygen
and the hydrogen must be pure. The electrolyte is made up of an aqueous solu-
tion of KOH and expensive platinum electrode-catalysts are necessary. Efficiency
is about 70 % and the operating temperature 150–200 °C. Output ranges from
0.3 to 5.0 KW.
7. Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC): These require large amounts of expensive
platinum catalysts and at present are not receiving serious attention.
8. Regenerative fuel cell and hydrogen peroxide fuel cell: At present these are not
receiving serious attention.
Out of these, the phosphoric acid and the alkaline cells are already in use. The
former type of cells are installed at utility power plants, hospitals, hotels, schools,
office buildings and airport terminals; and the latter type is long used by the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Apollo space missions for both
electricity and drinking water.
In India, a scientist of the NSN Research Centre for Nanotechnology and
Biotechnology has developed a fuel cell that works on a nano-material developed
from edible vegetable oil and has given good results on laboratory scale. The MNRE
of the Government of India has given encouragement to pursue with the effort with
a view to scaling up (TOI, Aug. 18, 2012).
5.2 Unconventional Sources 111

However, the fuel cells of today are not cheap and efficient enough so as to
replace the conventional power utilities. Nevertheless it is believed that fuel cells
will become the norm in many applications within the first quarter of the twenty-
first century—be it for transport or energy supply or in an industrial application.

5.2.7 Fusion Power

This refers to thermal energy generated by fusion of two light atomic nuclei with
each other to form a heavier nucleus in a thermonuclear reactor. The isotopes of
hydrogen namely protium, deuterium and tritium are the possible light atoms out of
which the last two are currently the preferred ones—either deuterium-tritium or
deuterium-deuterium fuel cycle with the isotope of helium (He-4) as the end prod-
uct of fusion. These cycles are the replica of what is happening continuously inside
the sun and, in a sense, it is a manifestation of solar energy.
The first human-initiated fusion reaction was demonstrated in the early 1950s
when a series of test explosions of thermonuclear bombs (or hydrogen bombs) was
conducted. The first fusion-based bombs released 500 times more energy than early
fission bombs (atom bombs). But its civilian application, in which explosive energy
production must be replaced by controlled production, is still under development.
The principle consists in heating the two hydrogen isotopes to 15 million degrees
Celsius resulting in a high-temperature electrically charged gas called plasma. For
continuous fusion power, the plasma must be controlled, kept heated and contained
using powerful magnetic fields. A 12.8 billion dollar project named the International
Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), which was first proposed in 1985,
has been started in 2006 in Cadarache (southern France) by a consortium of seven
participating countries named the International Fusion Energy Organization. The
countries are India, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, US and the EU.
Both deuterium and tritium can be obtained from seawater—a virtually unlim-
ited resource (more than one atom per 10,000 hydrogen atoms has a deuterium
nucleus). Moreover, the thermonuclear energy is clean and safe. As regards the
question of sustaining the plasma, the maximum that has been achieved in the pro-
totypes is 1,000 s. But the aim of the ITER is to produce 500 million watts of fusion
power continuously for 10 min in the first phase and to standardize a commercial
process by 2040. It is indeed going to be the most formidable scientific and engi-
neering challenge of the twenty-first century.
There is another possibility further down the line. The helium isotope He-3
(practically nonexistent on Earth except in natural gas at a few locations) and deu-
terium may be a major source of nuclear fusion power, and extraction of helium-3
from the extraterrestrial sources—particularly the Moon—is considered very much
within the realm of practicability. Helium-deuterium fuel cycle may emerge as a
better option for producing commercial fusion power. When helium-3 combines
with deuterium, the fusion reaction proceeds at a very high temperature and it can
112 5 Minerals and Energy—Renewable Sources

produce extremely high amounts of energy. It has been estimated that just 25 tonnes
of helium, which can be transported on a space shuttle, is enough to provide elec-
tricity for the US for one full year. However, the reactor technology for converting
helium-3 to energy is still in laboratory experimentation stage.
Now a technology beyond helium is looking like a possibility in the foreseeable
future. Scientists of the Department of Chemistry in the University of Gothenburg
have claimed to have created what is known as ‘ultra-dense deuterium (UDD)’ or
‘heavy hydrogen’ which is 100,000 times heavier than water. It may eventually prove
to be a very efficient fuel in laser-driven nuclear fusion (Hitavada, May 31, 2009).
Another challenge is to develop a cost-effective material for building the lining
of a fusion reactor. The lining will have to withstand a very high temperature within
the reactor—much higher than a fission reactor.
However the overriding advantage of fusion power lies in the fact that there is no
nuclear waste. And it may become a reality in the near future as far as technology is
concerned, but the question of cost will still have to be addressed.

5.2.8 Methane Hydrate (or Gas Hydrate or Clathrate)

Methane hydrate (a kind of gas hydrate) is a natural clathrate in which methane is

entrapped in the lattice of water-ice crystals without being chemically bound. It is
formed by two processes and accordingly there are two types of methane hydrate as
under.
(a) Biogenic methane: It is the common byproduct of bacterial ingestion of organic
matter (cf. methane produced in swamps). It occurs within buried sediments all
over the globe and is considered as the dominant source of the methane trapped
in hydrate accumulation in shallow seafloor sediments.
(b) Thermogenic methane: Methane is produced by prolonged action of heat and
pressure on buried organic matter and it starts migrating. When sufficient quan-
tities of methane reach the zone of hydrate stability, it combines with water in
the sediments to form methane hydrate.
When the methane is dissociated from the ice then the volume of methane under
standard temperature and pressure (STP) released is 164 times that of the ice. In fact
it is nothing but highly concentrated natural gas and hence much attention is being
given to it as a potential source of methane for energy supply.
It is known to occur in both terrestrial and marine environments. Terrestrial
deposits have been found in the polar regions hosted by the sediments within the
Permafrost while the marine occurrences are mainly in the sediments of the Earth’s
Continental Margins. The specific conditions under which it can form and remain
stable are as follows.
(a) High pressure: Deeper the occurrence under the ocean is, higher would be the
pressure.
(b) Low temperature: Deeper the occurrence under the ocean is, lower would be the
temperature of the water.
5.2 Unconventional Sources 113

(c) Sufficient availability of both methane and water: Without this there won’t be
enough methane hydrate.
(d) Existence of pores in the host sediments: These pores are where the ice crystals
containing the methane hydrate are trapped and there should be enough of them
so as to accommodate the crystals. This implies that the sediments should be
unconsolidated.
(e) Low salinity of the water in the pores of the sediments hosting the methane
hydrate: High salinity lowers the ice-forming temperature making it difficult
for the ice to crystallize.
(f) Biologic productivity: This should be high. Very deep oceans generally lack the
high biologic productivity needed to create the organic matter that generates
methane.
(g) Rate of sedimentation: This should be rapid so as to deeply bury the organic
matter. Under very deep oceans the rate is generally not very rapid.
Considering all the above conditions it can be surmised that there is an optimum
range of depth— neither too deep nor too shallow—which is the ideal locale for
deposition of methane hydrate.
Layers of methane hydrate are found along the continental margins of the oceans
at depths ranging 500–3000 m and at less than 800 m depth in terrestrial lakes; and
the layers are generally 5–10 m thick. They generally contain 90 % methane. Till
2004, a total of 77 potential sites have been identified out of which methane hydrate
has been actually recovered in 19 places located in the US continental margin and
offshore areas of Alaska, Japanese continental margin, Lake Baikal, Messoyakha
gas hydrate field in western Siberia (the only place where recovery is on a commer-
cial scale) etc. Insofar as India is concerned, locations off the coasts of Mumbai,
Goa, Mangalore and Kochi in the Arabian Sea and off the coasts of Puducherry,
Chennai, Kakinada, Visakhapatnam and Paradip in the Bay of Bengal have been
identified. The estimated global prognostic resource as in 2004 was over 20 quadril-
lion m3 in deep offshore and 10 trillion m3 in the Arctic regions while that in Indian
offshore area was 40–120 trillion m3 up to a depth of 2,000 m along its continental
margin. The Government of India has already drawn a Rs 1-billion national gas
hydrate programme in 2006 for mapping its entire gas hydrate resources through the
National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai; a remotely operated ves-
sel (ROV) has already been developed which can go down to the ocean bed and
remain there to map the gas hydrates and collect samples (Hitavada, Sept 29, 2006).
Substantial energy resources may be available from methane hydrate deposits
using largely conventional drilling and production technologies as in the case of
natural gas. However there are some additional processes involved in the recovery
of methane from methane hydrate which are being investigated. The researches for
recovering methane from gas hydrates are centred on the following technologies.
(a) Thermal stimulation: In this method, temperature is increased through heating
so that hydrate breaks into water and gas.
(b) Depressurization: In this, the pressure is lowered by pumping out gas at the
base of the hydrate causing dissociation of gas from water.
(c) Inhibitor injection: In this, a dissociating reagent (e.g. methanol) is injected
into the hydrated sediments leading to release of gas from the hydrate.
114 5 Minerals and Energy—Renewable Sources

All these technologies may have to be deployed simultaneously. Dissociation of

gas from water is an endothermic process. So a natural consequence of dissociation
is cooling and potential re-freezing of the adjacent portions of the reservoir.
Therefore depressurization accompanied by local heating may also be required so
as to overcome the tendency of the hydrate to return to its stable, frozen state.
Methane hydrate wells will be more complex than most natural gas wells due to a
number of technical challenges as follows.
(a) Maintaining commercial gas flow rates with high water production rates
(b) Operating at low temperatures and low pressures in the wellbores
(c) Controlling the loose unconsolidated sand of the host formation which will tend
to enter the wells along with the gas and water
(d) Ensuring structural integrity of the well
(e) Preventing large scale landslides in the oceans caused by heating and expansion
of the hydrate in and its evacuation from the pores of the unconsolidated host
formation
Technologies exist to address all these issues, but their implementation will add
to overall development costs for producing methane from hydrate. Besides, there is
the formidable risk that any lapse may end up in mixing of huge volumes of this
greenhouse gas with air causing substantial global warming. Further, exploitation
from the Arctic reservoir may have additional impact on Arctic Region wildlife and
plants (Ghosh 2005; Chatterjee 2010; NETL 2011).

5.2.9 Ocean Energy

There are four ways in which ocean energy can be harnessed: (a) Tidal energy,
(b) Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), (c) Wave energy and (d) Salt gradi-
ent energy. These are as follows.
(a) Tidal energy: The methodology consists in channelling and storing of the tides
for electricity generation mainly in the estuaries where tides are most active. In
China, the first experimental tidal energy electric power station went into opera-
tion in May, 1981 in Zhejiang province in eastern China. Tidal power is gener-
ated in small quantities in France, Russia and UK. In India, a pilot research and
development project was planned to generate tidal power off the coast of
Ratnagiri in western coast of Maharashtra (Hitavada, Dec. 14, 2006).
(b) OTEC: The technique uses the thermal gradient in the ocean due to the differ-
ence in temperature between the warm waters at the surface and the ice-cold
waters at several hundred metres depth, to generate electricity. The first unit
named ‘Mini-OTEC’, was successfully operated in 1979 on a US Navy barge
off Kona coast of the Hawaii island. Its generation capacity was 50 KW. From
the point of view of depth of ocean and nearness to shore, the eastern coast of
5.2 Unconventional Sources 115

India is more favourable than the western coast. Off the eastern coast, sufficiently
deep waters are available within 22–54 km range, while in case of the western
coast, deep waters are rather far away—beyond about 150 km. Some locations
off Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep have been
identified as promising.
(c) Wave energy: This is the mechanical energy from wind retained by waves. The
oscillating movement of sea waves can be transformed into electricity. In India,
in the early 1990s, such a plant of 150 KW capacity was constructed 45 m in
front of the break water off Vizhingam fishing harbour in Kerala.
(d) Salt gradient energy: This is the energy coming from salinity differences
between fresh water discharges into oceans and ocean water. There is no report
of any practical utilization of this potential.
Although the Law of the Sea has granted right to a coastal country to harness
ocean energy within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), there is no indication at
present that these technologies of energy can be of commercial significance except
in oil drilling platforms.

5.2.10 Bacteria

The ability of some algae and bacteria, which give off hydrogen under certain con-
ditions by using sunlight as their energy source, is receiving attention (already men-
tioned under ‘Hydrogen’ earlier in this chapter). The experiments are mainly in the
following directions.
(a) Genetic modification of a micro-organism so that it would metabolize CO2 and
turn it into fuel. However, for continuously feeding the bacteria with CO2, the
latter would have to be separated and extracted from the air in large quantities
and then concentrated (Hitavada, Mar. 5, 2008).
(b) A type of bacteria has been found which thrive on the cathode of an electrolytic
cell, feed on the electrons and use that energy to convert CO2 to methane. The
methane can be stored and burned when needed. Of the electrical energy fed
into the system 80 % would be recovered on burning the methane. This is actu-
ally a high-efficiency and low-cost energy storage system by which wind and
other forms of energy can be stored for using as per need (Hitavada, Apr. 12,
2009).
(c) Certain type of algae has been found to be able to not only break cellulosic
biomass (e.g. poplar tree) into simple sugar but also ferment it to acetate and
ethanol—a bio-fuel (Hitavada, July 19, 2009).
(d) Bacteria-based battery is in a preliminary research stage, and is under develop-
ment in US and Japan. The output is very small, but nevertheless it is being
conceived as a potential supplementary source of electricity for household
consumption.
116 5 Minerals and Energy—Renewable Sources

However, there is no indication that this form of energy can be produced in

industrial and commercial quantities so as to substitute any of the conventional
fuels.

5.2.11 Industrial Waste Heat

It is now possible to capture waste heat from industrial smokestacks and turn it into
electricity. The temperature of the combustion gases and the smoke being low, pro-
pane gas (C3H8) instead of steam has been used to drive turbines.

5.2.12 Wood and Wood Pellet

These are different from both firewood and biomass. Unlike firewood and biomass,
this wood comprises intentionally cut healthy trees and their branches which are
used for thermal power generation. In Poland and Finland, such wood has been
accounting for 80 % of their renewable energy demand while in Germany the figure
is 38 % of the total non-fossil fuel consumption.
After the EU set a target to get 20 % of its energy from renewable sources by
2020, some European countries have realized that solar and wind energy are not
going to help them meet that target and wood pellet has become the newest craze in
Europe. It is argued that wood pellet will be carbon-neutral because the CO2 that
billows out of the chimney can be offset by the CO2 that is captured and stored in
newly planted trees and the power stations can be adapted to burn a mixture of 90 %
coal and 10 % wood pellet (one of Europe’s largest coal-fired power stations namely
Drax in UK is planning to convert three of its six boilers to burn wood and generate
12.5 terawatt hours of electricity a year from 2016). The British government has
offered subsidy to this power plant to the extent of £ 45 ($ 68) for every MWh of
electricity actually generated from wood pellet. Consequently, its consumption in
Europe rose to 12 million tonnes in 2012 and the demand is predicted to rise to
25–30 million tonnes by 2020 resulting in shooting up of the price of wood in west-
ern Canada, the main supplier of hard wood to Europe.
The process involves grinding the wood, turning it into dough and then putting it
under pressure. In other words, it produces CO2 twice over—once in the power sta-
tion and once in the supply chain including the manufacturing process and shipping.
Besides, carbon-neutrality will depend on the type of forest used, how fast the trees
grow, whether one uses wood chips or whole trees (necessary for mass production)
etc. According to European Environmental Agency, if whole trees are used, increase
in CO2 emission due to replacing coal by wood pellets will be 79 % over 20 years
and 49 % over 40 years, and there will be no CO2 reduction until 100 years have
passed when the replacement trees have grown up. Over and above this, the British
furniture industries, particle board mills and pulp and paper factories are already
References 117

feeling some adverse impact of this new development (along with the subsidy)
mainly due to spurt in the price of wood (FIMI, May 1, 2013).

References

Al Gore (2011) Address delivered in The Climate Project Asia Pacific Summit, 1 January 2011
Bharti RK (2011) Big dams proving a dam: Hitavada. www.hitavada.com, Nov 24
Chatterjee KK (2006) Uses of energy minerals and changing techniques. New Age, New Delhi
Chatterjee KK (2009) Uses of industrial minerals, rocks and freshwater. Nova Science, New York
Chatterjee KK (2010) Lectures and thoughts on mineral economics. Nova Science, New York
Dyer G (2008) Instead of oil. Press feature. Hitavada, June 17, 2008
European Commission (2005) Renewable Energy Newsletter. Brussels, Oct 2005
FIMI (Federation of Indian Mineral Industries) (2013) FIMI News Bulletin; Aug 1, 2007; Jan 1,
2009; Sept 15, 2009; Aug.1, 2010; Jan 1, 2011; Feb. 15, 2012; March 1, 2012; June 15, 2012;
Aug 15, 2012; Sept 1, 2012; Oct. 15, 2012; Dec 1, 2012; Dec 15, 2012; Jan 15, 2013; Feb 1,
2013; May 1, 2013
Ghosh KP (2005) Gas hydrate—the latest source of alternative energy. MGMI (Mining,
Metallurgical & Geological Institute) Transactions 102(1 & 2)
Global Wind Energy Council (2009) Indian wind energy outlook
Hitavada, Nagpur: Press report (www.hitavada.com); Sept 29, 2006; Dec. 14, 2006; Dec. 20, 2006;
July 18, 2007; Mar. 5, 2008; March 9, 2008; July 6, 2008; Sept 11, 2008; Dec. 19, 2008; Apr.
12, 2009; May 31, 2009; July 19, 2009; July 14, 2010; Aug 29, 2010; March 6, 2011; April 1,
2011; Dec 8, 2011; Dec 11, 2011; Dec 23, 2011; Jan. 10, 2012; June 29, 2012; Aug 26, 2012;
Dec 28, 2012; Dec 29, 2012; Feb 8, 2013
Hopwood D et al (2012) Renewable energy focus. ISES (International Solar Energy Society).
Freiburg
IEA (International Energy Agency) (2008a) World energy outlook. Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development, Paris
IEA (International Energy Agency) (2008b) Key world energy statistics
IEA (International Energy Agency), Ministry of Mines & Energy, Brazil (2012) Technology road-
map—hydropower. Hydro 2012 conference, Bilbao (reported by Sophie Vorrath, Oct 30, 2012.
www.google.com)
IGA (International Geothermal Association) (2011) Pisa, Italy: report, 28 March 2001
JRC Scientific and Technical Report (2011) Renewable energies in Africa
NETL (National Energy Testing laboratory) (2011) US Department of Energy: an introduction to
the science and energy potential of a unique resource—energy resource potential of methane
hydrate. Washington, DC
NSO (National Statistical Organization) (2011) India’s mega-hydropower statistics. Government
of India
Periaswamy P (2011) Energy requirement of biomass gasifier model. J Manag Sci 1(I):23–29
Shah A (2011) www.greenworldinvestor.com. March 10, 2011
Shukla PR (1998) Biomass energy in India. Soc Eng 6(2)
Swaminathan AA (2007) Can farmers farm the sun? Times of India, Mumbai, March 18, 2007
Swaminathan AA (2010) Expensive solar power can mean another enron. Times of India, Mumbai,
Aug 8, 2010
TOI (Times of India) (2008) New Delhi, 5 February 2008
TOI (Times of India). Nagpur: Press report. July 14, 2009; Jan. 1, 2009; Sept. 14, 2010; Oct. 27,
2010; June 25, 2012; April 12, 2012; May 6, 2012; Aug. 18, 2012; July 18, 2012; Dec. 18,
2012; Jan. 11, 2013
US Energy Administration (2002) Biomass-based electricity in US
WCI (World Coal Institute) (2006) E-Coal, April, 2006
WWF (World Wide Fund) (2010) World’s top ten rivers at risk. Report, World Wildlife Fund,
Gland
Chapter 6
Energy Mix and Energy Security

Energy is not only the prime mover of industrial and economic activity but also
indispensable to the advancement of civilization. Initially human energy followed
by animal energy marked the advancement of the ancient humans through a few
hundreds of thousands of years. But the first breakthrough came when about
31,000 years ago the humans invented the technique of making fire at will by strik-
ing one rock against another. Fire eventually helped the humans to make various
tools and machines for cutting trees and for digging the earth and to diversify their
energy sources. Today, we have multiple sources of energy to harness—as many as
30 in numbers—as have been discussed in the last two Chaps. (4 and 5). However
all countries do not have access to all those energy sources at the same time and
each one uses a permutation and combination from amongst these sources.
The energy mix model suitable for a country and its energy security are inter-
linked and complementary to each other. From the foregoing account it can be
surmised that in the macroeconomic context, present options for fulfilling a country’s
energy demand are limited to coal, oil, natural gas (including methane in other
forms like coal bed methane and shale gas), uranium, hydropower, solar energy,
wind energy, bio-fuel and geothermal energy. The other forms of energy are either
futuristic or suitable at microeconomic level.

6.1 Determinant Factors

There is no universal model of optimum energy mix for all countries. It depends on
the following factors.
1. Diversification of generation capacity
Avoiding over-reliance on one energy source is a fundamental premise of energy
security, reducing exposure to supply disruptions. A well balanced energy system,

© Capital Publishing Company 2015 119

K.K. Chatterjee, Macro-Economics of Mineral and Water Resources,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-15054-3_6
120 6 Energy Mix and Energy Security

comprising various power generation technologies with suitable capacities,

allows the advantage of each to be maximized and ensures a continuing supply to
the consumers.
2. Locally available exploitable reserve
No mature country should normally like to depend on imported raw material
when there are adequate minable reserves available within its boundaries. Minable
reserve as defined in any of the modern classification systems (e.g. JORC, UNFC)
implies that there is no impediment to exploitation of the reserve not only on account
of factors like quantity, grade, physical characteristics, technical feasibility, eco-
nomic viability etc. but also on other counts like infrastructure, environment, land
status, policy and law of the land, sociological issues etc.
3. Ease of transport
It is not enough to have locally available energy, it must be readily available also.
Thus the ease and safety with which fuels and electricity can be transported is a key
driver for energy security. Oil and gas can be transported through pipelines and
tankers or LNG vessels; coal can be readily transported via road, rail or ship; trans-
mission and distribution networks must be capable of carrying electricity to the
consumers and able to handle the lead demands placed upon them. Besides, the
interconnection of energy systems, particularly electricity, must also be considered
in terms of security. A limited connection increases the risk of supply disruption by
reducing the options available to demand.
4. Infrastructure and mine-plant transportation
While the mine-specific infrastructural facilities like roads, electricity, water,
social infrastructure etc. are taken care of in the system of mineral resource classifi-
cation, availability of general facilities like roads and rail tracks from a coal mine to
power plant or a oil well to refinery, and (in case of import) ports and liquid natural
gas (LNG) storage facilities of adequate capacity are also of vital importance for
achieving diversity of energy sources.
5. Human skill level
Expertise in generation technologies from different sources of energy and in
delivery systems such as pipelines, electricity interconnections and transmission
lines is necessary for achieving optimum energy mix.
6. Cost and price
Cost is with regard to not only exploitation within a country but also imported
mineral. Electricity cannot be imported, so the raw materials will have to be
imported. And a lot will depend on the fiscal policies of the exporting countries and,
the strength of the currency of the importing country. It goes without saying that
the cost should be less than the price that the consumers pay. And the price should
6.1 Determinant Factors 121

be affordable. The provision of affordable energy to the consumers is dependent on

the cost of generation, transmission and distribution. The interruption of supply
networks can negatively impact prices and create economic difficulties for countries
vulnerable to over-reliance on one or two energy sources. Diversity of sources can
provide the necessary flexibility and alternatives in times of rise in price of one of
them. If the scope of exploitation is expanded to the ocean and the space, then
availability does not seem to be a problem—even in the long run. But it is the
affordability which is at stake. Eventually, the consumers have to be psychologically
and economically prepared to pay more.
7. Levels of investment required
To meet the forecast growth in global energy demand, the IEA has predicted a
need for $ 16 trillion in investment. This gives an idea of the order of magnitude of
funds required by any individual country depending on its energy demand growth.
The availability of that fund may be a problem not only for the developing countries
but also for many developed countries.
8. Dynamics of the fiscal and other policies of the Government
Fiscal policies include taxes and duties which are charged by the governments
from time to time. Consequently, what is economically viable today may not remain
so tomorrow. Same is the case with other policies which include those regarding
grant and tenure of permits, conditions attached to grant, foreign direct investment
(FDI) policies etc. Industries want stability of all policies so that they can make
long-term investment plans professionally and scientifically.
9. Political viability
Along with changes in the political system in a country, its policies and laws
regarding mineral exploration and mining as well as its priorities may also change.
For example, the new government may decide on constructing a dam or a railway
track over a mineral deposit. The political risks of investment in different countries/
regions are evaluated and presented in terms of the Policy Potential Index (PPI) of
the Fraser Institute, Canada and the Reform Index of the World Bank.
10. Risk of natural hazards
In 2009, when there was an unprecedented flood in the coal-mining region of
Queensland state of Australia, there was shortage of supply of coal both in the
domestic market of Australia and international market because that region fulfills
most of the demand of coal within and outside Australia.
11. Finiteness of mineral resource
This implies that over-dependence on any single mineral for energy production
is not a good proposition.
122 6 Energy Mix and Energy Security

12. Risk of man-made disruptions

Labour strikes have often disrupted supply of vital minerals as has happened in
the recent past in Canadian zinc mines and Chilean copper mines. Energy supply
systems may also be vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Such risks also point against
overdependence on any single source mineral.
13. Mineral resource inventory
Mineral resource inventory of a country is a database containing information
regarding all its mineral deposits along with their reserves, resources, grades loca-
tions, geologic set-ups, physical and social infrastructures, environmental viability,
land status etc. This database is dynamic in the sense that continuous exploration is
adding to the list of deposits and mine production is depleting the reserves. It is use-
ful to systemically keep track of where the balance reserve of an energy-mineral
stands at any particular point of time so that advance action can be taken to priori-
tize and alternative sources can be developed, should any need arises. But only a
very few countries maintain exhaustive mineral resource inventories; India is one
of them.
14. Geological factors
In course of mining, as depth increases it has been seen that in many deposits the
head grade declines. The combination of the two factors namely increased depth
and reduced head grade tends to increase the cost of mining. Eventually the produc-
tion may cease to be economically viable. In the recent times, this has been the case
with India’s Mosabani copper mine and Kolar gold mine and also some aging
copper mines of Chile. Indeed, beyond a point human factors cease to matter and
geological factors take over for deciding the sustainability of production.
15. Amenability to substitution
The major end uses of energy can be broadly grouped into:
Electricity generation
Direct heating
Surface transportation
Maritime transportation
Aviation
So far as electricity generation is concerned, the options are fairly wide—coal,
natural gas (including methane and shale gas), uranium, hydropower, solar energy,
wind energy, bio-fuel and geothermal energy. For direct heating, the range of options
somewhat narrows down to coal, petroleum, natural gas, solar energy, bio-fuel,
wood pellet and geothermal energy. However, for the other end uses the options are
very limited. For example, in surface transportation by road, petroleum is practi-
cally indispensible though to some extent natural gas and bio-fuel are being used
but these can at best be considered as supplementary sources and not substitutes;
similarly, in maritime transportation, no other form of energy than petroleum and
uranium is suitable; and in aviation, petroleum is the only option.
6.1 Determinant Factors 123

16. Accessibility to foreign sources

If enough domestic reserves are not available or for any reason they cannot be
mined, then the options to source a country’s requirements are:
(a) Import from other countries: For this, a country has to build and maintain
congenial international relation. Any gross violation of humanitarian norms
may attract imposition of international sanctions and in that situation import
may not be possible. Moreover, reliance on imported fuels from a limited num-
ber of suppliers may increase the risk of adverse market influence and the risk
is more where suppliers are from politically unstable countries.
(b) Acquisition of mineral deposits in other countries: The greatest risks are those
of expropriation and resource nationalism. With change of government in the
host country, policies may change drastically and either an operation may
be taken over entirely or heavy taxes and conditions of value addition within the
host country may be imposed. Moreover, at times of war or similar emergen-
cies, the situation may be highly unpredictable.
It is apparent that in the event of non-availability of domestic energy source, lots
of political management skill is called for. After all, international relations are about
give-and-take.
17. Environmental and ecological regulations
These limit the availability and, when they do not, add to the costs. Due to inten-
sive anti-coal campaign by the international and national environmental activists,
coal, which is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emission, is being projected
in a way as if it is the enemy of humankind. There is a clamour for converting the
coal to ‘green coal’ before marketing it to consumers. Technologies for such con-
version are known, but the issue will again boil down to the price of coal and its
affordability to the consumers. There is similar campaign against oil, uranium,
hydropower and bio-fuel. So far the natural gas and the solar, wind and geothermal
energies have not been at the receiving end, but it is yet to be seen whether their
large scale exploitation will be free from any negativity or not.
18. Land acquisition
This has become the principal bane of mining ventures now-a-days. Mineral
deposits are rarely located in an uninhabited and barren land and mining requires
destruction of the surface of the land along with its habitation, fertility and biodiver-
sity. In case there is any clash of economic uses of land, money may compensate the
loss and displacement; but biodiversity, fertility and the psychological attachment
of the humans to their lands and community-living through generations may be
difficult, if not impossible, to be evaluated in terms of money.
19. Problem of mindset
This problem is with regard to large scale use of renewable energy, especially in
India. A study by the World Institute of Sustainable Energy (WISE) has revealed
that the main problem of integration of the renewable energy with the conventional
124 6 Energy Mix and Energy Security

energy is the consumers’ (include industrialists) mindset and not technical.

The consumers are so tuned to the comforts of a predictable centralized conventional
model with associated network that renewable energy seems to them as an unwanted
change bringing them out of their comfort zones (Hitavada, Dec. 29, 2012).
Worldwide, the focus of efforts is on ensuring security of oil supply for transpor-
tation and on electricity generation. The insecurity-driven scramble for oil has
grown so much that countries do not hesitate to attack and fight other countries.
In 1990, Iraq attacked Kuwait for taking control over an oilfield and US attacked
Iraq; in the north-west part of Iraq, Kurdish people are in conflict with Iraq for
control over Kirkuk oilfield.

6.2 Evolution of Energy-Mix Model

The evolution of energy-mix model for power generation in the world is shown in
Table 6.1.
Certain trends emerge from the above data. No doubt the total power generation
capacity based on each of the fuel types has increased, but the share of oil has
decreased and that of hydropower has kept pace with the increase in the total of the
world. However, it means that the brunt of increase in the capacity has been borne
by natural gas, coal, nuclear and the various renewable sources. Same is the trend of
increase in the total thermal energy production which includes direct heating except
that more of the renewable sources have been diverted from direct heating to power
generation.
In US petroleum, gas and coal shared the energy demand more or less equally.
The share of different energy sources in the total demand for energy during
2008–2011 is shown in Table 6.2.
As regards India, in the total energy mix, which includes power generation, coal
played a dominant role in 2010 having accounted for 53 % of the total primary
energy consumption (BP 2011). This share was far greater than the other sources
such as oil (30 %), natural gas (10 %), hydro (5 %), nuclear (1 %) and renewable
(1 %). Considering only the power generation, the sources are mainly thermal
(coal and natural gas), hydro, nuclear and renewable. Table 6.3 gives the data which
will serve to bring out the trend in the energy mix.
India all along depended heavily on coal followed by mega- hydropower, but the
share of coal kept on increasing at the cost of mega-hydropower until the last decade
of the twentieth century. When separate records of biomass power started being
maintained after 2005, its significant contribution came to light, but as earlier
mentioned, geothermal energy has not found a place in India’s energy mix model.
All through the 40-year period, development of nuclear power kept pace with the
development of overall power generation capacity. The growth of coal-based power
was pronounced till the late 1980s whereafter it somewhat steadied. This pattern of
growth is understandable because there is abundance of reserves of high-ash coal
and also the environmental laws concerning particulate emission from power plants
Table 6.1 Evolution of energy-mix model for power generation in the world (1980–2006)
Share of different fuel types in world energy production and power generation capacity (%)
1973 1980 2006 Average annual rate of increase (%)
Power Power Power Thermal energy Power generation
Thermal energy generation Thermal energy generation Thermal energy generation production capacity
Energy source production capacity production capacity production capacity (1973–2006) (1980–2006)
6.2 Evolution of Energy-Mix Model

World total 6115 Mtoe — — 9.48 TW 11,796 Mtoe 15.8 TW 2.82 2.56
Oil 46.10 — — 46.20 34.40 36.33 −0.77 −0.82
Natural gas 16.00 — — 18.99 20.50 22.85 0.85 0.78
Coal 24.50 — — 24.68 26.00 27.03 0.19 0.37
Hydropower 1.80 — — 6.33 2.20 6.33 0.67 Nil
Nuclear fission 0.90 — — 2.64 6.20 5,89 17.85 4.73
Renewable 10.70 — — 0.21 10.70 1.01 Nil 14.65
Source: (1) EIA 2008 (for data on power generation capacity); (2) IEA 2008a, b (for data on thermal energy production)
Notes:
1. Mtoe or million tonne oil equivalent is amount of energy released by burning one million tonnes of oil; it includes the energy utilized for electricity genera-
tion, direct heating and wastage during conversion of thermal energy to electricity
2. TW stands for trillion watts and it is a unit of power generation capacity; actual generation may be less depending on capacity utilization
3. Renewable energy includes geothermal, wind, solar and biomass
125
126 6 Energy Mix and Energy Security

Table 6.2 Energy-mix model for fulfilling energy demand in US (2008–2011)

Share in the total energy consumption (%)
Energy source 2008 2010 2011
Petroleum 33.50 37.74 38.00
Gas 20.90 26.34 23.00
Coal 26.80 26.31 26.00
Nuclear 5.80 10.06 6.00
Hydro 2.20 9.61 6.00
Other renewable sources 10.60 1.00
(solar, wind, geothermal, bio-fuel)
Source: IEA (2011)
Note: For 2010 the data pertaining to hydro and renewable energy was combined

were not enforced until the late 1980s. Lately, however, there has been a growing
opposition by the environmental activists to coal-based thermal power plants due
mainly to pollution and also to mega-hydropower due to problems of large scale
submergence and displacement of population which explains the decline in
the share of both in the total power generation. Nevertheless coal continues to be
the mainstay in India’s energy mix model because:
(a) Kyoto Protocol (1997) has exempted India from fixing any target for reduction
of greenhouse gas emission;
(b) Coal-based power continues to be cheap here; and
(c) There is no serious enough concern on the part of both the Government and the
people about the air pollution effect particularly when it implies conversion of
coal to clean coal thereby increasing its cost.
But, presently, even coal is not able to cope with the increasing demand of power
in India if the non-electricity energy demand is taken into account. Firstly, enforce-
ment mechanisms of environment and land acquisition laws have become so strin-
gent that both greenfield coal mining projects and brownfield expansion projects are
being increasingly difficult. So much so that India is now depending on more and
more import and is planning acquisition of coal properties in other countries.
But this strategy is also fraught with problems on account of an increasing tendency
of resource nationalism by other countries. Nevertheless, the land acquisition
problems associated with other major sources like mega-hydro and nuclear power
do not leave India with much flexibility about power source at least in the foreseeable
future. Although development of the different sources of renewable energy is fraught
with some problems like land, technology, inconsistency, mindset etc., this compo-
nent seems to have good potentiality in India. According to the World Institute of
Sustainable Energy (WISE), renewable energy integration would lead to 36.34 GW
of power during the 12th and 13th Plans (2012–2021). But even this cannot fully
substitute the conventional fuel types.
Table 6.3 Evolution of energy-mix model for power generation in India (1970–2010)
Thermal Mega-hydro Nuclear Renewable Total
Average annual
growth with
Year (starting Power Share in the Power Share in the Power Share in the Power Share in the Power respect to
from April 1) (GW) total (%) (GW) total (%) (GW) total (%) (GW) total (%) (GW) previous record
6.2 Evolution of Energy-Mix Model

1970 7.91 53.77 6.83 46.43 0.42 2.86 Not recorded and hence 14.71 –
1975 11.01 54.72 8.46 42.05 0.64 3.18 not factored in the total 20.12 7.36
1980 17.56 58.13 11.79 39.03 0.86 2.85 power 30.21 10.03
1985 29.97 64.08 15.47 33.08 1.33 2.84 46.77 10.96
1990 45.77 69.25 18.75 28.37 1.57 2.38 66.09 8.26
1995 60.08 72.13 20.99 25.20 2.23 2.68 No separate record; 83.29 5.21
2000 73.61 72.43 25.15 24.75 2.86 2.81 clubbed with thermal 101.63 4.40
2005 88.60 71.28 32.33 26.01 3.36 2.70 source 124.29 4.46
2009 100.81 63.91 36.86 23.37 4.56 2.89 15.52 9.84 157.74 6.73
2010 112.82 65.24 37.57 21.73 4.78 2.74 18.45 10.67 172.92 9.62
Source: MNRE (2012)
Notes:
1. Thermal power is based on mainly coal; only in the last decade, a little natural gas
2. Renewable power comprises micro-hydro, wind, biomass, bio-gasifier, urban/industrial waste and solar sources
127
128 6 Energy Mix and Energy Security

6.3 Energy Security

According to Powell (2012), there are two approaches to interpret energy security—
liberal and realist. Liberal interpretation calls for separation between economics and
politics and seeks a market-driven quest for equilibrium between energy supply and
demand. In realist interpretation, on the other hand, economics is treated as subor-
dinate to politics; and in this, energy security is not always the direct consequence
of a specific threat but rather the result of political response to a perceived threat.
This realist interpretation is India’s approach too and it is seeking geopolitical
competition for energy resources, trade routes etc. (e.g., Central Asia to India gas
pipeline, India to Myanmar land and sea route). India’s energy security as defined
by its Planning Commission in its energy policy document should be seen in
this context.
The Planning Commission of India, in its Integrated Energy Policy (IEP) docu-
ment, has defined energy security thus: “we are energy secure when we can supply
lifeline energy to all our citizens irrespective of their ability to pay for it as well as
meet their effective demand for safe and convenient energy to satisfy their various
needs at competitive prices, at all times and with a prescribed confidence level
considering shocks and disruptions that can be reasonably expected” (MGMI,
July–Sept, 2011). There are two elements in this definition i.e., energy demand and
price subsidy.

6.3.1 Energy Demand

The demand measured in terms of actual consumption of power or electricity

by different sectors in India has been steadily increasing as can be seen from
Table 6.4.
Certain trends emerge from Table 6.4. The demand of power by the industrial
sector has always accounted for the lion’s share in the total demand, but the rate of
annual growth in demand by other sectors far outpaced that by the industrial sector.
Till 1970s the growth in demand of electricity by the agricultural sector was low, but
thereafter electric pumps started replacing diesel pumps for drawing groundwater
and the creation of the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) boosted demand in
rural areas; moreover, agricultural production also underwent revolution due to
increased use of fertilizers and modern cultivation techniques. Large scale electrifi-
cation of railway tracks and usage of electric gadgets in the urban homes and
extension of service to rural homes provided an impetus to growth in demand by the
domestic sector and the traction and railways.
The IEA has adopted the GNP maximizing paradigm to estimate the energy
demand rather than trying to estimate the least amount of energy needed to wipe out
poverty and how best to meet it in a sustainable manner (MGMI, July–Sept., 2011).
But according to a critique by Wahi (2010), this approach has failed to take note of
6.3

Table 6.4 Trend in consumption of electricity by different utilities in India (1970–2009)

Consumption of electricity
Traction and
Energy Security

Industry Agriculture Domestic Commercial railways

Year (starting Amount Share in Amount Share in Amount Share in Amount Share in Amount Share in Others Total
from April 1) (twh) total (%) (twh) total (%) (twh) total (%) (twh) total (%) (twh) total (%) amount (twh) amount (twh)
1970 29.6 68 4.5 10 3.8 9 2.6 6 1.4 3.2 1.9 43.7
1975 37.6 63 8.7 15 5.8 10 3.5 6 1.9 3.2 2.8 60.2
1980 48.1 58 14.5 18 9.2 11 4.7 6 2.3 2.8 3.6 82.4
1985 67.0 54 23.4 19 17.3 14 7.3 6 3.2 2.6 5.0 123.1
1990 84.2 44 50.3 26 32.0 17 11.2 6 4.1 2.2 8.6 190.4
1995 104.7 38 85.7 31 51.7 19 17.0 6 6.2 2.2 11.7 277.0
2000 107.6 34 84.7 27 75.6 24 22.5 7 8.2 2.6 17.9 316.6
2005 151.6 37 90.3 22 100.1 24 36.0 9 9.9 2.4 24.0 411.9
2008 209.5 38 109.6 20 131.7 24 54.2 10 11.4 2.1 37.6 554.0
2009 236.8 39 120.2 20 146.1 24 60.6 10 12.4 2.0 36.6 612.6
Average 18 66 96 57 30 47 33
annual growth
1970–2009 (%)
Source: Based on CEA (2011)
Notes:
1. ‘twh’ means ‘terawatt-hour’
2. All figures are rounded off
129
130 6 Energy Mix and Energy Security

the limits of nature and has projected an increase from the 2009-level of 160 GW to
800 GW in 2031–2032 comprising
coal-based power from 2009-level of 80–400 GW;
hydropower from 2009-level of 36–150 GW; and
nuclear from 2009-level of 4.5–65 GW.
Issues such as technological advancements needed in the fields of exploration,
exploitation and processing; pressure on agricultural and forest lands; increased
stress on freshwater resources; displacement of people; deterioration of atmospheric
pollution and impact on biodiversity have not been factored in these projections.

6.3.2 Price Subsidy

The UNESC (2002) has defined an energy subsidy as any government action that
lowers the cost of energy production, raises the price received by the producers or
lowers the price paid by the consumers. The different types are:
Direct financial interventions
– Transfers, grants, preferential loans and liability insurance
– Tax instruments (royalties, duties, accelerated depreciation allowance etc.)
Indirect administrative interventions
– Trade instruments (quotas, embargoes etc.)
– Energy-related services provided directly by government at less than full cost
– Regulatory controls (price controls, demand guarantees etc.)
– Publicly funded energy research and development
In India, most of the above types of subsidies are borne by the Government;
particularly electricity supply to farmers is heavily subsidized. But the UNECE
(2003) has also listed the harmful effects of energy subsidies as under.
Subsidies often encourage higher consumption and wastage and consequently,
higher air pollution and greenhouse gas emission.
Subsidies to conventional fossil fuels undermine the competitiveness of renewable
energy and discourage investments in energy efficiency.
Subsidies may tend to cheating and corruption.
The extra financial burden on the government translates into additional taxes on the
people and on goods and services.
According to UNESC, subsidy should ideally be aimed at minimizing the harmful
effects while maximizing the social benefits. But in developing democratic countries
political considerations often tend to outweigh other considerations. However,
temporary subsidies may be justified as a hedge against market failures. Subsidies
are also justified to promote investments in sustainable environment-friendly renewable
6.4 Scientific and Technological Innovations 131

energy or in pollution-mitigating measures, but too heavy subsidies in UK and

some other European countries have proved to be counterproductive. There, the
subsidization of otherwise costly wind power generated from wind turbines (including
even the offshore ones) has made the environment-friendly gas-based power com-
panies uncompetitive forcing them to switch over to coal (FIMI, February 1, 2013).

6.3.3 Future Outlook

According to the energy outlook for 2030 projected by the British Petroleum (BP),
the global energy demand will grow by approximately 40 %; emerging economies
will be responsible for 96 % of energy demand growth; oil will make up 87 % of
world’s transport fuel; bio-fuels will make up 7 % of world’s transport fuel require-
ments and renewable energy sources will supply 11 % of world’s electricity need
(MEAI, May, 2012). The outlooks for sustaining energy security evolving in differ-
ent countries are shown in Table 6.5.
All forms of energy have positive and negative attributes. But given that energy
demand is going to continue to rise and many challenges have to be met, it is imper-
ative for any country to review its energy options and balance these responsibly and
reliably. Constructive partnerships between energy producers, energy consumers,
governments and non-government environmental activists will be essential to meet
the energy demand and achieve energy security with improved environmental
performance.

6.4 Scientific and Technological Innovations

Today’s innovations are the seeds of tomorrow’s commercial application.

Recognizing the importance of innovation to energy security concerns, the
Government of India has announced, in January, 2013, its Science, Technology and
Innovation (STI) Policy.
In the broad sense, geoengineering involves manipulation of the world’s climate
to avoid catastrophic warming triggered mainly by fossil fuels for energy produc-
tion. Technologies like clean development mechanism (CDM) and carbon capture
and storage (CCS) for making coal environment-friendly have been discussed under
“Coal” earlier in this chapter. These were in innovation stage in the late 1990s and
have now come of age and moved nearer to commercial reality in many countries.
But till 2012, these have not yet been introduced in India for fear of energy cost
escalation and lack of serious government support. On June 20, 2011 there was a
global conference to explore geoengineering options. The ideas centred around put-
ting SO2 into the atmosphere to reflect incoming sunlight back; spraying droplets of
seawater into low-lying marine clouds to thicken them up and reflect more sunlight
back; painting the world’s roofs and roads white; techniques for removing CO2 from
132 6 Energy Mix and Energy Security

Table 6.5 Future outlook regarding energy security in some selected countries
Country Energy outlook
Austria Energy efficiency at all stages of existing facilities; focus on renewables
like hydro, wind, biomass, solar PV sources; target for 2020 set at 34 %
share by renewables and greenhouse gas reduction by 16 % of 1990 level
(Anderson 2010).
Brazil Present shares in total energy production of oil and ethanol (46 %), hydro
(39 %), natural gas (8 %), coal (5.5 %) and nuclear (1.5 %); emphasis for
future on natural gas, hydro, ethanol and wind (Gurmendi 2009).
Colombia Mainly dependent on hydro (81 %), gas (14 %) and coal (4 %); future
government plan to encourage increase in share of coal-fired and gas-fired
power generation to 20 % each (WCI, June, 2007).
Denmark Focus on oil and natural gas and on geothermal for district heating networks
(Newman 2010).
Germany Shift away from nuclear and towards lignite and wind; elimination of subsidy
on hard coal (Anderson 2010).
India Continuance with coal and added focus on renewables like hydro, solar, wind
and biomass (MGMI, July–Sept., 2011).
Italy Presently heavy dependence on import; focus on more import of oil and
natural gas (Perez 2010).
Japan Shift away from nuclear and towards natural gas (Kuo 2009).
Netherlands Presently, dependence mainly on oil and natural gas; priority on renewables in
Government plan (Perez 2010).
Spain For energy production, present dependence on oil (49.8 %), natural gas
(20.7 %), nuclear (9.3 %), hydro (6.4 %), coal (5.5 %) and renewables
(8.3 %); capacity already created to increase the share of renewables
to 21 % (Gurmendi 2010).
Sweden Presently dependence on renewables (40 % share) and nuclear; focus on
increasing share of renewables (mainly wind) to 49 % i.e. 25 TWh energy by
2020 and on biomass-based hydrogen and fuel cells (Newman, Harold R,
The Mineral Industry of Sweden; USGS Minerals Year Book 2010).
UK Dependent mainly on the three traditional fuels namely coal, oil
and natural gas.
United States A mix of diverse sources of energy namely coal and nuclear mainly, also
indigenous natural gas, methane and the burgeoning shale gas wells
supplemented by unconventional energy sources like geothermal and
wind (for energy production); oil imported from Canada, Venezuela and
Middle-East (for vehicular transportation); current emphasis on continuance
of the mix while at the same time reducing oil consumption by encouraging
use of smaller cars consuming less fuel.

the atmosphere and for slowing the acidification of the oceans (Dyer, January 1,
2009). These ideas no doubt sound weird and bizarre now and expectedly, the
environmental activists were up in arms against them. But anyway geoengineers are
pursuing with such and many other ideas. A few other recent ideas and innovations
with the ultimate objective of mitigating the ill-effects of the emission of CO2
6.4 Scientific and Technological Innovations 133

and other greenhouse gases due to coal and hydrocarbon burning, are discussed
as follows.
1. Iron fertilization
A team of 50 Indian, German and other scientists embarked on an ambitious
70-day ocean expedition in January, 2009 to test a controversial hypothesis that had
the potential to clean up as much as 1 billion tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere
every year and to store it below the ocean for centuries. The experiment termed
‘ocean iron fertilization (OIF)’ involved dumping of 20 tonnes of dissolved iron
sulphate in an area of 300 km2 of ocean off Antarctica. The iron was expected to
stimulate rapid proliferation of phytoplankton (microscopic algae). The phyto-
plankton would absorb CO2 from air and convert it to carbohydrates; the plants
would then quickly die and start sinking taking the carbon with it. The key to the
success of the experiment was the depth to which they would sink. The hypothesis
was that if the depth were below 1,000 m, then the carbon would remain there for
many centuries; if less than 500 m, then for less than 100 years. But the OIF became
a controversial proposition with the environmentalists saying that it would amount
to major tinkering with marine ecosystem. The experiment has since been sus-
pended by the German Government (Bhattacharya 2009 and MEAI, March, 2009).
2. Bio-digestion of human waste
The idea is to bring energy production in sync with the population increase.
An innovative scheme has been working in Petropolis, a city in Brazil to recycle
human sewage. It is a simple method where specially cultured organic enzymes and
bacteria called ‘bio-digesters’ are used to break down waste water and turn it into a
gas, a mixture of methane and CO 2—which is piped into homes for heating
and cooking. As in July, 2009, there were 85 bio-digesting ponds in Petropolis
(MEAI, Aug. 2009).
3. Green carbon
A US firm namely, Carbon Sciences has developed a simple technology that
subjects a mixture of CO2 and tailings from mining operations to pressure and tem-
perature to create precipitated CaCO3 (PCC) which is otherwise an energy-intensive
process based on limestone. The PCC thus made has been named ‘green carbon’.
This green carbon technology transforms CO2-emission to a useful product instead
of simply sequestering it (TOI, Nagpur, July 14, 2008).
4. Molecular Sponge
Scientists of Sydney University have produced crystals with tiny molecule-sized
holes which can retain gases including CO2 (TOI, Nagpur, Sept. 14, 2010).
5. Orange oil
In Japan, a vulcanized tyre has been made by substituting 80 % of petroleum-
based material by orange oil extracted from orange peels (Hitavada, July 14, 2009).
134 6 Energy Mix and Energy Security

6. Bio-char
Charred organic materials or bio-char helped some ancient Amazon Basin
inhabitants transform some of the most sterile soils into highly productive ones
because they are highly rich in organic nutrients containing 70-times more carbon
than surrounding soils. Now scientists have estimated that bio-char from agriculture
and forestry residues can potentially store billions of tonnes of carbon in the world’s
soils. They see it not only as an important tool for replenishing soil but also as a
powerful tool for combating greenhouse gas emission. According to a scientist
named Steiner of the University of Georgia-Athens, the potential of bio-char lies in
its ability to sequester and store huge amounts of carbon while also substituting
fossil fuels as an energy source (Hitavada, Dec. 19, 2008).
7. Rock storage of CO2
It is known that the rock peridotite has the ability to convert CO2 into calcite; it
is a slow natural process. But scientists have developed a technology that can super-
charge this natural process one million times and store at least 2 billion tonnes of
CO2 every year. The technology consists in drilling into the rock and injecting
heated water containing pressurized CO2. But near-surface occurrences of peridotite
are rare. There is an outcrop in Oman where the experiments were conducted
(MEAI, Jan. 2009).
8. Micro-algae
The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), India has
claimed to have identified four species of freshwater micro-algae from which bio-
fuel has been produced in the laboratory. According to report, these algae could
yield 40 and 200 times more fuel than jatropha and corn respectively while at the
same time occupying very little space to grow. Moreover, these algae were extremely
good at sequestering atmospheric CO2 (TOI, Nagpur, Oct. 27, 2010).
9. Nuclear waste remediation
A team of chemists from North-Western University developed a method to
remove strontium, a dangerous radioactive fission material, from nuclear liquid
waste. The material developed by them was a layered metal sulphide made of potas-
sium, manganese, tin and sulphur which preferentially attracted strontium leaving
out the non-radioactive sodium which is generally present in excess amounts in
nuclear wastes. Nuclear power plants generate enormous amounts of radioactive
liquid waste. In the laboratory, the sulphide powder was packed in a bag and
immersed into the radioactive waste. The strontium was preferentially soaked and
non-radioactive potassium was given off (Hitavada, March 9, 2008).
10. Nano-energy packs
The idea is to collect solar energy in space-based power stations and transmitting
the same to the Earth by microwaves. The advantages will lie in (i) more solar radiation
(1.4 times) at extraterrestrial level than at the Earth’s surface; and (ii) round the
clock availability of solar energy independent of weather conditions (Hitavada,
Jan. 10, 2012).
References 135

11. Geo-polymer-based cement

The idea for reducing CO2-emission during Portland cement manufacturing pro-
cess has been put forth by the scientists of the Research and Advanced Studies
Centre, Mexico. On an average 550–650 kg of CO2 is emitted for every tonne of
cement produced (the process includes both calcination and fuel combustion) and
the annual global cement production is of the order of 3.4 billion tonnes (2011 fig-
ure). In the geo-polymer-based cement, the processing temperature was brought
down to 750 °C from 1,450 °C and at the same time, as claimed by the scientists of
the Centre, there was no compromise with the performance of the cement (Hitavada,
Mar. 6, 2011).
Even if a few of such innovative ideas eventually fructify to become commercial
realities, it may make some contribution to the energy security of the world.

References

Anderson ST (2010) The mineral industry of Austria. USGS Minerals Year Book
Bhattacharya A (2009) Mega Indian experiment to sink carbon could help fight warming.
Press feature, Times of India, Jan 7
BP (British Petroleum) (2011) Statistical review of world energy. BP, Inc., London
CEA (Central Electricity Authority): Consumption of electricity by utilities (1970-2009);
New Delhi, India
Dyer G (2009) Press feature, Hitavada, January 1, 2009
EIA (US Energy Information Administration) (2008) Annual energy outlook. Energy Information
Administration, EIA, Washington DC
FIMI (Federation of Indian Mineral Industries). FIMI News Bulletin. Aug 1, 2007; Jan 1, 2009;
Sept 15, 2009; Aug. 1, 2010; Jan 1, 2011; Feb. 15, 2012; March 1, 2012; June 15, 2012;
Aug 15, 2012; Sept 1, 2012; Oct. 15, 2012; Dec 1, 2012; Dec 15, 2012; Jan 15, 2013;
Feb 1, 2013; April 1, 2013; May 1, 2013; July 15, 2013
Gurmendi, AC (2009) The mineral industry of Brazil. USGS Minerals Year Book
Gurmendi AC (2010) The mineral industry of Japan. USGS Minerals Year Book, 2010
Hitavada, Nagpur: Press report www.hitavada.com; Sept 29, 2006; Dec. 14, 2006; Dec. 20, 2006;
July 18, 2007; Mar. 5, 2008; March 9, 2008; July 6, 2008; Sept 11, 2008; Dec. 19, 2008;
Apr. 12, 2009; May 31, 2009; July 19, 2009; July 14, 2010; Aug 29, 2010; March 6, 2011;
April 1, 2011; Dec 8, 2011; Dec 11, 2011; Dec 23, 2011; Jan. 10, 2012; June 29, 2012; Aug 26,
2012; Dec 28, 2012; Dec 29, 2012; Feb 8, 2013
IEA (International Energy Agency) (2008a) World energy outlook. International Energy Agency,
IEA, Paris
IEA (International Energy Agency) (2008b) Key world energy statistics. International Energy
Agency, IEA, Paris
IEA (International Energy Agency) (2011) World energy outlook. International Energy Agency,
Paris
Kuo CC (2009) The mineral industry of Brazil. USGS minerals year book, 2009
MEAI (Mining Engineers’ Association of India). Min Eng J Jan 2009; March, 2009; Aug., 2009;
May, 2012; June, 2012
MGMI (Mining, Geological & Metallurgical Institute) (2011) Newsletter, July–Sept 2011
MNRE (Ministry of New & Renewable Energy) (2012) Government of India. www.mnes.nic.in.
Energy Statistics, 2012
Newman HT (2010) The mineral industry of Sweden. USGS minerals year book, 2010.
136 6 Energy Mix and Energy Security

Perez AA (2010) The mineral industry of Italy. USGS minerals year book, 2010
Powell L (2012) Energy security policy—only in the eyes of the beholder. Energy 38
TOI (Times of India), New Delhi, Feb 5, 2008
TOI (Times of India). Nagpur: Press report. July 14, 2009; Jan 1, 2009; Sept 14, 2010; Oct 27,
2010; June 25, 2012; April 12, 2012; May 6, 2012; Aug 18, 2012; July 18, 2012; Dec 18, 2012;
Jan 11, 2013
United Nations Economic & Social Council (UNESC) (2003) Reforming energy pricing and
subsidies. United Nations, New York
Wahi SP (2010) Integrated energy policy is long overdue. Hitavada. www.hitavada.com.
Oct 24, 2010
World Coal Institute (WCI) (2007) E-Coal, June, 2007
Chapter 7
Groundwater and Water Management

The advent of water on the Earth’s crust is not well understood. In 2009, some
scientists of UK have suggested that meteors, which bombarded the Earth approxi-
mately 4 billion years ago, delivered 10 billion tonnes each of CO2 and water vapour
to the Earth’s atmosphere and the Earth held them in its atmosphere by virtue of its
magnetic field. Then when the temperature decreased to less than 100 °C, part of the
hot vapours became water and dropped on to the surface. At present the total vol-
ume of water (including the icecaps and glaciers) below the surface of the earth, on
its surface and over it (in the form of vapour) adds up to 1.35 × 1018 kl and the scien-
tists doubt that the origin of so much water might not be so simple. According to
them other factors such as volcanic eruptions bringing forth the hydrates from
within; water-containing comets, asteroids and meteorites, primordial organisms
and plants could have contributed to the formation of water (Chatterjee 2013).
Water as such is not a mineral by the conventional definition; but the mode of
occurrence and the method of recovery of groundwater bear some similarities with
petroleum and other mineral resources. Other similarities include invisibility and
fixed location of reservoirs and also the techniques of exploration deployed. For
these reasons, groundwater is recognized as a mineral by the laws of some countries
including India. The Supreme Court of India in a judgment in 1996 has held:
‘Mineral means all substances which can be obtained from the earth by mining, dig-
ging, drilling, dredging, hydraulic operations, quarrying or by any other
operation’.
However, water is a peculiar commodity from the geologists’ and the mineral
economists’ points of view. Its fourfold man-made division into atmospheric water,
surface water, hyporheic water and groundwater defies any economic logic.
Although scientists treat them differently—meteorology for atmospheric water and
rain/snowfall, hydrology for surface water and hydrogeology for groundwater; each
behaves as a part of the whole water resource system. Throughout history, man has
been fulfilling all his needs of water—for drinking, for bathing, for washing, for
farming and for industries—directly through the surface freshwater, groundwater,
rainwater and snow; and the animals and other lesser forms of life draw benefits and

© Capital Publishing Company 2015 137

K.K. Chatterjee, Macro-Economics of Mineral and Water Resources,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-15054-3_7
138 7 Groundwater and Water Management

sustenance from all the four forms of water. Moreover, there are constant and
smooth interactions amongst all the forms of water. In fact availability of water as
such played a critical role in the beginning of human settlements and civilization
which invariably centred on rivers and water wells. Hence it is difficult from the
economic viewpoint to treat groundwater in isolation with other forms of water.

7.1 Quality of Water

Usability of any form of water depends on its quality and purpose of use. The
parameters of quality are as follows.
1. Acidity/Alkalinity
The degree of acidity/alkalinity is measured by what is called ‘potential of
hydrogen (or pH) value’ on a scale ranging from 0 to 14 with 7 representing neutral-
ity and higher the value the stronger is the alkalinity. Both very strongly acidic and
very strongly alkaline water would corrode the plumbing components in the water
transportation system if the water is to be transported through pipe lines.
2. Hardness/Softness
Hardness of water is caused by the presence of the insoluble carbonates and sul-
phates of calcium and magnesium, which tend to precipitate in the form of scales
when the water is boiled. Roughly, it can be measured in terms of the content of
these salts as:
Soft 0–20 mg/l
Moderately soft 20–40 mg/l
Slightly hard 40–60 mg/l
Moderately hard 60–80 mg/l
Hard 80–120 mg/l
Very hard >120 mg/l

Hard water can be softened by treating it with a softener like zeolite or ion-
exchange resins. Hard water per se does not affect the human health, but, if the
water is delivered through pipelines additional metallic impurities like cadmium,
copper, lead and zinc may enter the water from the pipes.
3. Microbial Contaminants
The most common microbes in water are the heterotrophs. These bacteria get
their nourishment from the carbon and nitrogen of organic compounds and form
colonies where such nutrients are aplenty.
4. Chemical Contaminants
Some of these are considered desirable and some others harmful. The desirable
ones are the disinfectants which kill the bacteria of water and include chloramines,
7.2 Economic Significance of Water 139

chlorine and ClO2, which may be present in water naturally or, otherwise, may have
to be added. The harmful chemicals are the organic carbons and some inorganic
elements and compounds like arsenic, fluoride, lead, mercury etc.
These parameters of quality are critical for water whether used for human, ani-
mal or industrial consumption. In case of groundwater, pollution takes place when
metals and minerals from underground rocks and deposits migrate into it in excess
amounts and at the same time the rate of withdrawal is excessive. Their higher con-
centration may also be due to human activities like mining, use of chemical fertil-
izers and pesticides, excessive use of phosphorus- and sulphur-containing detergents,
poor drainage system etc.

7.2 Economic Significance of Water

The total volume of water in the hydrosphere of the Earth has been estimated to be
1.35 × 1018 kl. This resource is constant with no addition or depletion. Of this total
resource, 97.21 % is saline water in oceans and lakes; and the balance 2.85 % is
freshwater locked up in the icecaps and glaciers, residing in the atmosphere, soil,
lakes, streams and groundwater aquifers. From the economic point of view, water
can be classified as follows.
(a) Virtual water: It is the volume of water embedded in a product and not con-
sumed or polluted during the process of production. Examples are beverages,
juicy fruits etc.
(b) Blue water: It refers to the rain water which is soaked into soil and is used by
agricultural crops.
(c) Green water: It refers to the water used in irrigation.
(d) Grey water: It is the amount of water which is required to dilute pollutants in
water in order to bring their concentration down to accepted levels.
The economic significance of the different entities of water is discussed as
follows.

7.2.1 Groundwater and Surface Freshwater

It is impossible to separate these two from the economic standpoint. Both can be
used interchangeably depending on the accessibility and cost of collection. But the
dependence on groundwater is, now-a-days, increasing continuously at an alarming
rate because of progressive deterioration of quality of surface freshwater mainly due
to man-induced pollution triggered by increasing discharge of wastes associated
with increasing industrialization.
The groundwater resource in the world has been estimated to be about 8.33 quadril-
lion kilolitres, out of which about 4.17 quadrillion kilolitres occur within the supposedly
140 7 Groundwater and Water Management

economically exploitable depth of 800 m. But in addition to depth, the factors like
nature of rock and pollution make a part of this resource unexploitable or unusable.
But this resource keeps changing due to continuous depletion and recharging. And
same is the case with surface water resource which is difficult, if not impossible, to
estimate because of its naturally dynamic nature and also human interference in the
form of dams, barrages and weirs. Besides, the resources of both the groundwater and
the surface freshwater at a particular point of time depend on rain and snowfall, evap-
oration and percolation into underground aquifers. However, an attempt was made in
India to make some estimation of the resource of the groundwater and the surface
freshwater in 1994. According to those estimations, the total groundwater resource in
that year was 600 billion kilolitres out of which usable portion was less than 260 bil-
lion kilolitres; and the surface freshwater resource was 1,780 billion kilolitres out of
which 310 billion kilolitres or only 17 % was utilizable.
The uses of groundwater and surface freshwater are interchangeable and depend
solely on the availability, cost and quality. The broad categories of the large scale
utilities of freshwater are as follows.
(a) Agriculture
According to a United Nations study of 1999, worldwide the agricultural activity
consumed 69 % of the total anthropogenic water withdrawals. In many countries,
groundwater accounted for a substantial portion of this water consumption.
According to a separate estimation, 48–50 % of cultivated land is irrigated from
groundwater. Certain agricultural activity consumes huge volumes of water—about
500 m3/tonne in case of cassava to almost 23,000 m3/tonne in case of coffee. It is
true that part of the water consumed by the plants goes down to recharge the ground-
water and the consumption is also coming down due to improved farming technol-
ogy like drip irrigation; but at the same time, the use of more and more chemical
fertilizers and insecticides are causing deterioration of the quality of the groundwa-
ter. The annual consumption of water for different crops is shown in Table 7.1
which reveals that agriculture is mostly dependent on irrigation (green water).
(b) Drinking
Drinking or potable water is sourced to both surface freshwater and groundwater
and is defined in a generalized way as the water that is not having impurities in
amounts sufficient to cause disease, is safe for humans, animals and birds to drink and
is not containing salts in excessive quantities so as to be called mineral water.
Obviously, this definition will vary with locality and will depend on the intrinsic
immunity of the people of a locality and the species. What is safe to drink for a vil-
lager in India may not be safe for a European; and what is safe for an animal or a bird
may not be so for a human. Accordingly, the permissible limits of pollutants also vary.
(c) Industry
Of the total anthropogenic water withdrawal, 24 % goes for industrial
consumption. All industries consume water directly or indirectly. An idea about the
magnitude of requirement of water in different industries can be had from the fol-
lowing data pertaining to some typical units.
7.2 Economic Significance of Water 141

Table 7.1 Crop-wise annual water consumption (Average of 5 years during 2000–2004)
Average annual water consumption during 2000–2004
Green Blue Grey Total
Share in Share in Share in
Quantity the total Quantity the total Quantity the total Quantity
Crop (m3/t) (%) (m3/t) (%) (m3/t) (%) (m3/t)
Rice 2,527 73 735 21 212 6 3,474
Maize 2,395 96 75 3 13 1 2,483
Cassava 487 95 8 1 19 4 514
Soybean 1,644 84 314 16 0 0 1,958
Groundnut 2,962 95 162 5 0 0 3,124
Coconut 2,881 99 0 0 16 1 2,897
Oil palm 802 94 0 0 51 6 853
Banana 875 100 0 0 0 0 875
Coffee 21,904 96 0 0 1,003 4 22,907
Cocoa 8,895 94 0 0 519 6 9,414
Source: Wikipedia, 2006

• Brick industry: 0.5 l/brick/day

• Tanning industry: 25 l/kg of raw hide/day
• Handmade paper: 54 l/kg/day
• Dyeing, 80 l/kg cloth/day
• Dairy farming: 150 l/cow/day
• Crude steel in India: 3 m3/tonne
• Beverage (soft drink): 6.2 l/l of beverage
• Coal-based thermal power in India: up to 0.15 m3/unit electricity
The outputs from such industries are in hundreds of millions of tonnes of prod-
ucts each year worldwide and the requirement of water turns out to be enormous.
For such industries, groundwater is normally not feasible and river/reservoir water
is the only option. In fact, now-a-days, in any large new industrial venture in India
water has become the third critical input after land and mineral/metal. And many
rivers in India being extremely sensitive to the unpredictability of monsoon rainfall,
the water availability for the industries becomes very often tight. In order to opti-
mize the consumption of water, recycling of the used water after treatment has
become an established practice in many modern industries.
Hard water is highly harmful for industries, because it will tend to deposit scales
of lime and magnesia on boiler pipes and machinery parts. Since large quantities of
water are used continuously, the scale deposition will also become very large result-
ing in breakdowns and loss of productivity.
(d) Mineral Water
Mineral water is of two kinds—natural and fortified. Both contain at least 25 ppm
dissolved salts like calcium, iron, magnesium, sodium, boron, fluorine and Epsom
salt. The former is obtained from natural springs while the latter is made by first
distilling/desalinating ordinary water and then adding certain nutrients.
142 7 Groundwater and Water Management

(e) Household Activities

Of the total anthropogenic water withdrawal, 24 % is consumed by households and
other municipal users for activities like laundry, bathing, hygiene etc. Potable water is
not necessarily required for these purposes, but the water should not be hard, because
hard water does not yield enough lather easily and considerably more quantities of it
will have to be consumed. Moreover, if machines are used for washing then hard
water will tend to deposit scales of lime and magnesia on the parts and damage them.
Between groundwater and surface freshwater, the former is preferable from eco-
nomic point of view due to the following reasons.
(a) Groundwater is rechargeable. Though surface freshwater also gets recharged by
rain and melting glaciers, much of it tends to flow out through rivers and streams
and it requires human intervention to hold it in reservoirs.
(b) Many rivers flow across international borders and, within a country, across
interstate boundaries. Consequently, such river water has become a source of
mistrust amongst nations and states. Over 260 water basins of world transcend-
ing across national borders are covered by more than 3,800 unilateral, bilateral
and multilateral conventions and treaties (e.g., Indus Water Treaty between
India and Pakistan). In contrast, groundwater, being invisible, has still not cre-
ated this kind of problem.
(c) Groundwater has the advantages of location and accessibility. Surface water
sources and flows are confined by ground topography to specific locations and
channels not accessible to one and all.
(d) Unlike surface water, groundwater is not vulnerable to wide scale man-induced
external pollution because some degree of filtration of the percolating surface
water takes place while passing through the rock strata.
Groundwater is mainly used for drinking and irrigation purposes in India
although in areas far away from a source of surface freshwater, certain industries
also depend on groundwater.

7.2.2 Atmospheric Water

Atmospheric moisture is an essential link in the Earth’s hydrologic cycle (i.e. water
cycle). But it becomes economically useful only when it comes down in the form of
rain or snow. Part of this rain water or the water from the melting snow percolates
down and recharges the groundwater aquifer and the balance flows away through the
drain pipes or as surface run-offs. In developing countries vast tracts of non-irrigated
agricultural land depends solely on rain water and snow-water for cultivation. But
this source of water is highly dependent on the vagaries of climate. In many places
in India, rainwater harvesting is becoming a practice and even legally enforced. It
consists of a system to channelize the rainwater precipitating on rooftops and court-
yards into collectors (tanks and wells) for use during times of water-scarcity. But
this has to be done in every house, office and factory—a huge task to organize.
7.3 Role in Environment 143

7.2.3 Wetland Water

Wetlands are natural depressions (e.g., river basins) where the soil is saturated with
moisture and groundwater table is near or above the surface. These are character-
ized by shallow pools of water including marshes, bogs and swamps. These are
environmentally very significant (discussed later in this chapter). As regards the
more direct economic benefits to humans, the wetlands act as natural sponges to
absorb and reduce the impact of flood and they also serve as filters to hold the soil
nutrients and sediments, preventing them from flowing into rivers and lakes (these
soil nutrients are vital for agriculture). Furthermore, the organisms harboured by
wetlands decompose the sewage and effluents before they reach the rivers and lakes,
thus helping the river and lake waters to remain free from impurities. These eco-
nomic values are generally not appreciated by common people who often treat such
lands as mere wastelands.

7.2.4 Seawater (Including Brackish Water)

Sea water is used for drinking, agriculture and industrial activities after desalina-
tion. Well established technologies (multi-stage distillation and reverse osmosis) are
in place to desalinate sea water. Some countries like Bahrain, Kuwait etc. have zero
to near-zero natural freshwater supply. They are making up through desalination of
seawater. Desalination plants are operating in many countries of the world where
supply of freshwater is deficient. For example, per capita availability and consump-
tion of freshwater in Kuwait, Israel and Jordan is nil, 124 m3 and 138 m3 respec-
tively (cf. Canada 92,000 m3).
Besides, desalinated sea water is used in industries located in coastal areas, mili-
tary bases located in remote islands and aboard sea-going vessels. In India,
Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is sourcing its water to the sea. An advantage of
such plants is that salts are obtained as byproducts for human and animal consump-
tion. Even without desalination, sea water is used for certain purposes like cooling
of industrial plants and machinery.

7.3 Role in Environment

7.3.1 Hydrologic Cycle

Water as a whole (and not the different man-made classification entities individu-
ally) plays a key role in maintenance of life and ecosystems on the Earth. Each
entity (atmospheric water, surface freshwater, groundwater and sea water) is by
itself an essential link in the Earth’s hydrologic cycle. In this cycle water moves
from one entity to another in a closed circuit; and during such movement its state
144 7 Groundwater and Water Management

Table 7.2 Average residence Reservoir Average residence time

times in different reservoirs
Antarctica 20,000 years
within the hydrologic cycle
Oceans 3,200 years
Glaciers 20–100 years
Seasonal snow cover 2–6 months
Soil moisture 1–2 months
Groundwater (shallow) 100–200 years
Groundwater (deep) 10,000 years
Lakes 50–100 years
Rivers 2–6 months
Atmosphere 9 days
Source: Wikipedia, Jan. 12, 2013

changes from liquid to gaseous to solid and back to liquid and so on. Thus water of
the sea moves to atmosphere and then precipitates on to the Earth as freshwater and
snow, part evaporates back to atmosphere, part percolates to groundwater aquifers,
part remains in lakes and rivers and the balance runs off to sea again; part of the
groundwater also comes back to the surface as springs. The water cycle involves
exchange of heat at every stage leading to temperature changes, wind currents,
ocean currents and thus it influences the climate. It also involves reshaping of the
Earth’s topography through the processes of erosion and sedimentation, growth of
forests and formation of deserts. Wherever in whichever form the water resides
within a hydrologic cycle, it is called a ‘reservoir’ and ‘residence time’ of a reser-
voir is the average time a water molecule will spend in that reservoir. It is a measure
of the average age of the water in that reservoir. Average reservoir residence times
in each of the reservoirs are variable as shown in Table 7.2.
Needless to say that human interference may alter the above residence times.

7.3.2 Watershed

Watersheds are basin-like land forms defined by high ridges that descend into lower
elevations and stream valleys. A watershed carries water ‘shed’ from the land after
rainfalls and snowmelts. Drop by drop, the water is channelled into the soils,
groundwater, creeks and streams and then finally into larger rivers and sea. The
water flowing over and beneath the Earth’s surface is affected by all it comes in
contact with—land and soil, through which it traverses. Thus all anthropogenic
activities on the land affect water quality for all those living downstream.
While the hydrologic cycle is itself a biogeochemical cycle, watershed is a key
factor in the cycling of various biogeochemical elements and substances. Run-off is
responsible for almost all of the transport of eroded sediments and phosphorus from
land to water bodies; the salinity of sea water is derived from erosion and transport
of dissolved salts from the land; eutrophication of lakes is primarily due to
phosphorus applied in excess to agricultural fields in the form of fertilizers and then
7.4 Policy and Management 145

transported overland and down rivers; and both surface run-off and groundwater
flow play significant roles in transporting nitrogen from land to water bodies.

7.3.3 Wetland Water

A wetland represents a transition zone called ‘hydrorheic zone’ in which close inter-
actions between groundwater and surface water take place and these are biologi-
cally very diverse and such lands significantly support the ecosystem. In this zone
mixing of the two waters takes place and the metals, micro-organisms etc. keep
migrating from the groundwater to the surface water influencing the quality of the
surface water. Some aquatic species need the light, dissolved oxygen and tempera-
ture fluctuations of the surface water as well as the darkness, less oxygen, dissolved
organic carbon, various nutrients and stable temperature of the groundwater envi-
ronment, and they thrive in the wetlands. Some microbes living in the wetlands go
into the grasses and plant leaves providing food for grazing animals which in turn
provide food for carnivorous predators. Thus equilibrium of the ecosystem is
maintained.
Besides, the wetlands serve as sites for summer sojourn of many migratory birds
feeding on the rich and unique biodiversity. Wetlands also render thermal service to
animals living in the semiarid regions. In such regions, the cooler groundwater
comes up to the hotter surface through the hydrorheic zone thus moderating the
effect of heat on those animals.

7.4 Policy and Management

7.4.1 Broad Issues Involved

A national policy reflects the will of the people of a country and takes care of the
needs of not only the present generation but also those to come. In other words it is
a long term goal towards which certain kind of activities should be directed.
Obviously, formulation of such a policy in respect of water needs to factor a host of
issues. These issues can be broadly grouped into the following categories.

7.4.1.1 History of Use of Water

History of use of surface freshwater is as old as life itself. In fact the first living
organism was born in water at least 3.7 billion years ago. The great civilizations
which made profound impact on the history of mankind were all river-centric—
Hwang Ho river in China (7000 BC); the Nile Valley Civilization in Ethiopia-Egypt
region (6000–300 BC); the Assyrian Civilization around Euphrates-Tigris river
basins of the central region of Mesopotamia covering present day Iraq, Turkey, parts
146 7 Groundwater and Water Management

of Israel and Iran; the Dravidian Civilization (5500–1900 BC) followed by the
Indo-Aryan Civilization on the banks of the river Indus. But the earliest evidence of
exploitation of groundwater unraveled so far dates back to sometime during 10,500–
8000 years ago when a batch of early Neolithic men intending to settle down in
Cyprus dug a 5-m deep cylindrical water-well. In India, the practice of accessing
groundwater through stepped wells was in vogue during the times of the Indus
Valley Civilization in the 3rd millennium BC or earlier. But all along, people every-
where have been looking upon water—whether surface freshwater or groundwater—
as a freebie provided by nature and even digging of wells did not require any
specialized skill. The burden of such a long history is indeed too heavy to shed.

7.4.1.2 Resource Nationalism

Resource nationalism comes into play when there is scarcity and consequent inse-
curity. During the drought year of 2009, there were reports of people of a village in
Bihar (India) guarding with guns in hand throughout the day and the night their
pond—the only one in the entire area filled up with water during summer months—
against those of a neighbouring village. Quarrels amongst village women over water
are common in India. At a state level, rivers flowing across interstate boundaries are
sources of perennial feud between people of the states; and if there is a dam in the
upstream state, it is not uncommon to find the people living there blocking the flow
of river to the downstream state. In India such disputes often end up in litigations
and judicial interventions. If the issue is further scaled up to the international level,
then the problem is more acute. It has now become practically impossible for an
upstream country to construct a dam on an international river without entering into
a treaty with the downstream countries.
However, the problem has not reached such a serious state in case of groundwa-
ter primarily because of invisible nature of the resource, although wars have been
fought over oil—another underground liquid resource. The reason is that oilfield
development involves large companies with huge capital and highly skilled man-
power in contrast to groundwater which is generally exploited through wells dug or
drilled by innumerable private citizens in their private premises and fields with the
help of unskilled or semiskilled workers oblivious of its behavior and flow
underground.

7.4.1.3 Quality of Water

Rivers and closed water bodies like ponds, lakes are getting increasingly polluted
due to disposal of urban sewage and industrial effluents. According to a UN estima-
tion of 1985, as much as 70 % of the global surface water had already become unfit
for human consumption. According to a report by the Central Pollution Control
Board (CPCB), India the industry-wise discharge of wastewater is as shown in
Table 7.3.
7.4 Policy and Management 147

Table 7.3 Industry-wise wastewater discharge in India

Annual consumption Annual wastewater
Industry of freshwater (million m3) discharge (million m3) Wastage (%)
Thermal power 35,157 27,000 77
Engineering 2,020 1,551 77
Pulp and paper 906 696 77
Textiles 830 637 77
Steel 517 397 77
Sugar 195 150 77
Fertilizer 74 56 76
Others 314 241 77
Total 40,013 30,728 77
Source: CPCB, India

The wastage of polluted water by the industries in India is indeed alarmingly

high. But one reassuring fact is that the industries together consume only 6 % of the
total freshwater drawn.
According to estimates by the US Department of State (2011), one and a half
million children in the world still die each year from diarrheal diseases related, inter
alia, to poor quality drinking water; and degrading water quality will further increase
disease, undermine economic growth, limit food production and become an increas-
ing threat to peace and security.
As regards groundwater, the causes of pollution are depletion of its resource
due to over-pumping and natural pollution at some places due to certain deep-
seated mineral bodies. For example, the arsenic-rich and fluorine-rich mineral
occurrences deep underground in some places have caused increase in arsenic
and fluorine concentrations. Arsenic pollution is also caused by certain man-
made reasons like excessive use of phosphorus- and sulphur-rich soaps and deter-
gents and accumulation of the wash water due to poor drainage. Pollution may
also take place due to percolation of industrial and mine effluents. Sometimes
metals like arsenic, cobalt, cadmium, lead, zinc—all poisonous above a certain
limit—contained in rocks and certain chemicals used for processing of minerals
may be in continuous contact with water. Eventually they may get washed away
and carried into surface water and also into groundwater by seepage. Even atmo-
spheric water is not free from pollution as exemplified by acid rain prevalent in
some Scandinavian countries.

7.4.1.4 Distribution Amongst End-Users

Domestic (drinking by humans and livestock and household works), agriculture and
industry are the main contenders for drawing freshwater. According to UN esti-
mates, the status of water consumption in the three main sectors in the world is as
given in Table 7.4.
148 7 Groundwater and Water Management

Table 7.4 Broad sector-wise water consumption (world)

Freshwater consumption (% of total)
Sector World High-income countries Low and middle-income countries
Domestic 9 11 8
Industrial 22 59 10
Agricultural 69 30 82
Source: Chatterjee (2013)

Table 7.4 brings out an emerging scenario which is disturbing. All low- and mid-
dle-income countries are endeavouring to join the high-income group. When they
succeed, agricultural consumption of water may come down, but there will be an
enormous increase in the consumption by the industries. This may bring in the prob-
lem of pollution and wastage in huge proportions.
Among the industries in India, thermal power alone consumes about 88 % of the
total freshwater drawn by all the industries together. However, in India the anti-
industry campaign by the environmental activists is forcing the Government to rel-
egate industries to a much lower priority after agriculture. In the year 2000, as much
as 89 % of the freshwater drawn was used by the farmers and only 6 and 5 % by
industries and domestic sector respectively (Hitavada, Nov 29, 2012).

7.4.1.5 Science, Technology and Innovation

Water has become too important to be left to traditional approaches and it is now
imperative that technology is invoked in its management. While there is no simple
technological fix for global water challenges, current approach recognizes the
potentially game-changing role of innovation. It is easier to quantify the volume of
potable water in rivers and lakes but it is much harder to gather information about
below-ground aquifers, which cannot be mapped using traditional land surveys and
cartographic tools. U.S. technical agencies have developed new remote sensing
platforms that allow detection of changes in groundwater levels from space. When
combined with ground-level measurements, they allow a better understanding of
certain aquifers. This has especially important implications for drought-prone
regions throughout the world, where changing rainfall patterns are devastating agri-
cultural livelihoods. To predict floods and famine, the U.S. employs other satellites
and ancillary measurements, and shares this information with vulnerable nations
through a free and open exchange of data. The US Government also encourages the
deployment of existing low-tech solutions such as sand filters, solar disinfection,
and household water purification that can be built from local materials and scaled up
through market-based mechanisms (US Department of State, March 4, 2011).
In India, an innovative experiment has been carried out in the water-scarce area
of Dhule district in Maharashtra to improve the recharging of groundwater. Streams
were deepened and weirs without doors constructed; the storage capacity of the
weirs was determined by multiplying the water required by the local villagers for
7.4 Policy and Management 149

drinking and agriculture by three thereby creating enough hydrological pressure on

the soil for water to percolate down (TOI, Nagpur, Jan 11, 2013).
The innovations are limited to conserving water and increasing its availability;
for purification of contaminated water also, research and innovation are intensify-
ing. Some species of earthworm have been identified in the Department of Ecology
& Environmental Science, Puducherry University, India which can take in heavy
metals like cadmium, chromium, lead and nickel ten times their body weight, break
them down with the help of their enzymes and convert them to body tissue (TOI,
Nagpur, Oct 4, 2012). In another innovation, the scientists of University College,
London have cultured a new type of bacteria which can consume arsenic compounds
from contaminated water (Hitavada, Sept 11, 2008).

7.4.1.6 Socio-politics

People of different countries have different attitudes towards water. Universally,

they develop sentimental attachment to certain rivers and lakes which have provided
them with livelihood through generations, which have inspired art and culture and
have been centres on which mythologies were built up; they were even associated
with evolution of some religions. In short, those rivers have influenced the socio-
cultural history of many nations. In India, there are rivers like Ganga, Yamuna,
Brahmaputra, Godavari, Cauvery and Periyar which have been deified and are wor-
shipped with devotion by common mass; many temples have been built on their
banks and they have given birth to and nurtured many superstitious customs.
Obviously, people belonging to a country or a religion are highly sensitive about
honour and purity of such rivers flowing in their countries. No politician can afford
to overlook such sensitivities of his people.

7.4.1.7 Economics

Economics is about not only demand–supply-cost of water but also opportunity

costs in relation to other necessities. Water is no longer just a temporary concern for
the summer months; now there is a global concern over its declining quantity and
quality. Total resource of water in the entire hydro-system is finite and its demand
by the burgeoning population, ever-expanding industrial sector and agriculture is
increasing. So far, the relatively less costly surface freshwater and groundwater
have been regarded as renewable and their replenishment through migration of
water from other entities within the hydrologic cycle has been taken for granted. But
this complacence is fast giving way to a hard realization of shortage of supply and
cost in terms of both price and the sacrifices that will have to be made.
The economic value realization of the water consumed by the industries of dif-
ferent countries was estimated by the World Bank in 2001 as shown in Table 7.5.
From Table 7.5, it is clear that the economic value realization of industrial water
in India is the lowest implying poor efficiency of water conservation by the Indian
150 7 Groundwater and Water Management

Table 7.5 Country-wise economic value realization of industrial water use in 2000
Industrial water use Industrial production in Economic value realization of
Country in 2000 (billion m3) 2000 (million US $) industrial water in 2000 ($/m3)
Argentina 2.6 77,171 30.0
Brazil 9.9 231,442 23.4
India 15 113,041 7.5
Korea, 2.6 249,268 95.6
Republic of
Norway 1.4 47,599 35.0
Sweden 0.8 74,703 92.2
Thailand 1.3 64,800 48.9
UK 0.7 330,097 443.7
Source: World Bank (2001)

industries. In the recent times, under compulsions of increased availability

constraints, the Indian industries have adopted some modern technologies to reduce
water-intensiveness and to treat and recycle used water.
Since the hydrologic cycle is now highly distorted due to industrialization and
global warming which may not be possible to be reversed in the foreseeable future,
the option gets limited to low-water economy (cf. low-carbon economy). This
means reducing the demand for water in agriculture through low-water technologies
(e.g. drip irrigation), its recycling in the industries, changing people’s food habits in
favour of low-water crops and its conservation by the people at large. In other words
the ‘water footprint’ (see Glossary) will have to be maintained at the minimum. All
these will need to change the attitude of the people. At the end, the goal should be
to ensure match between the rates of withdrawal and recharge (Nilekani et al. 2011).

7.4.1.8 Sustainability

Water is fast becoming one of the world’s not just development challenges but also
security threats. Many conflicts are caused or inflamed by water scarcity. In the coun-
tries from Chad to Afghanistan and Pakistan which lie in an arc of arid lands, water
scarcity is leading to failed crops, dying livestock, extreme poverty and desperation.
Studies by UN and World Bank tell about water supplies being under stress in large
parts of the world. These studies attribute the reasons to burgeoning populations,
depletion of groundwater, wastage, pollution and effects of man-made climate
change. The consequences are harrowing: drought and famine at increasing fre-
quency, loss of livelihood, spread of water-borne diseases, forced migration and even
open conflict. The United Nations Human Development Report for 2006 has said that
by 2025, if current global water consumption continues, more than three billion of
the world’s 7.9 billion people in that year will be living in areas where water is scarce.
And the United Nations Population Fund, in 2003, has predicted that the world will
begin to run out of water in 2050. According to a report of the National Aeronautics
7.4 Policy and Management 151

and Space Agency (NASA) of US, the groundwater level in northern India had been
declining at the rate of 30 cm/year during the decade 1999–2008 due almost entirely
to human activity; between 2002 and 2008, more than 65 km3 of groundwater had
disappeared from the aquifers in the state of Punjab and the area surrounding Delhi.
Sustainability of water resource is about meeting these challenges.
Sustainability of water supply is not a quick-fix approach nor is a local or even
country-specific issue. It is a complex and multidimensional approach involving
steps at global as well as national levels as under.
(a) Diplomatic efforts for arousing global awareness and cooperation
(b) Building capacity through new partnerships
(c) Leveraging new financial resources
(d) Developing human skill and flexibility to work with local communities
(e) Synergizing technology, creativity, politics and business
In order to be effective, a policy must address all these issues (US Department of
State 2011; Pandit et al. 2009).

7.4.2 Policies

Many governments have become aware of the urgency to formulate water policies
with a view to setting the runaway slide towards self-destruction on check before it
is too late. During the twentieth century, all attention was on oil and energy security.
In twenty-first century attention has been turned towards water in some countries
which have recognized the water challenges. Piecemeal laws that are in place in
those countries have become outdated and ineffectual and an increasing number of
aquatic ecosystems are in danger of collapse. The problems faced by many coun-
tries can be summed up as follows.
1. Lack of institutional mechanism to collect data
2. Growing demand due to increasing population and industrialization
3. Deteriorating water quality
4. Conflict amongst local, state and central levels
5. Confusion over authority due to diverse agencies responsible for different
aspects of water management and regulation
6. Old mindset that do not account for the realities of the twenty-first century and
for recent advances in scientific and technical understanding of both water
problems and solutions
7. Lack of vision
8. Differing characteristics of water resources
9. Variation of political frameworks and governing mechanisms not only across
countries but also, in some cases, within the countries
10. Competition amongst water-users
11. Pricing issues
152 7 Groundwater and Water Management

Very few countries in the world are fully engaged in recent years in efforts to
revamp outdated institutions, laws, technologies, and strategies for managing fresh-
water and put in place new and innovative approaches to sustainable water manage-
ment. Internationally, many countries share a commitment to ‘soft path’ approach
which includes
(a) Strategy for more sustainable water management
(b) Recognition of limits to traditional approaches
(c) Recognition of the importance of critical ecological services such as nutrient
cycling, flood protection, aquatic habitat, waste dilution and removal, aesthetic
values
(d) Satisfaction of human needs such as clean potable water, hydropower, agricul-
ture, commercial fishing, and recreation
(e) Less reliance on traditional hard infrastructure that transports water over long
distances or centralized water supply and wastewater treatment
(f) Encouragement to more local water supply options
(g) Greater conservation and efficiency at homes and offices
(h) Precision irrigation technologies in farms
(i) Recycling and re-use of water
(j) Managing local surface and groundwater resources together
(k) Smarter use of economics such as water pricing and innovative markets
(l) Developing better urban and agricultural practices to retain water (e.g. rainwa-
ter harvesting and conservation-oriented tillage)
The international reform efforts are based on public involvement and acceptance
by local communities and also making the institutions more adaptable and flexible
so as to be able to respond to increased uncertainties in the future such as climate
change (Smith et al. 2012).
The status in some of the countries are discussed as follows.

7.4.2.1 India

Apart from enactment of the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act in 1974,
no government initiative was taken for the next three decades. This Act was com-
mon for both surface and groundwater, but by and large, the two resources of water
have all through been treated as separate resources requiring separate strategies for
management. Vast tracts of agricultural land are not irrigated and agriculture is
largely dependent on groundwater irrigation except in areas around reservoirs. But
construction of dams is inadequate due to problems of land acquisition, displace-
ment of local population, submergence of forests and paucity of capital. The prob-
lems with regard to exploitation of groundwater for farming are threefold as under:
(a) The Groundwater Act, 2005 requires all farmers to obtain permit from the
Groundwater Authority before they can apply for electricity connection.
(b) High electricity tariff discourages use of electric pumps.
7.4 Policy and Management 153

(c) High energy cost for pumping due to dependence on costly diesel.
In spite of these disincentives, many areas of India face problems of over-
exploitation and continuous lowering of groundwater table. Almost a third of
groundwater aquifers are semi-critical or critical. Some scientists have predicted
that at current rate of extraction, 60 % of the groundwater blocks may turn critical
by 2025 (TOI, Nagpur, July 18, 2012). The reasons are as under.
(a) Since 1967 credit facilities through institutional finance for groundwater devel-
opment have become freely available (Kamath 1987).
(b) There has been an increasing trend to supply electricity to farmers practically
free or at highly subsidized rates in many states due mainly to political
reasons.
(c) Informal groundwater markets enable small and medium farmers who other-
wise may not want to invest in a well or tube well (Mukherji 2012).
(d) Unregulated competition for deepening of bore wells in adjacent farms with a
view to drawing more water by one than the other (Jhunjhunwala 2012).
(e) Rampant use of hand pumps in rural homes and also in urban homes due to
inefficient and unreliable water supply.
As per Indian Constitution, water is a state subject and the Union Government
cannot make laws in this respect. The Union Government, under Article 252 of the
Constitution, can at best formulate a broad policy which may serve as kind of mod-
els for state governments to make their own laws. Till 2012, there was no regulation
for extraction of groundwater and its coordination among competing uses. On
December 28, 2012, while recognizing that the institutional and legal structures
were inadequate and fragmented and in urgent need of reform, the Government of
India announced a ‘National Legal Framework of General Principles on Water’
(commonly referred to as draft water policy). Its strength lies in the fact that it treats
water holistically in contrast to the general tendency of treating surface freshwater
and groundwater separately. The broad features of this framework are as under.
(a) The framework will be an umbrella statement of general principles governing
the exercise of legislative, executive and the devolved powers of the centre,
states and local governments.
(b) Groundwater will be treated as a common community resource and not as a
private right as currently exists in order that basic needs of drinking water along
with livelihood of poor farmers are protected.
(c) A tariff mechanism for all kinds of water uses in the country will be created.
However the draft policy is silent on maximization of efficiency of utilization
of water, equitable distribution, market-driven and non-market incentives to
establish water recharging structures (TOI, Nagpur, July 18, 2012; Hitavada, Dec
28 & 29, 2012).
Meanwhile, on December 17, 2012 the Government of the state of Maharashtra
announced a new water resources allocation policy the scope of which is limited only
to surface freshwater (TOI, Nagpur, Dec 18, 2012). The stipulations of this policy are:
154 7 Groundwater and Water Management

(a) Ideally, only 20 % of water should be for non-irrigation purpose; this may be
further reduced at times of drought.
(b) Of the water for non-irrigation purpose, drinking will be given higher priority.
(c) Water-use efficiency has been accorded importance.
(d) Emphasis has been given on treatment of effluents and quality improvement.
(e) Recycling by non-irrigation users will be made compulsory with provision of
penalty in case of non-compliance.
(f) Non-irrigation users will be encouraged to take water from other sources like
groundwater.
(g) Maximum per capita consumption has been fixed for local bodies which will
vary depending on population.
Many river-flows in India are committed to serve purposes of agriculture, drink-
ing and only the balance is available for industries. But the practice has been ad hoc.

7.4.2.2 United States

In the 1970s, the National Water Management Act was enacted which set the road
map for water management as under:
(a) Creation of National Water Commission
(b) Review of present and anticipated water resource problems
(c) Projections of water requirements
(d) Conservation and more efficient use of existing supplies
(e) Reduction in pollution
(f) Innovations to encourage the highest economic use of water
(g) Inter-basin transfers
(h) Technological advances
Subsequent to this Act, Clean Water Act was enacted and significant improve-
ments in wastewater treatment have been achieved. Besides, there has been an over-
all reduction in per capita water use associated with conservation and efficiency as
well as some changes in the economic structure of the country.
At local level some good initiatives have been taken and enforced by the authori-
ties for maintaining water availability from the Tennessee reservoir. The Tennessee
Valley Authority faced a problem of too much silt flowing into the reservoir; the
Government made it compulsory for the farmers to make bunds of a particular
height along their fields; as a result silt got trapped in the fields and silt flowing into
the reservoir was reduced (Jhunjhunwala 2012).
But still, the old fragmented approach to water continues. More than 30 federal
agencies, boards and commissions have water-related programmes and responsi-
bilities. The complex legal and institutional framework of water management has
evolved through 200 years and has never undergone comprehensive review or inte-
gration (Smith et al. 2012).
7.4 Policy and Management 155

7.4.2.3 European Union

The European Union Water Framework Directive was passed in 2000. It integrated
into a single legislation the water policies of the member states. It is based on three
main issues which are as follows.
(a) Ecology: No human-induced disturbance to the physical (by implication should
include nuclear), chemical, hydro-morphological, and biological elements
(b) Governance: Decentralization of governance to water management authorities
at the river basin district level and involvement of locals in decision making
(c) Economy: Determination of true cost of water and full-cost recovery by water
suppliers after factoring the estimates of the social, environmental, and eco-
nomic effects of recovery and also the long-term forecasts of supply and demand
for water
(d) Review of plans and production: Active involvement of all interested parties
(e) Coordination: Creation of a ‘competent water authority’ to ensure coordination
among all stakeholders and bodies concerned with water management
Till 2009 the issue of the economic analysis was not put in practice. As regards
governance, in view of the different sociopolitical environments prevalent in the
member states and the institutional infrastructure already in place, the issue has
been kept flexible; and the member countries will be free to designate their own
national bodies as ‘competent authority’ such as Environment Agency in England,
National Institute of Water in Portugal and the River Basin Water Agencies in
France (Smith et al. 2012).

7.4.2.4 Russia

In the Russian Federation Water Code, 2006, focus is on integrated regional water
management. The features are
(a) Surface and groundwater treated as one integrated resource
(b) Prioritization of protection of water bodies (both surface and ground) over their
use
(c) Environment preservation
(d) Priority to drinking over other domestic purposes
(e) River basin approach
(f) Introduction of integrated water basin management schemes
(g) Improved involvement of civil society in decision making
(h) New water-quality standards for a range of chemicals, nuclear substances,
microorganisms, and other contaminants for each water basin
(i) Establishment of special pollution prevention zones for water bodies meant for
drinking water supply
(j) Regulation of discharges of sewage and harmful substances
156 7 Groundwater and Water Management

(k) Regular updating of the freely accessible State Water Register containing data
on water quality and quantity, regimes of water use, water-related facilities,
water protection zones and legal agreements and decisions on water use
(l) Monitoring system at the water basin level
As in 2009, the new water code was just beginning to be implemented broadly
and so its impact on water management and use was still to become visible (Smith
et al. 2012).

7.4.2.5 South Africa

South Africa embodied in its constitution human and ecosystem water rights and
passed a comprehensive new National Water Act in 1998. The salient features are as
under.
(a) A concept of ‘reserve’ has been introduced in which both ecological reserve
(refers to a minimum level of in-stream flow to ensure ecosystem sustainability)
and human reserve (refers to the quantities of water necessary to meet basic
human needs) are combined. This reserve must be set aside before water is to
be allocated to other uses and demands.
(b) The Act provides for:
(i) Compulsory national water-quality and supply standards (Drinking Water
Quality Regulation Program, 2005 requires standardization of microbial
and chemical pollution)
(ii) Standard water tariffs
(iii) Efficient, affordable, economical, and sustainable access to water
services
(iv) Regulations for water service
(c) The country has been partitioned into 19 water management areas based on
drainage regions, to be governed by Catchment Management Agencies having
responsibilities to
(i) Coordinate and promote public participation in water management
(ii) Collect water-use charges
(iii) Issue water-use licences
Till 2010, significant progress has been made in implementation of the Act.
According to surveys by the World Health Organization and the United Nations
Children’s Fund in 2010, access to improved water supply in rural areas increased
from 66 % in 1990 to 78 % in 2008; however far less progress has been made in
sanitation. Though the ‘Blue Drop’ status—a form of award to water service provid-
ers who are at or above 95 % compliance with water-quality standards—introduced
by the government improved the situation in cities, progress outside the main cities
7.4 Policy and Management 157

was still poor. As in 2010, all of the 150 municipal authorities had water-quality
monitoring programmes in place, but only 26 of them had actually been awarded
Blue Drop status (Smith et al. 2012).

7.4.2.6 Australia

Growing populations and economic demands have led to rising water diversions for
agricultural and urban use resulting in increased environmental problems, decreased
water quality, loss of wetlands, proliferation of toxic cyanobacteria and increased
soil salinity. Severe and prolonged drought and extreme flooding have become fre-
quent. According to a survey of 2008, during the period 1997–2006, runoff to the
country’s main agricultural region, the Murray-Darling Basin was 21 % lower than
the historical average. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has predicted twofold
rise in the frequency of droughts in two to three decades. It was in this background
that reform of the water-management system was undertaken in Australia in 2007
and the Commonwealth Water Act, 2007 came into being followed by intergovern-
mental agreements and an investment of approximately 13 billion Australian dollars.
The highlights of this Act and the agreements are as under.
(a) Assignment of the constitutional rights over water resources in the Murray-
Darling Basin by the states to the Commonwealth
(b) Federalization of water data collection
(c) Requirement of greater regulatory reporting with regard to water balances
(d) Introduction of a system of National Water Account
(e) Moving to full-cost recovery for all water infrastructure and services
(f) Creating a market for water trading (based on tradable property rights)
(g) Increasing farm efficiencies (e.g., canal lining, drip irrigation, shifting to more
water-efficient crops)
(h) Purchasing water entitlements from willing sellers to restore aquatic
ecosystems
During the subsequent years, the water market alone has been credited with halv-
ing water consumption, particularly in drought-prone regions like the Murray-
Darling Basin. The Act also created a new federal repository of water monitoring
and measurement information. These data are considered critical for adequate
water-quality and water-quantity protection (Smith et al. 2012).

7.4.3 Comparative Analysis of the International Policy Efforts

The strengths and weaknesses of the policy efforts in the above six countries are
analyzed in Table 7.6.
158

Table 7.6 Comparative analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of policy efforts
Parameter India US European Union Russia South Africa Australia
Nature of policy as in Only a draft umbrella Fragmented and In place In place In place In place
January, 2013 framework; yet to be piecemeal
firmed up
Scope of policy—only Both (implied, not Not specified Both (implied, not Both Both (implied, not Limited to surface
surface or only explicitly stated) explicitly stated) comprehensively explicitly stated) water only
7

groundwater or both
Status of implementation In draft stage Comprehensive Implementation Implementation Implementation in Implementation in
of policy as in January, policy not in place underway begun full swing full swing
2013
Decentralization To political/ Not stated To natural river basins To natural river To natural river Partly centralized
administrative units basins basins and partly to
political/
administrative units
Emphasis on database No No No Yes (State Water Yes (reserve) Yes
Register)
Pricing aspects Tariff mechanism Not specified Full cost recovery Not specified Tariff mechanism Market-based
including environmental
and social costs
Groundwater and Water Management
7.4

Environment and No Not specified Yes Yes Yes Yes

ecology protection goals
Demand forecasting No Yes Yes No No Yes
Sustainability goals and No Implicit in No Yes (implied) Indirectly implied Yes
strategy conservation goals
and stress on
technology
Pollution Chemical Yes Yes but not Yes Yes Yes Not explicitly stated
control Microbial No explicitly stated Yes Yes Yes
Policy and Management

provision Nuclear No Yes Yes No

Priorities Irrigation and Conservation, Not specified Drinking Ecosystem Increasing firm
drinking innovation and sustainability and efficiency; focus on
technology human needs Murray-Darling
Basin (the principal
agricultural region)
Regulatory mechanism Not specified Not specified Yes Yes Yes Yes
159
160 7 Groundwater and Water Management

References

Chatterjee KK (2013) Minerals, mines and environment in human life. National Book Trust, New
Delhi
Hitavada, Nagpur: Press report (www.hitavada.com); Sept 29, 2006; Dec. 14, 2006; Dec. 20, 2006;
July 18, 2007; Mar. 5, 2008; March 9, 2008; July 6, 2008; Sept 11, 2008; Dec. 19, 2008; Apr.
12, 2009; May 31, 2009; July 19, 2009; July 14, 2010; Aug 29, 2010; March 6, 2011; April 1,
2011; Dec 8, 2011; Dec 11, 2011; Dec 23, 2011; Jan. 10, 2012; June 29, 2012; Aug 26, 2012;
Dec 28, 2012; Dec 29, 2012; Feb 8, 2013
Jhunjhunwala B (2012) Save groundwater. Hitavada, Nov 29, 2012
Kamath KR (1987) Groundwater assessment, development and management. Tata McGraw, New
Delhi
Mukherji A (2012) Groundwater irrigation actually reduces poverty. Times of India, Nagpur, Sept
2, 2012
Nilekani R (2011) How to Stop the Flow. (Press feature) Times of India, Nagpur, May 28, 2011
Pandit J (2009) War for water. Hitavada, www.hitavada.com, July 26, 2009
Smith JC, Gleik P, Cooley H (2012) US Water Policy Reform. www.worldwater.org
TOI (Times of India). Nagpur: Press report. July 14, 2009; Jan. 1, 2009; Sept. 14, 2010; Oct. 27,
2010; June 25, 2012; April 12, 2012; May 6, 2012; Aug 18, 2012; July 18, 2012; Dec 18, 2012;
Jan. 11, 2013
US Department of State (2011) US Government water policy brief. Fact Sheet, March 4, 2011
Wikipedia: Water cycle. www.google.com, Jan. 12, 2013
World Bank (2001) Economic value realization of industrial water consumption in different
countries
Chapter 8
Sustainability and Sustainable Development
of Mineral Resources

The two are different by the way they are understood. Sustainability in general is
understood in the sense of security of the planet or a country and that in relation to
mineral resources is linked with security of raw material availability. On the other
hand, sustainable development of mineral resources denotes ways and means in
which mining should be carried out and is linked to corporate social responsibility
(CSR) and certain other activities with a view to developing the areas and the peo-
ples around mines. In a sense, the former is more security-centric while the latter is
more welfare-centric.

8.1 Sustainability of Mineral Resources

Security is an omnifarious term and may mean food security, raw material security
and living security. In this book the focus is on mineral raw material security i.e.
sustaining the availability of minerals. Worldwide, there are concerns about security
of mineral raw materials to feed the fast-growing industries especially in the highly
industrialized countries like European Union (EU) countries and Japan. Its techno-
logical aspects involving exploration and mining with the help of newer and newer
technologies and expanding the frontiers of human reach to oceans and space with
a view to extending the life indices of the mineral resources and ensuring supply of
raw materials for longer periods, have been discussed earlier in this book (Chap. 3:
Mineral-Human relationship). Energy security has also been discussed in Chap. 4.
In this chapter various socio-economic and political aspects will be discussed from
the macro-management point of view.

© Capital Publishing Company 2015 161

K.K. Chatterjee, Macro-Economics of Mineral and Water Resources,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-15054-3_8
162 8 Sustainability and Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources

8.1.1 The Backdrop

The concern for mineral raw material security has not come all of a sudden. This
state of insecurity has gripped the governments across the world in the backdrop of
uncontrolled growth of population, commensurate increase in demand for industrial
goods, widening gap between demand and supply of raw materials and increasing
pressure on the democratically elected governments to bring in parity between the
haves and the have-nots. The two basic reasons are discussed as follows.

8.1.1.1 Epicurean vs Environmentalist Approaches

Epicurean ideology believes that pleasure is the end of action and it thrives on
exploitation, economic profit, benefits and success at all costs which translates to
more and more industrialization to satisfy the desires of the growing population.
Environmentalists, on the other hand, cry for the preservation of the Earth’s
environment, protection of the biodiversity and reversing or slowing down of the
human-induced global warming. A classic case to exemplify this conflict is the
Arctic. The environmentalists view the Arctic as an antidote to global warming by
virtue of the high albedo of the white snow, and its runaway melting due to global
warming will accelerate the process of destruction; besides, for them the snow
serves as a lid to the potent greenhouse gas methane hydrate locked up under it.
To the epicurean, Arctic is rich in three kinds of resources which will become
available for exploitation once the snow melts. These are:
(a) The sea lanes on the surface are opening up to commercial traffic along the
northern coasts of Russia and Canada.
(b) Under the seabed there are potential oil and gas deposits that can be drilled and
recovered.
(c) In the water in between, there is the planet’s last un-fished ocean.
This conflict is no longer confined to the two groups, but has escalated to a state
of virtual cold war amongst the epicureans over the oil and gas prospect in particu-
lar. The eight Arctic countries—Russia, Canada, US (Alaska), Norway, Sweden,
Denmark (Greenland), Finland and Iceland—are now aggressively staking claims
and counter claims over a share of the Arctic Sea.
From the epicurean point of view, since the population is not only increasing in
size but the standard of living of the humans in terms of material consumption is
also rising, there is no alternative to production of more and more goods and ser-
vices and so, to increase in industrialization. The epicureans argue that it is legiti-
mate for the low- and medium-income countries to aspire to be at par with the
high-income countries and this will translate to higher and higher consumption of
energy, industrial water and minerals at large accompanied by expansion in mining
activities. Just taking electricity to 100 % of the population in the developing coun-
tries will result in tremendous increase in coal consumption.
8.1 Sustainability of Mineral Resources 163

Another argument is based on the difference between per capita metal consumption
in the developed countries and that in the developing ones. Taking aluminium as an
example, its per capita consumptions are:
Europe 30 kg
United States 25 kg
Japan 15 kg
China 3 kg
India 1.3 kg

It is legitimate for the developing countries like China and India to aspire to be
at par with the developed countries or for that matter, for all the countries to raise
the standard of living of their people to the level of Europeans.
The environmentalists working in the global or national spheres, on the other
hand, are trying to put brakes to this runaway industrialization. Their primary con-
cern on the global scale is to make the life on the Earth sustainable and to save the
plant from warming up due to emission of greenhouse gas. The governments world-
wide have made tough laws for environment protection. The chrysotile asbestos may
be sited as a classic example. This variety of asbestos is characterized by very thin,
flexible, hollow and tough fibres which are resistant to fire, heat, sound, electricity,
chemicals and it is suitable for many useful products. But it is also carcinogenic and
exposure to its fibres can also result in fatal diseases like asbestosis and pulmonary
fibrosis. This resulted in a worldwide campaign followed by litigations by the affected
people and eventually closure of the largest asbestos mining centre in Quebec,
Canada in 1982. The company Manville Corporation had to pay heavy compensation
and finally went bankrupt. This set off a chain reaction culminating in ban on mining,
processing and even use of this mineral in India and many other countries.
Further, the environmentalists argue that containing industrialization also makes
economic sense in the form of saving land for agriculture and other environment-
friendly economic activities, improving human health etc.

8.1.1.2 Importance of Minerals to Human Life

From flint to fullerene, the history of use of minerals is long. The Stone Age humans
used flint to tear and cut animal hides for protecting themselves against the glacial
cold and also to make spears and axes to hunt and defend; much later, the same
mineral was used to draw lines on rock surfaces and around 30,000 or so years ago,
it was used to make fire. Meanwhile, the two colouring minerals ochre and hematite
gained familiarity. The first mineral that came to human life after them about 8,000–
10,000 years ago was clay for making utensils to cook and bricks to build shelters.
As science and technology developed, the use of minerals diversified to copper, lead,
tin, zinc, gold, silver, silica sand and finally to iron 3,800 years ago. Next big thing
was discovery of coal. The industrial revolution in the latter half of the eighteenth
century speeded up industrialization and the goods and services that the humankind
had never before enjoyed, started being produced. These changes became even
164 8 Sustainability and Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources

faster since about the middle of the twentieth century when the World War II was
raging and the first atom bomb was exploded. Information technology and commu-
nication explosion followed all with the help of newer and newer minerals.
Right from the morning to night, every human uses one or the other thing based
on one or more minerals. Whether it is toothpaste, or news paper or cups and plates
or vehicles or viewing television or listening to radios or playing or sleeping on a
bed—consciously or unconsciously they use some mineral. Today more than 3,000
minerals have been reported and named of which 1,800–2,000 have been fully stud-
ied and described; but even after hundreds of thousands of years of trials and errors,
about 100–150 minerals, metals and rocks are being gainfully used. These minerals
are the basic raw materials for the industries including agro-industries and even
those manufacturing environment protection equipments.
Since around 1960, there has been a revolution in the field of various ‘new’
materials of the kinds of electronic chips, highly special glass and advanced
ceramic products, the metal-matrix composites, special alloys and super-alloys,
semi-conductors, laser, radar, super-conductors, components of space ships, materials
for artificial human organs, nano-tubes, materials required for geoengineering and
environmental hazard mitigation etc. and the researches in material science are
currently going in this direction. Minerals like graphite, fullerene, helium, zeolite,
quartz, micro-diamonds and metals like rare earth metals play a very important role
in development of such materials.
However, throughout the history of human civilization, two mineral commodi-
ties have remained the common factor. These are the aggregates and gold which
form the lowest layers of the foundation of modern economy worldwide and their
sustainability have become the concern in many areas of the world. The reasons for
their indispensability are elaborated below.
(a) Aggregates
These comprise clay, soil, sand and stone chips without which no construction
can be possible—buildings, plants, roads, railway tracks, bridges. Throughout his-
tory their availability has been taken for granted and never considered as critical.
Indeed they are not very costly to mine and can be dug and crushed. Clay can even
be just scooped from the surface around brick kilns. But at the same time they are
required in very large quantities. It is this factor of large scale indiscriminate and
unsystematic digging of the land that has caused irreparable damage to the land-
scape, topography and groundwater recharge in many areas. Sand mining has dam-
aged even rivers threatening supply of surface water during summer months. It has
now drawn the attention of the environmental regulators and the Supreme Court of
India which, in its order dated February 27, 2012, has made environmental impact
analysis (EIA) mandatory before mining of aggregates. As a consequence to this,
the state governments in India have stopped granting permits for aggregate mining.
Now, in many areas of India the very availability of aggregates has become a
concern and the construction of highways and other infrastructure have come to
standstill (FIMI, Jan 15, 2013). In Punjab, it has even become a threat to law and
order (FIMI, Jan 1, 2013). There are some emerging possibilities to substitute
8.1 Sustainability of Mineral Resources 165

aggregates by materials such as flashag (sintered fly ash), syndecrete (eco-friendly

concrete made from waste glass, rejected vinyl LP records etc.), grancrete (ceramic
spray applied on cheap ordinary building surfaces) and ecoshake (roofing shingles
made from cent per cent recycled material). But the technologies and production
facilities are presently confined to a few countries and places and, unless they are
locally available, they will not be of any use to the common mass.
(b) Gold
It is not known how gold came to be regarded as the most valuable metal. In the
beginning (4000–6000 BC) it was valued as a precious jewel because of its unique
combination of high specific gravity (i.e. high value-volume ratio), attractive appear-
ance, indestructibility and scarcity. When trade amongst different kingdoms started,
particularly maritime trade, it became convenient to carry this metal and exchange
it for other goods of high value. Gradually, gold evolved to be a reference for
exchange of goods. Many other metals like silver, copper and iron came and went as
exchange metals in different countries; the Romans even used salt to pay salaries of
the soldiers. But gold remained throughout as the only acceptable reference metal
for exchange of goods internationally. After the World War II (1939–1945) the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) came into being in 1948. When the IMF intro-
duced the Breton Woods monetary system, gold was made the cornerstone and the
basis for reckoning of the values of currencies of all the countries for exchange
purpose and every country is required to maintain a stock of gold in their central
banks which has to be declared periodically. On the amount of stock held by a coun-
try depends the exchange value of the currency of that country. The stocks held by
the central banks of some important countries are as under.
United States 8,000 tonnes as on Feb 20, 2008
Germany 4,000 tonnes as on Feb 20, 2008
IMF 3,217 tonnes as on Feb 20, 2008
China 1,054 tonnes as on Dec 31, 2009
India 557.7 tonnes as on Dec 31, 2012
Saudi Arabia 323 tonnes as on Dec 31, 2010

Now, price of gold has become a cue for investment in mineral exploration.
Table 8.1 shows the relationship between investment in metallic mineral exploration
and gold price.
Besides, in India which is the highest consumer of gold in the world, there are
huge stocks of gold maintained in households for perceived security purpose as well
as due to certain prejudices. According to World Gold Council (WGC), such stocks
have mounted to 20,000 tonnes as in November, 2012. There is no sign of waning
of this tendency as the WGC estimated the gold demand in India to be 933 tonnes
during 2011 (FIMI, Dec 15, 2013) and, according to them, the demand is almost
double in the villages than in the towns (Hitavada, April 1, 2011). According to a
survey conducted by the HDFC Bank of India in 2011, as much as 9 % of India’s
household savings goes for acquiring gold for the purpose of both jewellery and
investment. In addition there are huge stocks of gold in the temples of India
166 8 Sustainability and Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources

Table 8.1 Relationship between investment for exploration of metallic mineral and gold price
Global spending for Significant reasons for increase/decrease and gold market
Year exploration (billion US$) conditions
1997 5.2 (highest since 1989) General trend of economic liberalization in many
developing countries facilitating entry of multinational
exploration/mining companies.
2002 1.9 (lowest since 1991) General recession in gold market following sale of gold by
the central banks of many European countries to pay up
debt in order to fulfil Euro currency criteria.
2003 2.4 Recovery of gold market and overall economy; junior
2004 3.8 exploration companies able to raise funds; more expensive
2005 4.9 late stage exploration work (e.g., feasibility study) by major
companies in ongoing exploration projects and, at the same
2006 7.1
time, turning renewed attention to earlier suspended
projects; favourable changes in mineral policy in South
Africa (unshackling of mineral sector from the whites).
2007 11.4a Gold price was on a rising trend and its share in exploration
2008 12.6 investment was over 40 %; prices of most commodities
strengthened their long-term highs.
2009 7.3 Global recession
2010 10.7 Improved prices of gold and other commodities and stable
market conditions.
a
In 2007, uranium was covered in the survey for the first time (investment in uranium exploration
during 2007 was US$ 1.41 billion

accumulated through centuries mainly by virtue of donations received. In the world

also, the annual demand for gold has remained high at over 3,400 tonnes during the
first decade of this century despite its price ruling high. This tendency to acquire and
stock more and more gold is stronger when the level of insecurity of the people and
the governments is higher on account of deteriorating political conditions, weakness
of US dollar (the gold-backed currency accepted worldwide for international trade)
and economic recession. Hence, this metal has assumed special importance for the
mineral industry and humankind.
In the annexures I and II, the minerals which are in use now and the products and
processes into which they go as inputs are listed.

8.1.1.3 Increasing Political Unviability of Resource Development Projects

In a large country like India, where there is land crunch but the people are increas-
ingly being politically conscious about their rights and the government’s obligations
towards them and where there is wide diversity amongst the different states and
areas in many respects—political system, religion, language, culture, traditions and
ritualistic practices—political viability of the mineral development projects has
become an important contributory factor in raw material security. Politics goes
beyond the rigid boundary of legal, economic or technological justifications of a
project, but it is more about the people’s perception, emotions and empathy.
8.1 Sustainability of Mineral Resources 167

A comparison between the two cases of Kiruna town in northern Sweden and Jharia
town in eastern India will serve to explain this issue further.
Kiruna, referred to as the ‘smart mine’ of Europe, is the deepest iron ore mine in
the world where the company has planned to open up a new level taking the depth
to 1,364 m. Already, cracks have appeared on the surface above the underground
mine and when the new level is opened in about 20–25 years, the entire Kiruna town
with its 3,000 houses will be endangered. The company has already drawn up a
strategy for shifting the population to a new town under development. The people
there have understood the danger and also the need for expansion of the mine.
Neither any anxiety nor any resistance is visible amongst them (FIMI, Dec 1, 2012).
The old town of Jharia, located in the midst of the Jharia coalfield where an
underground fire is raging for over 100 years, stands in contrast. There houses in the
town are already subsiding and several people have died. The company plans to
redesign the mining with a view to recovering the remaining prime coking coal and
the government has made arrangement for the rehabilitation of the affected people,
yet they are tenaciously resisting.
The public movement and agitation against setting up of nuclear power plants
(and even uranium mines) in Kudankulam and other sites in India as also in the
countries like Japan, France, Germany etc. have either delayed implementation of
projects or forced the governments to cancel their policies and plans. This trend is
making exploitation of mineral resources increasingly more difficult. For invest-
ment in mining in a country, the Policy Potential Index or PPI (elaborated later
under 6.1.2.5/Acquisition) helps the investors to gauge the political risks to a large
extent, but for individual areas within a country like India there is as yet no handy
tool to guide them.
The gestation period in India for taking a mineral property to production stage
from the date of application for reconnaissance permit after obtaining all the statutory
clearances may usually extend to 10–15 years; if there is a legal dispute, the final
judicial decision may take anything up to another 15–20 years. In addition, if there are
political problems centred on the mineral property, there is no limit to the time period.

8.1.2 The Options for Mineral Raw Material Security

Some options for achieving security of mineral raw materials have been tried in the
past and are still relevant. These are discussed as follows.

8.1.2.1 Political/Military Control

Many wars were fought from the historical to the modern times over control of min-
eral resources. In the ancient times, the Romans fought many wars for acquiring
control over deposits of gold, silver, mercury, iron, copper, lead, tin and salt in Spain,
Portugal and England. They not only developed new mines but also restarted many
168 8 Sustainability and Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources

closed mines in the conquered regions. During the Mediaeval period, Genoa lost
control over the European salt-trade through the Mediterranean Sea to Venice in 1381
after fighting three wars (salt was an essential commodity in those times for preserva-
tion of food). During the 1870s, Spain attacked and captured Peruvian territory
for the sake of guano—an essential fertilizer mineral then; but later Chile and Peru
together fought what has gone down in history as the Chincha Islands War and liber-
ated the guano-rich area. However a few years later, during 1879–1884 the same
Chile fought Peru allied with Bolivia in what is known as the War of the Pacific or the
Saltpetre War for saltpetre (KNO3) which was then an important ingredient of explo-
sives. After the war, Chile annexed saltpetre-rich territories of both Peru and Bolivia.
After the second year during the World War I (1914–1918), Britain and France
were almost ruined financially, but USA could continue to maintain its financial
strength by virtue primarily of its resources of some vital strategic minerals. At the
end of the war, it was producing 71 % of the world’s petroleum, 43 % of the world’s
coal and 87 % of the world’s automobiles (made from iron and other metals). There
had been countless invasions of India from across its border for plundering the dia-
mond stocked in the temples and palaces. Since the 1990s, a civil war has been
going on in Democratic Republic of Congo between the government forces and the
rebels centred on diamond resources along the banks of the river Congo. After tak-
ing control of the resources, the rebels sold the diamond clandestinely for buying
arms and ammunition. The Gulf war between US and its allies on one side and Iraq
on the other in 1990 was primarily over Kuwaiti oilfield which the Iraqi forces cap-
tured earlier. And as recently as in the first decade of this century, the Arctic coun-
tries of Russia, Canada, US (Alaska), Norway, Sweden, Denmark (Greenland),
Finland and Iceland were in a state of cold war waiting to stake claims over the
oil-rich Arctic Sea once the fast-receding snow completely disappears thanks to the
man-made global warming.
However this destructive military approach to ensure raw material security is
increasingly becoming more difficult. Firstly, wars require huge resources of not
only arms and ammunition but also other economic commodities like food both of
which require minerals. Secondly, no country is self-sufficient in all the minerals
that are needed to fight the highly sophisticated and complex wars of today. Thirdly,
the resources are spent destructively with no guarantee of victory. Fourthly, the
well-established institutional mechanisms of UN, IMF, World Bank etc. make wars
very difficult to sustain through long durations. Fifthly, the very insecurity prevents
a country to indulge in a gamble like war.

8.1.2.2 Recycling

The increasingly proliferating high-tech industries of today consume scarce metals.

It is in this backdrop that recycling assumes relevance. Recycling does not directly
add to the resource or reserve, but indirectly contributes to extension of the life
indices of the resources/reserves. Some of the metals like aluminium, copper, lead
and zinc can theoretically be recycled endlessly. But in practice their recycling rates
8.1 Sustainability of Mineral Resources 169

(ratio of the annually utilized quantities of scrap and the annual production of the
primary metal) depends on:
(a) Collection efficiency of scrap
(b) Nature and life cycle of the product containing the metal (varies from one year
of aluminium cans to over 40 years of copper cables)
(c) Amenability to technology of recovery of metal from the scrap
(d) Environmental problems arising out of the recovery process
Technological challenges of recycling include:
1. Although recycling of copper scrap consumes 50–90 % lower energy than the
energy consumed for producing primary copper, recycling process in case of
some metals like aluminium is energy-intensive.
2. In some products like alloys and electronics, copper is mixed with other metals
and organic and inorganic material and the recovery process is highly complex
and energy intensive
3. In case of cables, the plastic sheath has to be removed by burning and that creates
environmental problems.
4. Although high resistance of lead to corrosion makes it highly amenable to recy-
cling, that used in tetraethyl lead, lead pigments and solders are not at all recy-
clable and is irretrievably lost.
5. Zinc is less amenable to recycling than many metals because in the electrochem-
ical series, the common alloying metals like iron, tin, lead etc. occupy higher
position than zinc and hence, in a solvent, zinc dissolves more readily than these
alloying metals.
6. For recycling zinc used in galvanization of iron and steel sheets, state-of-the-art
plasma furnaces are required.
The recycling rates of the metals are summarized in Table 8.2.

Table 8.2 Recyclability of metals

Global average end-of-life
functional recycling (%) Metals and metalloids
Less than 1 Scandium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium,
samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium,
holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium (all rare earth
metals), lithium, beryllium, vanadium, boron, gallium,
germanium, arsenic, selenium
1–10 Antimony, mercury
10–25 Ruthenium, cadmium, tungsten
25–50 Magnesium, molybdenum, iridium
+50 Aluminium, titanium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel,
copper, zinc, niobium, rhodium, rhenium, palladium, silver, tin,
platinum, gold, lead
Source: UNEP, May, 2011
Note: These evaluations do not consider metal emissions from coal power plants
170 8 Sustainability and Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources

Table 8.3 Recyclability of Recycling potential in

metals from global e-wastes the world from
e-wastes (tonnes/year)
Metal 2015 2020
Gallium 106 160
Indium 740 970
Source: UNEP, July, 2009

An emblematic issue is about e-waste generated by electronic appliances that

need a growing variety of metals to reach ever higher performance for more people
every day. In India alone, 150,000 tonnes of e-waste were generated in 2006 and the
annual growth has been projected at 34 %. Global e-waste generation is growing by
about 40 million tonnes a year. Modern electronics contain up to 60 different ele-
ments many of which are valuable. Manufacture of mobile phones and personal com-
puters consumes 3 % of gold and silver, 13 % of palladium and 15 % of cobalt mined
worldwide each year (globally, more than one billion mobile phones were sold in
2007 up from 896 million in 2006). One tonne of scrap from discarded computers
contains more gold than can be produced from 17 tonnes of gold ore; a discarded cell
phone contains 5–10 times higher gold than gold ore of equivalent weight; e-waste is
often 10–50 times richer in copper metal than copper ore of equal weight. It is in this
scenario that the issue of e-waste management by recovering the contained metals
(urban mining) has become critical. The recycling potential of gallium and indium
from discarded photovoltaic panels, solar street lights and other electronic goods in
the world during the years 2015 and 2020 have been projected as shown in Table 8.3.
Table 8.3 gives an idea of the growing importance and technological amenability
of the recycling of e-waste in the years to come.

8.1.2.3 Substitution

Substitution is also a means to extend the life indices of the resources/reserves of

minerals. Many applications rely on key raw materials that are currently very diffi-
cult, if not impossible, to substitute due to their specific physical and chemical prop-
erties. Nevertheless substitution can take place in three ways as under.
(a) Development of alternative materials in certain applications to serve certain end
purpose in which case only the product is substituted while the application as
well as the end purpose remains the same. For example, for steel-manufacturing
sponge iron can substitute pig iron.
(b) Replacement of those applications by an equivalent technology that does not
rely on the key raw materials in which case both the product and the application
change without compromising with the end purpose (e.g., for the purpose
of generating wind energy, ceramic high-temperature superconductors may
become a substitute for permanent magnets in wind turbines which currently use
neodymium and dysprosium)
8.1 Sustainability of Mineral Resources 171

(c) Partial substitution of the raw materials by some renewable or waste materials
having to modify neither the processing technology nor the product (e.g. partial
substitution of coal by rice husk, cashew nut shells, used tyres, old currency
papers, municipal garbage and sugarcane rejects in cement manufacturing).
Substitution of any substance may take place due mainly to the factors like
increase in price, change in fashion and taste of people etc. But that of a mineral is
generally due to the following reasons.
Finite and non-renewable resource: Stoppage of supply of mineral is not gener-
ally the cause of its substitution globally if seen in a short time span of a few years
or even a couple of centuries as has been seen from Tables 3.6 and 3.7 (reserve
dynamics). Even if reserves are exhausted, the back-up resources may be explored
and up-categorized to reserve. There has been only one case in the recent past. The
only large economic deposit of cryolite in the world which was discovered in
1799 in Ivigtut on the west coast of Greenland was operated during the period from
1854 till 1987 when its reserves were completely exhausted (and there was no back-
up resource for up-categorization) giving rise to development of synthetic cryolite
based on another mineral namely fluorite. But on a national or regional scale, it can
happen often. In France, the 250-year old coal mining industry came to halt on April
23, 2004 due to exhaustion of reserves/resources and the country switched over to
other sources of energy like nuclear.
Fixed location: This is not of much relevance in the global perspective, but is
important when considered from the national or regional point of view. For exam-
ple, in Germany and in the Southern and Western parts of India there is no deposit
of bituminous coal and for thermal power generation there, fuel is sourced to a
somewhat inferior substitute namely lignite (brown coal) which is available in
abundance.
Long gestation of exploration of mineral deposits, development of mines and
establishment of processing and end-use industries: Bringing a virgin deposit start-
ing from the stage of application for reconnaissance to the stage of production takes
around 15 years in India (in other countries it may be a few years more or less)
provided there is no litigation or dispute regarding land and other matters and if
there is, then the period may be indefinite (in India, the local tribals have held up
mining from a deposit of uranium in Meghalaya for over 30 years counted from the
year when exploration began). But in the meanwhile, the processing and the end-use
facilities may be ready. Under such circumstances, there may be temporary substi-
tution by another raw material to keep the facilities running. Substitution of coal-
based power by diesel generators can in certain cases be cited as an example. But
normally, shortfalls of raw material supply arising out of this sort of problems are
met through import in which case the substitution will be limited to indigenous
mineral by imported one and considered from a global point of view, this does not
carry any sense.
International relation: When demand for certain minerals or metals in a country
is met through import from another country, mutual hostilities may cut off the sup-
ply and the importing country may be forced to search for substitutes. From a global
172 8 Sustainability and Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources

standpoint, this also does not carry any sense except that some new material or
process may be developed. This was the cause due to which the modern process of
manufacturing pencil was developed. Graphite was discovered in 1564. For the next
250 years, Britain had the monopoly of lumpy graphite which was cut and shaped
to make writing pencils. France was one of the countries which was dependent on
lumpy graphite imported from Britain for pencil-making. During early nineteenth
century, France under Napoleon was at war with England and supply of good grade
lumpy graphite from the latter was cut off. Then at the instance of Napoleon, the
technique of pencil-making was refined by Nicholas Jacque Conte. He mixed pow-
dered graphite and clay, moulded it in the shape of thin long pieces and then burnt
them in a kiln at a temperature of about 100 ° C. The same principle is still in vogue.
There are various modes by which a particular mineral may locally be substi-
tuted—by the same mineral of lower quality with the help of a different technology
(coking coal by non-coking coal in iron-making); by another mineral (copper by
aluminium in electrical transmission wires); by a waste product (clay bricks by fly
ash brick, limestone by fly ash in cement manufacturing, coal by coal washery
rejects for thermal power generation); or by a non-mineral (coal and petroleum by
solar, wind and biomass energy). But there is no possibility of doing away with the
non-renewable minerals altogether. Moreover, even if a renewable material is used,
the technology for its processing will require non-renewable minerals.

8.1.2.4 Mine Waste and Mineral Usage Waste Utilization

Such wastes generate before, during and after extraction due to the following
reasons.
(a) Overburden: Because of the mode of occurrence of a mineral deposit at depth
under thick overburden rocks, it is necessary to first remove those rocks before
exploitation of the mineral can begin. These rocks are dumped on the ground as
wastes. The greater the depth more will be the quantity of such waste.
(b) Grade of the mineral: Even the best grade ores of high-value metals like copper,
gold etc. as mined throughout the world, contain very little amounts of the met-
als. For instance, copper ore on an average contains 1.0 % copper metal and
gold accounts for less than 2 grammes in a tonne of its ore. This means that for
each tonne of copper and gold recovered 99 tonnes and nearly 500,000 tonnes
of waste rocks have also to be mined respectively. Similarly, Indian coal con-
tains on an average 30–50 % ash which, after burning, accumulates as wastes in
the thermal power plants. Same holds good for all the metals and minerals.
The waste rocks generated every year during production of copper, gold and
aluminium are estimated to be 1.4 billion tonnes, over 1 billion tonnes and
50 million tonnes (red mud) respectively.
The issue of utilization of part of such waste rocks are being addressed in many
countries including India through research, development and innovation. In
Table 8.4, some common examples of such efforts are shown.
8.1 Sustainability of Mineral Resources 173

Table 8.4 Mine waste and mineral usage waste utilization

Waste product Use
Coal usage wastes
Carbon dioxide Fishery, food processing, greenhouse, petroleum
recovery (secondary)
Cenosphere (derivative of fly ash) Adhesive, plastics, rubber (including synthetic rubber)
Coal dust Metallurgy (iron), reductant
Coke breeze (coke handling waste) Chemical, coke manufacturing, deoxidizer, foundry,
pellets, sinters
Flue dust (particles associated with Metallurgy (germanium)
flue gas emission from industrial
plant)
Flue gas (emission from industrial Desulpho-gypsum/flue gas desulphurization (FGD)
plant) gypsum/scrubber gypsum
Fly ash (thermal power plant waste) Asphalt (for paving), brick (fly ash), cement,
cenosphere, construction (concrete), insulation brick,
land reclamation, plant nutrient, road metal/aggregate
(base material), soil conditioning, stowing (mine),
synthetic zeolite
Waste associated with zinc recovery process
Cobalt cake/beta cake Metallurgy (zinc)
Copper cake Metallurgy (zinc)
Moore cake Metallurgy (gold, lead, silver, zinc)
Muscovite processing waste
Scrap mica Glass-bonded mica, reconstituted mica
Waste associated with processing of oil shale
Spent shale Brick (shale-lime), cement, lime (hydraulic)
Quartz mining reject
Lasca Fused quartz used for making inner quartz bulbs for
halogen lamps

8.1.2.5 Foreign Sourcing

There may be two ways by which a country can source its raw materials to another
country—import and acquisition.
Import: This may be necessary for a country under certain circumstances as under.
(a) Deficiency in resource of certain mineral: If a country suffers from such defi-
ciency it may be necessary for it to import the mineral from other countries. India
imports around two-third of its requirement of crude petroleum both on long-term
contract and spot purchase basis. But at times of war or strained relationship between
the exporting and the importing countries this may create formidable problems.
During the World War II (1939–1945) US faced serious crisis because of absence of
minable reserves of a vital strategic metal namely tin which serves to can food for
the thousands of soldiers fighting in the front for months together. It was importing
174 8 Sustainability and Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources

this metal from the Far-East and the Japanese navy regularly targeted the cargo
ships carrying tin for US. After the war, however, US built a huge stockpile of tin
before launching the Korean War (1950–1953). This example gives an important
cue. It is not enough to import for meeting day-to-day requirements, but a govern-
ment must also anticipate contingencies and build stockpiles which in its turn
requires some serious economic analyses as follows.
(i) The best price to purchase from international market has to be judged. This is
not possible if the import is based entirely on long-term contracts.
(ii) Stockpiling requires investment of substantial funds for both purchasing and
maintaining idle stocks indefinitely.
(iii) For liquid and gaseous minerals like petroleum and natural gas, special facili-
ties for storage have to be constructed.
(iv) In the present international political setup, multiple sourcing is called for
instead of depending on a single source. In the past, sanction imposed by the
UN on South Africa and more recently on Myanmar debarred other countries
from having any business link with them. Presently, a similar situation exists
with regard to Iran on which India has been significantly depending for petro-
leum and natural gas.
(v) International relationship including business relation is always on the premise
of give-and-take. So a country importing from another country must also
export something to the same country or alternatively, pay in either gold or
some international currency like dollar, sterling pound or euro.
(vi) The importing country may have to offer some favourable conditions to
encourage foreign investors to invest in exploration, mining, manufacturing
etc. The conditions may include low royalty, cheap land, easy repatriation of
profits or a receptive consumer base.
It is obvious that a country possessing no mineral resource or nothing else to
offer may find it extremely difficult to prosper.
(b) Availability of enough resource: A country may keep its resources idle for meet-
ing crisis situations in future while resorting to import to meet present demand. This
may be as a strategy or under compulsion due to some formidable hurdle. US delib-
erately kept its oil shale resources unexploited and instead resorted to import of oil
to meet the domestic demand. On the other hand, in spite of abundant reserves of
both coal and iron ore, India is now importing them because of environmental and
social hurdles coming in the way of their exploitation.
Acquisition of mineral property: The criteria of investment have now gone beyond
economic outcome to redressal of environmental and socio-political problems.
Consequently, launching a mining project in virgin areas in some countries (e.g.
India) is increasingly becoming harder, more time-consuming and more expensive.
If the governmental policies in another country are investor-friendly, then it is easier
for such companies to take the acquisition route in a foreign country than taking up
greenfield mining projects in the parent country. There are three modalities as under.
8.1 Sustainability of Mineral Resources 175

(a) Acquisition of a mining company

(b) Merger with another mining company
(c) Acquisition of a virgin mineral property
The reasons can be summed up as below.
(a) Anxiety in the industries regarding shortage of mineral raw materials in the
short run
(b) Availability of surplus cash with the companies due to high metal prices (mainly
due to increased demand from China)
(c) Motivation for achieving supply security
(d) Management of price volatility by a metal company through backward integra-
tion with a mining company
(e) Competitive advantage in bidding for end-use projects
But this route of sourcing minerals to foreign countries is fraught with some
risks. Even after more than twenty years of liberalization and globalization of econ-
omy across the world, unbridled opportunity to develop the mineral resources by
any investor in any country has not become visible. The governments and the societ-
ies of many countries view their finite, non-renewable and hidden mineral resources
as precious treasures endowed by nature. In an atmosphere of supply crunch and
insecurity, countries are more and more becoming wary of letting go their minerals.
Policies like export restriction, value addition within the country, compulsory tech-
nology transfer, mandatory condition of partnership with locals, higher taxes on
minerals, sharing of mined minerals with the local government etc. are increasingly
becoming the order of the day. The constraint can be summed up as follows.
(a) Risk of socio-political climate of the foreign country suddenly turning hostile
due to change of regime
(b) Expropriation by the foreign government at a later year (e.g. nationalization of
oilfields in Middle-East countries)—rated by the global credit rating agency
Earnst & Young (E&Y) as the highest risk in 2012 and the third highest in 2013
(c) Impact of political developments on tax environment
(d) Fluctuation of foreign exchange rate
(e) Restrictions on freedom of management
(f) Conflicts between goals of a foreign investor and goals of the local govern-
ments and political forces
(g) The government’s perceptions of the company’s impact on local economy
(h) Infringement on national sovereignty and control of natural resources
(i) Impact on other industries
(j) Limitations imposed by the local government on transfer of funds and
dividends
(k) Resource nationalism
(l) Inability to understand local mafia and political agenda of the local politicians
(m) Access to capital (rated by E&Y as the highest risk in 2013) (FIMI, July 15,
2013)
176 8 Sustainability and Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources

Over and above this kind of restrictive policies, there is the issue of stability of
both governments and policies. A mineral development project starting from appli-
cation for reconnaissance permit to final closure of mine may usually last through
several decades and the chance of governmental policies remaining stable through-
out this period weigh heavily in the minds of the investors, particularly the multina-
tional companies intending to invest in a foreign country. The degree of sensitivity
of investment to policy changes is best exemplified by what happened in South
Africa, India, Australia and Indonesia in recent times. In South Africa, due to trans-
fer of mineral rights from the whites to the State in 2003, exploration expenditure
increased by more than 46 % compared to 2002. In India, restriction on sale of coal
by private mine-owners continues to be a formidable disincentive for investment in
its exploration and mining by foreign investors. The new government of Australia,
which has come to power in 2011, has imposed a heavy resource rent tax (RRT) of
40 % on the value of iron ore and coal mined resulting in a slump in investment in
these mining sectors. The Indonesian Government started mulling over compulsory
value addition to coal of grade below 5700 kcal/kg adb (air-dried basis); this would
affect even those mining contracts which have already taken effect. Mere report of
a proposal before the Government dampened the investment climate significantly.
The most important tool relied upon by multinational companies for zeroing on
in the most suitable country for investment is the Policy Potential Index (PPI) of the
Fraser Institute. This index is based on the replies circulated to important explora-
tion, development and mining companies around the world asking them to assign
score on a scale of 1–5 in decreasing order of investment friendliness only in respect
of the jurisdictions and factors with which they are familiar with. The survey broadly
takes into account the following factors:
1. Regulations and their administration and the associated uncertainty
2. Environmental regulations
3. Taxation regime
4. Problems of acquisition and other matters related to land (e.g. native land
claims)
5. Infrastructure
6. Socioeconomics
7. Political stability
8. Labour laws
9. Geological database (including quality and scale of maps and ease of access to
information)
10. Security
The responses are analyzed to assign a final score out of 100 to each jurisdiction
(a country or a state in US, Canada and Australia) and to report its rank in the survey
year. The Policy Potential Index refers to this final score. In 2012, out of the 96
jurisdictions ranked according to PPI, Indonesia was the last because, mainly, two
major policy changes—ban on export of raw materials and compulsory divestment
of majority shares to local entities (FIMI Newa, April 1, 2013).
8.2 Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources 177

Besides, the investors also bank their decisions on the ratings of different globally
trusted credit-rating agencies like Moody’s, Earnst & Young, Standard & Poor etc.

8.2 Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources

8.2.1 Concept and Key Factors

In a generalized sense, sustainable development means development and improve-

ments in standards of living without impairing the future ability of the environment
to provide sustenance and life support to a population. This concept took root for the
first time in the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development
(popularly known as Brundtland Commission) of 1987 which defined sustainable
development as “ensuring to meet the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Chatterjee 2008; Nanda
2012) and subsequently, it was discussed in the global conference held in Rio-de-
Janeiro, Brazil in 1992 under the aegis of the UN Conference on Environment &
Development (UNEDP). This concept underwent modification and in 1999 the
Ministry of Environment & Forest (MoEF) of India in its report ‘State of the
Environment’ defined sustainable development as ‘ensuring that maximum rate of
resource consumption and waste discharge for a selected development portfolio
would be sustained indefinitely, in a defined planning region, without progressively
impairing its bio-productivity and ecological integrity’. However, these definitions
were in the context of general development. In relation to the mining sector in par-
ticular, certain key elements determining a sustainable mining operation have
evolved (MOM 2012). These are:
(a) Financial viability
(b) Socially responsibility (operations creating social and economic wealth which
will outlast the life of the mine)
(c) Environmental soundness
(d) Technical and scientific soundness
(e) Long-term view of development (mine closure, land restoration, rehabilitation
of workers)
(f) Optimal use of minerals
(g) Sustainable post-closure land uses
The factors due to which it has become imperative for the Indian mining sector
to implement sustainable mining are as follows.
(a) To a great extent minerals, forests and tribals are concentrated in the same geo-
graphical areas.
(b) Traditionally, the attitude of mining companies had been short sighted and
unethical with the sole motive to earn maximum profit in minimum time.
178 8 Sustainability and Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources

(c) The continuous negligence of the local area and the local people made them
suspicious and hostile towards mining operations.
(d) Resource curse i.e. the mineral-rich areas are counted amongst the poorest
areas.
(e) The long-pending and pernicious resettlement issues have contributed to anti-
mining attitudes in such a degree that it has become impossible for a mining
operation to start in time.
(f) The reluctance of a large section of mining companies to embark on cost-
increasing activities like preservation of land, environment and biodiversity and
also social rehabilitation of the displaced people has contributed to this no-win
situation.
(g) Two laws namely the Panchayati Raj (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act,
1996 and the Scheduled Tribes & Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition
of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 are now addressing such issues. The former makes
it mandatory to obtain prior recommendation of Gram Sabha (village council)
before granting of prospecting licence or mining lease in Scheduled areas;
while the latter recognizes the traditional individual and community rights of
people living and using the forest and stipulates that these rights should first be
settled before acquisition of land for a mining project.
(h) Besides, a Supreme Court judgement of 1997 commonly known as Samatha
Judgement prohibits mining in Schedule V areas (tribal dominated areas) with-
out the participation of the local people.
Although the concept of sustainable development is widely accepted, yet the
implementation of sustainable development has not moved beyond some slow and
incremental steps for transformative action. The major bottlenecks have been iden-
tified (Nandi 2012) as:
(a) Lack of leadership
(b) Tendency of each sector to wait on the other to take the initiative.
(c) Lack of financial and technological resource
(d) Inadequate infrastructure
(e) Poor quality of governance
Nevertheless, under pressure of environmental activists and resistance of local
people against mining projects, both the government and the industries of India are
now slowly realizing the gravity of the situation and urgency of action.

8.2.2 Sustainable Development Indicators

In a programme organized in India during 1999–2000 jointly by the UN Development

Programme (UNDP), the Ministry of Environment & Forest (MoEF) of India and
the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada, a set of national
indicators was arrived at. Later on, US Government also made some additions.
These indicators were broadly grouped as follows.
8.2 Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources 179

(a) Environmental indicators (e.g. groundwater reserve, waste water treatment,

industrial and municipal discharge, rate of depletion of mineral resources,
harmful emissions, use of agricultural pesticides, rate of erosion of top soil etc.)
(b) Economic indicators (e.g. GDP growth, gross export and import, mineral
reserves, energy consumption, job and income distribution etc.)
(c) Social indicators (unemployment rate, poverty ratio, male-female ratio, fertility
rate, infant mortality, incidence of environment-related diseases, adult literacy
rate etc.)
(d) Institutional indicators (programmes and strategies, national environmental sta-
tistics and indicators of sustainable development)
However, these indicators are in the context of general development. In India,
certain measurable parameters of sustainable development specific to the mining
areas are under consideration of the Government (MOM 2012). Emphasis has par-
ticularly been laid on the following indicators.
(a) Ensuring minimal adverse impact on the quality of life of the local communities
(b) Protection of the interests of the affected people
(c) Creation of new opportunities for sustainable livelihood in the local area
(d) Mineral conservation
(e) Reduction in waste generation
(f) Minimizing and mitigating adverse environmental impacts on surface and
ground water, air, ambient noise and land
(g) Ensuring minimal ecological disturbance in terms of biodiversity, flora, fauna
and habitat
(h) Promoting restoration and reclamation of mined out land for the benefit of the
local communities
(i) Consultative mechanism with stakeholder groups and formulation of measur-
able indicators at the local area level
(j) Public disclosure of the indicators to facilitate sustainability audits
This is a framework approach implying that it is a flexible one that allows the
achievement of sustainable development objectives without being too prescriptive
and formulaic. The monitoring agency may use its discretion to fix standards.

8.2.3 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

The line dividing the CSR and the sustainable development is indeed very thin. CSR
is a concept whereby companies serve the interests of society by taking responsibil-
ity for the impact of their activities on communities and the environment; and it is a
company’s commitment to operate in an economically, socially and environmen-
tally sustainable manner. The only difference between CSR and sustainable devel-
opment is that the former is company-specific while the latter is area-specific. In
other words, a company may be located far away from its activity centre and it may
180 8 Sustainability and Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources

carry out welfare activities anywhere in the country but sustainable development
takes place in and around the area of the activity. If, however, the company and its
activity are located in the same area, the difference disappears. In fact, CSR extends
beyond philanthropic activities and reaches out to the integration of social and busi-
ness goals of a company.
In India, CSR is mandatory in the Companies Act, 2012 while sustainable
development in the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Bill
(MMDR bill), 2011 (under consideration of the Parliament as in August, 2013).
The Companies Act is loaded with financial commitments by the industries com-
mensurate with their networth, profits and turnover solely for CSR-related activi-
ties while a framework for sustainable development is a part of the proposed
MMDR bill.
The activities under CSR in an area prescribed by the Department of Public
Enterprises, Government of India which are especially relevant to mining compa-
nies include creation of infrastructure in the surrounding villages for communica-
tion, health care, sanitation, education, drinking water; development of pisciculture,
social forestry etc.; encouragement of sports, art, culture and literature; promotion
of alternative livelihood means; setting up of skill and entrepreneurship develop-
ment centres; development of unconventional energy sources; scholarships to meri-
torious students belonging to the weaker sections etc. In this prescription environment
conservation does not find place unlike sustainable development framework. In fact,
it represents a part of the latter.
Apparently, CSR may mean additional cost; but in reality, it is a cost in the short
run and benefit in the long run. The time and cost overruns of projects resulting from
the social conflicts may be reduced causing business benefits. According to a survey
conducted by McKinsey Quarterly, 76 % of the executives saw it as a positive con-
tribution to shareholder value. This becomes possible due to enhancement of a com-
pany’s image in the market.
Theoretically, CSR does not extend beyond the tenure of the lease. But the
International Council on Mining & Metals (ICMM) has devised guidelines for
integrated mine closure. The ICMM has highlighted that the physical activities
needed to close down a mine are relatively straightforward, but the greater chal-
lenge involves leaving a social and environmental legacy that operators, govern-
ments and communities can be proud of. Now-a-days, some companies are turning
this obligation into business opportunities by transforming closed mines to com-
mercial ventures like water parks, fish farming, agriculture, horticulture, forestry
etc. in case of opencast mines and mushroom cultivation, underground storage of
beverages, oil and water etc. in case of underground mines. Besides, there are
already a couple of instances of mine tourism (700-year old Wieliczka rock salt
mine near Krakow in Poland, Khewra salt mine in Pakistan and Gold Reef City
Theme park in South Africa). Thus the twin purpose of providing jobs along with
resource generation for the society and realizing value for the company can be
served. This makes business sense in the emerging scenario of stiffer and stiffer
market competition.
8.2 Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources 181

8.2.4 Industrial Ethics

Ethics has become a buzzword today and it goes together with responsible business
practices. In case of professions like medical, architectural and legal practices, the
concerned association/council prescribes and enforces codes of ethics. In case of
industries, some associations/societies prescribe such codes which go together with
good corporate governance that go beyond legal compliance. For the individual
professionals, the American Society for Quality has prescribed the professional and
engineering codes mainly in terms of:
(a) Upholding honour, prestige and dignity of the profession
(b) Advancement of human welfare
(c) Dealing with public in a modest and dignified way
(d) Loyalty to one’s organization
(e) Frankness in explaining the pros and cons of any professional judgement
(f) Giving credit where it is due
(g) Holding safety and welfare of the public as paramount
(h) Fairness in competition against others
Besides, the Toronto Resolution (1993) has advocated against any prejudice with
respect to sex, religion, nationality, ethnicity, age, colour or physical/mental dis-
ability and also against any threat of violation of the human rights (Helshel 2004).
Insofar as mining ethics are concerned, the idea has not taken roots. However,
two infamous instances of unethical practice made some significant impact in the
latter half of the twentieth century.
The first instance is about what is known as Poseidon scandal. Poseidon had been
operating Windarra nickel prospect in Australia. On Oct 1, 1969, before the start of
trading in the Adelaide Stock Exchange, the directors issued a historic report show-
ing an abnormally high value of 3.56 % of NiS with the result that the stocks of the
company shot up. Later on it was found that Poseidon had no basis on which to
make such a calculation at the time and the actual assay of the core turned out to be
substantially lower. The second instance is about the Canadian exploration company
called BreX which explored in the Busang gold prospect in Indonesia in 1994. It
reported a high value of 6,200 tonnes of gold metal reserve (8 % of the world reserve
at that time) resulting in a boom in its rating in the stock market; but in 1997 it
turned out to be a fraud after revelations that the geologist concerned mixed specks
of gold to inflate the assay value and actually, there was no gold.
These scandals resulted in the Joint Ore Reserve Committee (JORC) Codes for
reporting of exploration results first in 1981 followed by periodical revisions. It
subsequently served as the mother of several systems of reporting around the world.
The JORC Code emphasizes on transparency and materiality of the reports that
must be signed by ‘competent persons’. It has defined a competent person, inter
alia, as one who is a member of an internationally recognized professional council/
society/association which has a system of verifying the credentials of its members
and prescribes a set of codes for them to adhere to (e.g. Australasian Institute of
182 8 Sustainability and Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources

Mining & Metallurgy; Minerals Council of Australia; and Australian Institute of

Geoscientists). The Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (IMMM) of UK has
made the definition of ‘Competent Person’ more stringent inasmuch as the recog-
nized professional body must have enforceable Rules of Conduct. The reports pre-
pared under these codes are recognized by the stock exchanges worldwide and so
enable companies to access to funds for investment (Chatterjee 2010).
It is obvious that the need for ethical business practices and a strong sense of
corporate responsibility among mining companies that go beyond legalities cannot
be overemphasized. In today’s competitive and choosy market a track record of
ethical practices (along with CSR) go a long way in making business sense. But in
India, the associations, societies etc. which are concerned with the mining compa-
nies as well as with the geoscience and mining professionals have not yet come of
age. Consequently, ethics as a formal corporate policy is still not practised here save
by a few companies.

8.2.5 Human Health

The UN Conference on Sustainable Development has, in the ‘Rio+20’ conference

held in Rio-de-Janeiro in 2012, recognized health as a precondition for an outcome
of sustainable development (Hitavada, June 29). While this is in a global perspec-
tive, human health in mining areas is a concern calling for sustained monitoring and
redressal. Diseases suffered by the workers and the local people due to factors asso-
ciated with mining and processing operations are common. The factors are as
follows.
(a) Noise and vibration: A section of the workers are exposed to two major types of
vibrations—the whole body vibrations (WBV) of the heavy vehicle drivers and
the hand arm vibrations (HAV) of the operators of hand drills, jack hammers
etc. Such vibrations and more than 80 dB noise caused by vehicular traffic, and
various types of machinery tend to cause hearing deficiency, nervous disorders
and psychological problems.
(b) Minerals and solid mine waste: Cancer of the lungs, bronchus, alimentary tract
and kidneys (asbestosis, pulmonary fibrosis, mesothelioma, silicosis and pneu-
moconiosis) are associated with asbestos mining and processing; silicosis with
silica mining and likewise.
(c) Effluents from mining and processing plants: These plants, in many cases, are
located within the mining areas for reasons of economy. Depending on the min-
eral mined and the reagents used for processing, various toxic chemicals can get
into the effluents. Their permissible limits are as shown in Table 8.5.
(d) Ambient air: The concentration of a pollutant in the ambient air is measured in
India by taking discrete measurements through a period of 8 h and taking the
weighted average of those values. On this basis, the permissible limits of the
various pollutants emanated in Indian mines are as shown in Table 8.6.
8.2 Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources 183

Table 8.5 Health effect of toxic substances from mining/processing effluents

Permissible
Source of effluents limit of
(mining/processing concentration
Toxic substance unless otherwise stated) (mg/l) Associated health problem
Cyanide Iron ore, manganese ore 0.2 Deadly poison
and lead-zinc ore; gold
ore (processing)
Fluoride Limestone and dolomite 1.5 Dental and bone diseases
(mining)
Dissolved Iron ore and manganese 5.0 Gastrointestinal irritation, liver
phosphates ore damage, bone necrosis and
blood diarrhoea
Hexavalent Chromite 0.5 Carcinogenic (even the products
chromium made of such chromite)
Cobalt Chromite and lead-zinc 0.9 Carcinogenic
ore
Nickel Chromite, iron ore and 0.5 Carcinogenic and respiratory
manganese ore problems
Manganese Chromite, iron ore, 0.5 Nervous disorder
metal manganese ore,
limestone and dolomite
Magnesium Chromite, limestone and 100 Laxative
metal dolomite
Lead metal Copper and lead-zinc 0.5 Carcinogenic, nervous disorder
ores
Copper metal Copper and lead-zinc 3.0 Liver-damaging
ores
Barium metal Copper ore 1.0 Carcinogenic and respiratory
problems
Mercury Coal, iron ore and 0.01 Kidney disease and nervous
manganese ore disorder
Zinc metal Lead-zinc ore 5.0 Gastro-enteritis
Cadmium metal Lead-zinc ore 2.0 Carcinogenic and cardio-
vascular disease
Arsenic Lead-zinc ore 0.2 Carcinogenic, nervous disorder,
affects muscles
Iron metal Copper ore, iron ore, 5.0 Cardiac disease
manganese ore,
limestone, dolomite and
lead-zinc ore
Calcium Limestone and dolomite 200 Hypercalcemia,
hyperparathyroidism, anorexia,
nausea, vomiting, constipation,
abdominal pain, muscle
weakness, bone pain
Source: IBM (2001)
184 8 Sustainability and Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources

Table 8.6 Health effect of toxic substances in the ambient air of mines
Permissible
limit of the
concentration
in ambient air Harmful effects beyond
Pollutant Source mine of pollutant (mg/m3) permissible limit
Suspended Chromite, copper ore, 700 Toxic mist, chronic
particulate matter iron ore, manganese ore, non-specific diseases, soil
(SPM) lead-zinc ore, limestone degradation
and dolomite
Respirable Chromite, copper ore, 350 Respiratory problems; may
particulate matter iron ore, manganese ore, affect lung tissues leading
(RPM) of −10 μm lead-zinc ore, limestone to cancer
size and dolomite
SO2 Chromite, copper ore, 5 Acid rain
iron ore, manganese ore,
lead-zinc ore, limestone
and dolomite
NO2 Chromite, copper ore, 6 Bronchitis; photo-
iron ore, manganese ore, oxidation affecting
lead-zinc ore, limestone vegetation
and dolomite
CO Chromite, copper ore, 40 Respiratory problems
iron ore, manganese ore,
lead-zinc ore, limestone
and dolomite
Chromium Chromite 0.5 Carcinogenic
Hexavalent Chromite 0.05 Carcinogenic
chromium
Nickel Chromite, copper ore 1.0 Respiratory problems;
carcinogenic
Cobalt Copper ore, lead-zinc ore 0.05 Carcinogenic
Arsenic Copper ore, lead-zinc ore 0.2 Carcinogenic
Copper Copper ore, lead-zinc ore 1.0 Carcinogenic
Manganese ore Iron ore, manganese ore 2.5 Nervous disorder
Lead Lead-zinc ore 0.1 Excretion of porphyrins;
haemoglobin in urine;
affects children’s brain
Zinc Lead-zinc ore 5.0 Cough; dyspnoea;
increased sweating; affects
pancreas
Cadmium Lead-zinc ore 0.05 Cardiovascular diseases,
hypertension
Source: IBM (2001)
8.3 Human Resource Development 185

8.3 Human Resource Development

It is as an outcome of the interaction between human and mineral resources that all
the objects of everyday use are produced. Mining schools were in existence in US
and UK in the beginning of the sixteenth century. During the latter half of that cen-
tury, study of geology as a separate discipline was introduced in those schools. But
until the last quarter of the twentieth century, the main emphasis on education in
these disciplines had been on techniques and technologies to maximize production
of minerals and safety of the workers had been a necessity for achieving that end.
Only towards the end of the twentieth century, conservation of mineral resources
and environment for the future became associated with the geoscience and mining
education in many countries.
Now-a-days, exploration and mining companies are no longer preoccupied with
economic outcome alone, but social and environmental issues are now equally at the
forefront. Consequently, there is now more emphasis on community relations, envi-
ronmental attitudes and contact with non-government organizations (NGOs) with
the same professionalism that the industry brings into other aspects of its business.
In this era of globalized economy when transnational companies are investing for
exploration and mining in the remote areas of foreign countries, there is an increas-
ing trend on their part to specify (in addition to the usual ones like qualifications
etc.) the following criteria for employment:
(a) Abilities to liaise, negotiate and manage relationship with local communities,
NGOs, politicians etc.
(b) Leadership skill
(c) Knowledge of local languages
But the geoscience and mining education in the world has not yet caught up with
these trends. The demands on the professionals are still rising with the present trend
of incorporating sustainable development and political viability within the ambit of
mining feasibility studies. To meet the challenges of raw material insecurity, the
skill levels of geoscience and mining professional should be raised above the con-
ventional education to awareness of the futuristic technologies involving applica-
tion of robotics, 4-D modelling in both drilling and mining, deep ocean mining and
space mining. To sum up, the mindset of the professionals will need to be reoriented
towards commercial and innovative approach.
There is another alarming problem—the negativity in the movement of the
demographic profile within the mining engineering community particularly in
Europe where a study was conducted by the European Commission in 2007 on the
competitiveness of the non-energy extractive industry in the EU. The study brought
to light a looming scenario in Europe before 2020. According to that study, ‘signifi-
cant percentage of the present generation of the professionals is likely to retire over
the next 5–10 years and there will be a massive generation gap in this sector due to
decades lost in mining-related education and research resulting in shortage of
186 8 Sustainability and Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources

engineers and scientists to take over’. A human resource mapping study conducted
by an industry association of India has found that the Indian mining industry is fac-
ing shortage of 2,500–3,000 engineers every year and the situation is set to worsen
in future (MEAI, March, 2013). Comprehensive and systematic study in other coun-
tries may reveal similar trends. It is needless to say, without a continuous stream of
professionals in the fields of geoscience and mining with up-to-date expertise in
keeping with the time, neither sustainability of mineral supply nor sustainable
development of mineral resources is possible.

8.4 Governmental Role

All activities including those in the mineral sector in a country emanate from the
policies of a government. There are at least four policies with which the activities in
the mineral sector are closely concerned. These are as under.
• Mineral policy
• Environment policy
• Fiscal policy
• Foreign policy
A national policy reflects the will and need of the people as a whole and is the
result of a consensus amongst all the stake-holders. A national policy once declared
is expected to provide guidelines, national goal and direction pertaining to the con-
cerned activities throughout the country at all levels for a considerable period of
time. A stable national policy projects a stable image and ensures higher credit rat-
ing of the country amongst international investors and participants. But a govern-
ment’s role does not end in framing and announcing a national policy. It has to be
followed up by other measures as follows.
(a) Normally, a policy by itself does not translate into action on the ground and a
set of laws comprising Acts and Rules is necessary to give effect to the pol-
icy. Obviously, the Acts and the Rules pertaining to an activity are expected
to be in conformity with the national policy. In India, the principal Act to
give effect to the National Mineral Policy is the Mines and Minerals
(Development & Regulation) Act or MMDR Act. Here, although the policy
was announced in 2008, the Act has not been enacted even in August, 2013.
Such time lag, needless to say, does not go well to send the right signal to the
investors.
(b) There are tax laws in India and other countries which serve as useful tools to
encourage or discourage exploration and mining activities. Most countries
regard these activities as sources of revenue, but there are many countries which
recognize the high-risk nature of investment in these activities and extend some
fiscal incentives. These are as follows.
8.4 Governmental Role 187

1. India
• A mechanism of tax concession/exemption for corporate/income tax on
expenditure on account of prospecting/exploration, acquisition of know-how
and scientific research
• Depreciation of book values of buildings, machinery, commercial vehicles,
environmental protection and energy-saving equipments, tubes and safety
lamps
• Tax holiday for investment in backward areas
2. Canada
• Resource allowance to encourage processing of and value addition to
minerals
• Processing allowance granted to processing operations
3. China
• Foreign reinvestment allowance with a view to encouraging foreign investors
to reinvest their profits in China itself
4. UK
• Exemption of ‘climate change levy’ for the green energy production
5. Germany
• Grant of subsidy to green energy producers
Besides, there are some legislative incentives for exploration and mining in India
by foreign investors in the form of foreign direct investment policy. However, roy-
alty is universally charged on the minerals produced. This is primarily to compen-
sate the state for permanent depletion of its mineral resources.
But a fiscal policy goes beyond the taxes and incentives. It also gives expression
to a government’s attitude towards development of domestic mineral resources and
lays down models for its implementation—private sector, public sector, public-
private partnership (PPP) etc. It also tells whether indigenously produced minerals
will be given protection against imported ones or whether they will have to compete
on level playing fields.
(c) It is the governments’ responsibility to create the right conditions for generation
of ‘critical mass’ (see glossary) to bring constructive public pressure on the
mining companies to practise sustainable development in mining.
(d) As regards international agreements for increasing mineral supply, the onus is
on the government to maintain congenial international relation. To cite an
example, India’s nuclear agreement with US in 2008 followed on from another
agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Governments of
many countries engage professional lobbyists to carry out sustained lobbying
with powers-that-be in other countries.
188 8 Sustainability and Sustainable Development of Mineral Resources

(e) It is for a government to visualize future scenarios in respect of both developing

technologies and emerging international equations. The ongoing case of Sino-
Japan conflict over the Pacific island Senkaku (as the Japanese call it) or Diaoyu
(as the Chinese call it) can be cited as an example. The island is tiny and mostly
uninhabited. But its owner will get sovereign rights over the Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ) in the sea around it, believed to be rich in oil and other mineral
resources. Now, China has 95 % of the world’s known rare earth (RE) metal
resources and accounts for 90 % of their world production. Japan’s high-tech
electronic industry is entirely dependent on such metals imported from China.
The two situations are apparently unconnected. But as a response to Japan’s
persistent claim to the island, China has cut export of RE metals to Japan by
half and is threatening to cut more. When Japan was desperately looking for an
alternative source, the Government of India has extended invitation to it to bring
capital and technology to exploit the low-grade RE metals deposit located in the
east coast of Orissa state, which the Japanese government has gladly accepted
(that deposit was mined by the Indian Rare Earths Limited till 2004 when it
abandoned it due to high cost of mining). This example demonstrates how the
governments around the world have to maintain a highly efficient international
intelligence network and remain vigilant to opportunities created due to
international conflicts. (TOI, Bhubaneswar, Oct 3, 2012)

References

Chatterjee KK (2008) Introduction to mineral economics, 3rd edn. New Age, New Delhi
Chatterjee KK (2010) Lectures and thoughts on mineral economics. Nova Science, New York
FIMI (Federation of Indian Mineral Industries). FIMI News Bulletin. Aug 1, 2007; Jan 1, 2009;
Sept 15, 2009; Aug 1, 2010; Jan 1, 2011; Feb 15, 2012; March 1, 2012; June 15, 2012; Aug 15,
2012; Sept 1, 2012; Oct. 15, 2012; Dec 1, 2012; Dec 15, 2012; Jan 15, 2013; Feb 1, 2013; April 1,
2013; May 1, 2013; July 15, 2013
Helshel LD (2004) A code of ethics for industrial technology. J Ind Technol 20(4)
Hitavada, Nagpur: Press report (www.hitavada.com); Sept 29, 2006; Dec 14, 2006; Dec 20, 2006;
July 18, 2007; Mar 5, 2008; Mar 9, 2008; July 6, 2008; Sept 11, 2008; Dec 19, 2008; Apr. 12,
2009; May 31, 2009; July 19, 2009; July 14, 2010; Aug 29, 2010; March 6, 2011; April 1,
2011; Dec 8, 2011; Dec 11, 2011; Dec 23, 2011; Jan 10, 2012; June 29, 2012; Aug 26, 2012;
Dec 28, 2012; Dec 29, 2012; Feb 8, 2013
IBM (Indian Bureau of Mines) (2001) Report of the committee on standards for effluents and other
environmental parameters
MOM (Ministry of Mines) (2012) Government of India. Report of the Committee for Review and
Restructuring of the Functions and Role of IBM
Nanda NK (2012) Sustainable mining and environment. Indian School of Mines, Minenvis
TOI (Times of India), Bhubaneswar: Press report; Oct 3, 2012; Oct 4, 2012; Oct 5, 2012
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (2009) Recycling from E-waste to resources—
sustainable development innovation and technology, July, 2009
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (2011) Recycling rates of metal—a status
report. Second report of the Global Metal Flows Working Group of the International Panel on
Sustainable Resource Management, May, 2011
Chapter 9
Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses
of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Abrasive/grinding Alumina, Aluminium hydroxide (includes activated alumina),
(wheel, paper, cloth) Bauxite, Bentonite, Corundum, Cryolite, Diamond (industrial),
Diatomite, Feldspar, Limestone, Magnesite, Perlite, Quartz, Seeded
aluminium hydroxide gel, Silicon carbide (carborandum), Titanium,
Zircon/zirconia
Acoustics See insulator (sound)
Acid filtration Asbestos (actinolite)
Acid manufacturing Sulphuric acid (pyrites- and sulphur-based product)
Acid tank Lead
Acrylic Propylene, Sodium aluminate (bauxite-based chemical), Synthetic
zeolite
Actinides extraction Alumina (electrically insulating)
Activated carbon Coal
Adhesive Aluminium hydroxide (includes activated alumina), Attapulgite/
fuller’s earth, Barytes, Calcite, Chalk, Crushed stone (slate powder),
Dolomite, Graphite, Gypsum, Kaolin (china clay), Lead compounds
(oxides—PbO, PbO2 and Pb3O4), Limestone, Potash group
(potassium phosphate), Potassium dichromate (chromite-based
chemical), Rutile- and anatase-based product (titanium dioxide),
Silica flour (quartz—industrial variety), Silicon nitride, Sulphur,
Water glass/liquid glass/sodium silicate, Wollastonite
Admiralty bronze See ‘gun metal’
Aero-gel/aero-sil/silica Tetra-methyl ortho-silicate (silicon compound)
aerogel
Aerosol Fluorine-based compound (chlorofluorocarbon); Molybdenum
chemical (disulphide)
Aggregate See ‘construction’
Agriculture/ Borax, Diatomite, Dunite, Magnesite, Perlite (expanded and milled)/
horticulture Carlita/Dicalite, Pyroxenite, Rock salt, Saltpetre (Chile or nitratine
or soda nitre), Shirasu (volcanic eject), Vermiculite, Zeolite
(continued)

© Capital Publishing Company 2015 189

K.K. Chatterjee, Macro-Economics of Mineral and Water Resources,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-15054-3_9
190 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Air conditioner Fluorine-based compound (chlorofluorocarbon), Lithium bromide
(lithium-based product); Lithium chloride (lithium-based product)
Aircraft (including ALON (aluminium oxy-nitride), Aluminium, Beryllium, Boron,
control system) Fullerene (manufactured graphite), Gallium (alloys), Magnesium,
Monel metal, Muscovite mica (block/film/sheet), Phlogopite mica,
Selenium, Silicone (elastomer/silicon rubber), Silver, Tantalum
oxide, Tin-based chemical (stannic oxide), Titanium, Uranium-238
(depleted uranium or DU or Q-metal or depletalloy or D-38),
Weldite (aluminium-lithium alloy), Zirconium
Alcohol (ethyl alcohol) Ethylene/olefine
Alloy (based on Graphite, Muscovite mica, Phosphorite, Phosphorus (red and
industrial minerals) yellow), Quartz (silicon)
Alloy (non-ferrous Beryllium, Copper, Manganese
metals)
Alloy steel Ferrochrome (including charge chrome and high-, medium- and
low-carbon ferrochrome, silico-chrome), Ferromanganese,
Silicomanganese
Alnico Aluminium, Cobalt, Iron, Nickel
ALON (aluminium Aluminium
oxy-nitride)
Alum manufacturing Bauxite, Sulphuric acid (pyrites- and sulphur-based product)
Alumina Bauxite
Alumina (electrically Aluminium nitrate mono-hydrate (alumina-based chemical)
insulating)
Aluminium Bauxite
carboxylate
Aluminium chloride Bauxite
Aluminium foam Aluminium
Aluminium hydroxide Bauxite
Aluminium hydroxide Aluminium sulphate—iron-free (aluminium hydroxide-based
gel chemical)
Aluminium powder Aluminium
Aluminium silicate Aluminium fluoride (alumina-based chemical)
fibre
Aluminium sulphate Bauxite
(ferric)
Aluminium-mica alloy Aluminium, Muscovite mica (ground/micronized)
Aluminothermic Aluminium powder
smelting process
Ammonia extraction, Coal, Lignite, Sulphuric acid (pyrites- and sulphur-based product),
fixing, synthesis Vanadium-based chemical (vanadium pentoxide)
Ammunition/bombs Phosphorus
(continued)
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 191

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Analytical chemistry Borax, Borax-based chemicals (sodium borate and sodium
(borax-bead test, DNA organo-borate or liquibor), Chromic acid (chromite-based
analysis, metal bead chemical), Hydrogen sulphide (sulphur-based product), Lithium
test, reagent, enzymes borate, Molybdenum, Molybdenum chemical (ammonium
called ‘nitrogenase’) molybdate), Platinum (platinum group of metal), Sodium
ammonium hydrogen phosphate (phosphoric acid-based product)
Aniline (organic Coal
chemical) extraction
Animal/poultry feed Ball clay, Bentonite, Diatomite, Lignite, Magnesite, Pyrolusite-
based chemicals (manganese carbonate, manganese monoxide),
Phosphorite, Rock salt, Zeolite
Annealing Petroleum gas (including liquefied petroleum gas or LPG),
Vermiculite
Anodizing Chromic acid (chromite-based chemical)
Anthracene oil (organic Coal, lignite
chemical) extraction
Anti-freeze Methanol (methane-based product), Potash group (potassium
phosphate)
Antiknock additive Benzene, Ferrocene, Pyrolusite-based chemical (methyl cyclo-
pentadienyl manganese carbonyl), Tetraethyl lead
Antiseptic See ‘medical application’
Anti-skid Feldspar, Fluorite-based product (hydrofluoric acid), Garnet
Architectural works Dimension stones (commercial granite, commercial limestone,
(door frames, flooring commercial marble, commercial sandstone, commercial slate)
tiles, monuments,
roofing tiles, temples,
tombstones, wall tiles,
window sills etc.)
Arc lighting Rare earth metal (cerium)
Aromatic fluorides Potassium fluoride
Art work (carvings, Dimension stones (commercial granite, commercial marble),
model-making, Gypsum (alabaster), Ozokerite/ceresin, Pyrophyllite, Silicone
sculpturing, statuary) (silli-putty), Wax/paraffin wax (See also ‘decoration’)
Artifact See ‘decoration’
Artificial/synthetic Aluminium, Copper (copper cup for skull melting); Garnet, Rare
diamond earth metal (yttrium), Strontium titanate, Synthetic rutile, Zircon/
manufacturing zirconia
Artificial gem See synthetic/artificial gem
Asbestos paper Asbestos
Ashlars Dimension stones (commercial granite, commercial limestone,
commercial marble, commercial sandstone, commercial slate)
Asphalt/bitumen/pitch/ Asbestos (actinolite, chrysotile, tremolite), Coal, Crushed stone
tar/coal tar (slate powder), Lignite, Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil
shale (refinery product, heavy end), Slaked lime (lime-based
product), Sulphuric acid (pyrites- and sulphur-based product);
Zeolite
(continued)
192 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Ashta Dhatu Brass, Bronze, Copper, Gold, Iron, Lead, Silver, Tin
(8-metal alloy)
Atom bomb See ‘fission bomb’
Atomic clock Cesium, Rubidium
Automotive bodies/ Aluminium, Aluminium foam, Ferrite, Iron powder, Magnesium,
parts Tin, Titanium
Aviation turbine fuel Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale (refinery product,
(ATF) light distillate)
Ayurvedic medicine Diamond (gem), Gold
(traditional Indian
system)
Babbitt metal Antimony (beta form), Copper, Tin
Ballast (railway and Crushed stone (quartzite etc.)
ship)
Balloon Graphite-based product (grapheme), Lithium hydride (lithium-based
product)
Barometer Mercury
Baseball bat Rare earth metal—scandium (alloyed with aluminium)
Bearing Antimony, Cadmium, Graphite, Indium, Lead, Ruby, Sapphire,
Silver, White metal
Bearing (nylon) Molybdenum chemical (sulphide)
Beet sugar Gypsum, Strontium hydroxide, Zeolite
Bell metal Copper, Tin
Benzene Coal, Lignite, Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale
(refinery product, aromatic derivative)
Benzole (organic Coal, Lignite
chemical) extraction
Beryllium acetate, Beryllium
bromide, carbonate,
fluoride, hydroxide,
perchlorate
Beryllium oxide Beryl
Beverage Nahcolite, Saltpetre (ordinary or potassium)
See also ‘soda beverage’
Bicycle frame Rare earth metal—scandium (alloyed with aluminium)
Bio-fertilizer Lignite, Peat
Bitumen See ‘asphalt’
Bleaching (includes Aluminium chloride (bauxite-based chemical), Attapulgite/fuller’s
bleaching powder) earth, Slaked lime (lime-based product), Sodium hexa-meta
phosphate (phosphoric acid-based product), Rock salt, Sodium
dichromate (chromite-based chemical), Sulphur dioxide (pyrites-
and sulphur-based product), Sulphuric acid (pyrites- and sulphur-
based product)
Board/panel Aluminium, Asbestos (amosite, chrysotile), Crushed stone (marble
dust), Gypsum, Magnesite, Micanite (muscovite-based intermediate
product), Muscovite mica (ground/micronized), Vermiculite, Water
glass/liquid glass/sodium silicate
(continued)
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 193

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Boiler/steam pipes Asbestos (actinolite, anthophyllite, crocidolite), Magnesite,
(including lagging) Muscovite mica (block/film/sheet), Perlite (expanded and milled)/
Carlita/Dicalite, Sodium hexa-meta phosphate (phosphoric
acid-based product)
Bonding Bentonite, Cryolite, Petroleum (crude/natural, old usage), Silane
(silicon tetra-hydride), Water glass/liquid glass/sodium silicate
Bonding (gold chain Cadmium
elements)
Bonding (tungsten Cobalt
carbide grains)
Bone china Feldspar, Kaolin (china clay), Phosphorite
Borax (synthetic) See ‘synthetic borax’
Boring See ‘cutting’
Boro-gypsum Byproduct from boric acid manufacturing
Boron carbide Borax-based compound (boric oxide)
(ultra-hard material)
Boron nitride/borazon/ Borax-based compound (boric oxide)
wurtzite (ultra-hard
material)
Brake/friction material Asbestos (actinolite, chrysotile, tremolite), Basalt, Diatomite,
Graphite, Wollastonite
Brass Copper, Lead, Zinc
Brass, lead-free See ‘EnviroBrass’
Brazing Indium, Lithium
Brick (common) Barium chloride, Clay, Coal, Pyrolusite-based chemical (manganese
including surface chloride)
colouring
Brick (common) and Brick clay, Brick shale, Coal, Crushed stone (assorted, basalt,
its burning diorite, marble dust), Peat, Quartz
Brick (hollow) Crushed stone (assorted)
Brick (sand-lime) Building/river sand, Crushed stone (slate powder), Slaked lime
(lime-based product)
Britannia metal Antimony (beta form), Tin
Bitumen Petroleum
Bronze (see also Aluminium, Copper, Graphite, Lead, Lithium, Nickel, Phosphorus
‘porous bronze’) (red and yellow), Tin
Bullet/shot/shell Antimony (beta form), Arsenic, Lead, Tin, Tungsten carbide
Bunsen burner Coal gas (coal-based product)
Cable sheath Antimony (beta form), Lead
Calcium carbide Anthracite, Coal, Lime (or quick lime or fat lime)
Calcium chloride Limestone, Rock salt
Calico printing Arsenic-based compound (white arsenic or arsenous oxide),
Pyrolusite-based chemical (manganese sulphide), Uranium
compounds (salts)
Calomel Mercury (quick silver)
(continued)
194 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Camera (including Rare earth metal (lanthanum), Rare earth metal compound
filters, lenses, exposure (lanthanum oxide), Selenium, Thallium compound (oxysulphide),
meters) Thorium
Candle Ozokerite/ceresin, Wax/paraffin wax
Canning/packaging Aluminium, Monel metal, Tin
Capacitor Aluminium, Muscovite mica (block/film/sheet), Rare earth metal
(lanthanum)
Cap-gun caps Phosphorus (red)
Carbide lamp See ‘petromax’
Carbolic acid (organic Coal, Lignite
chemical) extraction
Carbon black/oil black Natural gas, Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale
Carbon brushes Graphite
Carbon disulphide Sulphur
Carbon fibre Manufactured graphite
Carbon nano-balls Fullerene (manufactured graphite)
Carbon nano-sheet Graphene (graphite-based product)
Carbon nano-tube Fullerene (manufactured graphite)
Carbon sequestration Peridotite, Serpentite, Zeolite
Carburization Petroleum gas (including liquefied petroleum gas or LPG)
Casein (soluble milk Potash group (potassium phosphate)
protein)
Cassette (including Chromium dioxide (chromite-based chemical), Ferrite, Hematite,
audio and video) Kaolin (china clay)
Cassette player Rare earth metal (mischmetall)
(including video tape
recorder)
Cast iron Iron/pig iron
Catalyst Aero-gel/aero-sil/silica aerogel, Alumina, Aluminium chloride
(bauxite-based chemical), Aluminium hydroxide (includes activated
alumina), Attapulgite/fuller’s earth, Cesium, Crushed stone (marble
flour), Ferrocene, Gallium compound (halides), Germanium, Kaolin
(china clay), Mercury, Molybdenum chemical (oxide), Nickel,
Niobium, Platinum (platinum group of metals), Potash group
(caustic potash), Potassium, Rare earth metal compounds (cerium
oxide, lanthanum oxide, neodymium oxide, praseodymium oxide),
Rhenium, Rhenium heptasulphide, Rubidium, Rutile- and anatase-
based product (titanium dioxide), Selenium compound, Thorium,
Tin-based chemical (stannous chloride), Vanadium-based chemical
(vanadium pentoxide), Zeolite
Catalytic converter Gold (nano-gold), Palladium, Platinum, Rare earth metal (cerium),
Rhodium (platinum group of metals)
Cathode ray tube Alumina (electrically insulating), Potash group (potassium
meta-silicate), Rare earth metal (europium, terbium, yttrium),
Thorium, Tin-based chemical (stannic oxide)
Caulking Asbestos (chrysotile)
(continued)
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 195

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Caustic potash Potash group (potassium chloride)
manufacturing
Caustic soda Limestone, Milk-of-lime (lime-based product), Rock salt
manufacturing
Cell (battery) including Antimony (beta form), Cadmium, Calcium, Feldspar, Graphite,
alkaline battery, Lead, Lithium, Magnesium compound, Mercury compound
rechargeable cell and (mercuric oxide), Nickel, Nickel oxyhydroxide (nickel-based
dry cell chemical), Potash group (caustic potash), Pyrolusite (gamma type),
Silver chloride (silver-based chemical), Sulphuric acid (pyrites- and
sulphur-based product), Synthetic manganese dioxide, Zinc
Cement, refractory Alumina, Limestone
(calcium aluminate or
CAC)
Cement (including Alum-ammonium (bauxite-based chemical), Aluminium sulphate-
ordinary Portland, ferric (bauxite-based chemical), Asbestos (actinolite, chrysotile,
high- and low-iron crocidolite, tremolite), Attapulgite/fuller’s earth, Bauxite, Boro-
alumina cement, gypsum, Building/river sand, Coal, Corundum, Crushed stone
asbestos cement, (marble flour), Desulpho-gypsum, Dolomite, Fluorite/fluorspar,
grouting) Fluoro-gypsum, Gypsum, Hematite, Kaolin (china clay),
Kimberlite, Limestone, Magnesite, Marine gypsum, Met coke
(lignite-based product), Muscovite mica (ground/micronized),
Phosphogypsum, Pozzolanic clay, Pyrolusite (beta-type), Water
glass/liquid glass/sodium silicate
Cement concrete Silica fume/silica dust, Fluffy silica/micro-silica (quartz—industrial
variety)
Ceramics (including Alumina, Aluminium, Aluminium fluoride (alumina-based
advanced structural chemical), Asbestos (chrysotile), Baddeleyite/zirconia, Ball clay,
ceramics, fired tiles, Barium chromate (chromite-based chemical), Barium hydroxide,
metal-matrix Bentonite, Beryllium oxide (a derivative of beryl), Bismuth
composites, porcelain, compounds, Boron, Boron nitride/borazon/wurtzite, Cordierite
piezoelectric ceramics) (artificial), Crushed stone (marble dust and slate powder), Diamond
(industrial), Diaspore, Diatomite, Dolomite, Feldspar, Fluorite/
fluorspar, Fluorite-based
product (aluminium fluoride), Gypsum, Kaolin (china clay),
Lithium carbonate (lithium-based product), Magnesium,
Molybdenum chemical (disilicide), Nickel oxide (nickel-based
chemical), Niobium pentoxide (niobium compound), Perlite
(expanded and milled)/Carlita/Dicalite, Petalite (lithium mineral),
Pyrolusite (beta-type), Pyrophyllite, Quartz, Rare earth metals
(cerium, yttrium), Rare earth metal compound (mixed rare earth
metal oxides), Rutile- and anatase-based product (titanium dioxide),
Salt cake (sodium sulphate), Selenium compound, Silica sand,
Silicon carbide (carborandum), Silicon nitride, Soda ash or soda
(sodium carbonate), Sodium aluminate (bauxite-based chemical),
Spodumene (lithium mineral), Stoneware clay, Talc, Tellurium,
Titanium, Uranium compounds (salts), Wollastonite, Zeolite, Zinc
chromate (chromite-based chemical), Zircon/zirconia
Chalk (writing) See ‘pencil’
Charcoal briquette Saltpetre (Chile or nitratine or soda nitre)
(continued)
196 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Chemicals Anatase, Antimony (beta form), Baddeleyite/zirconia, Barytes,
Bauxite, Beryllium, Calcite, Chromite, Cobalt, Copper, Fluorite/
fluorspar, Fluorite-based product (fluorine gas), Indium, Lead,
Lithium, Molybdenum, Nickel, Phosphorus (red and yellow), Potash
group (caustic potash and potassium carbonate), Pyrolusite
(beta-type), Rock salt, Rubidium, Rutile, Saltpetre (ordinary or
potassium), Sodium, Strontianite, Sulphurous acid (pyrite- and
sulphur-based product), Thorium, Tin, Trona, Tungsten, Uranium,
Vanadium, Zinc, Zircon
Chemical equipment Tantalum, Titanium
Chemically activated Pyrolusite-based chemical (manganese nitrate)
manganese dioxide
Chemical reagent Xylene
(including flotation
reagent)
Chemical sensor Synthetic zeolite
Chemical warfare Arsenic-based compound (lewisite or chloro-vinyl-dichlorarsine)
Chewing (with betel Lime (or quick lime or fat lime)
leaves)
Chlorofluorocarbon Coal, Fluorine-based compound (anhydrous hydrogen fluoride)
(CFC)
Chrome-green Chromic oxide (chromite-based chemical)
Chrome-plating Chromic acid (chromite-based chemical), Chromite
Chrome-red Lead chromate (chromite-based chemical)
Cinema (including Rare earth metal compound (cerium oxide), Indium
photography,
projection and screen)
Cleaning See ‘purification’
Climatology Diatomite
Coal dust suppression See ‘dust suppression’
Coal gas Coal
Coal tar See ‘asphalt/bitumen/pitch/tar/coal tar
Coal washing/ Barytes, Cobalt-60, Feldspar, Magnetite, Silica sand
beneficiation
Cobalt-60 from cobalt Uranium-235
Cobalt soap Cobalt
Coinage Copper, Nickel, Silver
Coke (coal-based Coal, Coal usage waste (coke breeze)
product)
Collapsible tube See ‘tube (collapsible)’
Colloidal graphite Graphite
Coloured lamp Rare earth metals (europium, terbium, yttrium)
Communication Copper, Ferrite, Gallium compound (arsenide), Rare earth metals
(including (gadolinium, lanthanum)
telecommunication)
Compass Muscovite mica (block/film/sheet), Osmium (platinum group of metals)
(continued)
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 197

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Concrete See ‘construction’
Condenser (electrical) Magnesite, Tantalum
Constantan Copper, Nickel
Construction Aero-gel/aero-sil/silica aerogel, Aluminium foam, Barytes,
(including building, Bentonite, Building/river sand, Crushed stone (assorted, basalt,
concrete, aggregate, diorite.), Diamond, Diatomite, Dolomite, Granite sand, Graphite,
floor covering, Gypsum, Hematite, Perlite (expanded and milled)/Carlita/Dicalite,
structural material) Petroleum (crude/natural, old usage), Rutile- and anatase-based
product (titanium dioxide), Shirasu (volcanic eject), Water glass/
liquid glass/sodium silicate, Vermiculite, Zeolite
Container Uranium-238 (depleted uranium or DU or Q-metal or depletalloy or
(for radioactive D-38)
material)
Copper sulphate Copper, Sulphuric acid (pyrite- and sulphur-based chemical)
Cordierite (artificial) Bauxite, Fireclay, Talc
Cordierite saggars Cordierite (artificial)
Cosmetics (including Aluminium carboxylate (bauxite-based chemical), Aluminium
antiperspirants, beauty chloride (bauxite-based chemical), Bentonite, Bismuth compounds,
applications, Borax, Calcite, Gypsum, Hematite, Kaolin (china clay), Magnesite,
ointments, rouge, Mineral jelly/petroleum jelly (petroleum refinery product),
talcum powder) Muscovite mica (ground/micronized), Nahcolite, Pyrophyllite,
Silica fume/silica dust, Fluffy silica/micro-silica (quartz—industrial
variety), Talc, White oil, Zirconium phosphate (baddeleyite- and
zircon-based chemicals)
Crayon See ‘pencil’
Creosote oil (organic Coal, Lignite
chemical) extraction
Cresols (organic Coal, lignite
chemical) extraction
Crucible Baddeleyite/zirconia, Fireclay, Graphite, Platinum (platinum group
of metals), Silicon carbide (carbo-randum), Thorium compound
(oxide or thoria), Zircon/zirconia
Cryogenic fuel Helium
Cryolite (synthetic) See ‘synthetic cryolite’
Cupro-nickel Copper, Iron, Manganese, Nickel
Currency security Magnesite-based intermediate product (caustic magnesia, ground
(potential use) flakes)
Cutting/boring Cobalt, Diamond (industrial), Hafnium (additive in carbide tools),
(including metal Nickel, Petroleum gas (including liquefied petroleum gas or LPG),
cutting) Platinum (platinum group of metals), Silicon carbide
(carborandum), Stellite, Tantalum carbide, Titanium, Tungsten
carbide, Zirconium
Cymogene Petroleum (refinery product, light distillate, petroleum ethers)
Damascene art Copper, Zinc
Davy’s lamp (used in Coal gas (coal-based product)
underground coal
mines)
(continued)
198 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Decolourizer Rare earth metal compounds (cerium dioxide, cerium oxide,
neodymium carbonate, praseodymium carbonate)
Decoration (various Calcite (dogtooth spar and Mexican onyx), Crushed stone
petty consumer items (agglomerated stone), Dimension stones (commercial granite,
including artifacts, commercial limestone, commercial marble, commercial sandstone),
ashtrays, paper German silver, Gypsum, Gypsum (alabaster), Muscovite mica
weights, pen stands etc. (ground/micronized), Pyrophyllite, Silver, Talc, Terracotta clay,
by casting or sculpting) Terracotta shale, Tin, Tourmaline
Degasification Barium, Calcium, Ferro-boron, Lithium, Magnesium, Rutile- and
anatase-based chemical (titanium tetrachloride), Silica gel,
Strontium and its alloys, Tantalum, White oil, Zirconium
De-icing Calcium, Magnesium acetate, Crushed stone (marble flour),
Magnesite, Rock salt
Deliquescent Magnesium compound, Saltpetre (lime)
Denaturing agent Methanol (methane-based product)
(alcohol, nuclear fuel
etc.)
Dentistry Baddeleyite/zirconia, Copper, Feldspar, Gold, Indium, Iridium
(platinum group of metals), Mercury, Palladium and Platinum
(platinum group of metals), Rare earth metals (lanthanum,
samarium, yttrium), Silver, Tantalum, Tin, Zircon/zirconia
Deoxidizer Barium, Coal tar, Coke (coal-based product), Ferro-boron,
Ferrosilicon, Lignite, Magnesium, Manganese, Natural gas,
Phosphorus; Psilomelane, Rare earth metal (mischmetall),
Silicomanganese, Thorium, Zirconium
Desiccation (including Aero-gel/aero-sil/silica aerogel, Aluminium hydroxide (includes
oil drying) activated alumina), Bauxite, Cobalt soaps, Lead compounds
(acetate, hydroxide of lead and lead soap), Lithium bromide
(lithium-based product), Lithium chloride (lithium-based product),
Peat, Potash group (potassium carbonate), Pyrolusite-based
chemicals (manganese borate, manganese linoleate, manganese
naphthenate, manganese oxalate, manganese resinate), Quartz,
Silica gel, Zinc-based chemical (zinc sulphate)
De-staining Alum-ammonium (bauxite-based chemical), Aluminium sulphate—
iron-free (aluminium hydroxide-based chemical), Rutile- and
anatase-based chemicals (titanous chloride and sulphate)
Desulphurization Barium peroxide, Celestite, Limestone, Manganese, Rhodochrosite,
Psilomelane, Rare earth metal (mischmetall), Silicomanganese,
Zirconium
Detergent See ‘soap’
Detonator Barium nitrate, Mercury compound (mercury cyanate)
Diamond (artificial/ See ‘artificial/synthetic diamond’
synthetic)
Diamond dressing Boron carbide, Ferrosilicon, Rhenium diboride
Die (for ceramic tools) Boron carbide
Die (for wire drawing) Diamond (industrial), Indium, Tantalum carbide, Tungsten carbide
Die casting Aluminium, Magnesium (alloys), Zinc
(continued)
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 199

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Diesel (high speed or Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale (refinery product,
HSD) middle distillate), Saltpetre (lime)
Diesel generator Producer gas (coal-based product)
(starting fuel)
Diesel oil (light or Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale (refinery product,
LDO) middle distillate)
Diet coke Magnesite
Disinfectant/fumigant Naphthalene (petroleum derivative, slightly unsaturated), Pyrolusite-
based chemical (potassium permanganate), Rock salt, White oil
Distance, measurement Calcite (Iceland spar)
of
Domestic heating Anthracite, Coal, Kerosene (petroleum refinery product, middle
(including cooking) distillate), Leco (lignite-based pro-duct), Lignite, Methane
(abandoned and working mine, coal bed and coal mine ventilation
air methane), Natural gas, Zirconium (heating apparatus), Petroleum
gas (petroleum refinery product, light distillate)
Dosimeter See ‘thermal dosimeter’
Drilling (including Aluminium carboxylate (bauxite-based chemical), Attapulgite/
proppant) fuller’s earth, Barytes, Bauxite, Bentonite, Causticized lignite/
sodium lignite, Celestite, Cobalt, Graphite, Hematite, Muscovite
mica (ground/micronized), Nickel, Perlite (expanded granules),
Silica sand (frac sand or hydraulic fracturing sand), Sodium
dichromate (chromite-based chemical), Tungsten carbide,
Vermiculite
Dry cleaning White spirit
Dust suppression Gypsum, Magnesite
(including coal dust)
Dye/dyeing/dyestuff See ‘paint (pigment and dye)’
Dynamite See ‘explosion’
Ebonite Sulphur
Edible fat Wax/paraffin wax
Edible salt (includes Borax, Calcium silicate, Magnesite (old use), Rock salt
iodized salt and
free-flowing table salt)
Electrical appliances Copper, Magnesite, Molybdenum chemical (sulphide), Muscovite
mica (block/film/sheet), Phlogopite mica, Rare earth
metal(lanthanum), Tungsten, Vanadium-based chemicals
(ammonium vanadate, vanadium pentoxide)
Electrical transmission Aluminium, Copper, Metallic glass (special type of ferro-boron),
Silvered mica (muscovite-based intermediate product)
Electric arc furnace Calcium chloride
(EAF)
Electric bulb Molybdenum, Rhenium, Thorium, Thorium compound (oxide or
thoria), Tungsten
Electric cable Cadmium, Silicone (elastomer/silicon rubber), Talc
(continued)
200 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Electric equipment Alumina (electrically insulating), Copper, Ferrite, Ferrosilicon, Iron
(motor/generator/ powder, Lubricating oil (petroleum refinery product, heavy end),
transformer, portable Metallic glass (special type of ferro-boron), Micanite (muscovite-
transformer, based intermediate product), Monel metal, Muscovite mica (block/
switch-gear) film/sheet), Palladium and platinum (platinum group of metals),
Porous bronze (graphite-based product), Silicone (resins), Tin-based
chemical (organo-tin compounds), Tungsten
Electro-ceramics Baddeleyite/zirconia, Talc, Zircon/zirconia
Electrochemical boring ALON (aluminium oxy-nitride)
Electrode Calcite, Petroleum coke (petroleum refinery product, heavy end),
Synthetic graphite (manufactured graphite), Thorium, Wollastonite
Electrode boring Platinum (platinum group of metals)
Electrolytic manganese Pyrolusite
dioxide (EMD)
Electronic equipment Alumina (electrically insulating), Aluminium, Barium, Copper,
(includes computer) Diamond (gem), Diamond (nano), Ferrite, Gallium, Germanium,
Graphite-based product (grapheme), Molybdenum, Muscovite mica
(block/film/sheet), Nickel, Nickel-coated mica (muscovite-based
intermediate product), Quartz, Rare earth metals
(europium, lanthanum, terbium, yttrium), Silicon, Silicone
(elastomer/silicon rubber), Silver, Strontium and its alloys,
Tantalum, Tin-based chemical (indium tin oxide, potassium
stannate)
Electro-optical Lithium niobate (lithium-based product)
modulator
Electroplating/metal Borax, Cadmium, Fluorite-based product (fluoro-boric acid and
plating fluoro-silicic acid), Indium, Magnesium, Nickel, Nickel sulphate
(nickel-based chemical), Palladium (platinum group of metals),
Potash group (caustic potash and potassium carbonate), Pyrolusite,
Rhenium, Silver, Tin
Emery (artificial) Bauxite, Corundum, Magnetite
EMI-shield Colloidal graphite (graphite-based product), Nickel-coated mica
(muscovite-based intermediate product)
Emulsifier Bentonite
Enamel Aluminium fluoride (alumina-based chemical), Antimony-based
chemical (antimony oxide), Baddeleyite/zirconia, Borax, Cadmium
sulphide or cadmium yellow and cadmium sulpho-selenide or
cadmium red (cadmium-based compounds), Cryolite, Feldspar,
Fluorite/fluorspar, Fluorite-based product (aluminium fluoride),
Magnesite, Potash group (potassium carbonate), Pyrolusite
(beta-type), Quartz,
Rutile- and anatase-based product (titanium dioxide), Saltpetre
(Chile or nitratine or soda nitre), Sulphuric acid (pyrites- and
sulphur-based product), Tin-based chemical (stannic oxide), Zircon/
zirconia
Engineering Dimension stones (commercial granite)
construction (beams,
bridges, pavements etc.)
(continued)
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 201

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

EnviroBrass (lead-free Bismuth, Copper, Selenium, Zinc
brass)
Epoxy Aluminium powder
Epsom salt Magnesite
Etching (glass, Fluorine-based compound (fluoro-carbon), Fluorite-based product
semiconductor) (hydrofluoric acid), Potassium di-chromate (chromite-based
chemical)
Ethylene Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale
Expanded/exfoliated Graphite
graphite
Expanded perlite Perlite
Explosion/explosive/ Aluminium powder, Attapulgite/fuller’s earth, Barytes, Diatomite,
pyrotechnics (including Graphite, Kaolin (china clay), Potassium dichromate (chromite-based
gun powder, dynamite) chemical), Mineral jelly/petroleum jelly (petroleum refinery product),
Rock salt, Saltpetre (Chile or nitratine or soda nitre), Saltpetre (lime),
Saltpetre (ordinary or potassium), Sulphur, Talc, Toluene (petroleum
derivative, slightly unsaturated aromatic), Zirconium
Fax machine Selenium
Ferrite Barium, Hematite, Nickel oxide (nickel-based chemical), Pyrolusite,
Strontium, Zinc-based chemical (zinc oxide)
Ferro-boron Boric acid, Boric oxide
Ferrocene (organic Hematite
compound of iron)
Ferro-chrome (charge Coke (coal-based product), Chromite
chrome, exothermic
ferrochrome, high-
carbon, low-carbon,
medium-carbon,
silico-chrome)
Ferro-manganese Coke (coal-based product), Dolomite, Limestone, Psilomelane
Ferromolybdenum Fluorite/fluorspar, Molybdenum
Ferrosilicon Iron, Quartz
Ferrovanadium Vanadium-based chemical (vanadium pentoxide)
Fertigation (fertilizer Saltpetre (ordinary or potassium)
and irrigation
combined)
Fertilizer Aluminium hydroxide (includes activated alumina), Ammonia,
Anhydrite, Cobalt, Crushed stone (marble flour), Diatomite,
Dolomite, Fluoro-gypsum, Gypsum, Limestone, Methane, Naphtha
(petroleum refinery product, light distillate), Phosphogypsum,
Phosphorite, Potash group (potassium chloride, phosphate,
schoenite and sulphate), Quartz, Saltpetre (Chile or nitratine or soda
nitre), Saltpetre (lime), Saltpetre (ordinary or potassium), Shirasu
(volcanic eject), Sulphuric acid (pyrites- and sulphur-based
product), Tourmaline, Vermiculite, Zeolite, Zinc sulphate
Fertilizer carrier Crushed stone (slate powder), Perlite (expanded and milled)/Carlita/
Dicalite
(continued)
202 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Fertilizer (plant See ‘plant nutrients and their measurement’
micronutrient)
Fibre glass Gold, Platinum and rhodium (platinum group of metals)
(manufacturing
machinery)
Film-processing Potassium dichromate (chromite-based chemical)
Filter/filtration Asbestos (actinolite, anthophyllite, chrysotile), Building/river sand,
Diatomite, Dolomite, Fluorine-based compound (fluoro-carbon),
Magnesite, Perlite (expanded and milled)/Carlita/Dicalite
Fire alarm Gallium
Fire extinguishing Alum-ammonium (bauxite-based chemical), Aluminium sulphate-
ferric (bauxite-based chemical), Antimony-based chemicals
(antimony chloride), Potash group (potassium carbonate)
Fire proofing See insulator (heat)
Fire retardant Borax, Tin-based chemical (zinc hydroxyl stannate and stannate)
Fishery Zeolite
Fission bomb/atom Plutonium-239, Uranium-235
bomb
Floriculture Zeolite
Fluorescent light Calcium tungstate, Indium compounds (oxide, sulphide),
applications (sign Magnesium tungstate, Phosphor, Phosphorus (yellow), Rare earth
board, screen etc.) metal (dysprosium), Tin-based chemical (stannic oxide), Zinc-based
including surface chemical (zinc sulphido-silicate), Zinc-beryllium silicate (beryllium-
coating substance based chemical)
Fluorine gas Fluorite-based product (hydrofluoric acid and potassium fluoride)
Fluoro-gypsum Byproduct from hydrofluoric acid manufacturing
Fluoro-silicic acid Fluorite-based product (hydrofluoric acid)
Foil (for wrapping food Aluminium, Tin
etc.)
Food can See ‘canning/packaging’
Food processing Borax, Phosphoric acid-based products (di-sodium phosphate,
sodium mono-phosphate, sodium pyro-phosphate, sodium tri-poly-
phosphate, tetra-sodium phosphate, tri-sodium phosphate), Potash
group (potassium carbonate), Rock salt
Forsterite Magnesite, Talc
Foundry (metal Aluminium fluoride (alumina-based chemical), Bauxite, Bentonite,
casting) Chromite, Coal, Corundum,
Ferrosilicon, Foundry/moulding sand, Graphite, Gypsum, Iron,
Magnesium (alloys), Muscovite mica (ground/micronized), Perlite
(expanded and milled)/Carlita/Dicalite, Perlite (natural), Synthetic
graphite (manufactured graphite), Zinc, Zircon
Fountain pen nib Osmium (platinum group of metals), Rhenium, Tantalum,
Zirconium
Friction material See ‘brake’
Fruit ripening Calcium carbide
(continued)
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 203

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Fuel cell Baddeleyite/zirconia, Graphite, Methanol, Natural gas, Petroleum,
Phosphoric acid, Rare earth metal (terbium), Rare earth metal
compound (cerium oxide or ceria), Zircon/zirconia
Fullerene Graphite (manufactured)
Fungicide See ‘insecticide’
Furnace/oven Barium peroxide, Muscovite mica (block/film/sheet), Platinum
(platinum group of metals)
Furnace fuel oil Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale (refinery product,
heavy non-fuel end)
Furniture (shelves, Dimension stones (commercial granite, commercial limestone,
stools, table frames, commercial marble, commercial sandstone, commercial slate)
table tops)
Fused quartz Lasca
Fuse wire See ‘safety fuse’
Fusion power See ‘thermonuclear reactor’
generation
Galvanizing Sulphuric acid (pyrites- and sulphur-based product), Zinc
Garnet (synthetic) Rare earth metals (gadolinium, ytterbium)
Gasket See ‘packing’
Gas mantle Rare earth metal compound (cerium oxide), Thorium compound
(nitrate, oxide or thoria)
Gasoline See ‘motor fuel or Mo-gas (petroleum (refinery) product, light
distillate)’
Gear Sintered graphite (graphite-based product)
Geiger counter Muscovite mica (block/film/sheet)
Gem (See also Amber, Andalusite, Apatite, Apophyllite, Aqua marine, Axinite,
‘ornament’) Bixbite, Bowenite, Chrysoberyl (alexandrite and cat’s eye), Coral,
Danburite, Diamond (gem), Diopside, Emerald, Enstatite, Epidote,
Euclase, Feldspar (amazonite, moonstone, sunstone), Fluorite/
fluorspar, Fuchsite quartzite/Greenlandite/Indian jade, Garnet,
Hambergite, Idiocrase, Iolite (cordierite), Jadeite/jade, Kyanite,
Lazurite (lapis lazuli), Malachite, Morganite (vorobyevite),
Nephrite, Opal, Pearl, Phenacite, Piedmontite, Prehnite, Pyrites—
marcasite (trade name, not true marcasite), Quartz (agate, amethyst,
aventurine, blood stone, chalcedony, citrine, onyx, plasma, rock
crystal/crystal quartz, rose quartz, smoky quartz, star stone/star
quartz, tiger-eye), Rhodonite, Ruby, Rutile, Sapphire, Scapolite,
Sillimanite, Sodalite, Sphene, Spinel (blue and red), Staurolite,
Topaz, Tourmaline (achroite, Brazilian sapphire, indicolite, rubellite,
schorl, verdelite), Turquoise, Zeolite (thomsonite), Zircon
(hyacynth, jargon, starlite), Zoisite
Gem (artificial) See ‘synthetic gem’
Gem (synthetic) See ‘synthetic gem’
(continued)
204 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Gemmotherapy Amber, Andalusite, Apatite, Aqua marine, Chrysoberyl (alexandrite
and cat’s eye), Coral, Corundum, Diamond (gem), Emerald,
Feldspar, Fluorite/fluorspar, Fuchsite quartzite/Greenlandite/Indian
jade, Garnet, Iolite (cordierite), Jadeite/jade, Kyanite, Llazurite
(lapis lazuli), Malachite, Nephrite, Pearl, Pyrites, Quartz, Ruby,
Rutile, Sapphire, Sillimanite, Spinel (blue and red), Staurolite,
Topaz, Tourmaline (achroite, Brazilian sapphire, indicolite, rubellite,
schorl, verdelite), Turquoise, Zircon, Zoisite
Geological dating Baddeleyite, Rubidium-87, Uranium-238 (depleted uranium or DU
or Q-metal or depletalloy or D-38), Zircon
German silver Copper, Nickel, Zinc
Germicide/disinfectant See ‘insecticide’
Glass (including Aluminium fluoride (alumina-based chemical), Arsenic-based
coloured glass, optical compound (white arsenic or arsenous oxide), Baddeleyite/zirconia,
glass, optical fibre, Barium, Barium carbonate, Barium oxide, Barytes, Bismuth
photochromatic glass, compounds, Borax/colemanite/ulexite, Cadmium sulphide or
float glass, special Cadmium yellow and cadmium sulpho-selenide or cadmium red
glass) (cadmium-based compounds), Calcite, Chromic oxide (chromite-
based chemical), Cryolite, Dolomite, Feldspar, Fluorite/fluorspar,
Fluorine-based compound (sodium fluoro-silicate/hexa-fluro-
silicate/silico-fluoride), Fluorite-based product (aluminium fluoride),
Indium compound (sesquioxide), Kaolin (china clay),
Kyanite, Lead, Lead compounds (oxides—PbO, PbO2 and Pb3O4),
Lepidolite (lithium mineral), Lithium, Limestone, Magnesite, Nickel
arsenide (nickel-based chemical), Niccolite, Niobium pentoxide
(niobium compound), Petalite (lithium mineral), Phosphorite,
Platinum (platinum group of metals), Potash group (potassium
carbonate), Potassium, Pyrolusite (beta-type), Pyrophyllite, Rare
earth metal (cerium, neodymium, praseodymium, yttrium), Rare
earth metal compounds (cerium dioxide, cerium oxide, neodymium
carbonate, praseodymium carbonate), Rutile- and anatase-based
chemicals (titanous chloride and sulphate), Saltpetre (Chile or
nitratine or soda nitre), Saltpetre (ordinary or potassium), Selenium,
Selenium compound, Silica sand, Sodium, Sodium aluminate
(bauxite-based chemical), Sodium dichromate (chromite-based
chemical), Spodumene (lithium mineral), Strontium carbonate,
Tellurium, Thallium, Thallium compound (oxides), Thorium, Tin,
Tin-based chemical (stannic oxide), Uranium-238 (depleted uranium
or DU or Q-metal or depletalloy or D-38), Uranium compounds
(salts), Vanadium-based chemicals (ammonium vanadate, vanadium
dioxide, vanadium pentoxide), Vermiculite, Zeolite, Zircon/zirconia.
(See also ‘optical fibre’)
Glass-bonded mica Muscovite mica (scrap)
Glass, metallic See ‘metallic glass’
Glass (perfect glass) Zeolite
Glass wool See ‘mineral wool’
Glassy steel Hematite
(continued)
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 205

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Glazing Baddeleyite/zirconia, Ball clay, Barium oxide, Borax, Calcite,
Chromic oxide (chromite-based chemical), Diatomite, Feldspar,
Kaolin (china clay), Lead compounds (oxides—PbO, PbO2 and
Pb3O4 and molybdate), Limestone, Magnesite, Nepheline syenite,
Petalite (lithium mineral), Phosphorite, Quartz, Rare earth metal
compound (mixed rare earth metal oxides), Rock salt, Rutile- and
anatase-based product (titanium dioxide), Spodumene (lithium
mineral), Uranium compounds (salts), Vanadium-based chemicals
(ammonium vanadate, vanadium pentoxide), Zircon
Global positioning Rubidium
system (GPS)
Goggles (including Rare earth metal compounds (cerium oxide, neodymium oxide,
those used by praseodymium oxide)
glass-blowers)
Gold fabrication Iridium and ruthenium (platinum group of metals)
Gramophone record Crushed stone (slate powder)
Graphene Graphite
Graphite/carbon fibre Graphite (manufactured)
Graphite purification Fluorine-based compound (chlorofluorocarbon)
Grease See ‘lubricant’
Grinding Alumina, Quartz (flint pebbles), (see also ‘abrasive’)
Grip strengthener Silicone (silli-putty)
Gun metal (admiralty Copper, Tin, Zinc
bronze)
Gun powder See ‘explosion’
Hair dye Benzene
Hair oil White oil
Hair remover Orpiment (arsenic trisulphide)
Halogen/quartz bulb Quartz
Handling/storage Aluminium, Diatomite, Perlite (expanded and milled)/Carlita/
(including cryogenic Dicalite
chemicals)
Head phone Rare earth metal (mischmetall)
Hearing aid Germanium
Heating Zeolite
Heating, domestic See ‘domestic heating’
Heating, industrial See ‘industrial heating’
Heat sink Diamond (industrial)
Heavy fuel oil Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale (refinery product,
heavy end)
Heavy water Potassium
Helium recovery Natural gas
Herbicide (including Borax-based chemicals (boric acid, sodium borate and sodium
glysophate) perborate), Potash group (caustic potash), Perlite (expanded and
milled)/Carlita/Dicalite, Phosphorus (yellow)
Horn (electric) Tungsten
(continued)
206 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Horticulture See ‘agriculture’
Hydraulic brake Borax-based chemical (sodium organo-borate or liquibor)
Hydraulic/natural Limestone
cement
Hydrofluoric acid Fluorite/fluorspar
Hydrogenation Nickel, Palladium (platinum group of metals), Rhenium, Rhenium
heptasulphide, Rubidium, Siderite (after calcination)
Hydrogen bomb See ‘thermonuclear reactor’
Hydrogen fuel system Magnesium
Hydrogen peroxide Barium peroxide
Hydrogen production Rutile- and anatase-based product (titanium dioxide), Strontium
titanate (both in experimental stage)
Hydrogen sulphide Asbestos (chrysotile), Sulphur
Hydroponics Basalt, Diatomite, Perlite (expanded and milled)/Carlita/Dicalite,
Vermiculite, Zeolite
Hydroquinone (quinol Pyrolusite
benzene)
Ice-cream Saltpetre (ordinary or potassium)
Ice-box Perlite (expanded and milled)/Carlita/Dicalite
Ice manufacturing Cymogene (petroleum ether, refinery product, light distillate)
Imitation marble See ‘synthetic marble’
Incandescent light Radium, Rare earth metal compound (cerium oxide)
Incandescent mantle Monazite, Saltpetre (lime)
Industrial furnace Producer gas (coal-based product)
(initial heating)
Industrial heating Anthracite, Coal, Lignite, Methane (abandoned and working mine,
(as fuel and for initial coal bed and coal mine ventilation air methane), Furnace fuel oil
firing of furnace, (petroleum refinery product, heavy end), Met coke (lignite-based
engine etc.) product), Natural gas
Industrial machinery Light diesel oil or LDO (petroleum refinery product, middle
fuel (tractors, concrete distillate)
mixer etc.)
Infrared optics Germanium, Indium compounds (oxide, sulphide), Rare earth metal
(samarium), Thallium compound (bromo-iodide)
Inhibitor Sodium chromate hydrated (chromite-based chemical)
Injection syringe Silicone (oils)
Ink (including indelible Borax, Kaolin (china clay)
ink)
Ink (printing) Alum-ammonium (bauxite-based chemical), Aluminium sulphate-
ferric (bauxite-based chemical), Cadmium sulphide or cadmium
yellow and cadmium sulpho-selenide or cadmium red (cadmium-
based compounds), Carbon black, Mercury compound (mercury
sulphide), Potassium dichromate (chromite-based chemical),
Vanadium-based chemicals (ammonium vanadate, vanadium
pentoxide)
(continued)
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 207

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Insecticide/pesticide/ Aero-gel/aero-sil/silica aerogel, Arsenic-based com-pound (white
germicide/fungicide arsenic or arsenous oxide), Attapulgite/fuller’s earth, Bentonite,
(including carrier) Borax-based chemical (boric acid, sodium borate and sodium
perborate), Crushed stone (slate powder), Cryolite, Diaspore,
Diatomite, Flower-of-sulphur (sulphur-based product), Gypsum,
Kaolin (china clay), Lead compound (arsenate), Limestone,
Mercury compound (mercuric chloride), Muscovite mica (ground/
micronized), Perlite (expanded and milled)/Carlita/Dicalite, Pyrites
(Copperas/Melanterite), Pyrolusite-based chemical (manganese
ethylene-bisdithio-carbonate, potassium permanganate),
Pyrophyllite, Quartz, Selenium compound, Talc, Thallium
compound (carbonate), Vermiculite
Insulation brick Muscovite mica (ground/micronized)
Insulator (electrical) Alumina (electrically insulating), Asbestos (chrysotile), Asphalt/
bitumen/pitch/tar, Crushed stone (slate powder), Glass-bonded
mica/micalex (muscovite-based intermediate product), Kaolin
(china clay), Magnesite, Muscovite mica (block/film/sheet), Silicone
(resins), Talc, Wax/paraffin wax, Zeolite, Zirconia/zirconium
Insulator (heat)/fire Aero-gel/aero-sil/silica aerogel, Antimony compounds, Asbestos
proofing (actinolite, tremolite), Basalt, Borax, Diatomite, Ferrocene,
Muscovite mica, Perlite (expanded and milled)/Carlita/Dicalite,
Shirasu (volcanic eject), Sodium tungstate, Vermiculite, Water glass/
liquid glass/sodium silicate
Insulator (high Asbestos (amosite)
temperature)
Insulator (magnetic) Muscovite mica
Insulator (sound) Asbestos, Basalt, Crushed stone (slate powder), Diatomite, Gypsum,
Perlite (expanded and milled)/Carlita/Dicalite, Vermiculite
Iron nugget (nodule) Bentonite, Coal, Magnetite
Iron/pig iron Coke (coal-based product), Dolomite, Hematite, Limestone, Natural
gas
Iron powder Iron, Iron carbonyl
manufacturing
Isostatic graphite Graphite
mould
Jar caps Zinc
Jet engine Rhenium, Tantalum
Jet (fighter) Rare earth metal (scandium)
Jewellery See ‘ornament’
Jointing sheet Asbestos (chrysotile)
Kanthal (iron- Chromite
chromium alloy)
Keene’s plaster Gypsum
Kerosene Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale (refinery product,
middle distillate)
Lacquer—filler Zirconia
(continued)
208 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Lamp (household) Kerosene (petroleum refinery product, middle distillate), Petroleum
(crude/natural, old usage), Phosphorite
Lamp, incandescent/ Rare earth metal compound (cerium compound)
arc
Laser/maser Aluminium, Diamond (gem, industrial and artificial/synthetic),
Fused quartz, Garnet, Graphite, Indium compounds (antimonide,
arsenide, phosphide), Muscovite mica (block/film/sheet), Rare earth
metals (europium, neodymium, terbium, thulium, yttrium), Ruby,
Sapphire
LCD display Gallium phosphoride
Lead soap Lead
Leather (includes Alum-ammonium (bauxite-based chemical), Aluminium sulphate—
de-staining agent, iron-free (aluminium hydroxide-based chemical), Barium chloride,
filler) Cadmium sulphide or cadmium yellow and cadmium sulpho-
selenide or cadmium red (cadmium-based compounds), Chromium
sulphate (basic chromite-based chemical), Dolomite, Potash-chrome
alum (chromite-based chemical), Pyrolusite-based chemical
(manganese sulphide), Rutile- and anatase-based chemicals
(titanous chloride and sulphate), Selenium compound, Slaked lime
(lime-based product), Sodium dichromate (chromite-based
chemical), Uranium compounds (salts), Zirconia
Lenses Germanium, Lead glass, Rare earth metal compounds (cerium
oxide, lanthanum oxide, neodymium oxide, praseodymium oxide),
Tantalum oxide, Rhorium
Lighter (gas, cigarette) Rare earth metals (cerium, mischmetall), Rock crystal (quartz—gem
variety)
Lime (or quick lime or Dolomite, Limestone
fat lime) manufacturing
Lime (or quick lime or Anthracite, Coal, Peat
fat lime) burning
Limelight Lime (or quick lime or fat lime), Zirconium
Lime (or quick lime or See ‘mineral wool’
fat lime) wool
Lining See ‘sealing’
Linoleum cloth See ‘vinyl sheet’
Lipowitz’s metal Bismuth, lead, tin
Liquefied natural gas Natural gas
(LNG)
Liquefied petroleum Natural gas, Petroleum (refinery product, light distillate)
gas (LPG)
Liquid glass See ‘water glass’
Liquid-mirror Silver
telescope (for use on
moon surface)
Lithography Potassium dichromate (chromite-based chemical)
Locomotive Coal
Loud speaker Ferrite, Iron powder, Rock crystal (quartz—gem variety)
(continued)
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 209

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Lubricant/grease Aluminium carboxylate (bauxite-based chemical), Aluminium-mica
alloy (muscovite-based intermediate product), Asphalt/bitumen/
pitch/tar, Barium hydroxide, Crushed stone (slate powder),
Graphite, Lithium stearate or metallic soap (lithium-based product),
Lubricating oil (petroleum derivative, slightly unsaturated aromatic),
Molybdenum chemical (sulphide), Muscovite mica (ground/
micronized), Petroleum (refinery product, heavy non-fuel end),
Potash group (caustic potash), Silicone (oils), Talc, Tin-based
chemical (organo-tin compounds), Tungsten sulphide (tungsten-
based chemical), Vermiculite, Wax/paraffin wax
Lubricating oil Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale (refinery product,
heavy non-fuel end)
Magnet (including Alnico, Aluminium powder, Boron, Cobalt, Ferrite, Iron, Iron
low-temperature and powder, Rare earth metals (cerium, erbium, neodymium,
permanent magnet) praseodymium, samarium), Titanium, Zirconium
Magnetic field Germanium
measurement
Magnetic shield Mu-metal or permalloy
Magnetic tape Graphite
Magneto Palladium and platinum (platinum group of metals)
Malaria control Uranium-238 (depleted uranium or DU or Q-metal or depletalloy or
D-38)
Manganese borate Pyrolusite
Manganese carbonate Pyrolusite
Manganese chloride Pyrolusite
Manganese dioxide See ‘electrolytic manganese dioxide and chemically activated
(synthetic) manganese dioxide’
Manganese Pyrolusite
ethylene-bisdithio-
carbonate
Manganese linoleate Pyrolusite
Manganese monoxide Pyrolusite
Manganese Pyrolusite
naphthenate
Manganese nitrate Pyrolusite
Manganese oxalate Pyrolusite
Manganese phosphate Pyrolusite
Manganese resinate Pyrolusite
Manganese sulphate Pyrolusite
Manganese sulphide Pyrolusite
Manganin Copper, Manganese, Nickel
Manometer (instrument Tourmaline
for measuring high
pressure and fluid
compressibility)
Marble (imitation) See ‘synthetic marble’
(continued)
210 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Marine gypsum Byproduct from recovery of common salt from seawater
Marine engine Rare earth metal (gadolinium)
Marinel (Multi-metal Aluminium, Chromium, Copper, Iron, Manganese, Nickel, Niobium
alloy)
Maser See ‘laser’
Matches (including Antimony-based chemical (antimony oxide), Diatomite, Kaolin
sticks) (china clay), Phosphorus, Potassium dichromate (chromite-based
chemical), Saltpetre (lime), Pyrolusite-based chemical (manganese
sulphide), Saltpetre (ordinary or potassium), Sulphur, Wax/paraffin
wax
Medical application Antimony-based chemical (tartar emetic), Arsenic-based compounds
(calcium and lead arsenates), Borax-based chemical (boric acid),
Diatomite, Mercury compound (mercuric chloride), Rare earth
metals (europium, holmium, yttrium), Silver
Mercury lamp Mercury, Rare earth metal (dysprosium), Rubidium, Thorium
Mercury switch Mercury, Molybdenum
Mercury vapour boiler Mercury
(for power generation)
Mercury vapour lamp See ‘mercury lamp’
Met-coke Lignite
Metakaolin Kaolin (china clay)
(china clay)
Metallic glass Borax-based chemicals (boric acid, boric oxide)
Metallic soap See ‘lithium stearate (lithium compound)’
Metallization/metal Chromium, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Molybdenum, Tin,
powder Tungsten
Metal plating See ‘electroplating’
Metallurgy Alumina, Aluminium fluoride (alumina-based chemical), Bauxite,
including alloys and Cryolite, Fluorite-based product (aluminium fluoride), Fluorite-
process—Aluminium based product (potassium fluoride)
Metallurgy Stibnite
including alloys and
process—Antimony
Metallurgy Arsenopyrite
including alloys and
process—Arsenic
Metallurgy Barium chloride, Barytes
including alloys and
process—Barium
Metallurgy Beryllium oxide (a derivative of beryl), Calcite, Lead compound
including alloys and (PbO2)
process—Beryllium
Metallurgy Bismite (bismuth ochre)
including alloys and
process—Bismuth
Metallurgy Borax-based chemicals (boric acid, boric oxide), Magnesium
including alloys and
process—Boron
(continued)
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 211

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Metallurgy Limestone (through calcium chloride route)
including alloys and
process—Calcium
Metallurgy Chromic oxide (chromite-based chemical), Chromite, Coke
including alloys and (coal-based product)
process—Chromium
Metallurgy Barium, Borax, Bornite, Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite, Coke (coal-based
including alloys and product), Lithium, Rare earth metal (mischmetall), Selenium,
process—Copper Sulphuric acid (pyrites- and sulphur-based product), Tellurium,
Waste product associated with zinc recovery process (copper cake)
Metallurgy Copper, Germanium, Mercury, Zinc
including alloys and
process—Gold
Metallurgy including Anthracite, Bauxite, Bentonite, Bog iron ore, Boron carbide, Coal,
alloys and process— Coal tar, Coke (coal-based product), Dolomite, Dunite, Ferro-boron,
Iron/pig iron Ferrosilicon, Fluorite/fluorspar, Goethite (minette), Hematite,
Limestone, Limonite (brown iron ore), Magnetite, Met coke
(lignite-based product), Natural gas, Pellets, Psilomelane,
Pyroxenite, Quartzite, Rare earth metal (mischmetall),
Rhodochrosite, Serpentinite, Siderite (after calcination), Sinters,
Taconite, Thorium
Metallurgy Borax, Coal, Coke (coal-based product), Galena, Sulphuric acid
including alloys and (pyrites- and sulphur-based product)
process—Lead
Metallurgy Amblygonite, Lepidolite, Petalite, Spodumene
including alloys and
process—Lithium
Metallurgy Calcium chloride (limestone-based product), Dolomite, Magnesite,
including alloys and Pyrolusite-based chemical (manganese chloride), Silicon, Sulphur
process—Magnesium
Metallurgy Dolomite, Psilomelane, Pyrolusite-based chemical (manganese
including alloys and sulphate), Silicon
process—Manganese
Metallurgy including Cinnabar
alloys and process—
Mercury (quick silver)
Metallurgy Monazite
including alloys and
process—Mesothorium
Metallurgy Aluminium powder, Fluorite/fluorspar, Hematite, Molybdenite,
including alloys and Thorium
process—Molybdenum
Metallurgy Coke (coal-based product), Garnierite, Gypsum, Pentlandite
including alloys and
process—Nickel
Metallurgy Columbite, Fluorite-based product (hydrofluoric acid), Fluorite-
including alloys and based product (potassium fluoride), Pyrochlore, Tantalite
process—Niobium
(continued)
212 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Metallurgy Calcium carbide (lime-based product), Potash group (potassium
including alloys and fluoride, a fluorite-based chemical)
process—Potassium
Metallurgy including Bastnasite, Gadolinite, Monazite, Xenotime
alloys and process—
Rare earth metal
Metallurgy Molybdenite
including alloys and
process—Rhenium
Metallurgy Lepidolite
including alloys and
process—Rubidium
Metallurgy Argentite, Cerargyrite, Mercury, Zinc
including alloys and
process—Silver
Metallurgy Rock salt
including alloys and
process—Sodium
Metallurgy Bauxite, Celestite, Coke (coal-based product), Dolomite, Feldspar,
including alloys and Ferrochrome (including charge chrome and high-, medium- and
process—Steel low-carbon ferrochrome, silico-chrome), Ferromanganese,
Ferrosilicon, Ferrovanadium, Fluorite/fluorspar, Graphite, Hematite,
Iron/pig iron, Iron nugget, Limestone, Manganese, Saltpetre (Chile
or nitratine or soda nitre), Selenium, Silicomanganese, Sponge
(directly reduced) iron, Synthetic graphite (manufactured graphite),
Tellurium, Vanadium, Zirconium
Metallurgy Celestite
including alloys and
process—Strontium
Metallurgy Columbite, Fluorite-based product (hydrofluoric acid), Fluorite-
including alloys and based product (potassium fluoride), Pyrochlore, Tantalite
process—Tantalum
Metallurgy Calcium, Magnesium, Monazite
including alloys and
process—Thorium
Metallurgy Cassiterite (tin-stone or tin-ore), Coal, Fluorite-based product
including alloys and (fluoro-boric acid), Pyrite, Sulphuric acid (pyrites- and sulphur-
process—Tin based product)
Metallurgy Ilmenite, Magnesium, Rare earth metal (mischmetall), Rutile- and
including alloys and anatase-based chemical (titanium tetra-chloride)
process—Titanium
Metallurgy Natural gas, Scheelite, Silicon, Wolframite
including alloys and
process—Tungsten
Metallurgy Carnotite, Fluorine-based compound (anhydrous hydrogen fluoride),
including alloys and Fluorine-based compound (uranium hexafluoride), Fluorite-based
process—Uranium product (fluorine gas), Pitchblende, Soda ash, Sodium
(continued)
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 213

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Metallurgy Calcium, Carnotite, Patronite
including alloys and
process—Vanadium
Metallurgy Borax, Coal, Coke (coal-based product), Pyrolusite (beta-type),
including alloys and Fraklinite, Hemimorphite, Smithsonite, Sphalerite, Sulphuric acid
process—Zinc (pyrites- and sulphur-based product), Willemite, Zincite
Metallurgy Baddeleyite, Sodium, Zircon
including alloys and
process—Zirconium
Methanol Methane
Methyl cyclo- Pyrolusite
pentadienyl manganese
carbonyl
Metrology Dimension stone (commercial granite) (See also ‘standard reference
for kilogram and standard reference for metre’)
Micanite Muscovite mica (splittings)
Mica paper Reconstituted mica (muscovite-based intermediate product)
Microphone Rock crystal (quartz—gem variety)
Microprocessor chip Diamond (gem), Ferrite, Indium compound (phosphide), Nickel-
coated mica (muscovite-based intermediate product), Quartz, Silane
(silicon tetra-hydride), Silicon
Microscope Calcite, Gypsum (selenite), Muscovite mica (block/film/sheet)
Microwave oven Ferrite
Microwave-controlling Rare earth metal compounds (gadolinium oxide, lanthanum oxide,
device neodymium oxide)
Microwave transmitter Muscovite mica (block/film/sheet)
Milk-of-lime Lime (or quick lime or fat lime)
Mineral jelly/ Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale (refinery product)
petroleum jelly/
Vaseline
Mineral khaki Chromium sulphate (basic chromite-based chemical)
Mineral wool/glass Amphibolite, Basalt, Borax, Diabase, Lime (or quick lime or fat
wool/lime (or quick lime), Wollastonite
lime or fat lime) wool/
rock wool/slag wool
Mischmetall Bastnasite, Gadolinite, Monazite, Xenotime
(intermediate product
of mixed rare earth
metals obtained during
metallurgy)
Missile/projectile Aluminium, Boron carbide, Cobalt, Magnesium, Muscovite mica
(block/film/sheet), Nickel, Niobium, Selenium, Uranium-238
(depleted uranium or DU or Q-metal or depletalloy or D-38)
Moisture indicator Cobalt chemical (chloride or cobalt blue)
Monel metal Copper, Iron, Nickel
Monetary reference Gold
(continued)
214 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Mordant Antimony-based chemical (tartar emetic), Arsenic-based compounds
(white arsenic or arsenous oxide), Cobalt chemical (chloride or
cobalt blue), Uranium compounds (salts)
Mortar Pozzolanic clay, Stratlingite
Motor fuel (or Mo-gas Natural gas, Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale
or gasoline) (refinery product, light distillate)
Moulding See ‘foundry’
Mosaic Crushed stone (assorted and marble dust)
MRI imaging Rare earth metal (gadolinium)
Mu-metal or permalloy Copper, Iron, Molybdenum, Nickel
Naphtha (organic Coal, Lignite, Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale
chemical) (refinery product, light distillate)
Naphthalene (organic Coal, Lignite, Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale
chemical) extraction (derivative, slightly unsaturated)
Naphthalene oil Coal, Lignite
(organic chemical)
extraction
Natural gas Methyl mercaptan or methyl sulphydryl (sulphur-based product)
(processing)
Naturopathy Bentonite
Naval brass Copper, Zinc, Tin (only 1.25 %)
Neutron detection Boron-10
Neutron generation Beryllium
Newton’s metal Bismuth, Lead, Tin
Nicol prism in Calcite (Iceland spar)
polariscope
Night illumination Cesium, Strontium nitrate, Strontium oxalate, Strontium peroxide
device
Nickel-coated mica Muscovite mica (ground/micronized), Nickel
Nimocast Chromium, Nickel
Nitrided steel Steel
Nitinol Nickel, Titanium
Nitric acid Saltpetre (Chile or nitratine or soda nitre), Saltpetre (ordinary or
potassium)
Non-sparking tools Beryllium, Copper
Nuclear reactor Antimony (beta form), Barytes, Beryllium, Bismuth, Boron-10,
(including control rod, Boron carbide, Cadmium, Calcium, Helium, Lead, Magnesium,
fuel, fuel element Niobium, Perlite (expanded granules), Potassium, Rare earth metals
cladding, moderator, (europium, gadolinium, holmium), Sodium, Synthetic graphite
heat-transfer unit, (manufactured graphite), Tungsten, Uranium-233 (converted from
coolant, radiation thorium), Uranium-235 and its alloys, Uranium compounds
shielding etc.) (dioxide, carbide, nitrate and sulphate), Vanadium, Zirconium
(continued)
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 215

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Nuclear reactor (fast Plutonium-239, Plutonium carbide, Uranium compound (carbide)
breeder)
Nuclear waste Zeolite
treatment
Nylon Toluene, Synthetic zeolite
Odour control Alum-ammonium (bauxite-based chemical), Aluminium sulphate—
iron-free (aluminium hydroxide-based chemical), Nahcolite,
Pyrolusite-based chemical (potassium permanganate), Zeolite
Offset printing Selenium
Oil cloth See ‘vinyl sheet’
Oil well See ‘drilling’
Onyx flour Onyx (quartz—gem variety)
Opacifier Aluminium fluoride (alumina-based chemical), Antimony-based
chemical (antimony oxide), Dolomite, Fluorite/fluorspar, Fluorite-
based product (aluminium fluoride), Rare earth metals (cerium,
yttrium), Rutile and anatase-based product (titanium dioxide),
Tin-based chemical (stannic oxide), Zircon, Zirconia
Optical brightener Aluminium powder
Optical fibre Boron, Germanium, Indium compounds (antimonide, arsenide,
phosphide), Silicone (elastomer/silicon rubber), also see ‘glass’
Optical instruments Calcite (Iceland spar), Muscovite mica (block/film/sheet), Synthetic
(including quarter- zeolite, Tourmaline
wave plate,
polariscope)
Optical mirror Gallium, Indium
Organic compounds Barium hydroxide, Ethylene, Propylene, Selenium compound
and solvents
manufacture
Ornament/jewellery/ Aqua marine, Diamond (gem), Emerald, Fluorite/fluorspar, Gold,
gem Gypsum (satinspar), Palladium and platinum (platinum group of
metals), Phosphorite, Pyrites—marcasite (trade name, not true
marcasite), Quartz, Ruby, Rutile, Sapphire, Silver, Tourmaline
(achroite, Brazilian sapphire, indicolite, rubellite, schorl, verdelite),
Tungsten carbide, White gold
Oscillator Pyrites, Rock crystal (quartz—gem variety), Silvered mica
(muscovite-based intermediate product)
Oxidizing agent Chromic acid (chromite-based chemical), Pyrolusite (beta type),
Pyrolusite-based chemical (potassium permanganate), Selenium
compound, Sodium dichromate (chromite-based chemical)
Oxygen-breathing Muscovite mica (block/film/sheet)
equipment
Oxygen/air liquefaction Helium, Liquefied natural gas (LNG)
Oxygen sensor Zirconia
(continued)
216 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Packing (including Asbestos (chrysotile, crocidolite), Expanded/exfoliated graphite
gaskets) (graphite-based product), Indium, Silicone (elastomer/silicon
rubber), Vermiculite
Paint—Emulsifier Bentonite
Paint—Extender/ Calcite, Diatomite, Feldspar, Gypsum, Kaolin (china clay), Perlite
thinner (expanded and milled)/Carlita/Dicalite, Pyrophyllite, Pyroxenite,
Talc, White spirit
Paint—Filler (for Alum-ammonium (bauxite-based chemical), Aluminium sulphate-
special properties) ferric (bauxite-based chemical), Asbestos (actinolite, amosite,
anthophyllite, biotite, crocidolite, tremolite), Bentonite, Crushed
stone (slate powder), Diatomite, Gypsum, Muscovite mica (ground/
micronized), Potash group (potassium phosphate), Pyrolusite-based
chemical (manganese borate, manganese linoleate, manganese
naphthenate, manganese oxalate, manganese resinate), Pyrophyllite,
Rare earth metal (gadolinium), Sodium aluminate (bauxite-based
chemical), Talc, Tin-based chemical (organo-tin compounds),
Vermiculite, Wollastonite, Zinc-based chemical (zinc peroxide),
Zirconia
Paint—Lithopone Barytes
Paint—Luminescent Aluminium powder, Mesothorium, Thorium compound (oxide or
paint thoria)
Paint—Pigment and Antimony-based chemicals (antimony chloride, antimony oxide,
dye (including antimonic sulphide, antimony sulphide), Antimony black, Barium
ultramarine) chromate (chromite-based chemical), Barytes, Cadmium sulphide or
cadmium yellow and cadmium sulpho-selenide or cadmium red
(cadmium-based compounds), Carbon black, Celestite, Chromic
oxide (chromite-based chemical), Chromium sulphate (basic
chromite-based chemical), Cobalt chemicals (acetate, aluminate,
carbonate, chloride, oxide, sulphate, titanate and double oxide of
cobalt and zinc), Copper sulphate, Croccoite, Graphite, Hematite,
Ilmenite, Kaolin (china clay), Lead compounds (blue lead, red lead,
lead chromate, lead molybdate and white lead), Lime (or quick lime
or fat lime), Mercury compound (mercuric oxide and mercury
sulphide), Muscovite mica (ground/micronized), Ochre, Orpiment
(arsenic trisulphide), Phlogopite mica, Potash group (potassium
carbonate), Prussian blue (Turnbull’s blue), Pyrites (Copperas/
Melanterite), Pyrolusite (beta-type), Pyrolusite-based chemicals
(hydroquinone or quinol benzene, manganese chloride), Quartz,
Realgar (arsenic sulphide), Rutile- and anatase-based product
(titanium dioxide), Selenium compound, Stibnite, Sulphur,
Sulphuric acid (pyrites- and sulphur-based product), Titanium
dioxide (rutile-based product), Tungsten bronze (tungsten-based
chemical, tungstic oxide or WO3), Vanadium-based chemicals
(ammonium vanadate, vanadium pentoxide), Zinc chromate
(chromite-based chemical)
Paint—Primer Barium nitrate
(continued)
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 217

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Pancha Dhatu Brass, Copper, Iron, Lead, Tin
(5-metal alloy)
Paper Alum-ammonium (bauxite-based chemical), Aluminium hydroxide
(includes activated alumina), Aluminium sulphate—iron-free
(aluminium hydroxide-based chemical), Asbestos (chrysotile),
Barytes, Bauxite, Bentonite, Borax, Cadmium sulphide or
cadmium yellow and cadmium sulpho-selenide or cadmium red
(cadmium-based compounds), Caustic soda, Diatomite, Dolomite,
Gypsum, Kaolin (china clay), Lime (or quicklime or fat lime),
Magnesite, Muscovite mica, Precipitated calcium carbonate or
PCC (product based on milk-of-lime), Quartz, Rutile- and
anatase-based chemicals (titanous chloride and sulphate), Rutile-
and anatase-based product (titanium dioxide), Selenium compound,
Slaked lime (lime-based product), Sodium aluminate (bauxite-
based chemical), Sulphur dioxide (pyrites- and sulphur-based
product), Talc, Water glass/liquid glass/sodium silicate, Wax/
paraffin wax, Zeolite
Paraffin wax See ‘wax’
Pellets Bentonite, Hematite, Limestone, Siderite (after calcination),
Taconite
Pencil/crayon and Chalk, Graphite, Gypsum, Limestone, Kaolin (china clay),
writing chalk Pyrophyllite, Talc
Pentane Petroleum (refinery product, light distillate, petroleum ethers)
Perfumery (including Aluminium chloride (bauxite-based chemical), Potassium
extraction from dichromate (chromite-based chemical), White oil, White spirit
flowers)
Perlon Toluene, Synthetic zeolite
Pesticide See ‘insecticide’
Petroleum coke Asphaltic rock/natural bitumen, Petroleum including heavy crude
oil and oil shale (refinery product, heavy end)
Petroleum ethers Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale (refinery product,
light distillate)
Petroleum gas Natural gas, Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale
(including liquefied (refinery product, light distillate)
petroleum gas or LPG)
Petroleum jelly See ‘mineral jelly/petroleum jelly/Vaseline’
Petroleum recovery Natural gas
(secondary)
Petroleum refining See ‘purification/refining—petroleum’
Petroleum (synthetic) See ‘synthetic petroleum’
Petromax (carbide Calcium carbide (lime-based product), Muscovite mica (block/film/
lamp) sheet)
Pewter Antimony (beta form), Lead, Tin
(continued)
218 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Pharmaceuticals Alum-ammonium (bauxite-based chemical), Aluminium carboxylate
(including (bauxite-based chemical), Aluminium chloride (bauxite-based
radiopharmaceuticals chemical), Aluminium hydroxide gel, Aluminium sulphate- ferric
or radio-nuclides) (bauxite-based chemical), Antimony compounds, Arsenic
compounds, Attapulgite/fuller’s earth, Bentonite, Bismuth
compounds, Calcium, Dolomite, Gallium compound (organic salt),
Germanium, Gypsum, Kaolin (china clay), Lime (or quick lime or
fat lime), Lithium carbonate (lithium-based product), Lithium citrate
(lithium-based product), Magnesite, Mercury compound (mercurous
chloride or calomel), Mineral jelly/petroleum jelly (petroleum
refinery product), Phosphorus (red and yellow), Phosphorus-32,
Potash group (caustic potash and potassium fluoride, a fluorite-
based chemical), Propylene, Pyrolusite-based chemical
(hydroquinone or quinol benzene), Rare earth metals (lutetium-177,
yttrium-90), Rubidium iodide, Rutile- and anatase-based product
(titanium dioxide), Selenium compound, Silica gel, Sulphuric acid
(pyrites- and sulphur-based product), Talc, Tin-based chemical
(organo-tin compounds), Vanadium-based chemicals (ammonium
vanadate, vanadium pentoxide), White oil, Zirconium phosphate
(baddeleyite- and zircon-based chemicals)
Phenol (organic Coal, Lignite
chemical) extraction
Phosphogypsum Apatite, Phosphorite, Sulphuric acid
(byproduct from
phosphoric acid
manufacturing)
Phosphor (fluorescent Phosphorus (yellow), Rare earth metals (samarium, yttrium)
substance)
Phosphoric acid Apatite, Phosphorite
Phosphorus recovery Coke (coal-based product), Phosphorite
Photocopier See ‘Xerox machine/photocopier’
Photoelectric cell Cesium, Thorium
Photography (see also Cadmium halides (cadmium-based compound), Cesium, Ferrocene,
‘camera’) Potash-chrome alum (chromite-based chemical), Potassium
dichromate (chromite-based chemical), Pyrolusite-based chemicals
(hydro-quinone or quinol benzene, manganese sulphide), Silver
bromide (silver-based chemical), Zirconium
Photographic flashlight Magnesium, Rhenium, Zirconium
Photometry Cesium
Photovoltaic/solar cell Fullerene (manufactured graphite), Gallium compound (arsenide),
Silicon, Thallium compound (oxysulphide)
Pig iron See ‘iron/pig iron’
Pipe (for construction) Stoneware clay
Pipe (smoking) See ‘smoking pipe’
Pitch (organic See ‘asphalt/bitumen/pitch/tar/coal tar
chemical)
(continued)
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 219

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Plant nutrients and Caustic magnesia (magnesite-based product), Bauxite, Boron,
their measurement Cobalt, Diatomite, Dolomite, Dunite, Lignite, Limestone,
(includes Magnesite, Natural gas, Peat, Perlite (expanded and milled)/Carlita/
micronutrients) Dicalite, Petroleum, Phosphorite, Potash group (caustic potash),
Pyrites, Pyrolusite-based chemicals (manganese monoxide,
manganese sulphate), Pyroxenite, Quartz, Saltpetre, Saltpetre
(Chile), Saltpetre (lime), Shirasu (volcanic eject), Sulphur,
Tourmaline, Vermiculite, Zeolite, Zinc-based chemical (zinc
sulphate)
Plaster/stucco/putty Gypsum, Kaolin (china clay), Magnesite, Muscovite mica (ground/
micronized), Perlite (expanded and milled)/Carlita/Dicalite, Potash,
Water glass/liquid glass/sodium silicate (see also ‘putty’)
Plaster of Paris (POP) Gypsum
mould
Plastics Alum-ammonium (bauxite-based chemical), Aluminium hydroxide
(includes activated alumina), Aluminium sulphate- ferric (bauxite-
based chemical), Asbestos (actinolite, chrysotile, tremolite), Ball
clay, Bauxite, Crushed stone (slate powder), Feldspar, Kaolin (china
clay), Mercury, Muscovite mica (ground/micronized), Perlite
(expanded and milled)/Carlita/Dicalite, Potash group (potassium
phosphate), Pyrophyllite, Selenium compound, Sulphuric acid
(pyrites- and sulphur-based product), Talc, Vermiculite,
Wollastonite, see also ‘resin (synthetic)’
Plumbing Lead
Plutonium-239 Uranium-238 (depleted uranium or DU or Q-metal or depletalloy or
production D-38)
Poison (for execution Arsenic-based compound (white arsenic or arsenous oxide),
and murder including Polonium (bismuth-based material), Sulphur dioxide (pyrites- and
old practices) sulphur-based product)
Polishing Aluminium chloride (bauxite-based chemical), Bentonite, Chromic
oxide (chromite-based chemical), Corundum, Diatomite, Garnet,
Limestone, Mineral jelly/petroleum jelly (petroleum refinery
product), Ochre, Perlite (expanded and milled)/Carlita/Dicalite,
Rare earth metal compounds (cerium oxide, mixed rare earth metal
oxides), Silica sand, Silicon carbide (silicon compound), Silicone
(oils), Talc, Wax/paraffin wax, Zircon
Pollution control Nahcolite, Perlite (expanded and milled)/Carlita/Dicalite, Potash
group (potassium carbonate), Pyrolusite-based chemical (potassium
permanganate)
Polonium Bismuth
Polyester Ethylene, Synthetic zeolite
Polythene Ethylene, Synthetic zeolite
Porous bronze Copper, Graphite, Tin
Postage stamp glue Rare earth metal (europium)
Potassium Potash
Potassium fluoride Fluorite-based product (hydrofluoric acid)
(continued)
220 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Potassium nitrite— Saltpetre (ordinary or potassium)
derivative of saltpetre
(ordinary or potassium)
Potassium Pyrolusite
permanganate
Potassium silicate Potash, Quartz, Silica sand
Pottery Pottery clay, Shirasu (volcanic eject)
Poultry feed See ‘animal feed’
Precipitated calcium Lime (or quick lime or fat lime)
carbonate
Precision tools Boron carbide
Preservation (egg, Aluminium chloride (bauxite-based chemical), Lime (or quick lime
food, fruits, vegetables) or fat lime), Peat, Rock salt, Saltpetre, Saltpetre (Chile), Water
glass/liquid glass/sodium silicate, Wax/paraffin wax
Preservation (electrical Asphalt/bitumen/pitch/tar, Wax/paraffin wax
cable)
Preservation (meat) Aluminium chloride (bauxite-based chemical), Potassium nitrite,
Saltpetre (Chile or nitratine or soda nitre), Tin
Preservation (metal, Aluminium powder, Asphalt/bitumen/pitch/tar, Chromic acid
surgical instruments) (chromite-based chemical), Hematite, Mercury compound (mercuric
oxide), Phosphorite, Pyrolusite-based chemical (manganese
phosphate), Sodium chromate hydrated (chromite-based chemical),
Silicon carbide/carborandum (silicon compound); Silicon monoxide
(silicon compound), White oil
Preservation (paint) Potash group (potassium meta-silicate)
Preservation (stone) Wax/paraffin wax
Preservation (timber, Arsenic-based compounds (calcium, lead and sodium arsenates),
hide, leather) Asphalt/bitumen/pitch/tar, Fluorine-based compound (fluoro-
silicates of ammonia, magnesium and zinc), Pyrites (Copperas/
Melanterite), Rock salt, Sodium dichromate (chromite-based
chemical), Water glass/liquid glass/sodium silicate
Printing ink See ‘ink (printing)’
Printing type metal Antimony (beta form), Copper, Lead, Tin
Producer gas Coal
Prussian blue Iron
(Turnbull’s blue)
Purification/refining/ Diatomite, Sulphur dioxide (pyrites- and sulphur-based product),
cleaning (see also Zircon
water treatment)—
Alcoholic drink
(including beer)
Purification/refining/ Celestite
cleaning (see also
water treatment)—
Caustic soda
(continued)
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 221

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Purification/refining/ Attapulgite/fuller’s earth, Bentonite, Diatomite, Tin-based chemical
cleaning (see also (stannous chloride), Zeolite
water treatment)—
Edible oil
Purification/refining/ Sulphur dioxide (pyrites- and sulphur-based product)
cleaning (see also
water treatment)—
Food and fruits
Purification/refining/ Attapulgite/fuller’s earth, Bauxite, Bog iron ore, Fluorine-based
cleaning (see also compound (sodium fluoride), Nickel, Zeolite
water treatment)—
Gases (including coal
gas, fluorine, natural
gas, oxygen)
Purification/refining/ Aluminium chloride (bauxite-based chemical), Aluminium
cleaning hydroxide (includes activated alumina), Nickel, Palladium (platinum
(see also water group of metals), Petroleum (crude/natural), Rare earth metal
treatment)—Petroleum compounds (cerium oxide, lanthanum oxide, neodymium oxide,
praseodymium oxide), Sulphuric acid (pyrites- and sulphur-based
product)
Purification/refining/ Aero-gel/aero-sil/silica aerogel, Diatomite, Perlite (expanded and
cleaning (see also milled)/Carlita/Dicalite, Water glass/liquid glass/sodium silicate,
water treatment)— Zeolite
Toxic liquids
Putty Limestone (see also ‘plaster/stucco/putty’)
Pyridine (organic Coal, Lignite
chemical) extraction
Pyrolytic graphite Graphite
Pyrotechnics Antimony (beta form), Borax, Boron, Kaolin (china clay),
(fireworks) Magnesium, Sulphur, Strontium nitrate, Strontium oxalate,
Strontium peroxide, Sulphur, Zinc
Quartz bulb See ‘halogen/quartz bulb’
Quartz clock Rock crystal (quartz—gem variety)
Quaternary casting Magnesium (90 % along with a little of zinc and zirconium)
alloy
Radar Garnet, Iron, Muscovite mica (block/film/sheet), Rare earth metals
(lanthanum, yttrium), Rare earth metal compounds (gadolinium
oxide, lanthanum compound)
Radiation pyrometer Muscovite mica (block/film/sheet)
Radiator antifreeze Ethylene
Radio (includes bulb, Cesium, Ferrite, Magnesite, Magnesium, Molybdenum, Muscovite
valve) mica (block/film/sheet), Pyrites, Rhenium, Rubidium, Rock crystal
(quartz—gem variety), Saltpetre (lime), Selenium, Tantalum,
Thorium
Radio bulb Thorium
Radiography See ‘X-ray/radiation/radiography’
(continued)
222 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Radiotherapy Cobalt-60, Gallium-72 (isotope of gallium), Mesothorium,
(including shielding) Molybdenum-99, Phosphorus-32, Rare earth metals (lutetium-177,
samarium-153, yttrium-90), Uranium-238 (depleted uranium or DU
or Q-metal or depletalloy or D-38)
Railway coach/wagon Aluminium, Aluminium foam
Rayon (includes Antimony-based chemical (titanyl chloride antimony trichloride),
manufacturing Carbon disulphide (sulphur-based product), Gold, Platinum and
machinery) rhodium (platinum group of metals), Rutile- and antimony-based
chemical (titanyl chloride antimony trichloride complex)
Rechargeable cell See ‘cell (battery)’
Reconstituted mica Muscovite mica (scrap)
Record player Diamond
Recording tapes (audio See ‘cassette’
and video)
Rectifier Germanium, Mercury, Selenium, Tantalum, Tungsten
Reductant See ‘deoxidizer’
Refinery (oil) Muscovite mica (block/film/sheet), perlite
Refining See ‘purification’
Refractory Alumina, Andalusite, Baddeleyite/zirconia, Bauxite, Bentonite,
Chromite, Copper (in Romelt steel-smelting furnace), Corundum,
Diaspore, Diatomite, Dolomite, Dunite, Feldspar, Fireclay,
Forsterite, Graphite, Kaolin (china clay), Kyanite, Magnesite, Perlite
(expanded and milled)/Carlita/Dicalite, Pyrophyllite, Pyroxenite,
Fused quartz, Quartzite, Serpentinite, Silicon carbide
(carborandum), Sillimanite, Talc/steatite, Vermiculite, Zircon/
zirconia
Refrigeration Fluorine-based compound (chlorofluorocarbon), Rock salt (frozen
(including old uses) solution in water), Sulphur dioxide (pyrites- and sulphur-based
product), Zeolite
Refrigerator (testing) Helium
Resin (synthetic)/ Ethylene (See also ‘plastics’)
plastics
Rhenium diboride Rhenium
(ultra-hard material)
Rheostat Constantan
Rip-rap Crushed stone
Road metal/road Alumina, Asphalt/bitumen/pitch/tar, Asphaltic rock/natural bitumen,
aggregate (including Crushed stone (basalt, dolerite, granite, limestone, marble flour)
paving, road making)
Robotics Diamond (gem), Nickel
Rocket See ‘space technology’
Rocket fuel (including Aluminium powder, Borax-based chemical (boron hydride), Boron,
propellant) Helium, Lithium perchlorate (lithium-based product), Saltpetre
(Chile or nitratine or soda nitre), Saltpetre (ordinary or potassium)
Rock wool See ‘mineral wool’
Rodenticide Thallium compound (sulphate)
(continued)
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 223

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Roofing material Aluminium, Asbestos (chrysotile), Asphaltic rock/natural bitumen,
(including asphalted Crushed stone (slate granules), Monel metal, Muscovite mica
cardboard felting) (ground/micronized), Peat, Tin
Rose’s metal Bismuth, Lead, Tin
Rubber (including Aero-gel/aero-sil/silica aerogel, Alum-ammonium (bauxite-based
synthetic rubber) chemical), Aluminium hydroxide (includes activated alumina),
Aluminium sulphate- ferric (bauxite-based chemical), Antimony-
based chemicals (antimonic sulphide, antimony sulphide), Ball clay,
Barium chromate (chromite-based chemical), Barytes, Bauxite,
Bentonite, Cadmium sulphide or cadmium yellow and cadmium
sulpho-selenide or cadmium red (cadmium-based compounds),
Calcite, Carbon black, Chalk, Clay (ordinary), Crushed stone (slate
powder), Diatomite, Gypsum, Ethylene, Kaolin (china clay), Lead
compounds (oxides—PbO, PbO2 and Pb3O4), Limestone, Magnesite,
Muscovite mica (ground/micronized), Pottery clay, Pyrophyllite,
Quartz, Rock salt (only for synthetic rubber), Rutile- and anatase-
based product (titanium dioxide), Selenium, Selenium compound,
Stibnite, Sulphur, Talc, Tellurium, Wollastonite, Zinc-based
chemical (zinc oxide), Zinc chromate (chromite-based chemical),
Zirconia
Rust-proof coating Bismuth (low-melting alloys, washable with hot water)
(temporary)
Saccharin Phosphorus (red and yellow)
Safety fuse (fuse wire) Bismuth, Cadmium, Lead, Tin
Safety plug Bismuth, Cadmium, Tin
Salt (edible) See ‘edible salt’
Salt cake (sodium Rock salt
sulphate)
Sand blasting Building/river sand, Garnet, Staurolite
Sand casting Magnesium (alloys)
Sanitary ware (unfired) Dimension stones (commercial granite, commercial limestone,
including bathtubs, commercial marble, commercial sandstone, commercial slate), Talc
kitchen platforms,
wash basins etc.
Satellite See ‘space technology’
Scintillation counter Sodium iodide, Thallium
Scotch whisky Peat
Sealing/lining Aluminium hydroxide (includes activated alumina), Asbestos
(chrysotile), Attapulgite/fuller’s earth, Bauxite, Bentonite, Crushed
stone (slate powder), Diatomite, Expanded/exfoliated graphite
(graphite-based product), Graphite/carbon fibre (manufactured
graphite), Indium, Kaolin (china clay), Muscovite mica (ground/
micronized), Precipitated calcium carbonate or PCC (intermediate
product based on milk-of-lime), Silane (silicon tetra-hydride),
Silicone (elastomer/silicon rubber), Talc, Tungsten, Vermiculite,
Water glass/liquid glass/sodium silicate
Searchlight Phlogopite mica, Rare earth metal compound (cerium oxide),
Rhodium (platinum group of metals)
(continued)
224 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Seawater magnesia Dolomite, Limestone
Seeded aluminium Aluminium hydroxide (includes activated alumina), Monel metal
hydroxide gel
Semiconductor Boron, Diamond, Fluorine-based compound (fluoro-carbon),
(including base) Gallium compound (arsenide), Indium compounds (antimonide,
arsenide, phosphide), Molybdenum, Phosphorus (red and yellow),
Rare earth metals (lanthanum, yttrium), Zirconia
Sericulture (including Tin-based chemical (stannous chloride)
weighting agent for
silk)
Sewerage pipe Stoneware clay
Ship (under-sea Copper (in the form of alloys with minor quantities of other metals)
components and their
protection)
Sialon (ceramics) Clay (ordinary), Coal, Fireclay
Signalling device Barium oxide, Cesium, Magnesium, Strontium nitrate, Strontium
oxalate, Strontium peroxide, Thallium compound (bromo-iodide)
Silane (silicon Trichlorosilane
tetra-hydride)
Silica gel Silicic acid (silicon compound)
Silica flour Silica sand
Silica sand Rutile- and anatase-based chemicals (titanous chloride and sulphate)
beneficiation
Silica sol Quartz
Silicic acid Water glass/liquid glass/sodium silicate
Silicon carbide Quartz, Silane, Silica sand, Silicon
Silicon recovery Quartz
Silico-manganese Coke (coal-based product), Dolomite, Limestone, Psilomelane
Silicone (elastomer/ Silicon, Borax-based chemical (boric acid)
silicone rubber, resins,
silicone oils and
silli-putty)
Silicon nitride Quartz, Silica sand, Silicon, Trichlorosilane
Silli-putty See ‘silicone’
Silvered mica Muscovite mica (block/film/sheet)
Silver plate Nickel, Silver
Silverware Cadmium, Silver
Silviculture Zeolite
Sinters Anthracite, Coal, Hematite, Limestone
Skin care Aqua marine, Corundum (ruby and sapphire), Diamond (gem),
Emerald, Rutile- and anatase-based product (titanium dioxide),
White oil
Sky-writing (for Rutile- and anatase-based chemical (titanium tetra-chloride)
advertisement etc.)
Slag granulation Perlite (natural)
(continued)
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 225

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Slag wool See ‘mineral wool’
Slaked lime Lime (or quick lime or fat lime)
Smart wire Nickel
Smoke bomb Antimony (alpha form), Antimony-based chemical (antimony
chloride), Saltpetre (ordinary or potassium)
Smoke inhibitor Tin-based chemical (zinc hydroxyl stannate and stannate)
Smoke screen Rutile- and anatase-based chemical (titanium tetra-chloride)
Smoking pipe Clay (pipe)
Sniperscope Cesium
Snooperscope Cesium
Soaps/detergents/toilet Aluminium powder, Bentonite, Benzene, Borax-based chemical
powder (including (sodium perborate), Cadmium sulphide or cadmium yellow and
synthetic detergent) cadmium sulpho-selenide or cadmium red (cadmium-based
compounds), Ethylene, Gypsum, Kaolin (china clay), Perlite
(expanded and milled)/Carlita/Dicalite, Phosphoric acid-based
products (sodium tri poly-phosphate), Potash group (caustic potash,
potassium carbonate and phosphate), Selenium compound, Soda ash
or soda (sodium carbonate), Synthetic zeolite, Water glass/liquid
glass/sodium silicate, Wax/paraffin wax, Zeolite, Zeolite (synthetic)
Soda ash or soda Limestone, Rock salt, Trona
(sodium carbonate)
Soda beverage Phosphoric acid
Sodium aluminate Bauxite
Sodium bicarbonate Limestone
Sodium hexa-meta Sodium ammonium hydrogen phosphate (phosphoric acid-based
phosphate or calgon product)
(phosphoric acid
product)
Sodium lamp Niobium, Phosphorite, Sodium
Sodium silicate See ‘water glass/liquid glass’
Soil conditioning Apatite, Crushed stone (marble flour), Dolomite, Dunite, Gypsum,
Lime (or quick lime or fat lime), Magnesium sulphate—anhydrous
(magnesite-based product), Peat, Phosphorite, Potash group
(potassium chloride, schoenite and sulphate), Pyrites, Pyroxenite,
Shirasu (volcanic eject), Sulphur, Vermiculite, Zeolite
Solar cell See ‘photovoltaic cell’
Solar heating Zeolite
Soldering Aluminium fluoride (alumina-based chemical), Antimony (beta
form), Arsenic, Borax, Indium, Lead, Silver, Thallium, Tin
Solvent (industrial) Carbon disulphide (sulphur-based product)
Solvent (organic) Ethylene/olefin
Space technology Aluminium, Boron (boron-containing metal-matrix composite),
(includes satellite, Diamond (gem), Fullerene (manufactured graphite), Gallium
rocket, spacecraft, compound (arsenide), Helium, Polonium (bismuth-based material),
space shuttle, lunar Pyrolytic graphite (manufactured graphite), Lithium, Niobium,
vehicle) Platinum (platinum group of metals), Titanium, Weldite
(aluminium-lithium alloy)
(continued)
226 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Spark plug Barium, Iridium, Palladium and platinum (platinum group
of metals), Rhenium, Tungsten
Speaker See ‘loud speaker’
Spectrometer Thallium compound (bromo-iodide)
Spectrophotometer Diamond (gem), Rhenium
Speed governor Tungsten
Spiegeleisen Coke (coal-based product), Dolomite, Limestone, Psilomelane
(low-grade)
Spinodal alloy Copper, Nickel, Tin
Sponge iron (directly Coal, Dolomite, Hematite, Limestone, Natural gas
reduced iron)
Sporting goods Graphite/carbon fibre (manufactured graphite)
Sporting gun Antimony (alpha form), Antimony-based chemical (antimony
chloride)
Sports car Aluminium, Boron (boron-containing metal-matrix composite),
Fullerene (manufactured graphite), Titanium
Stainless steel Ferrochrome (including charge chrome and high-, medium- and
(including its low-carbon ferrochrome, silico-chrome), Ferromanganese,
manufacturing process) Ferro-niobium, Nickel, Steel, Titanium
Standard reference for Palladium and platinum (platinum group of metals)
‘kilogram’ or
International Prototype
Kilogram (IPK)
Standard reference for Cesium
‘metre’
Static electricity Polonium (bismuth-based material)
(control device)
Statuary See ‘art work’
Steam pipes See ‘boiler’
Steel Ferromanganese, Iron, Limestone
Stellite Chromite, Cobalt, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Tungsten
Sterilization Cobalt-60, fluorine-based compound (chlorofluorocarbon), Uranium
Stoneware for chemical Stoneware clay
Stoneware crockery Stoneware clay
Storage See ‘handling’
Stowing (mine) Building/river sand, Coal usage waste (fly ash)
Strontium carbonate Celestite
Strontium hydroxide Celestite, Strontianite
Strontium nitrate Celestite, Strontianite
Strontium peroxide Celestite, Strontianite
Strontium titanate Celestite, Strontianite
Stucco See ‘plaster’
Submarine Muscovite mica (block/film/sheet), Titanium, Uranium-235
(continued)
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 227

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Sugar Barium hydroxide, Milk-of-lime (lime-based product), Pyrolusite-
based chemical (potassium permanganate), Rutile- and anatase-
based chemicals (titanous chloride and sulphate), Strontianite,
Sulphur
Sugar of lead Lead
Sulphur recovery Asphaltic rock/natural bitumen, Coal, Diatomite, Natural gas,
Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale (refinery product)
Sulphur dioxide Pyrites, Sulphur
Sulphuric acid Anhydrite, Gypsum, Pyrites, Sulphur dioxide (pyrites- and
manufacturing sulphur-based product), Vanadium-based chemical (vanadium
pentoxide)
Sulphurous acid Sulphur dioxide (pyrites- and sulphur-based product)
manufacturing
Superconductor Bismuth compound (oxide), Borax-based compound (magnesium
diboride), Boron, Nickel, Niobium, Rhenium, Silver, Tin, Titanium
Surgery/surgical Chromium, Cobalt, Gypsum, Iridium (platinum group of metals),
material (including Magnesium, Molybdenum, Nickel, Niobium (powder), Nitinol,
dressing) Palladium and platinum (platinum group of metals), Peat, Rare earth
metal (holmium), Silicone (silli-putty), Silver, Tantalum, Zirconium
Surgical reamers Diamond (industrial)
Switch board Dimension stones (commercial slate)
Synthetic borax Colemanite
Synthetic cryolite Bauxite, Clay, Fluorite-based product (fluoro-silicic acid)
Synthetic diamond See ‘artificial/synthetic diamond’
Synthetic/artificial Borax, Gallium, Garnet, Rare earth metal (gadolinium)
gems (includes their (see also ‘artificial diamond’)
manufacturing)
Synthetic garnet See ‘garnet (synthetic)’
Synthetic graphite Graphite
Synthetic/imitation Aluminium hydroxide (includes activated alumina), Antimony-
marble based chemical (antimony oxide), Calcite, Gypsum, Onyx flour
(quartz—industrial variety), Silica flour (quartz—industrial variety),
Talc
Synthetic manganese See ‘electrolytic manganese dioxide and chemically activated
dioxide manganese dioxide’
Synthetic petroleum Coal, Cobalt, Natural gas, Thorium
Synthetic ruby Aluminium
Synthetic rutile Ilmenite
Synthetic zeolite Kaolin (china clay), Kimberlite
Tar See ‘asphalt/bitumen/pitch/tar/coal tar’
Talcum powder See ‘cosmetics’
Telecommunication See ‘communication’
Telephone (including Ferrite, Gallium, Palladium and platinum (platinum group of
portable ones) metals), Rock crystal (quartz—gem variety)
Telescope lens Rare earth metal (lanthanum)
(continued)
228 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Television (camera, Cadmium phosphor (cadmium-based compound), Cesium, Ferrite,
picture tube, screen, Germanium, Potash group (potassium carbonate and meta-silicate),
filter) Rare earth metals (europium, terbium, yttrium), Rare earth metal
compounds (cerium oxide, erbium oxide, europium oxide,
neodymium oxide, praseodymium oxide, yttrium oxide), Selenium,
Silver
Terne plating (for Lead, Tin
roofing sheet)
Ternary casting alloy Magnesium (93–97 % along with a little of zinc and zirconium)
Terracotta articles Terracotta clay
Terrazzo Crushed stone (marble chips)
Terylene Ethylene, Synthetic zeolite
Tetraethyl lead Lead, Sodium
Textile (includes Alum-ammonium (bauxite-based chemical), Aluminium carboxylate
de-staining agent, (bauxite-based chemical), Aluminium sulphate- ferric (bauxite-
machine) based chemical), Asbestos (amosite, chrysotile, crocidolite), Barium
chloride, Borax, Cadmium sulphide or cadmium yellow and
cadmium sulpho-selenide or cadmium red (cadmium-based
compounds), Calcite, Gypsum, Kaolin (china clay), Magnesium,
Potash-chrome alum (chromite-based chemical), Potash group
(potassium carbonate), Pyrolusite-based chemical (manganese
chloride), Rutile- and anatase-based chemicals (titanous chloride
and sulphate), Rutile- and anatase-based product (titanium dioxide),
Slaked lime (lime-based product), Sodium dichromate (chromite-
based chemical), Sodium tungstate, Sulphur dioxide (pyrites- and
sulphur-based product), Talc, Tin-based chemical (organo-tin
compounds), Uranium compounds (salts), Vanadium-based
chemicals (ammonium vanadate, vanadium pentoxide), Zirconium
Thermal dosimeter (for Diamond (gem), Tourmaline
measuring radiation)
Thermal power Anthracite, Coal, Lignite, Methane, Natural gas
generation
Thermal power plant Muscovite mica (block/film/sheet)
Thermal regulator Muscovite mica (block/film/sheet)
Thermistor Germanium
Thermocouple Constantan, Iridium, Palladium, Platinum, Rhenium, Rhodium
(platinum group of metals)
Thermometer Gallium (500–1,200 °C range), Mercury, Fused quartz, Thallium
Thermonuclear reactor Helium (helium-3), Lithium deuteride (lithium-based product)
(including fusion
power generation,
hydrogen bomb)
Thermoplastics/ Muscovite mica (ground/micronized), Phlogopite mica
thermoset
Thermoset See ‘thermoplastic’
Tile (fired) See ‘ceramics’
Tile, roofing Roofing tile clay
(continued)
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 229

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Tile (unfired) Crushed stone (marble dust), Gypsum, Magnesite
Tinning (or tin-plating) Sulphuric acid (pyrites- and sulphur-based product), Tin
Titanium carbide Titanium
Titanium dioxide Aluminium chloride (bauxite-based chemical), Anatase, Rutile,
(rutile-based product) Synthetic rutile, Zinc-based chemical (zinc peroxide)
Toilet powder See ‘soap’
Toluene (aromatic Coal, Lignite, Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale
organic chemical)
Tools (high- Isostatic graphite mould
performance ones
made of metal, ceramic
and diamond)
Tool steel Ferrochrome (including charge chrome and high-, medium- and
low-carbon ferrochrome, silico-chrome)
Tooth paste/powder Borax, Corundum, Diatomite, Fluorine-based compound (sodium
fluoride), Fluorine-based compound (sodium mono-fluoro-
phosphate), Fluorine-based compound (stannous fluoride),
Fluorite-based product (fluorine gas), Kaolin (china clay),
Phosphoric acid-based products (di-sodium phosphate, sodium
mono-phosphate, sodium pyrophosphate, sodium tri-poly-
phosphate, tetra-sodium phosphate, tri-sodium phosphate),
Pyrophyllite, Saltpetre (ordinary or potassium)
Touchstone for gold Jasper
Toys Barytes, Silicone (silli-putty)
Tracer bullet Strontium nitrate, Strontium oxalate, Strontium peroxide
Traction sand Building/river sand, Silica fume/silica dust/fluffy silica/micro-silica
Transducer Niobium pentoxide (niobium compound), Rock crystal (quartz—
gem variety)
Transistor Gallium compound (arsenide), Germanium, Graphene (graphite-
based product), Titanium
Transportation fuel Aviation turbine fuel (petroleum refinery product, middle distillate),
(air, ocean, river, road) Diesel high speed (petroleum refinery product, middle distillate),
Heavy fuel oil (petroleum refinery product, heavy end), Methane
(abandoned and working mine, coal bed and coal mine ventilation
air methane), Motor fuel or Mo-gas (petroleum refinery product,
light distillate), Natural gas, Petroleum (crude/natural),
Uranium-235 (ocean transport)
Trichlorosilane Silicon
Tube, collapsible Antimony (beta form), Lead, Tin
Tungsten carbide Niobium carbide (niobium compound), Tungsten
Turnbull’s blue See ‘Prussian blue’
Turquoise green Cobalt (titanate)
Type metal See ‘Printing type metal’
Ultra-hard materials Boron carbide, Boron nitride/borazon/wurtzite, Lonsdaleite,
Rhenium diboride
Ultrasonography Rock crystal (quartz—gem variety)
(continued)
230 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Underground coal mine Dolomite
Uranium-233 recovery Thorium
Uranium-235 recovery Uranium metal
Uranium-238 recovery Uranium metal
Utensils (including Aluminium, Copper, German silver, Rhodium (platinum group of
tableware, cutlery, metals), Silver
silverware)
Vacuum device Barium, Calcium, Cesium, Magnesium, Niobium, Rubidium, Rare
earth metal (lanthanum), Tantalum, Zirconium
Vanaspati (butter-like Borax, Siderite (after calcination)
fat of vegetable origin)
Varakh (thin edible Silver
cover on sweets)
Varnish Asphalt/bitumen/pitch/tar, Pyrolusite-based chemical (manganese
borate, manganese linoleate, manganese naphthenate, manganese
oxalate, manganese resinate), Slate powder (crushed stone)
Vaseline See ‘mineral jelly/petroleum jelly/Vaseline’
Vegetable oil Pyrolusite-based chemical (manganese borate, manganese linoleate,
processing manganese naphthenate, manganese oxalate, manganese resinate)
Vermicide Phosphorus (yellow)
Vibration damping Asbestos (chrysotile), Lead
Video cassette See ‘cassette’
Video tape recorder See ‘cassette player’
Vinyl sheet/linoleum/ Asbestos (chrysotile), Barium hydroxide, Bentonite, Barium
oil cloth (includes chromate (chromite-based chemical), Chromic oxide (chromite-
PVC) based chemical), Ethylene, Tin-based chemical (organo-tin
compound), Zinc chromate (chromite-based chemical)
Viscosity increasing Bentonite
Vitamins Phosphorus (red and yellow)
Vodka Asbestos (chrysotile)
Wall paper Muscovite mica (ground/micronized)
Waste treatment Zeolite
Watch Osmium and palladium (platinum group of metals)
Watch/clock dial Radium
(luminescent)
Water filter candle Quartz, Silica sand
Water gas (blue water Coal, Coke (coal-based product)
gas)
Water gas, carbureted Coal
Water glass/liquid glass Diatomite, Quartz, Silica sand
(sodium silicate)
Waterproofing Alum-ammonium (bauxite-based chemical), Aluminium carboxylate
(includes waterproof (bauxite-based chemical), Aluminium sulphate- ferric (bauxite-
coating on nylon, based chemical), Rutile- and anatase-based chemical (alkyl titanate),
paper, rayon, silk, Silicone (elastomer/silicone rubber and oils), Wax/paraffin wax
wood, wool etc.) (petroleum refinery product)
(continued)
9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 231

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Water sprinkler, Bismuth, Cadmium, Tin
automatic
Water potability test Gold (nano-chip)
Water treatment Alum-ammonium (bauxite-based chemical), Aluminium chloride
(including sewerage (bauxite-based chemical), Aluminium sulphate—iron-free and ferric
water and fluoridation, (aluminium hydroxide-based and bauxite-based chemicals), Barium
fluorination and arsenic chloride, Calcite, Diatomite, Dolomite, Fluorite-based product
removal) (fluorine gas), Fluorite-based product (fluoro-silicic acid),
Glauconite, Lime (or quick lime or fat lime), Magnetite (nano-
crystals), Phosphoric acid-based products (di-sodium phosphate,
sodium aluminate (bauxite-based chemical), sodium mono-
phosphate, sodium pyrophosphate, sodium tri-poly-phosphate,
tetra-sodium phosphate, tri-sodium phosphate), Potash group
(potassium phosphate), Pyrolusite-based chemical (potassium
permanganate), Slaked lime (lime-based product), Soda ash (sodium
carbonate), Water glass/liquid glass/sodium silicate, Zeolite
Wax (paraffin wax) Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale (refinery
products)
Weaponry (including ALON (aluminium oxy-nitride), Aluminium, plutonium-239
nuclear)
Weed killer Arsenic-based compounds (calcium arsenate)
Welding/welding rod Aluminium fluoride (alumina-based chemical), Anatase, Bentonite,
(including ceramic Bauxite, Borax, Calcium carbide, Cryolite, Feldspar, Hematite,
welding, coating) Lithium chloride (lithium-based product), Lithium fluoride
(lithium-based product), Magnesite, Muscovite mica (ground/
micronized), Potash group (potassium meta-silicate), Quartz, Rutile,
Silica sand, Thorium, Tungsten, Water gas (coal-based product),
Water gas (carbureted, coal-based product)
Weldite Aluminium, Lithium
White carbon Graphite
White gold Gold, Nickel, Palladium (platinum group of metals)
White oil Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale (refinery
products)
White metal Antimony (beta form), Lead
White spirit Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale (refinery
products)
Window Muscovite mica (block/film/sheet)
Wine/winery Rock salt, Sulphur dioxide (pyrites- and sulphur-based product)
Wine bottle cap Tin
Winery Sulphur dioxide (pyrites- and sulphur-based product)
Wire drawing (die) See ‘die (for wire drawing)’
Wood’s metal Bismuth, Cadmium, Lead, Tin
Wool Aluminium chloride (bauxite-based chemical), Rutile- and
anatase-based chemicals (titanous chloride and sulphate), Sulphur
dioxide (pyrites- and sulphur-based product)
Writing chalk See ‘pencil/crayon and writing chalk’
Writing slate Dimension stones (commercial slate)
(continued)
232 9 Annexure I: Repertory of Product-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Product/process Metals/minerals/rocks used

Wrought iron Iron/pig iron
Xerox machine/ Selenium
photocopier
X-ray/radiology/ Barytes, Beryllium, Pyrolytic graphite (manufactured graphite),
radiography Lead (for shielding), Lead glass, Rare earth metals (europium,
gadolinium, terbium, yttrium), Sodium tungstate, Thorium,
Tungsten, Uranium-238 (depleted uranium or DU or Q-metal or
depletalloy or D-38)
Xylene (organic Coal, Lignite, Petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale
chemical) (derivative, slightly unsaturated)
Xylenols (organic Coal, Lignite, Petroleum
chemical)
Zari Gold, Silver
Zari, imitation Copper, Silver
Zeolite (synthetic) See ‘synthetic zeolite’
Zeoponic materials Zeolite
(chemically modified
natural zeolite with
enhanced efficiency)
Zinc-beryllium silicate Beryllium, Zinc
Chapter 10
Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals,
Minerals and Rocks

(Hardness values are on Mohs scale)

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Aero-gel/aero-sil/silica Catalyst; Construction (for solar heating); Desiccation; Insecticide/
aerogel pesticide/germicide/fungicide (carrier); Insulator (heat); Purification/
cleaning (toxic liquids); Rubber (including synthetic rubber)
Agate See ‘quartz—gem varieties’
Alnico (alloy of iron Magnet (permanent)
with aluminium,
nickel, cobalt)
ALON (aluminium Aircraft; Electrochemical boring; Weaponry
oxy-nitride)
Alumina (includes Abrasive/grinding (wheel, paper, cloth), Catalyst; Cement (calcium
calcined, sintered and aluminate refractory cement); Ceramics (including fired tiles,
fused alumina) composites, porcelain); Grinding; Metallurgy (aluminium);
Refractory (alumina-graphite, alumina-zirconia-silica, calcined and
sintered alumina, chrome alumina); Road metal/road aggregate
Alumina-based Aluminium silicate fibre; Ceramics; Enamel; Foundry (metal
chemical—Aluminium casting); Glass (optical and special glasses); Metallurgy
fluoride (aluminium); Opacifier; Soldering, Welding
Alumina-based Alumina (electrically insulating)
chemical—Aluminium
nitrate mono-hydrate
Alumina (electrically Actinides extraction; Cathode ray tube; Electric equipments (motor/
insulating) generator/transformer, portable transformer); Insulator (electrical)—
wrapping paper
(continued)

© Capital Publishing Company 2015 233

K.K. Chatterjee, Macro-Economics of Mineral and Water Resources,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-15054-3_10
234 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Aluminium and its Aircraft; Alnico (alloy of iron with aluminium, nickel, cobalt);
alloys ALON (aluminium oxy-nitride); Aluminium bronze; Aluminium
foam; Aluminium powder; Artificial diamond (in combination with
yttrium and garnet); Automotive bodies/parts; Board/panel; Canning/
packaging; Capacitor; Ceramics (metal-matrix composite in
combination with boron); Die casting; Electrical transmission;
Electronic equipment; Foils (for wrapping food etc.); Handling/
storage (chemicals, paints etc.); Laser (in combination with
neodymium, yttrium and garnet); Marinel (multi-metal alloy);
Missile; Laser/maser; Railway coach/wagon; Roofing material;
Space technology (including rocket, satellite, spacecraft); Sports car;
Synthetic ruby (in combination with yttrium and garnet); Utensils;
Weaponry (mortar barrel mounting); Weldite
Aluminium foam Automotive bodies; Construction (building structures); Railway
coaches/wagons
Aluminium hydroxide Abrasive/grinding (for soft surfaces like plastic); Adhesive; Catalyst;
(includes activated Desiccation; Fertilizer; Paper; Plastics; Purification/refining/cleaning
alumina) (petroleum); Rubber (including synthetic rubber); Sealing/lining;
Seeded aluminium gel; Synthetic marble
Aluminium hydroxide- Alumina (electrically insulating)
based chemical—
Aluminium nitrate
mono-hydrate
Aluminium hydroxide- Aluminium hydroxide gel; De-staining; Leather; Odour control;
based chemical— Paper; Water treatment
Aluminium sulphate
(iron-free)
Aluminium hydroxide Pharmaceuticals
gel
Aluminium powder Aluminothermic smelting process; Epoxy; Explosion/explosive/
pyrotechnics (blasting agent); Magnet (permanent magnet, in alloy
with cobalt, iron and nickel); Metallurgy (molybdenum); Optical
brightener; Paint (pigment and dye); Preservation (metal); Rocket
fuel; Soaps/detergents/toilet powder (mildly abrasive additive to
biodegradable detergent)
Amazonite See ‘Feldspar (amazonite)’
Amber Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
Amblygonite (lithium Metallurgy (lithium)
mineral)
Amethyst See ‘quartz—gem varieties’
Ammonia Fertilizer
Amphibolite Mineral wool/rock wool
Anatase Chemicals (see ‘rutile-based chemicals’); Titanium dioxide (see
‘rutile-based product’); Welding
Anatase-based See ‘rutile-based chemicals’
chemicals
Anatase-based product See ‘rutile-based product’
Andalusite Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery; Refractory
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 235

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Anhydrite Fertilizer; Sulphuric acid
Anthracite Calcium carbide; Coke; Domestic heating; Industrial heating; Lime
(or quick lime or fat lime) burning; Metallurgy (iron); Sinters;
Thermal power generation
Antimony (alpha Smoke bomb; Sporting gun
form)
Antimony (beta form) Babbitt metal (alloy with mainly tin and copper); Britannia metal
(alloy with tin); Bullet/shot/shell; Cable sheath; Cell (battery);
Chemicals (see below); Nuclear reactor (alloy with uranium); Pewter
(alloy with copper and tin); Printing type metal (alloy with copper,
lead and tin); Pyrotechnics (fireworks); Soldering; Tube
(collapsible); White metal (alloy with lead)
Antimony-based Fire extinguishing; Paint (pigment); Smoke bomb; Sporting gun
chemical—Antimony
chloride
Antimony-based Enamel; Opacifier; Paint (pigment); Synthetic/imitation marble
chemical—Antimony
oxide (antimony
white)
Antimony-based Paint (pigment); Rubber
chemical—Antimonic
sulphide (Sb2S5)
Antimony-based Matches; Paint (pigment); Rubber
chemical—Antimony
sulphide/antimony
vermillion (chemically
prepared Sb2S3)
Antimony-based Medical application; Mordant
chemical—Tartar
emetic (Potassium
antimony tartarate)
Antimony-based Rayon
chemical—Titanyl
chloride antimony
trichloride complex
Antimony black Paint (pigment)
(chemically or
electrically deposited
from antimony
solution)
Apatite Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery; Phospho-gypsum
(byproduct from phosphoric acid manufacturing); Phosphoric acid;
Soil conditioner
Apatite (asparagus Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
stone)
Apatite (lasurapalite) Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
Apatite Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
(manganapalite)
(continued)
236 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Apatite (moroxite) Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
Apophyllite Gem, Ornament/jewellery
Aqua marine Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery; Skin care
Argentite Metallurgy (silver)
Arsenic Bullet/shot/shell (alloy with lead); Soldering (alloy with antimony,
lead, tin)
Arsenic-based Calico printing; Glass; Insecticide/pesticide/germicide/fungicide;
compound—White Mordant; Poison (for execution including old practices)
arsenic (arsenous
oxide)
Arsenic-based Chemical warfare
compound—Lewisite
(chloro-vinyl-
dichlorarsine)
Arsenic-based Medical application; Preservation (timber, hide, leather); Weed killer
compound—Calcium
arsenate
Arsenic-based Medical application; Preservation (timber, hide, leather)
compounds—Lead
arsenate
Arsenic-based Preservation (timber, hide, leather)
compound—Sodium
arsenate
Arsenopyrite Metallurgy (arsenic)
Asbestos (actinolite) Acid filtration; Asbestos cement; Bitumen; Brake/friction material;
Insulation (thermal); Lagging (boilers, steam pipes); Paint filler (for
special properties); Plastics (chemical resistant)
Asbestos (amosite) Asbestos textile; Insulator (high temperature); Marine particle board;
Paint filler (for special properties)
Asbestos Acid filtration; Asbestos filter; Lagging (boilers, steam pipes); Paint
(anthophyllite) filler (for special properties)
Asbestos (chrysotile) Asbestos cement; Asbestos filter; Asbestos paper; Asphalt; Board/
panel; Brake/friction material; Caulking; Ceramics (including fired
tiles, composites, porcelain); Hydrogen sulphide manufacturing (see
‘sulphur-based products’); Insulator (electrical); Insulator (sound);
Jointing sheet; Packing; Plastics (filler); Roofing material; Sealing/
lining; Vinyl sheet/linoleum/oil cloth; Vibration damping (along with
lead); Vodka
Asbestos (crocidolite) Asbestos cement; Asbestos textile; Gasket (acid resistant); Lagging
(boilers, steam pipes); Packing (acid resistant); Paint filler (for
special properties)
Asbestos (tremolite) Asbestos cement; Bitumen; Brake/friction material; Insulation
(thermal); Paint filler (for special properties); Plastics (chemical
resistant)
Asphalt/bitumen/pitch/ Grease; Insulator (electrical); Metallurgy (iron); Preservation
tar (electrical cables, metal, timber); Reductant; Road (paving, road
making); Varnish
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 237

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Asphaltic rock/natural Petroleum coke; Road metal (paving); Roofing material; Sulphur
bitumen (including tar recovery
sand)
Attapulgite/fuller’s Adhesive; Bleaching; Catalyst; Cement grouting; Drilling (oil well);
earth Explosion/explosive/pyrotechnics (including gun powder, dynamite);
Insecticide carrier; Pharmaceuticals; Purification/refining/cleaning
(edible oil); Purification/refining/cleaning (gases including natural
gas); Sealing/lining
Aviation turbine fuel Transportation (air)
or ATF
Axinite Gem (minor importance); Ornament/jewellery
Baddeleyite Abrasive/grinding (wheel, paper, cloth); Ceramics (including fired
tiles, composites, porcelain); Chemicals; Crucible; Dentistry;
Electro-ceramics; Enamel; Fountain pen nib; Fuel cell (battery);
Geological dating; Glass;
Glazing; Insulator (electrical); Lacquer filler; Leather filler;
Opacifier; Oxygen sensor; Paint filler; Refractory; Rubber (white)
filler; Semiconductor; Zirconium metallurgy
Baddeleyite-based Pharmaceuticals
chemical—Zirconium
carbonate
Baddeleyite-based Cosmetics (antiperspirants, ointments)
chemical—Zirconium
phosphate
Ball clay Animal/poultry feed; Ceramics (including fired tiles, composites,
porcelain); Glazing (mixed with kaolin); Plastic (filler); Rubber
(filler)
Barium Degasification; Deoxidizer; Electronic equipment; Ferrite, Glass
(photochromatic); Metallurgy (copper); Spark plug; Vacuum device
(degassing)
Barium carbonate Glass; Glaze; Enamel; Purification (phosphoric acid); Steel
metallurgy
Barium chloride Barium metallurgy; Brick making; Leather; Textile; Water treatment
Barium hydroxide Ceramics; Lubricant; Organic compounds; Sugar; Vinyl sheet (PVC)
Barium nitrate Detonator; Paint (primer); Signalling device
Barium oxide Glass; Glaze
Barium peroxide Desulphurization; Furnace; Hydrogen peroxide manufacture
Barytes Adhesive; Barium metallurgy; Chemicals (carbonate, chloride,
hydroxide, nitrate, oxide and peroxide of barium); Coal washing/
beneficiation; Construction (concrete aggregate); Drilling (oil well);
Explosive; Glass (ordinary); Nuclear reactor; Paint (filler); Paint
(dye, lithopone, pigment); Paper; Rubber (synthetic); Toys; X-ray/
radiology
Basalt Agriculture; Brake/friction material; Horticulture; Hydroponics;
Insulator (heat); Insulator (sound); Rock wool
Bastnasite Metallurgy (rare earth metals)
(continued)
238 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Bauxite (includes Abrasive/grinding (fused bauxite); Alumina (aluminium oxide);
activated, calcined, Aluminium hydroxide; Cement (ordinary portland, high- and
sintered and fused) low-iron alumina cement); Cordierite (artificial); Desiccation;
Drilling (proppant in deep drilling); Emery (artificial); Cordierite
(artificial); Metallurgy (aluminium, iron, steel); Refractory (calcined
and sintered bauxite), Synthetic cryolite; Welding
Bauxite-based Cement; De-staining; Fire extinguishing; Leather; Odour control;
chemical—Alum Paint (filler for special properties); Paper; Pharmaceuticals; Plastics;
(ammonium) Printing ink; Rubber; Textile; Waterproofing; Water treatment
Bauxite-based Cosmetics; Drilling; Lubricant/grease; Pharmaceuticals; Textile;
chemical—Aluminium Waterproofing
carboxylate
Bauxite-based Bleaching; Catalyst; Cosmetics; Perfumery; Petroleum refining;
chemical—Aluminium Pharmaceuticals; Polishing (metal); Preservation (vegetables, meat);
chloride Titanium dioxide; Water treatment; Wool
Bauxite-based Cement; Fire extinguishing; Paint (filler for special properties);
chemical—Aluminium Pharmaceuticals; Plastics; Printing ink; Rubber; Textile;
sulphate (ferric) Waterproofing; Water treatment
Bauxite-based Acrylic; Ceramics; Glass; Paint (filler for special properties); Paper;
chemical—Sodium Water treatment
aluminate
Bentonite Abrasive wheel (binder); Animal/poultry feed (binding agent);
Bonding; Ceramics (including fired tiles, composites, porcelain);
Construction (for preventing fluid loss and caving of walls during
excavation); Cosmetics (including talcum powder); Drilling (oil
well); Emulsifier; Foundry (metal casting); Insecticide/fungicide
(emulsifying agent); Iron metallurgy (pellets); Iron nugget;
Naturopathy; Paint (emulsifying agent); Paint filler (for special
properties); Paper (bonding agent); Pharmaceuticals; Polishing;
Purification (sewerage water); Refining (edible oils and fats);
Refractory (binder); Rubber (including synthetic rubber); Sealing/
lining; Soaps/detergent/toilet powder; Vinyl sheet/linoleum/oil cloth
(bonding agent); Viscosity enhancer; Welding rod (binder for
coating)
Benzene Antiknock additive; Hair dye; Soaps/detergent (synthetic detergent)
Beryl Beryllium oxide
Beryllium Aircraft (alloy); Alloys; Chemicals (see below); Neutron generation;
Non-sparking tools (beryllium-copper alloy); Nuclear reactor (fuel
element, moderator, heat-transfer unit); X-ray/radiology
Beryllium-based Analytical chemistry; Ceramics
chemical—Beryllium
acetate, bromide,
carbonate, fluoride,
hydroxide, nitrate,
perchlorate
Beryllium-based Fluorescent light applications
chemical—Zinc-
beryllium silicate
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 239

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Beryllium oxide (a Ceramics; Metallurgy (beryllium)
derivative of beryl)
Biotite (ground) Paint (filler)
Bismite (bismuth Metallurgy (bismuth)
ochre)
Bismuth EnviroBrass (lead-free brass); Lipowitz’s metal (alloy with lead and
tin), Newton’s metal (alloy with lead and tin); Nuclear reactor (fuel,
alloy with uranium); Polonium (radioactive material); Rose’s metal
(alloy with lead and tin, melts at 94 °C); Rust-proof coating
(temporary, low-melting alloys washable with hot water); Safety fuse
(fuse wire, alloy with cadmium, lead and tin); Safety plug (alloy with
cadmium, indium and tin); Water sprinkler (automatic, alloy with
cadmium, lead and tin, melts at 60 °C); Wood’s metal (melts at
70 °C)
Bismuth compounds Ceramics (porcelain); Cosmetics; Glass; Pharmaceuticals;
(hydroxide, nitrate, Superconductor
oxide, sub-carbonate,
sub-chloride,
sub-iodide, trichloride,
trioxide etc.)
Bixbite Gem
Bog iron ore Metallurgy (iron); Purification/refining/cleaning (gases including
coal gas)
Borax Agriculture/horticulture; Analytical chemistry (borax-bead test);
Artificial gem; Ceramics (including fired tiles, composites,
porcelain); Cosmetics (including talcum powder); Edible salt;
Electroplating (bath); Enamel; Fire proofing; Fire retardant; Glass
(borosilicate glass); Glazing; Ink (indelible); Metallurgy (copper,
chromium, cobalt, iron, nickel, uranium); Paper; Pyrotechnics
(fireworks); Soldering; Textile; Tooth paste/powder; Vanaspati
(butter-like fat of vegetable origin); Welding
Borax-based Ferro-boron; Herbicide; Insecticide/fungicide/germicide; Medical
compound—Boric application (as antiseptic and for fungal infection of horse); Metallic
acid glass; Metallurgy (boron); Silicone (silli-putty)
Borax-based Boron carbide; Boron nitride; Ferro-boron; Metallic glass;
compound—Boric Metallurgy (boron)
oxide
Borax-based Analytical chemistry (low voltage DNA analysis) Herbicide;
compound—Sodium Insecticide/fungicide/germicide
borate
Borax-based Herbicide; Insecticide/fungicide/germicide; Soaps/detergent/toilet
compound—Sodium powder
per borate
Borax-based Hydraulic brake
compound—Sodium
organo-borate
(liquibor)
(continued)
240 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Borax-based Rocket fuel
compound—Boron
hydride
Borax-based Analytical chemistry (high voltage DNA analysis)
compound—Lithium
borate
Borax-based Superconductor
compound—
Magnesium diboride
Bornite Metallurgy (copper)
Boro-gypsum Cement
(byproduct from boric
acid manufacturing)
Boron Aircraft (boron-containing metal-matrix composite); Ceramics
(metal-matrix composite in combination with aluminium); Magnet
(permanent, alloy with iron and neodymium), Optical fibre; Plant
nutrient (micronutrient); Pyrotechnics (fireworks); Rocket fuel;
Semiconductor; Space technology (space shuttle, boron-containing
metal-matrix composite); Sports car
Boron-10 (isotope of Neutron detection; Nuclear reactor (moderator and shield)
boron)
Boron-11 (isotope of Nuclear reactor (fuel element, alloy with uranium)
boron)
Boron carbide Diamond dressing; Die (for ceramic tools); Metallurgy (iron);
Missile; Nuclear reactor (as shield); Precision tools; Ultra-hard
material
Boron nitride (or Ceramics (advanced structural ceramics); Ultra-hard material
borazon or wurtzite)
Bowenite Gem (minor importance); Ornament/jewellery
Brass Pancha Dhatu (5-metal alloy)
Brick clay/brick earth Common bricks
Brick shale Common bricks
Cadmium Bearings; Bonding (gold chain elements); Cell (rechargeable,
high-precision); Electric cable; Electroplating/metal plating; Nuclear
reactor; Safety fuse (fuse wire, alloy with bismuth, lead and tin);
Safety plug (alloy with bismuth, indium and tin); Silverware;
Television (camera, picture tube, screen); Water sprinkler (automatic,
alloy with bismuth, lead, tin); Wood’s metal (alloy with bismuth,
lead and tin)
Cadmium-based Photography
compound—Cadmium
halides
Cadmium-based Television (picture tube)
compound—Cadmium
phosphor
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 241

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Cadmium-based Enamel; Glass; Ink (printing); Leather; Paint (pigment and dye);
compound—Cadmium Paper; Rubber (including synthetic rubber); Soap; Textile
sulphide (cadmium
yellow)
Cadmium-based Enamel; Glass; Ink (printing); Leather; Paint (pigment and dye);
compound—Cadmium Paper; Rubber (including synthetic rubber); Soap; Textile
sulpho-selenide
(cadmium red)
Cadmium-based X-ray/radiology
compound—Cadmium
tungstate
Calcite Adhesive; Beryllium metallurgy; Chemicals; Cosmetics (including
talcum powder); Electrode; Glass; Glazing; Paint extender/thinner;
Rubber (including synthetic rubber); Synthetic/imitation marble;
Textile; Water treatment
Calcite (dogtooth spar) Decoration (including art work, artifact)
Calcite (Iceland spar) Distance measurement; Nicol prism in polariscope; Optical
instruments (including Quarter-wave plate)
Calcite (Mexican Decoration (including art work, artifact)
onyx)
Calcium Cell (absorbed electrolyte battery); Degasification; Metallurgy
(thorium, vanadium); Nuclear reactor (a film of CaO serves to
protect beryllium against attack by liquid sodium in the heat-transfer
unit); Pharmaceuticals; Vacuum device (for degasification)
Calcium carbide Carbide lamp (petromax); Fruit ripening; Welding
(lime-based product)
Calcium chloride Electric arc furnace (EAF)
Calcium magnesium De-icing
acetate
Calcium silicate Edible salt (free-flowing table salt)
Calcium tungstate Fluorescent light applications
Calomel See ‘mercury compounds’
Carbon black/oil black Ink (printing); Paint (pigment and dye); Rubber (synthetic)
Carbon fibre See ‘graphite (manufactured)’
Carlita See ‘perlite (expanded and milled)/Carlita/Dicalite’
Carnotite Metallurgy (uranium, vanadium)
Causticized lignite/ Drilling (high temperature of over 200 °C)
sodium lignite
Caustic soda Paper manufacturing (soda process)
Cassiterite Tin metallurgy
Celestite Desulphurization; Drilling (oil); Metallurgy (steel, Strontium); Paint
(pigment); Purification of caustic soda; carbonate; Strontium
hydroxide; Strontium nitrate; Strontium oxalate; Strontium peroxide;
Strontium titanate
Cerargyrite Metallurgy (silver)
Ceresin See ‘ozokerite/ceresin’
(continued)
242 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Cerium See ‘rare earth metals’
Cerium compounds See ‘rare earth metal compounds’
Cerium oxide (ceria) See ‘rare earth metal compounds’
Cesium (cesium-133) Atomic clock (can measure up to 10−18 s); Catalyst; Night
illumination device (long distance of up to 16 km); Photoelectric
cell; Photography (infrared); Photometry; Radio; Signalling device
(maritime); Sniperscope; Snooperscope; Standard reference for
‘metre’ (distance travelled by light in 3335640952 × 10−18 s);
Television (camera, screen); Vacuum device
Chalcocite Metallurgy (copper)
Chalcopyrite Metallurgy (copper)
Chalk Adhesive; Rubber (including synthetic rubber); Writing chalk
Charge chrome See ‘ferrochrome’
Chromite Chemicals; Chrome-plating; Ferro-chromes (charge chrome,
exothermic ferrochrome, high-carbon, low-carbon, medium-carbon,
silico-chrome); Foundry; Kanthal; Metallurgy (chromium);
Refractory; Stellite
Chromite-based Ceramics; Linoleum; Paint (pigment); Rubber
chemical—Barium
chromate
Chromite-based Analytical chemistry (reagent); Anodizing; Chrome-plating;
chemical—Chromic Oxidizing agent; Preservation (metal)
acid
Chromite-based Chrome-green; Glass; Glazing; Linoleum; Metallurgy (chromium);
chemical—Chromic Paint (pigment); Polishing
oxide
Chromite-based Cassette tape (audio and video)
chemical—Chromium
dioxide
Chromite-based Leather; Mineral Khaki; Paint (pigment)
chemical—Chromium
sulphate (basic)
Chromite-based Chrome-red
chemical—Lead See also ‘lead compounds’
chromate
Chromite-based Leather; Photography; Textile
chemical—Potash-
chrome alum
Chromite-based Adhesive; Etching; Explosion/explosive; Film processing; Ink
chemical—Potassium (printing); Lithography; Matches; Perfumery; Photography;
dichromate
Chromite-based Inhibitor; Preservation (metal)
chemical—Sodium
chromate (hydrated)
Chromite-based Bleaching (oils, fats, waxes); Drilling; Glass; Leather; Oxidizing
chemical—Sodium agent; Preservation (wood); Textile
dichromate
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 243

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Chromite-based Ceramics; Linoleum; Paint (pigment); Rubber
chemical—Zinc
chromate
Chromium Marinel; Metallization/metal powder; Nimocast; Surgery/surgical
material (in combination with cobalt, chromium and nickel)
Chrysoberyl Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
(alexandrite)
Chrysoberyl (cat’s Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
eye)
Cinnabar Metallurgy (mercury)
Citrine/false topaz See ‘quartz—gem variety’
Clay (common) See ‘pottery clay’
Clay (ordinary) See ‘pottery clay’
Coal Activated carbon; Brick burning; Calcium carbide; Cement;
Chemical derivatives (ammonia, aniline, anthracene oil, benzene,
benzole, carbolic acid, creosote oil, cresols, naphtha, naphthalene,
naphthalene oil, phenol, pitch, pyridine, toluene, xylene, xylenols);
Chloro-fluoro carbon (CFC); Coal gas; Coke; Deoxidizer; Domestic
heating; Foundry (metal casting); Industrial heating; Iron nuggets;
Lime and its burning; Locomotive; Metallurgy (iron, lead, tin, zinc);
Pig iron; Producer gas; Sialon (ceramics); Sinters; Sponge iron
(directly reduced iron); Sulphur recovery; Synthetic petroleum;
Thermal power generation; Water gas (blue water gas); Water gas
(carbureted)
Coal-based product— Bunsen burner; Davy’s lamp (used in underground coal mines)
Coal gas
Coal-based Deoxidizer; Ferrochrome; Ferromanganese; Iron/pig iron;
product—Coke Metallurgy (chromium, copper, iron, lead, nickel, steel, zinc);
Phosphorus recovery; Silicomanganese; Spiegeleisen; Water gas
Coal-based product— Diesel generators (starting fuel); Industrial furnaces (initial firing)
Producer gas
Coal-based product— Welding (steel)
Water gas (blue water
gas)
Coal-based product— Welding (steel)
Water gas (carbureted)
Coal bed methane See ‘methane’
Coal gas See ‘coal-based products’
Coal mine See ‘methane’
(abandoned) methane
Coal mine (working) See ‘methane’
methane
Coal mine ventilation See ‘methane’
air methane
(continued)
244 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Cobalt (cobalt-59) and Alnico (alloy of iron, cobalt, aluminium, nickel); Chemicals
its alloys (see below ‘cobalt cake/beta cake’); Cobalt-60; Cobalt soap
(see below); Cutting/boring (as binder in tungsten carbide tools);
Drilling; Fertilizer (plant micronutrients); Magnet (permanent
magnet, in alloy with aluminium powder, iron and nickel or with
cerium, praseodymium, samarium); Missile (in alloy with niobium
and nickel); Space technology (rocket and spacecraft in alloy with
niobium and nickel); Stellite; Surgery/surgical material
(in combination with chromium and nickel); Synthetic petroleum
(alloy with thorium)
Cobalt-60 Coal washing (gamma radiolytic process); Radiotherapy;
Sterilization
Cobalt chemical— Paint (pigment and dye)
Cobalt acetate (cobalt
purple)
Cobalt chemical— Paint (pigment and dye)
Cobalt aluminate
(cobalt blue)
Cobalt chemical— Paint (pigment and dye)
Cobalt carbonate
(cobalt red)
Cobalt chemical— Moisture indicator; Mordant (dry cleaning); Paint (pigment and dye)
Cobalt chloride (cobalt
blue)
Cobalt chemical— Paint (pigment and dye)
Cobalt oxide (cobalt
black)
Cobalt chemical— Desiccation
Cobalt soaps
(naphthenate and
carboxylate of cobalt)
Cobalt chemical— Paint (pigment and dye)
Cobalt sulphate
(cobalt red)
Cobalt chemical— Paint (pigment and dye)
Cobalt titanate
(turquoise green)
Cobalt chemical— Paint (pigment and dye)
Cobalt-zinc oxide
(cobalt green)
Cobalt soap See ‘cobalt chemicals’
Coke See ‘coal-based product’
Colemanite (boron Boric acid manufacturing; Glass (reinforcement fibre glass);
mineral) Synthetic borax
Colloidal graphite See ‘graphite-based products’
Columbite (niobium- Niobium, Tantalum
tantalum ore)
Common clay See ‘pottery clay’
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 245

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Constantan (copper- Rheostat; Thermocouple
nickel alloy)
Copper Alloys; Artificial diamond manufacturing (copper cup for skull
melting); Ashta Dhatu (8-metal alloy); Babbitt metal; Bell metal;
Brass; Bronze; Chemicals; Coinage (alloy with nickel or silver);
Communication (telecommunication); Constantan; Copper sulphate;
Cupro-nickel; Damascene art; Dentistry (amalgam with silver, tin
and mercury); Electrical appliances; Electrical transmission; Electric
equipment (motor/generator/transformer); Electronic equipment;
EnviroBrass (lead-free brass); German silver; Gun metal (admiralty
bronze); Manganin; Marinel; Metallurgy (gold); Monel metal;
Pancha Dhatu (5-metal alloy); Porous bronze; Refractory (in Romelt
steel-smelting furnace); Ship (protection of under-sea parts);
Spinoidal alloy; Type metal (alloy with antimony, lead and tin);
Utensils; Zari (imitation)
Copper sulphate Paint (pigment and dye)
Copperas See ‘pyrites—Copperas/Melanterite’
Coral Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
Cordierite (artificial) Ceramics; Cordierite saggars
Cordierite (iolite) Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
Corundum (see ‘ruby’ Abrasive/grinding (wheel, paper, cloth); Cement (asbestos); Emery
and ‘sapphire’ for gem (artificial); Foundry (metal casting); Polishing; Refractory; Tooth
varieties) paste
Croccoite Paint (pigment and dye)
Crushed stone Brick (common and hollow); Construction (including aggregate,
(assorted) concrete, structural material); Decoration (including art work,
artifact); Mosaic; Rip-rap; Roofing material; Sealing/lining; Varnish
Crushed stone (basalt) Brick; Construction (including aggregate, concrete, structural
material); Road metal/road aggregate
Crushed stone (diorite) Brick
Crushed stone Road metal/road aggregate
(dolerite)
Crushed stone Road metal/road aggregate (in auxiliary roads)
(granite)
Crushed stone (granite See ‘sand (granite)’
sand)
Crushed stone Road metal/road aggregate
(limestone)
Crushed stone (marble Terrazzo
chips)
Crushed stone (marble Board/panel; Brick; Ceramics (fired tile); Mosaic; Tile (unfired)
dust)
Crushed stone (marble Catalyst, Cement; De-icing; Fertilizer; Road material/road aggregate;
flour) Soil conditioner
Crushed stone Ballast (railway and ship)
(quartzite etc.)
(continued)
246 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Crushed stone (slate Roofing material
granule)
Crushed stone (slate Adhesive; Asphalt/bitumen; Brick; Fertilizer carrier; Gramophone
powder) record; Insecticide/pesticide/germicide/fungicide; Insulator
(electrical); Lubricant/grease; Paint filler (for special properties);
Plastics; Rubber (including synthetic rubber); Sealant; Tiles
(acoustic); Varnish
Cryolite Abrasive/grinding (wheel); Bonding; Enamel; Glass; Insecticide/
pesticide/germicide/fungicide; Metallurgy (aluminium): Welding
Cymogene See ‘petroleum ethers’
Danburite Gem (minor importance); Ornament/jewellery
Depletalloy (or D-38) See ‘uranium-238’
Depleted uranium See ‘uranium-238’
(DU)
Desulpho-gypsum/ Cement
Flue gas
desulphurization
(FGD) gypsum/
scrubber gypsum
Diabase Mineral wool/rock wool
Diamond (gem) Ayurvedic medicine (traditional Indian system); Electronic
equipment; Gem; Gemmotherapy; Micro-processor chip; Ornament/
jewellery; Laser (Raman laser); Robotics; Semiconductor; Skin care;
Space technology (weather satellite); Spectrophotometer; Thermal
dosimeter
Diamond (industrial Abrasive/grinding (wheel); Ceramics (composites); Cutting/boring;
and artificial/synthetic) Die (for wire drawing); Heat sink; Laser/maser; Record player;
Surgical reamers
Diamond (micro/nano) Electronic equipment (computer chip); Semiconductor
Diaspore Ceramics (including fired tiles, composites, porcelain); Insecticide/
pesticide/germicide/fungicide (carrier); Refractory (high alumina)
Diatomite Abrasive (toothpaste, metal polish, scrub, soap); Agriculture/
horticulture; Animal feed; Brake; Ceramics (including fired tiles,
composites, porcelain); Climatology; Construction (including
aggregate, concrete); Explosion/explosive (dynamite); Fertilizer;
Filter/filtration; Glazing; Handling/storage (chemicals);
Hydroponics; Insecticide/pesticide/germicide/fungicide; Insulator
(heat); Insulator (sound); Matches; Medical application; Paint
extender/thinner; Paint filler (flattening agent); Paper; Polishing;
Purification/refining/cleaning (beer, edible oil, toxic liquid);
Refractory; Rubber (including synthetic rubber); Sealing/lining;
Soap; Sulphur recovery; Tooth paste/powder; Water glass/liquid
glass (sodium silicate); Water treatment
Dicalite See ‘perlite (expanded and milled)/Carlita/Dicalite’
Diesel (high speed or Transportation (road)
HSD)
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 247

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Diesel oil (light or Industrial machinery (tractors, concrete mixer etc.)
LDO)
Dimension stone— Architectural works (door frames, flooring tiles, monuments, roofing
Commercial granite tiles, temples, tombstones, wall, wall tiles, window sills etc.); Art
(includes andesite, works (carvings, sculpturing, statuary); Ashlars; Engineering
anorthosite, basalt, construction (beams, bridges, pavements etc.); Furniture (shelves,
charnockite, diabase, stools, table frames, table tops); Metrology; Petty decorative and
diorite, dolerite, consumer items (ashtrays, paper weights, pen stands); Sanitary ware
felsite, gabbro, gneiss, (bathtubs, kitchen platforms, wash basins—all unfired)
granite, khondalite,
leptynite, monzonite,
porphyry, pyroxenite,
rhyolite, schist,
syenite)
Dimension stone— Architectural works (door frames, flooring tiles, monuments, roofing
Commercial limestone tiles, temples, tombstones, wall tiles, window sills etc.); Ashlars;
(flaggy limestone or Furniture (shelves, stools, table frames, table tops); Sanitary ware
flagstone) (bathtubs, kitchen platforms, wash basins—all unfired)
Dimension stone— Architectural works (door frames, flooring tiles, monuments, roofing
Commercial marble tiles, temples, tombstones, wall, wall tiles, window sills etc.); Art
(includes calcite, works (carvings, sculpturing, statuary); Ashlars; Furniture (shelves,
dolomite, marble, stools, table frames, table tops); Petty decorative and consumer items
onyx marble, (ashtrays, paper weights, pen stands); Sanitary ware (bathtubs,
serpentine, travertine) kitchen platforms, wash basins—all unfired)
Dimension stone— Architectural works (door frames, flooring tiles, monuments, roofing
Commercial sandstone tiles, temples, tombstones, wall, wall tiles, window sills etc.);
(includes sandstone, Ashlars; Furniture (shelves, stools, table frames, table tops); Petty
quartzite, fuchsite decorative and consumer items (ashtrays, paper weights, pen stands);
quartzite) Sanitary ware (bathtubs, kitchen platforms, wash basins—all unfired)
Dimension stone— Architectural works (door frames, flooring tiles, monuments, roofing
Commercial slate tiles, tombstones, wall, wall tiles, window sills etc.); Ashlars;
(includes phyllite, Furniture (shelves, stools, table frames, table tops); Sanitary ware
slate) (bathtubs, kitchen platforms, wash basins—all unfired); Switch
board; Writing slate
Diopside Gem (minor importance); Ornament/jewellery
Dolomite Adhesive; Cement; Ceramics (including fired tiles, composites,
porcelain); Construction (aggregate, concrete); Ferromanganese;
Fertilizer; Filter/filtration; Foundry; Glass; Pig iron; Leather; Lime
and its burning; Metallurgy (iron, magnesium, manganese and steel);
Opacifier; Paper; Pharmaceuticals; Refractory; Seawater magnesia;
Silicomanganese; Spiegeleisen; Sponge iron (directly reduced iron);
Underground coal mine; Water treatment (sewage water); Soil
conditioning
Dysprosium See ‘rare earth metals’
Dunite Iron metallurgy; Refractory; Soil conditioning
Emerald Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery; Skin care
Enstatite Gem (minor importance); Ornament/jewellery
Epidote Gem (minor importance); Ornament/jewellery
(continued)
248 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Ethylene/olefine Alcohol (ethyl alcohol); Organic solvents; Polyester; Polyethylene;
Radiator antifreeze; Resin (synthetic)/plastics; Rubber (synthetic
rubber); Soaps/detergents/toilet powder (including synthetic
detergent); Terylene; Vinyl sheet/linoleum/oil cloth (includes PVC)
Euclase Gem (minor importance); Ornament/jewellery
Europium See ‘rare earth metals’
Exothermic See ‘ferrochrome’
ferrochrome
Expanded/exfoliated See ‘graphite-based products’
graphite
Feldspar Abrasive/grinding (wheel); Anti-skid; Bone china; Cell (battery);
Ceramics (including fired tiles, composites, porcelain); Coal
washing; Dentistry; Enamel; Glass; Glazing; Metallurgy (steel);
Paint extender/thinner; Plastics; Potash-manufacturing; Refractory;
Welding
Feldspar (Amazonite) Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
Feldspar (Moonstone) Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
Feldspar (Sunstone) Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
Ferrites (nickel-zinc Automotive parts (wind screen wiper); Cassette; Electric equipment;
ferrite, manganese- Electronic equipment; Magnet (permanent); Microwave oven; Radio;
zinc ferrite, barium Speaker; Telecommunication; Telephone; Television
ferrite and strontium
ferrite)
Ferro-boron Degasification; Deoxidizer; Metallurgy (iron)
Ferrocene (organic Antiknock additive; Catalyst; Fireproofing; Photography
compound of iron)
Ferrochrome Alloy steel; Metallurgy (steel); Stainless steel; Tool steel
(including charge
chrome and high-,
medium- and
low-carbon
ferrochrome)
Ferromanganese Metallurgy (steel); Stainless steel manufacturing
Ferro-niobium Stainless steel manufacturing
Ferrosilicon Deoxidizer; Diamond dressing; Foundry; Electric equipment
(transformer); Metallurgy (iron, steel)
Ferrovanadium Metallurgy (steel)
Fireclay Cordierite (artificial); Crucible (clay-bonded); Refractory; Sialon
Fluorite/fluorspar and Cement; Ceramics (including fired tiles, composites, porcelain);
‘green quartz’ Chemicals; Enamel; Ferro-molybdenum; Fluorine gas; Gem; Glass
(float, fibre and opalescent); Hydrofluoric acid; Metallurgy (iron,
molybdenum and steel); Opacifier; Ornament/jewellery
Fluorite-based Ceramics; Enamel; Glass (optical); Metallurgy (aluminium);
intermediate Opacifier
product—Aluminium
fluoride
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 249

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Fluorite-based Chemicals; Metallurgy (uranium); Tooth paste/powder; Water
intermediate treatment (fluorination)
product—Fluorine gas
Fluorite-based Electroplating/metal plating; Metallurgy (tin)
intermediate
product—Fluoro-boric
acid
Fluorite-based Electroplating/metal plating; Synthetic cryolite; Water treatment
intermediate (fluoridation)
product—Fluoro-
silicic acid
Fluorite-based Antiknock (high-octane petroleum); Etching (glass, semiconductor
intermediate devices); Fluorine gas manufacturing; Fluoro-silicic acid; Metallurgy
product—Hydrofluoric (niobium, tantalum); Potassium fluoride
acid
Fluorite-based Aromatic fluorides; Fluorine gas manufacturing; Metallurgy
intermediate (niobium, tantalum); Pharmaceuticals
product—Potassium
fluoride
Fluorite-based Metallurgy (aluminium)
intermediate
product—Synthetic
cryolite
Fluorine-based Aerosol; Air-conditioning; Graphite purification; Refrigeration;
compound— Sterilization
Chlorofluorocarbon
(CFC)
Fluorine-based Etching (semiconductor); Filter (fluoro-polymer filter);
compound—Fluoro- Semiconductor fabrication
carbon
Fluorine-based Preservation (timber, hide)
compound—Fluoro-
silicates of ammonia,
magnesium zinc
Fluorine-based Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) manufacturing; Metallurgy (uranium)
compound—Hydrogen
fluoride gas
(anhydrous)
Fluorine-based Purification (fluorine gas); Tooth paste/powder
compound—Sodium
fluoride
Fluorine-based Toothpaste/powder
compound—Sodium
mono-fluoro-
phosphate
(continued)
250 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Fluorine-based Glass
compound—Sodium
fluoro-silicate/
hexa-fluoro-silicate/
silico-fluoride
Fluorine-based Tooth paste/powder
compound—Stannous
fluoride
Fluorine-based Metallurgy (uranium)
compound—Uranium
hexafluoride
Fluoro-gypsum Cement; Fertilizer
(byproduct from
hydrofluoric acid
manufacturing)
Forsterite Refractory bricks (roofs in copper-smelting furnaces)
Frac sand See ‘quartz—industrial varieties, silica sand’
Franklinite Metallurgy (zinc)
Fuchsite mica Therapy (superstitious belief)
(powder)
Fuchsite quartzite/ Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
Greenlandite/Indian
jade
Fullerene See ‘graphite (manufactured)’
Furnace oil Industrial heating (initial firing of furnace, engine etc.)
Fused quartz Laser; Refractory; Thermometer (gallium, for measuring high
temperature, 500–1,200 °C)
Gadolinite Metallurgy (rare earth metal gadolinium)
Gadolinium See ‘rare earth metals’
Gadolinium compound See ‘rare earth metal compounds’
Galena Metallurgy (lead)
Gallium (normal) Aircraft (alloy); Artificial gem (gadolinium-gallium-garnet or GGG);
Electronic equipment; Fire alarm; Optical mirror; Telephone
(portable receiver); Thermometer (500–1,200 °C range)
Gallium-72 (isotope) Radiotherapy
Gallium arsenide Photovoltaic cell; Semiconductor; Space technology (satellite);
Telecommunication; Transistor
Gallium halides Catalyst
Gallium phosphoride LCD display
Gallium compound— Pharmaceuticals
Organic salt
Gamet See ‘garnet—gamet’
Garnet Anti-skid; Artificial gem (yttrium-aluminium-garnet or YAG which is
a substitute of diamond, ruby and gadolinium-gallium-garnet or
GGG); Laser (yttrium-aluminium-garnet or YAG); Polishing; Radar
(yttrium-iron-garnet composite); Sparkplug cleaning; Sand blasting
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 251

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Garnet-gamet Gem; Ornament/jewellery
Garnet-gomed Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
Germanium Catalyst (coal hydrogenation); Electronic equipment; Hearing aid;
Infrared optics; Lenses; Magnetic field measurement; Metallurgy
(gold); Optical fibre; Pharmaceuticals; Rectifier; Television;
Thermistor; Transistor
German silver Decoration (artifacts); Utensils (tableware, cutlery)
(copper-nickel-zinc
alloy)
Glauconite Water treatment (softening) after activating glauconite by sodium
chloride solution
Goethite (minette) Metallurgy (iron)
Gold (including Ashta Dhatu (8-metal alloy); Ayurvedic medicine (traditional Indian
nano-gold) system); Catalytic converter; Density (gold-indium alloy); Fibre
glass (manufacturing machinery, alloy with gold or rhodium);
Monetary reference standard; Ornament/jewellery; Rayon
(manufacturing machinery, alloy with platinum); Water potability
test; White gold; Zari
Gomed See ‘garnet—gomed’
Graphene See ‘graphite-based products’
Garnierite Metallurgy (nickel)
Graphite Adhesive (high-temperature application); Aircraft; Alloy
(nonmetallic); Bearing; Brake/friction material; Carbon brushes (of
electric motor/generator/transformer); Cell (battery); Colloidal
graphite; Crucible; Drilling; Expanded/exfoliated graphite;
Explosion/explosive; Foundry (metal casting); Fuel cell (battery);
Fullerene; Graphene; Graphite/carbon fibre; Isostatic graphite
mould; Laser; Lubricant/grease (high-temperature and high-pressure
applications); Magnetic tape; Metallurgy (steel, for recarburization);
Paint (pigment and dye); Pencil/crayon; Porous bronze; Pyrolytic
graphite; Refractory; Sintered graphite; Synthetic graphite; White
carbon
Graphite-based EMI-shield
product—Colloidal
graphite
Graphite-based Packing (including gasket); Sealing/lining (high-performance
product—Expanded/ applications like oil refineries, rockets, nuclear and thermal power
exfoliated graphite plants etc.)
Graphite-based Carbon nano-sheet; Electronic equipment (computer chip);
product—Graphene Transistor
Graphite-based Tools (for pressure sintering of high performance tools made of
product—Isostatic metals, ceramics and diamond)
graphite mould
Graphite-based Light portable motors (used in business machines, domestic
product—Porous appliances, starters in automobiles)
bronze
(continued)
252 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Graphite-based Gear (cogs)
product—Sintered
graphite (with steel)
Graphite/carbon fibre See ‘graphite (manufactured)’
Graphite Aircraft; Carbon nano-balls; Carbon nano-tube; Solar cell (battery)
(manufactured) panels; Space technology (including rocket, satellite, spacecraft);
Fullerene Sports car
Graphite Sealing/lining (high-temperature equipments, rocket nozzles);
(manufactured)— Sporting goods (golf club, tennis racket, fishing rod, sail boat)
Graphite/carbon fibre
Graphite Space technology (rocket nozzle cone); X-ray/radiology
(manufactured)—
Pyrolytic graphite
Graphite Electrode; Nuclear reactor; Foundry; Steel metallurgy
(manufactured)— (recarburization)
Synthetic graphite
Graphite Not yet known
(manufactured)—
White carbon
Gypsum Adhesive; Beet sugar; Board/panel; Brick (fly-ash); Cement;
Construction (including aggregate, concrete, structural material);
Cosmetics (powder); Decoration (artifact by casting); Dust
suppression (including coal dust); Fertilizer; Foundry (metal
casting); Imitation marble; Insecticide/pesticide/germicide/fungicide;
Insulator (sound); Keene’s plaster; Metallurgy (nickel, high grade
lateritic ore); Paint (extender/thinner and filler); Paper; Pencil/crayon
and writing chalk; Pharmaceuticals; Plaster/stucco/putty; Plaster of
Paris (POP) mould (for potteries, rubber stamps, teeth etc.); Rubber
(including synthetic rubber); Soil conditioning; Sulphuric acid;
Surgery/surgical material; Textile; Tile (unfired)
Gypsum (alabaster) Decoration (artifact sculpting); Sculpture; Statuary (by sculpting)
Gypsum (satinspar) Ornament
Gypsum (selenite) Microscope (plates)
Hafnium Cutting/boring (additive in carbide tools); Nuclear reactor
Hambergite Gem (minor importance); Ornament/jewellery
Heavy crude oil See ‘petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale’
Heavy fuel oil Thermal power generation; Transportation (ocean)
Helium (includes the Cryogenic fuel; Nuclear reactor (coolant); Oxygen/air liquefaction;
isotope helium-3) Refrigerator (testing); Rocket fuel; Space technology (space shuttle);
Thermonuclear reactor (including fusion power generation, hydrogen
bomb); Welding
Hematite Alloys of iron; Cassette (audio and video tape); Cement; Concrete;
Cosmetics (rouge); Drilling; Ferrites; Ferrocene (organic
compound); Glassy steel; Iron/pig iron; Iron carbide; Metallurgy
(iron, molybdenum); Nitrided steels; Paint (pigment and dye);
Pellets; Preservation (metal); Sinters; Sponge iron (directly reduced
iron); Welding (rod coating)
Hemimorphite Metallurgy (zinc)
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 253

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Hydraulic fracturing See ‘quartz—industrial varieties, silica sand’
sand
Idiocrase Gem (minor importance); Ornament/jewellery
Ilmenite Metallurgy (titanium); Synthetic rutile (titanium dioxide)
Indium Bearing (alloys with cadmium, copper, lead, copper); Brazing;
Chemicals, Cinema (screen); Dentistry (alloy with gold); Die (for
wire drawing); Electroplating/metal plating; Fluorescent light
applications; Gasket; Optical mirror; Safety plug (alloy with
bismuth, cadmium and tin); Sealing/lining; Soldering
Indium antimonide Laser; Optical fibre; Semiconductor
Indium arsenide Laser; Optical fibre; Semiconductor
Indium oxide Fluorescent light applications; Infrared optics
Indium phosphide Laser; Microprocessor chip; Optical fibre; Semi-conductor
Indium sesquioxide Glass (coloured)
Indium sulphide Fluorescent light applications; Infrared optics
Iolite See ‘cordierite’
Iridium (platinum Dentistry (alloyed with platinum, palladium); Gold fabrication;
group of metals) Standard references for kilogram and metre (alloy with 90 %
platinum); Spark plug; Surgery/surgical material (alloyed with
palladium, platinum); Thermocouple (alloy with rhenium)
Iron/pig iron and its Alnico (alloy of iron with aluminium, nickel, cobalt); Ashta Dhatu
alloys (8-metal alloy); Cast iron; Cupro-nickel; Ferro-silicon; Foundry
(metal casting); Iron carbonyl; Iron powder; Magnet (low-
temperature permanent magnet as alloy with boron and neodymium
and ordinary magnet); Marinel; Metallization/metal powder;
Metallurgy (steel); Monel metal; Mu-metal or permalloy (alloy of
nickel and iron with copper, molybdenum); Pancha Dhatu (5-metal
alloy); Prussian blue (Turnbull’s blue); Radar (garnet-iron-yttrium
composite); Steel; Wrought iron
Iron carbonyl Iron powder manufacturing
Iron nugget (nodule) Steel
Iron powder Automotive parts; Electric equipment; Magnet (permanent)
Isostatic graphite See ‘graphite-based products’
Jadeite/jade Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
Jasper Touchstone for gold
Kaolin (china clay) Adhesive; Bone china; Cassette; Catalyst; Cement (white); Ceramics
(including fired tiles, composites, porcelain), Crayons; Cosmetics
(including talcum powder); Explosion/explosive/pyrotechnics
(including gun powder, dynamite); Glass; Glazing; Ink; Insecticide/
pesticide/germicide/fungicide; Insulator (electrical); Iron/pig iron;
Matches; Metakaolin; Paint extender/thinner; Paper;
Pharmaceuticals; Pigment and dye (including ultramarine); Plaster/
stucco/putty; Plastics; Pyrotechnics (fireworks); Refractory; Rubber
(including synthetic rubber); Sealing/lining; Soaps/detergent/toilet
powder; Synthetic zeolite; Textile; Tooth paste/powder
Kerosene Domestic heating; Lamp (household)
Kimberlite Cement; Synthetic zeolite
(continued)
254 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Kyanite Gem; Gemmotherapy; Glass; Ornament/jewellery; Refractory
Lanthanum See ‘rare earth metals’
Lanthanum compound See ‘rare earth metal compounds’
Lanthanum oxide See ‘rare earth metal compounds’
Lasca See ‘quartz—industrial varieties’
Lazurite (lapis lazuli) Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
Lead Acid tank; Aircraft (for radiation shielding); Ashta Dhatu (8-metal
alloy); Bearing (alloys with aluminium, copper, tin etc.); Brass;
Bronze; Bullet/shot/shell; Cable sheath (for high-frequency
telephone, television, radar signals); Cell/battery (storage type, lead
and its alloys with antimony, calcium, tin); Chemicals; Glass
(special); Lead glass; Lead soap (see below); Lenses; Lipowitz’s
metal (alloy with bismuth and tin); Newton’s metal (alloy with
bismuth and tin); Nuclear reactor (for radiation shielding); Pancha
Dhatu (5-metal alloy); Pewter (alloy with antimony and tin);
Plumbing; Printing type metal (alloy with antimony, copper and tin);
Rose’s metal (alloy with bismuth and tin); Safety fuse (alloy with
bismuth, cadmium and tin); Soldering (alloy with lead); Sugar of
lead (see below); Terne plating (for roofing sheet); Tetraethyl lead
(based on lead-sodium alloy); Tube (collapsible, alloy with antimony
and tin); Vibration damping (along with asbestos); White metal
(alloy with antimony); Wood’s metal; X-ray/radiology (radiation
shielding)
Lead compound— Paint (pigment and dye)
Blue lead
(PbSO4 · PbO)
Lead acetate (sugar of Desiccation (oil)
lead)
Lead arsenate Insecticide/pesticide/germicide/fungicide
Lead chromates Paint (pigment and dye)
Lead dioxide (PbO2) Adhesive; Glass; Glazing; Metallurgy (beryllium); Rubber
(synthetic)
Lead hydroxide Desiccation (oil)
Lead molybdate Glazing; Paint (pigment and dye)
Lead mono-oxide Adhesive; Glass; Glaze; Rubber (synthetic)
(PbO)
Lead compound—Red Adhesive; Glass; Glaze; Paint (pigment and dye); Rubber (synthetic)
lead (Pb3O4)
Lead compound— Lead soap (see above); Paint (pigment and dye)
White lead [2PbCO3.
Pb(OH)2]
Lead glass Lenses; X-ray/radiology
Lead soap Desiccation (oil)
Leco (lignite-based Domestic heating (including cooking)
product)
Lepidolite (lithium Glass; Metallurgy (lithium, rubidium)
mineral)
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 255

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Lewisite See ‘arsenic-based compounds’
Lignite Animal/poultry feed (pig feed); Bio-fertilizer; Causticized lignite/
sodium lignite; Chemical derivatives (ammonia, aniline, anthracene
oil, benzene, benzole, carbolic acid, creosote oil, cresols, naphtha,
naphthalene, naphthalene oil, phenol, pitch, pyridine, toluene,
xylene, xylenols); Domestic heating; Industrial heating (including
fuel); Leco; Metallurgy (iron); Met-coke; Reductant; Thermal power
generation
Lime (or quicklime or Calcium carbide; Chewing with betel leaves; Limelight; Milk-of-
fat lime) lime; Mineral wool (lime and slag wools); Paint (pigment and dye);
Pharmaceuticals; Precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC); Preservation
(food, fruits, vegetables); Slaked lime; Soil conditioning; Water
treatment (sewage water)
Lime-based See ‘milk-of-lime’
intermediate product
(milk-of-lime)
Lime-based product See ‘precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC)’
(precipitated calcium
carbonate or PCC)
Lime-based See ‘slaked lime’
intermediate product
(slaked lime)
Lime-based See ‘milk-of-lime’
intermediate product
(milk-of-lime)
Limestone (including Adhesive; Calcium chloride; Caustic soda; Cement;
lime shell, kankar) Desulphurization; Ferromanganese; Fertilizer; Glass; Glazing;
Hydraulic/natural cement; Insecticide/pesticide/germicide/fungicide
(carrier); Lime (or quicklime) manufacturing; Metallurgy (calcium,
iron, magnesium, steel); Pellets; Pencil/crayon and writing chalk;
Polishing; Putty; Rubber (including synthetic rubber); Seawater
magnesia; Silicomanganese; Sinters; Soda ash (soda); Sodium
bicarbonate; Spiegeleisen
Limonite (brown iron Metallurgy (iron)
ore)
Liquefied natural gas Oxygen/air liquefaction
(LNG)
Liquefied petroleum See ‘petroleum gas’
gas (LPG)
Liquid glass See ‘water glass/liquid glass/sodium silicate’
Lithium Cell (battery); Bronze; Chemicals; Degasification; Glass
(photochromatic); Metallurgy (copper); Space technology; Weldite
Lithium bromide Air conditioner; Desiccation
Lithium carbonate Ceramics; Pharmaceuticals
Lithium chloride Air conditioner; Brazing; Desiccation; Welding
Lithium citrate Pharmaceuticals
Lithium deuteride Thermonuclear bomb (hydrogen bomb)
(continued)
256 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Lithium fluoride Brazing; Welding
Lithium hydride Balloon
Lithium hydroxide Cell (rechargeable); Lithium stearate (metallic soap)
Lithium niobate Electro-optical modulator
Lithium perchlorate Rocket fuel
Lithium stearate Lubricant
(metallic soap)
Lonsdaleite Ultra-hard material
Lubricating oil Electrical equipment (transformer, switchgear etc.); Lubricant/grease
(petroleum refinery
product, heavy end)
Lutetium-177 See ‘rare earth metals’
Magnesite Caustic magnesia; Electrode (coating); Edible salt (free-flowing table
salt, old use); Epsom salt; Forsterite manufacture; Magnesium
sulphate (anhydrous); Pharmaceuticals (Epsom salt); Rubber
(synthetic rubber)
Magnesite-based Abrasive/grinding (wheel, paper, cloth); Agriculture/horticulture
intermediate (protection against acid rain); Animal/poultry feed; Boiler/steam
product—Caustic pipes; Catalyst; Cement; Dead-burnt magnesia (DBM)
magnesia manufacturing; Enamel; Fertilizer (plant micronutrient); Filter/
filtration; Glass; Glazing; Magnesium chloride manufacturing;
Magnesium metal; Paper; Purification (edible oil); Rubber (synthetic
rubber); Water treatment; Welding (ceramic)
Magnesite-based Fused magnesia; Refractory
intermediate
product—Dead-burnt
magnesia
Magnesite-based Refractory
intermediate
product—Fused
magnesia
Magnesite-based Cosmetics
intermediate
product—Light
magnesia
Magnesite-based Cell (battery)
intermediate
product—Magnesium
bromide
Magnesite-based Deicing; Dust suppression; Magnesium metal
intermediate
product—Magnesium
chloride
Magnesite-based Superconductor
intermediate
product—Magnesium
diboride
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 257

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Magnesite-based Cell (battery)
intermediate
product—Magnesium
perchlorate
Magnesite-based Desiccation; Diet coke; Soil conditioning
intermediate
product—Magnesium
sulphate
Magnesite-based Fluorescent light applications
intermediate
product—Magnesium
tungstate
Magnesite-based Condenser (electrical); Insulator (electrical); Radio
intermediate
product—Magnesium-
zirconium
orthotitanate
Magnesium and its Aircraft; Automotive parts (wheels); Cell/battery; Ceramics
alloys (composites); Degasification; Deoxidizer; Die casting;
Electroplating/metal plating; Foundry (metal casting); Hydrogen fuel
system; Metallization/metal powder; Metallurgy (boron, thorium,
titanium); Missile (parts); Nuclear reactor (fuel element);
Photographic flashlight; Pyrotechnics (fireworks); Quaternary
casting alloy (90 % Mg); Radio (valve); Sand casting; Signalling
device; Surgery/surgical material (biodegradable stent); Ternary
casting alloy (93–97 % Mg); Textile (machines); Vacuum device
Magnetite (including Coal washing/beneficiation; Emery (artificial); Iron nugget (nodule);
nano-crystals) Metallurgy (iron); Pellet; Water purification (arsenic removal)
Malachite (kidney Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
stone)
Manganese Alloys (nonferrous metals); Cupro-nickel; Deoxidizer;
Desulphurization; Marinel, Metallization/metal powder; Metallurgy
(steel); Stellite
Manganin (alloy of Electrical equipment
copper, manganese
and only 2 % nickel)
Manufactured graphite See ‘graphite (manufactured)’
Marble chips See ‘crushed stone (marble chips)’
Marble dust See ‘crushed stone (marble dust)’
Marble flour See ‘crushed stone (marble flour)’
Marine gypsum Cement
(byproduct from
recovery of common
salt from seawater)
Melanterite See ‘pyrites—Copperas/Melanterite’
(continued)
258 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Mercury (quick silver) Barometer; Calomel (see below); Catalyst (amalgam with rubidium);
Dentistry (amalgam with silver, tin and copper); Mercury vapour
boiler (for power generation); Mercury vapour lamp; Mercury
switch; Metallurgy (gold, silver); Plastics; Rectifier; Thermometer
(for measuring temperature up to 300 °C)
Mercury compound— Insecticide/pesticide/germicide/fungicide; Medical application
Mercuric chloride
Mercury compound— Cell (dry); Paint (pigment and dye); Preservation of metal (ship
Mercuric oxide bodies)
Mercury compound— Pharmaceuticals
Mercurous chloride
(calomel)
Mercury cyanate Detonator
(mercury fulminate)
Mercury sulphide Ink (printing); Paint (pigment and dye)
Mesothorium Paint (luminescent paint); Radiotherapy
Metallic glass (special Electrical transmission; Electric equipment (trans former)
type of ferro-boron)
Met coke (lignite- Cement; Industrial heating (fuel); Metallurgy (iron)
based product)
Methane (including Domestic heating; Fertilizer; Industrial heating; Methanol; Thermal
methane recovered power generation; Transportation fuel
from abandoned and
working mines, coal
bed, coal mine
ventilation air and
methane hydrate)
Methanol (methane- Antifreeze; Denaturing agent (alcohol, nuclear fuel etc.); Fuel cell
based product)
Methyl cyclo- Calico printing; Leather; Matches; Photography
pentadienyl
manganese carbonyl
Milk-of-lime Caustic soda manufacturing; Sugar
(lime-based
intermediate product)
Mineral jelly/ Cosmetics; Explosion/explosive; Pharmaceuticals; Polishing
petroleum jelly/
Vaseline (petroleum
refinery product)
Mischmetall See ‘rare earth metals’
(intermediate product
of mixed rare earths
obtained during
metallurgy)
Molybdenite Metallurgy (molybdenum, rhenium)
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 259

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Molybdenum Analytical chemistry (nitrogen-fixing enzymes called ‘nitrogenase’);
Chemicals (see below ‘molybdenum-99’), Electric bulb; Electronic
equipment; Ferromolybdenum; Mercury switch; Metallization/metal
powder; Radio (valve); Semiconductor (base); Stellite; Surgery/
surgical material (in combination with cobalt, chromium and nickel)
Molybdenum-99 Radiotherapy
Molybdenum-based Analytical chemistry (reagent for determination of phosphorus)
chemical—
Ammonium
molybdate
Molybdenum Ceramics
disilicide
Molybdenum Aerosol; Bearing (nylon); Electric appliances; Lubricant/grease
disulphide
Molybdenum oxide Catalyst (in industrial oxidation)
Monazite Incandescent mantle; Metallurgy (mesothorium; rare earth metals,
thorium)
Monel metal (mainly Aircraft; Electric equipment; Food can; Roofing material; Ship
nickel-copper-iron (components)
alloy)
Moonstone See ‘Feldspar (moonstone)’
Morganite Gem
(vorobyevite)
Motor fuel or Mo-gas Transportation (road)
Mu-metal or Magnetic shield
permalloy (alloy of
nickel, iron, copper,
molybdenum)
Muscovite mica— Aircraft; Boiler/steam pipes; Capacitor; Compass; Electrical
Block/film/sheet mica appliances; Electric motor/generator/transformer; Electronic
equipment (computer washer); Furnace/oven, Geiger counter;
Insulator (electrical); Laser (helium-neon); Microscope (polarizing);
Microwave transmitter; Missile; Optical instruments; Oxygen-
breathing equipment; Petromax; Radar; Radiation pyrometer; Radio;
Refinery; Silvered mica; Submarine; Television; Thermal power
plant; Thermal regulator; Window
Muscovite Micanite
mica—Splittings
Muscovite mica— Glass-bonded mica; Reconstituted mica
Scrap mica
Muscovite mica— Aluminium-mica alloy; Board (for fire protection); Cement (for
Ground mica wall-board joint); Cosmetics; Decoration (Christmas tree snow);
(including micronized Drilling (proppant); Foundry (metal casting); Insecticide/pesticide/
mica) germicide/fungicide; Insulation brick; Lubricant/grease; Nickel-
coated mica; Paint (filler, pigment and dye); Plaster; Plastics; Roofing
material; Rubber (including synthetic rubber); Sealing/lining; Stucco;
Thermoplastics/thermoset; Wall paper; Welding (rod coating)
(continued)
260 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Muscovite-based Lubricant (solid and dry)
intermediate
product—Aluminium-
mica alloy
Muscovite-based Insulator (electrical)
intermediate
product—Glass-
bonded mica (micalex)
Muscovite-based Board/panel; Paper; Electric motor/generator/trans-former
intermediate
product—Micanite
Muscovite-based Computer (cabinet); EMI-shield; Microprocessor chip
intermediate
product—Nickel-
coated mica
Muscovite-based Mica paper
intermediate
product—
Reconstituted mica
Muscovite-based Electrical transmission circuit; Oscillator
intermediate
product—Silvered
mica
Nahcolite Beverage; Cosmetics (beauty application); Filter/filtration; Odour
control; Pollution control (electrostatic precipitator)
Naphtha (petroleum Fertilizer (ammonium sulphate)
derivative, light
distillate)
Naphthalene Disinfectant; Moth balls (as fumigant)
(petroleum derivative,
slightly unsaturated)
Natural gas (includes Carbon black, Cement manufacturing; Deoxidizer; Domestic
compressed natural heating; Ethylene; Fuel cell; Helium recovery; Industrial heating;
gas or CNG) Iron/pig iron; Liquefied natural gas (LNG); Liquefied petroleum gas
(LPG); Metallurgy (iron, tungsten); Methane; Motor fuel (or Mo-gas
or gasoline); Petroleum recovery (secondary); Propylene; Solvent
(alcohol); Sponge iron (directly reduced iron); Sulphur recovery;
Synthetic petroleum; Thermal power generation; Transportation fuel
(road)
Neodymium See ‘rare earth metals’
Neodymium See ‘rare earth metal compounds’
compound
Neodymium oxide See ‘rare earth metal compounds’
Nepheline syenite Glazing
Nephrite Gem; Ornament/jewellery
Niccolite (naturally See ‘nickel arsenide (nickel-based chemical)’
occurring mineral)
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 261

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Nickel and its alloys Alnico (alloy of nickel and iron with aluminium, cobalt); Bronze;
Catalyst; Cell/battery (rechargeable, in alloy with cadmium and in
nickel-hydride form); Chemicals (see below); Coinage (in
combination with copper); Constantan (copper-nickel alloy);
Cupro-nickel; Cutting/boring (tools); Drilling (bits); Electronic
equipment; Electroplating/metal plating; German silver (copper-
zinc-nickel alloy); Hydrogenation; Manganin; Marinel; Missile
(alloy with niobium and cobalt); Monel metal (alloy of mainly nickel
and copper); Mu-metal or permalloy (alloy of nickel with iron,
copper, molybdenum); Nimocast (alloy of mainly nickel and
chromium); Nitinol (nickel-titanium alloy); Purification/refining/
cleaning (petroleum, gases including coal gas); Robotics; Silver plate
(silver and nickel); Smart wire; Space technology (rocket and
spacecraft in alloy with niobium and cobalt); Spinoidal alloy;
Stainless steel (in combination with chromium); Stellite;
Superconductor; Surgery/surgical material (in combination with
cobalt, chromium and molybdenum); White gold
Nickel arsenide Glass (coloured)
Nickel oxide Ceramics (coloured); Ferrite (in combination with hematite)
Nickel oxyhydroxide Cell/battery
Nickel sulphate Electroplating/metal plating
Niobium Catalyst; Ferro-niobium; Marinel; Missile (in alloy with cobalt and
nickel); Nuclear reactor (fuel element); Sodium lamp; Space
technology (rocket and spacecraft, in alloy with cobalt and nickel);
Superconductor (alloy with tin, titanium); Surgery/surgical material
(powder); Vacuum device
Niobium carbide Tungsten carbide
Niobium pentoxide Ceramics; Glass (optical); Transducer
Nitinol Surgery/surgical material (orthopedics)
Ochre Paint (pigment and dye); Polishing (glass)
Oil shale—Petroleum See ‘petroleum including heavy crude oil and oil shale’
(crude shale oil)
Olefine See ‘ethylene/olefine’
Onyx See ‘quartz—gem variety’
Opal Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
Ordinary clay See ‘pottery clay’
Orpiment (natural Hair remover; Paint (pigment and dye)
arsenic trisulphide)
Osmium (platinum Compass; Fountain pen nib; Watch
group of metals)
Ozokerite/ceresin Art work (model making); Candle
(natural mineral wax)
(continued)
262 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Palladium (platinum Catalytic converter; Dentistry (alloyed with iridium, platinum);
group of metals) Electrical equipment; Electroplating/metal plating (plastic surfaces);
Hydrogenation; Magneto; Ornament/jewellery; Purification/refining/
cleaning (petroleum); Spark plug (heavy duty); Standard reference
for kilogram; Surgery/surgical material (alloyed with iridium,
platinum); Telephone; Thermocouple (alloy with rhenium); Watch;
White gold
Patronite Metallurgy (vanadium)
Pellets Pig iron
Pearl Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery; Skin care
Peat Bio-fertilizer; Brick (common) burning; Desiccation; Lime (or quick
lime or fat lime) burning; Preservation (food, fruits, vegetables);
Roofing material (cardboard felt); Scotch whisky; Soil conditioning;
Surgery/surgical material (dressing)
Pentane See ‘petroleum ethers’
Pentlandite Metallurgy (nickel)
Peridot (olivine) Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
Peridotite Carbon sequestration; Iron metallurgy
Perlite (natural) Expanded perlite; Foundry (metal casting); Slag granulation
Perlite (expanded and Boiler/steam pipes; Ceramics (including fired tiles, composites,
milled)/Carlita/ porcelain); Construction (aggregate, concrete); Fertilizer (carrier);
Dicalite Fertilizer (plant micro-nutrient); Filter/filtration; Foundry; Handling/
storage (cryogenic chemicals); Herbicide; Horticulture;
Hydroponics; Ice box; Insecticide/pesticide/germicide/fungicide;
Insulator (heat); Insulator (sound); Paint (extender/thinner); Plaster;
Plastics; Polishing; Pollution control; Purification/cleaning (toxic
liquid); Refractory; Soap
Perlite (expanded Drilling; Nuclear reactor
granules)
Petalite (lithium Ceramics; Glass; Glazing; Metallurgy (lithium)
mineral)
Petroleum coke Electrode (power-intensive metallurgical process)
(petroleum refinery
product, heavy end)
Petroleum (crude/ Bonding (mortar, old usage); Construction (old usage); Lamp
natural) (household, old usage); Transportation fuel (road, rarely)
Petroleum ethers Ice manufacturing
(petroleum refinery
product, light
distillate)—Cymogene
Petroleum ethers Photometry; Standard reference for measuring illuminating power
(petroleum refinery
product, light
distillate)—Pentane
Petroleum gas Annealing; Carburization; Cutting (metal); Domestic heating
(including liquefied (including cooking)
petroleum gas or LPG)
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 263

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Petroleum including Asphalt/bitumen/pitch/tar (heavy end); Aviation turbine fuel or ATF
heavy crude oil and oil (middle distillate); Benzene (aromatic derivative); Carbon black/oil
shale (refinery black; Diesel (high speed or HSD, middle distillate); Diesel oil (light
products) or LDO, middle distillate); Ethylene/olefine; Fuel cell; Furnace fuel
oil (heavy end); Heavy fuel oil (heavy end); Kerosene (middle
distillate); Lubricating oil (heavy non-fuel end); Mineral jelly/
petroleum jelly/Vaseline; Motor fuel or Mo-gas or gasoline (light
distillate); Naphtha (light distillate); Naphthalene (aromatic
derivative); Petroleum coke (refinery product, heavy end); Petroleum
ethers (light distillate); Petroleum gas (refinery product, light
distillate); Propylene; Sulphur recovery; Toluene (aromatic
derivative); Wax/paraffin; White oil; White spirit; Xylene (aromatic
derivative)
Phenacite Gem (minor importance); Ornament/jewellery
Phlogopite mica Aircraft (spark plug); Electrical appliances (heating element); Paint
(pigment and dye); Searchlight; Thermoplastics/thermoset
Phosphogypsum Cement; Fertilizer
(byproduct from
phosphoric acid
manufacturing)
Phosphor (fluorescent Fluorescent light applications (substance for coating the surface)
substance)
Phosphoric acid Beverage (soda); Fuel cell
Phosphoric acid-based Food processing; Tooth paste; Water treatment
products—Di-sodium
phosphate
Phosphoric acid-based Analytical chemistry; Sodium hexa-meta phosphate (calgon)
products—Sodium preparation
ammonium hydrogen
phosphate
Phosphoric acid-based Boiler/pipes
products—Sodium
hexa-meta phosphate
(calgon)
Phosphoric acid-based Food processing; Tooth paste; Water treatment
products—Sodium
mono-phosphate
Phosphoric acid-based Food processing; Tooth paste; Water treatment
products—Sodium
pyrophosphate
Phosphoric acid-based Detergent; Food processing; Tooth paste; Water treatment
products—Sodium
tri-poly-phosphate
Phosphoric acid-based Food processing; Tooth paste; Water treatment
products—Tetra-
sodium phosphate
Phosphoric acid-based Food processing; Tooth paste; Water treatment
products—Tri-sodium
pyrophosphate
(continued)
264 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Phosphorite Animal/poultry feed; Bone china; Fertilizer; Glass; Glazing; Lamp
(household); Phosphogypsum (byproduct from phosphoric acid
manufacturing); Phosphoric acid; Phosphorus recovery; Preservation
(metal); Soaps/detergent/toilet powder; Soil conditioner; Sodium
lamp
Phosphorus (red) Alloy (nonmetallic); Bronze; Cap-gun caps; Chemicals; Matches;
Pharmaceuticals; Saccharin; Semiconductor; Vitamins
Phosphorus (yellow) Alloy (nonmetallic); Ammunition/bombs; Bronze; Chemicals;
Deoxidizer; Fluorescent light applications; Herbicide (glysophate);
Pharmaceuticals: Phosphor (fluorescent substance); Saccharin;
Semiconductor; Vermicide; Vitamins
Phosphorus-32 Pharmaceuticals (radiopharmaceuticals or radio-nuclide);
Radiotherapy
Piedmontite Gem (minor importance); Ornament/jewellery
Pipe clay Smoking pipe
Pitchblende Metallurgy (uranium)
Platinum (platinum Analytical chemistry; Catalyst; Catalytic converter; Crucible;
group of metals) cutting/boring; Dentistry (alloyed with iridium, palladium);
Electrical equipment; Electrode boring; Fibre glass (manufacturing
machinery, alloy with gold or rhodium); Furnace/oven; Magneto;
Ornament/jewellery; Rayon (manufacturing machinery, alloy with
gold or rhodium); Space technology (spacecraft); Spark plug (heavy
duty); Standard references for kilogram and metre (alloy with 10 %
iridium); Surgery/surgical material (alloyed with iridium, palladium);
Telephone; Thermocouple (alloy with rhenium)
Plutonium-239 Fission bomb/atom bomb; Nuclear reactor (fast breeder); Weaponry
(nuclear)
Plutonium carbide Nuclear reactor (fast breeder)
Polonium (bismuth- Poison (for execution and murder); Space technology (satellite, lunar
based material) vehicle (fuel)); Static electricity (control device)
Potash—Caustic Catalyst; Cell; Chemicals (aluminate, boro-hydrate, bromate,
potash (potassium bromide, carbonate, cyanide, fluorosilicate, formate, gluconate,
hydroxide) laurate, manganate, oleate, phosphate and titanate of potassium);
Electroplating; Grease; Herbicide; Pharmaceuticals; Soaps/
detergents
Potash—Potassium Chemicals (acetate, bicarbonate, bi-sulphite, ferro-cyanide, fluoride,
carbonate meta-silicate etc.); Desiccation; Electroplating; Enamel; Fire
extinguishing; Food processing; Glass; Paint (pigment and dye);
Pollution control (extraction of carbon dioxide from industrial gas);
Soaps; Television; Textile
Potash—Potassium Caustic potash manufacturing; Fertilizer; Soil conditioning
chloride
Potash—Potassium Metallurgy (potassium); Pharmaceuticals
fluoride
Potash—Potassium Adhesive; Anti-freeze agent; Casein (soluble milk protein);
phosphate Detergent (industrial); Fertilizer (liquid); Paint (filler); Plastics;
Water treatment
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 265

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Potash—Potassium Fertilizer; Soil conditioner
schoenite (hydrate of
potassium-magnesium
sulphate)
Potash—Potassium Cathode ray tube; Preservation (paint); Television; Welding
silicate/metasilicate (rod coating)
Potash—Potassium Fertilizer; Soil conditioner
sulphate
Potassium Catalyst; Glass (photochromatic); Heavy water; Nuclear reactor
(coolant, alloy with sodium)
Potassium nitrite— Preservation (meat)
derivative of saltpetre
(ordinary or
potassium)
Pottery clay/ordinary Glazed tile; Pottery; Rubber (including synthetic rubber); Synthetic
clay/common clay cryolite
Pozzolanic clay Cement (Portland); Mortar
Praseodymium See ‘rare earth metals’
Praseodymium See ‘rare earth metal compounds’
compound
Praseodymium oxide See ‘rare earth metal compounds’
Precipitated calcium Paper (filler for whitening); Sealant
carbonate or PCC
(intermediate product
based on
milk-of-lime)
Prehnite Gem (minor importance); Ornament/jewellery
Producer gas See ‘coal-based products’
Propylene Acrylic; Organic solvents; Pharmaceuticals
Prussian blue Paint (pigment and dye)
(Turnbull’s blue)
Psilomelane Deoxidizer; Desulphurization; Ferro-manganese; Metallurgy
(iron, manganese); Silico-manganese; Spiegeleisen
Pyrites Metallurgy (tin); Oscillator; Radio; Soil conditioning; Sulphur
dioxide manufacturing; Sulphuric acid manufacturing
Pyrites—marcasite Gem; Ornament/jewellery
(trade name, not true
marcasite)
Pyrites—Copperas/ Germicide (disinfectant); Ink; Paint (pigment and dye); Preservation
Melanterite (timber)
Pyrite-based Bleaching (fabric, paper, silk, wool); Paper; Poison (for execution,
product—Sulphur old practice); Preservation (alcoholic drinks and fruit); Refrigeration
dioxide (old use); Sugar; Sulphuric acid manufacturing; Sulphurous acid
manufacturing; Textile; Wine (antibiotic and antioxidant agent);
Winery; Wool
(continued)
266 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Pyrite-based Acid manufacturing (hydrochloric, nitric, phosphoric etc.); Alum
product—Sulphuric manufacturing; Ammonia (fixing); Bleaching; Cell; Chemicals;
acid Dyeing; Enamel; Fertilizer; Galvanizing; Metallurgy (copper, lead,
tin, zinc); Paint (pigment and dye); Pharmaceuticals;
Phosphogypsum (byproduct from phosphoric acid manufacturing);
Plastics; Refining (petroleum); Tar; Tinning (or tin-plating)
Pyrite-based Bisulphite salts (calcium, sodium etc.); Sulphite salts
product—Sulphurous
acid manufacture
(including sulphur
trioxide)
Pyrochlore (niobium- Metallurgy (niobium and tantalum)
tantalum ore)
Pyrolusite (beta type) Cement (coloured); Ceramics (including fired tiles, composites,
porcelain); Chemicals (see below); Electroplating/metal plating;
Enamel; Ferrite; Glass; Metallurgy (zinc); Oxidizing agent; Paint
(pigment and dye); Synthetic manganese dioxide (chemically
activated and electrolytic)
Pyrolusite-based Paint (pigment and dye); Pharmaceuticals; Photography
chemical—
Hydroquinone (quinol
benzene)
Pyrolusite-based Desiccation; Paint (filler); Varnish; Vegetable oil processing
chemical—Manganese
borate
Pyrolusite-based Animal/poultry feed
chemical—Manganese
carbonate
Pyrolusite-based Brick (surface colouring); Metallurgy (magnesium)
chemical—Manganese
chloride
Pyrolusite-based Paint (pigment and dye); Textile
chemical—Manganese
ethylene- bisdithio-
carbonate
Pyrolusite-based Fungicide
chemical—Manganese
linoleate
Pyrolusite-based Desiccation; Paint (filler); Varnish; Vegetable oil processing
chemical—Manganese
monoxide
Pyrolusite-based Animal/poultry feed; Fertilizer (plant micronutrient)
chemical—Manganese
naphthenate
Pyrolusite-based Desiccation; Paint (filler); Varnish; Vegetable oil processing
chemical—Manganese
nitrate
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 267

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Pyrolusite-based Chemically activated manganese dioxide
chemical—Manganese
oxalate
Pyrolusite-based Desiccation; Paint (filler); Varnish; Vegetable oil processing
chemical—Manganese
phosphate
Pyrolusite-based Preservation (metal—steel)
chemical—Manganese
resinate
Pyrolusite-based Desiccation; Paint (filler); Varnish; Vegetable oil processing
chemical—Manganese
sulphate
Pyrolusite-based Fertilizer (plant micronutrient); Metallurgy (manganese)
chemical—Manganese
sulphide
Pyrolusite-based Antiknock additive; Disinfectant; Fungicide; Odour control;
chemical—Potassium Oxidizing agent; Pollution control; Sugar; Water treatment (sewerage
permanganate water)
Pyrolusite (gamma Cell (battery)
type)
Pyrolytic graphite See ‘graphite (manufactured)’
Pyrophyllite Art work (artifact, sculpting, statuary); Ceramics (including fired
tiles, composites, porcelain); Cosmetics (including talcum powder);
Decoration; Glass; Insecticide/pesticide/germicide/fungicide
(carrier); Paint (extender/thinner and filler); Pencil/crayon/writing
chalk; Plastics; Refractory; Rubber (including synthetic rubber);
Tooth paste
Pyroxenite Metallurgy (iron); Soil conditioning
Q-metal See ‘uranium-238’
Quartz Adhesive (high temperature); Ceramics (including fired tiles,
composites, porcelain); Electronic equipment; Enamel; Ferrosilicon;
Fertilizer; Glazing; Grinding (flint pebbles); Halogen/quartz bulb;
Microprocessor chip; Paint (pigment and dye); Potash group—
potassium silicate; Silicon carbide; Silicon nitride; Silicon recovery;
Water filter candle; Welding rod (covering)
Quartz (gem variety) Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
—Agate
Quartz (gem Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
variety)—Amethyst
Quartz (gem Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
variety)—Aventurine
Quartz (gem Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
variety)—Blood stone
Quartz (gem Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
variety)—Chalcedony
(continued)
268 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Quartz (gem Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
variety)—Citrine
(false quartz)
Quartz (gem Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery; Onyx flour
variety)—Onyx
Quartz (gem Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
variety)—Plasma
Quartz (gem Gem; Gemmotherapy; Lighter (gas, cigarette); Loud speaker;
variety)—Rock Microphone; Ornament/jewellery; Oscillator; Quartz clock; Radio;
crystal/crystal quartz Telephone (including portable); Transducer; Ultrasonography
Quartz (gem Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
variety)—Rose quartz
Quartz (gem Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
variety)—Smoky
quartz
Quartz (gem Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
variety)—Star stone/
star quartz
Quartz (gem Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
variety)—Tiger-eye
Quartz (industrial Brick (sand-lime); Cement (Portland); Construction; Filter/filtration
variety)—Building/ (water); Sand blasting; Stowing (mine); Traction sand (for
river sand application on railway tracks)
Quartz (industrial Mould/sand mould (for metal/alloy casting)
variety)—Foundry/
moulding sand
Quartz (industrial Fused quartz
variety)—Lasca
Quartz (industrial Synthetic marble
variety)—Onyx flour
Quartz (industrial Adhesive (toothpaste); Synthetic marble
variety)—Silica flour
Quartz (industrial Cement concrete; Cosmetics (talcum powder); Traction sand (for
variety)—Silica fume/ application on railway tracks)
silica dust/fluffy silica/
micro-silica
Quartz (industrial Cement (asbestos); Ceramics (including fired tiles, composites,
variety)—Silica sand porcelain); Coal washing/beneficiation; Drilling (proppant in oil
(including frac sand or well); Glass; Polishing (sand paper); Silica flour; Silicon carbide
hydraulic fracturing (carborandum); Silicon nitride; Water filter candle; Water glass/liquid
sand) glass/sodium silicate; Welding rod (covering)
Quartzite Metallurgy (iron); Refractory
Radium Incandescent light; Watch/clock dial (luminescent)
Rare Carbon arc lighting used in film industry; Catalytic converter;
earth metal—Cerium Ceramics (piezoelectric ceramics and ceramic vessels); Glass
(coloured); Lighter (gas and cigarette, in alloy with iron); Magnet
(permanent, alloy with cobalt); Opacifier
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 269

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Rare earth metal— Fluorescent light; Mercury lamp
Dysprosium
Rare earth metal— Magnet (permanent)
Erbium
Rare earth metal— Cathode ray tube; Coloured lamp; Electronic equipment (computer);
Europium Laser/maser; Medical application; Nuclear reactor (moderator);
Postage stamp glue; Television (picture tube); X-ray/radiology
Rare Artificial gem (gadolinium-gallium-garnet or GGG);
earth metal— Communication; Garnet (synthetic); Nuclear reactor (moderator,
Gadolinium shield and emergency shutdown mechanism); Paint (filler for neutron
absorption); X-ray/radiology
Rare earth metal— Laser for eye treatment; Magnet; Medical application; Microwave
Holmium equipment; Nuclear reactor (control rods)
Rare earth metal— Camera (lens); Capacitor; Communication; Dentistry; Electronic
Lanthanum vacuum tube; Hybrid car; Lenses; Semiconductor
Rare earth metal— Pharmaceuticals (radiopharmaceuticals or radionuclide);
Lutetium-177 Radiotherapy
Rare earth metal— Cassette player; Deoxidizer; Desulphurization; Head phone; Lighter
Mischmetall (gas and cigarette); Metallurgy (copper, iron, titanium); Video tape
(intermediate product recorder
of mixed rare earth
obtained during
metallurgy)
Rare earth metal— Glass (coloured); Laser/maser; Magnet (low-temperature permanent
Neodymium magnet as alloy with boron and iron)
Rare earth metal— Glass (coloured); Magnet (permanent, alloy with cobalt)
Praseodymium
Rare earth metal— Specific use yet to be found
Promethium
Rare earth metal— Dentistry; Infrared optics; Magnet (permanent, alloy with cobalt);
Samarium Phosphor
Rare earth metal— Radiotherapy
Samarium-153
Rare earth metal— Fighter jet; Baseball bat; Bicycle frame
Scandium
Rare earth metal— Cathode ray tube; Coloured lamp; Electronic equipment (computer);
Terbium Fuel cell; Fuel system; Laser/maser; Naval sonar system; Television
(picture tube); X-ray/radiology
Rare earth metal— Laser/maser
Thulium
Rare earth metal— Garnet (synthetic)
Ytterbium
(continued)
270 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Rare earth metal— Artificial diamond (in combination with aluminium and garnet);
Yttrium Cancer treatment; Cathode ray tube; Ceramics (piezoelectric and
ceramic vessels); Coloured lamp; Dentistry; Electronic equipment
(computer); Glass (coloured); Laser/maser (in combination with
aluminium, and garnet); Led television; Opacifier; Phosphor; Radar
(garnet-iron-yttrium composite); Semiconductor; Television (picture
tube); X-ray/radiology
Rare earth metal— Pharmaceuticals (radiopharmaceuticals or radionuclide);
Yttrium-90 Radiotherapy
Rare earth metal Decolourizer; Glass
compound—Cerium
dioxide
Rare earth metal Catalyst; Cinema (photography and projection); Decolourizer; Fuel
compound—Cerium cell (for hydrogen generation); Gas mantle (additive to thoria);
oxide (ceria) Glass; Goggles (used by glass blowers); Incandescent light; Lenses;
Polishing; Purification/refining/cleaning (petroleum); Searchlight;
Television (screen, filter)
Rare earth metal Television (filter)
compound—Erbium
oxide
Rare earth metal Television (screen)
compound—Europium
oxide
Rare earth metal Microwave-controlling device
compound—
Gadolinium oxide
Rare earth metal Camera (lens); Catalyst; Lenses; Microwave-controlling device;
compound— Purification/refining/cleaning (petroleum)
Lanthanum oxide
Rare earth metal Ceramics; Glazing; Polishing
compounds—Mixed
rare earth metal oxides
Rare earth metal Decolourizer; Glass
compound—
Neodymium carbonate
Rare earth metal Catalyst; Goggles (used by glass blowers); Microwave-controlling
compound— device; Purification/refining/cleaning (petroleum); Television (filter)
Neodymium oxide
Rare earth metal Decolourizer; Glass
compound—
Praseodymium
carbonate
Rare earth metal Catalyst, Goggles (used by glass blowers); Purification/refining/
compound— cleaning (petroleum); Television (filter)
Praseodymium oxide
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 271

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Rare earth metal Television (screen)
compound—Yttrium
oxide
Realgar (natural Paint (pigment and dye)
arsenic sulphide)
Red lead/croccoite Paint (pigment)
Rhenium Catalyst; Electric bulb; Electroplating/metal plating; Fountain pen
nib; Hydrogenation; Jet engine; Photographic flash light; Radio;
Rhenium diboride; Spark plug; Spectrophotometer; Superconductor
(additive for special properties); Thermocouple
Rhenium diboride Diamond dressing (potential use)
Rhenium Catalyst; Hydrogenation
heptasulphide
Rhodium (platinum Catalytic converter; Electroplating/metal plating (metal surfaces);
group of metals) Fibre glass (manufacturing machinery, alloy with gold or rhodium);
Rayon (manufacturing machinery, alloy with platinum); Searchlight;
Thermocouple (alloy with rhenium); Utensils (silverware)
Rhodochrosite Desulphurization; Metallurgy (iron)
Rhodonite Gem (minor importance); Ornament/jewellery
River sand See ‘sand (river)’
Rock salt/halite Agriculture/horticulture (harvesting, top dressing of soil); Animal/
poultry feed (cattle feed); Bleaching powder; Calcium chloride;
Caustic soda; Chemicals (sodium chlorate, perchlorate,
hypochlorite); Chlorine and hydrochloric acid; De-icing (road);
Disinfectant; Edible salt (including iodized salt and free-flowing
table salt); Explosion/explosive (coolant and moderator for use in
underground mine); Food processing (bakery, de-boning chicken);
Glazing (sodium); Metallurgy (sodium); Preservation (food, fruits,
vegetables, timber, leather, hide); Refrigeration (deep freezing);
Rubber (synthetic); Salt cake (sodium sulphate); Soda ash/soda
(sodium carbonate); Wine (stabilization)
Roofing tile clay Roofing tile
Rubidium Atomic clock (measures 10−18 s); Catalyst (amalgam with mercury);
(rubidium-87) Geological dating; Global Positioning System (GPS);
Hydrogenation; Mercury lamp, Radio; Space technology (for
synchronization of clocks of satellite and ground monitoring station);
Vacuum device
Rubidium iodide Pharmaceuticals
Ruby Bearing; Laser/maser; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery/gem;
Skin care
Ruthenium (platinum Gold fabrication
group of metals)
Rutile Chemicals (see below); Gem; Ornament/jewellery; Titanium dioxide
(see below ‘rutile-based chemicals’); Welding
Rutile-based Waterproofing (nylon, paper, rayon, silk, wood, wool)
chemical—Alkyl
titanate
(continued)
272 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Rutile-based Degasification; Smoke screen; Sky-writing; Metallurgy (titanium)
chemical—Titanium
tetra chloride
Rutile-based De-staining; Glass; Leather; Paper; Silica sand beneficiation; Sugar;
chemical—Titanous Textile; Wool
chloride
Rutile-based De-staining; Glass; Leather; Paper; Silica sand beneficiation; Sugar;
chemical—Titanous Textile; Wool
sulphate
Rutile-based Fire retardant; Rayon
chemical—Titanyl
chloride antimony
trichloride complex
Rutile-based product Adhesive; Catalyst; Ceramics; Construction (floor covering);
(titanium dioxide) Enamels; Glazing; Hydrogen production (experimental stage);
Opacifier; Paint (pigment and dye); Paper; Pharmaceuticals; Rubber
(including synthetic rubber); Skin care; Textile
Salt cake (sodium Ceramics (including fired tiles, composites, porcelain)
sulphate)
Saltpetre (ordinary or Beverage (coolant); Chemicals; Explosion/explosive/pyrotechnics
potassium) (gun powder); Fertigation (fertilizer and irrigation combined);
Fertilizer; Glass (potash-rich jena glass and lead crystal or flint or cut
glass); Ice-cream; Matches; Nitric acid manufacture; Potassium
nitrite manufacture; Rocket fuel (propellant); Smoke bomb; Tooth
paste/powder
Saltpetre (Chile or Agriculture/horticulture; Enamel; Explosion/explosive/pyrotechnics
nitratine or soda nitre) (dynamite); Fertilizer; Glass; Metallurgy (steel); Nitric acid
manufacture; Preservation (meat); Rocket fuel (propellant)
Saltpetre (lime) Deliquescent; Diesel: Explosion/explosive/pyrotechnics (ammonium
nitrate-based explosive); Fertilizer; Incandescent mantle; Matches;
Radio
Samarium See ‘rare earth metals’
Samarium-153 See ‘rare earth metals’
Sand (granite) Construction
Sand (river) See ‘quartz—industrial varieties’
Sapphire (also called Bearing; Laser/maser; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery/gem;
‘oriental topaz’, Skin care
‘oriental emerald’,
‘oriental amethyst’,
‘Kashmir’ depending
on whether colour is
yellow, green, purple
or cornflower blue
respectively)
Scapolite Gem (minor importance); Ornament/jewellery
Scheelite Metallurgy (tungsten)
Scrubber gypsum See ‘desulpho-gypsum’
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 273

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Seeded aluminium Abrasive
hydroxide gel
Selenium (including Aircraft (control system); Camera (exposure meter); EnviroBrass
its allotropic form (lead-free brass); Fax machine; Glass (for colouring and
‘metallic’ selenium) decolouring); Metallurgy (copper, steel); Missile; Offset printing;
Radio; Rectifier; Rubber (including synthetic rubber), Television;
Xerox machine/photocopier
Selenium compounds Catalyst; Ceramics; Glass (for decolouring); Insecticide/pesticide/
(Barium selenite, germicide/fungicide; Leather; Organic compound manufacture;
selenium Oxidizing agent; Paint (pigment and dye); Pharmaceuticals; Plastics;
dithiocarbonate, Paper; Rubber; Soaps/detergent/toilet powder
sodium selenite etc.)
Serpentite Carbon sequestration; Iron metallurgy; Refractory; Soil conditioning
Shirasu (volcanic Agriculture/horticulture; Construction (concrete aggregate, plaster);
eject) Insulator (heat); Pottery; Soil conditioner
Siderite (after Hydrogenation; Metallurgy (iron); Pellets; Vanaspati (butter-like fat
calcination) of vegetable origin)
Silica flour See ‘quartz—industrial varieties’
Silica gel Degasification; Desiccant; Pharmaceuticals (penicillin)
Silica sand See ‘quartz—industrial varieties’
Silico-chrome Alloy steel; Metallurgy (steel); Stainless steel; Tool steel
Silicomanganese Deoxidizer; Desulphurization; Metallurgy (steel); Alloy steel
(silicon-bearing steel)
Silicon Electronic equipment; Metallurgy (manganese and tungsten);
Microprocessor chip; Photovoltaic/solar cell; Silicon carbide
(carborandum); Silicone; Silicon nitride, Silicothermic smelting
process; Trichlorosilane
Silicon compound— Bonding; Microprocessor chip; Sealing
Silane (silicon
tetra-hydride)
Silicon compound— Silica gel
Silicic acid
Silicon compound— Abrasive; Ceramics; Crucible; Cutting; Polishing (hard surfaces);
Silicon carbide Preservation (metal); Refractory
(carborandum)
Silicon compound— Preservation (metal)
Silicon monoxide
Silicon compound— Adhesive (high temperature); Ceramics
Silicon nitride
Silicon compound— Aerogel/aero-sil/silica aerogel
Tetra-methyl
ortho-silicate
Silicon Silane (silicon tetra-hydride); Silicon nitride
compounds—
Trichloro-silane
(continued)
274 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Silicone—Elastomer/ Aircraft; Electric cable; Electric equipment; Gasket; Optical fibre;
silicone rubber Sealing; Surgery/surgical material (breast implant); Water-proofing
(jacket of core and cladding in optical fibre)
Silicone—Resins Electric equipment; Insulator (electrical)
Silicone—oils Injection syringes; Lubricant/grease (ordinary and high temperature);
Polishing; Waterproofing (footwear, leather garments, textile)
Silicone—Silli-putty Art works; Grip strengthener; Toys
Sillimanite Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery, refractory
Silver Aircraft; Ashta Dhatu (8-metal alloy); Bearing; Coinage (alone and
alloy with copper); Decoration; Dentistry (amalgam with mercury,
tin and copper); Electrical appliances; Electronic equipments
(computer); Electroplating/metal plating; Liquid-mirror telescope
(for use on moon surface); Medical application; Ornament/jewellery/
gem; Silver plate (silver and nickel); Silverware; Soldering (alloy
with copper, zinc); Superconductor; Surgery/surgical material (suture
wire); Television; Utensils, Varakh (thin edible cover on sweets);
Zari; Zari (imitation)
Silver bromide Photography
Silver chloride Cell/battery
Sinters Iron/pig iron
Sintered graphite See ‘graphite-based products’
Slaked lime (lime- Asphalt (filler for stabilization); Bleaching (bleaching powder);
based intermediate Brick (sand-lime); Leather; Paper manufacturing (waste caustic soda
product) recovery); Textile; Water treatment (sewage water)
Slate granule See ‘crushed stone (slate granule)’
Slate powder See ‘crushed stone (slate powder)’
Smithsonite Metallurgy (zinc)
Soda ash or soda Ceramics (including fired tiles, composites, porcelain); Metallurgy
(sodium carbonate) (uranium); Soaps/detergent/toilet powder; Water treatment
Sodalite Gem (minor importance); Ornament/jewellery
Sodium Chemicals; Glass (photochromatic); Metallurgy (uranium,
zirconium); Nuclear reactor (coolant, alloy with potassium); Sodium
lamp; Tetraethyl lead (based on lead-sodium alloy)
Sodium carbonate See ‘soda ash’
Sodium iodide Scintillation counter (activated by thallium)
Sodium lignite See ‘causticized lignite/sodium lignite’
Sodium silicate See ‘water glass/liquid glass/sodium silicate’
Sodium sulphate See ‘salt cake’
Sodium tungstate Fire proofing; Textile
Sphalerite Metallurgy (zinc)
Sphene Gem (minor importance); Ornament/jewellery
Spiegeleisen Metallurgy (steel)
Spinel (blue) Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
Spinel (red) Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
Spodumene (lithium Ceramics; Glass; Glazing; Metallurgy (lithium)
mineral)
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 275

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Sponge (directly Steel
reduced) iron
Staurolite Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery; Sand blasting
Steel Alloys of steel; Nitrided steels; Stainless steel
Stellite Cutting/boring;
Stibnite (natural Cosmetics (‘Surma’ for application to eye and eye brow); Metallurgy
antimony sulphide) (antimony)
Stoneware clay Ceramics (including fired tiles, composites, porcelain); Pipe
(sewerage); Stoneware for chemical; Stoneware crockery
Stratlingite Mortar (strengthening material)
Strontianite Strontium carbonate; Strontium hydroxide; Strontium metallurgy;
Strontium nitrate; Strontium oxalate; Strontium peroxide; Strontium
titanate
Strontium and its Degasification; Electronic equipment; Ferrite
alloys
Strontium carbonate Glass
Strontium hydroxide Beet sugar
Strontium nitrate Night illumination; Pyrotechnics; Signal device; Tracer bullet
Strontium oxalate Night illumination; Pyrotechnics; Signal device; Tracer bullet
Strontium peroxide Night illumination; Pyrotechnics; Signal device; Tracer bullet
Strontium titanate Hydrogen production (experimental stage); Synthetic diamond
Sugar of lead See ‘lead compounds’
Sulphur Adhesive; Carbon disulphide; Ebonite; Enamel; Explosives
(gunpowder); Flower of sulphur; Hydrogen sulphide; Matches;
Metallurgy (magnesium); Pyrotechnics (fireworks); Rubber
(including synthetic rubber), Soil conditioning; Sulphur dioxide
manufacturing; Sulphuric acid manufacturing; Ultramarine
Sulphur-based Rayon; Solvent (industrial)
product—Carbon
disulphide
Sulphur-based Insecticide/germicide
product—Flower of
sulphur
Sulphur-based Analytical chemistry
product—Hydrogen
sulphide
Sulphur-based Natural gas (additive)
product—Methyl
mercaptan (or methyl
sulphydryl)
Sulphur-based Bleaching (fabric, paper, silk, wool); Paper; Poison (for execution,
product—Sulphur old practice); Preservation (alcoholic drinks and fruit); Refrigeration
dioxide (old use); Sugar; Sulphuric acid manufacturing; Sulphurous acid
manufacturing; Textile; Wine (antibiotic and antioxidant agent);
Winery; Wool
(continued)
276 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Sulphur-based Acid manufacturing (hydrochloric, nitric, phosphoric etc.); Alum
product—Sulphuric manufacturing; Ammonia (fixing); Bleaching; Cell; Chemicals;
acid Enamel; Fertilizer; Galvanizing; Paint (pigment and dye);
Pharmaceuticals; Phosphogypsum (byproduct from phosphoric acid
manufacturing); Photography (hypo); Plastic; Refining (nonferrous
metals, petroleum); Tinning (or tinplating)
Sulphur-based Bisulphite salts (calcium, sodium etc.); Sulphite salts
product—Sulphurous
acid (including
sulphur trioxide)
manufacturing
Sunstone See ‘Feldspar (sunstone)’
Synthetic graphite See ‘manufactured graphite’
Synthetic manganese Cell (battery)
dioxide
Synthetic rutile Paint (pigment and die); Synthetic diamond
Taconite Pellets; Metallurgy (iron)
Talc/French chalk/ Ceramics (including fired tiles, composites, porcelain); Cordierite
steatite/soapstone (artificial); Cosmetics (talcum powder, cream etc.); Decoration
(including art work, artifact, statuary); Electric cable; Electro-
ceramics; Explosion/explosive/pyrotechnics (gun powder); Forsterite
manufacture; Insecticide/pesticide/germicide/fungicide; Lubricant/
grease; Paint (extender/thinner and filler); Paper manufacture; Pencil/
crayon and writing chalk; Pharmaceuticals; Plastics; Polishing
(delicate substances including rice, corn etc.); Refractory bricks
(insulation bricks); Rubber (including synthetic rubber); Sanitary
ware (unfired); Sealing/lining, Synthetic/imitation marble; Textile
Tantalite Die casting (wire drawing); Metallurgy (niobium, tantalum)
Tantalum Capacitor; Chemical equipment; Condenser (electrical);
Degasification; Dentistry (instruments); Electronic equipment;
Fountain pen nib; Jet engine; Radio; Rectifier; Surgery/surgical
material (cranial plates, screw, suture wire); Vacuum device
Tantalum carbide Cutting/boring; Die (in combination with tungsten carbide, for wire
drawing): drilling)
Tantalum oxide Aircraft (lens); Camera (lens)
Tar sand See ‘asphaltic rock/natural bitumen’
Tellurium Ceramics (including fired tiles, composites, porcelain); Electrical
appliances; Foundry (metal casting); Glass; Metallurgy (copper,
steel); Rubber (including synthetic rubber)
Terbium See ‘rare earth metals’
Terracotta clay Decoration (including art work, artifact); Terracotta articles
Terracotta shale Decoration (including art work, artifact)
Tetraethyl lead Antiknock additive
Thallium Glass, Scintillation counter (thallium-activated sodium iodide);
Soldering (additive to lead-tin alloy); Thermometer (low
temperature, alloy with mercury)
Thallium Infrared optics; Signalling device; Spectrometer
bromo-iodide
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 277

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Thallium carbonate Insecticide/pesticide/germicide/fungicide (spray)
Thallium oxides Glass
Thallium oxysulphide Camera (exposure meter); Photovoltaic/solar cell
Thallium sulphate Rodenticide
Thorium Camera (lenses); Catalyst; Cathode ray tube; Chemicals; Deoxidizer;
(thorium-232) Electric bulb (filament, alloyed with tungsten); Electrode; Glass
(optical); Lenses; Mercury lamp; Metallurgy (iron, molybdenum);
Photoelectric cell (battery); Radio (bulb); Synthetic petroleum (alloy
with cobalt); Uranium-233; Welding (alloyed with tungsten); X-rays/
radiology
Thorium nitrate Gas mantle
Thorium oxide (thoria) Crucible; Electric bulb (added to tungsten); Gas mantle; Paint
(luminescent paint)
Thulium See ‘rare earth metals’
Tiger-eye See ‘quartz—gem varieties’
Tin Ashta Dhatu (8-metal alloy); Automotive parts (engine); Babbitt
metal (alloy with antimony and copper); Bell metal (along with
copper); Britannia metal (along with antimony); Bronze; Bullet/shot/
shell; Canning/packaging; Chemicals (see below); Decoration (tin
powder); Dentistry (amalgam with silver, mercury and copper);
Electroplating/metal plating; Foils (for wrapping food etc.); Glass
(float glass); Gun metal (admiralty bronze); Lipowitz’s metal (alloy
with bismuth and lead); Metallization/metal powder; Naval brass;
Newton’s metal (alloy with bismuth and lead); Pancha Dhatu
(5-metal alloy); Pewter (alloy with antimony and lead); Porous
bronze; Preservation (food); Printing type metal (alloy with
antimony, copper and lead); Roofing material; Rose’s metal (alloy
with bismuth and lead); Safety fuse (fuse wire, both pure tin and its
alloy with bismuth, cadmium and lead); Safety plug (alloy with
bismuth, cadmium and indium); Soldering (along with lead),
Spinoidal alloy (with copper and nickel); Superconductor (alloy with
niobium, titanium); Terne plating (for roofing sheet); Tinning
(tin-plating); Tube (collapsible); Water sprinkler (automatic, alloy
with bismuth, lead, cadmium); Wine bottle cap; Wood’s metal (along
with bismuth, cadmium and lead)
Tin-based chemical— Electronic equipment (computer screen)
Indium tin oxide
Tin-based chemical— Electrical equipment (transformer oil); Lubricant/grease; Paint
Organo-tin compounds (filler); Pharmaceuticals; Textile (oils); Vinyl sheet (PVC)
(including tin oleate)
Tin-based chemical— Electronic equipment
Potassium stannate
Tin-based chemical— Aircraft (windshield of 0.1 micron thick glass); Cathode ray tube;
Stannic oxide Enamel; Fluorescent light; Glass (thin glass of 1 micron thickness);
Opacifier
Tin-based chemical— Catalyst; Purification/refining (edible oil); Sericulture (weighting
Stannous chloride agent for silk)
(continued)
278 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Tin-based chemical— Electronic equipment
Stannous sulphate
Tin-based chemical— Fire retardant; Smoke inhibitor
Zinc hydroxyl stannate
and stannate
Titanium Abrasive; Aircraft; Automotive part (door); Chemical equipment;
Ceramics; Cutting; Magnet (permanent); Nitinol (nickel-titanium
alloy); Rocket fuel; Space technology (including rocket, satellite,
spacecraft); Sports car; Stainless steel manufacturing; Submarine;
Superconductor (alloy with tin, niobium); Titanium carbide;
Transistor
Titanium dioxide See ‘Rutile-based product’
Toluene Explosion/explosive (trinitrotoluene or TNT); Nylon; Perlon
Topaz Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
Tourmaline Decoration (including art work, artifact); Fertilizer (plant
micronutrient, boron measurement), Manometer; Optical instruments
(type of polariscope called ‘tourmaline tongs’); Thermal dosimeter
Tourmaline (gem Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
variety)—Achroite
Tourmaline (gem Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
variety)—Brazilian
sapphire
Tourmaline (gem Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
variety—Indicolite
Tourmaline (gem Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
variety)—Rubellite
Tourmaline (gem Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
variety)—Schorl
Tourmaline (gem Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
variety)—Verdelite
Trona Soda ash or soda (sodium carbonate) recovery
Tungsten Chemicals; Electrical bulb (filament); Electric equipment; Horn
(electric); Metallization/metal powder; Nuclear reactor; Rectifier;
Sealing/lining (for borosilicate glass to metal contact); Spark plug;
Speed governor; Stellite (alloy with chromium and other metals);
Tungsten carbide; Welding; X-ray/radiology
Tungsten bronze Paint (pigment)
(tungstic oxide or
WO3)
Tungsten carbide Bullet/shot/shell (heavy armour-piercing shell); Cutting/boring; Die
(in combination with tantalum carbide, for wire drawing); Drilling;
Ornament/jewellery
Tungsten sulphide Lubricant/grease (high temperature)
Turquoise Gem, Gemmotherapy, Ornament/jewellery
Ulexite (boron Boric acid; Glass (optical fibre glass)
mineral)
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 279

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Uranium Uranium-235 recovery (after its enrichment); Uranium-238
separation (after recovering enriched uranium- 235)
Uranium-233 Nuclear reactor
(converted from
thorium)
Uranium-235 Cobalt-60 from cobalt; Fission bomb/atom bomb; Nuclear reactor
(including alloys) (alone and alloy with antimony, bismuth, boron-11); Submarine;
Transportation (ocean)
Uranium-238 Aircraft (counterweight); Containers for radioactive material;
(depleted uranium or Geological dating; Glass (coloured); Malaria control; Missile (high
DU or Q-metal or density projectile); Plutonium-239 production; Radiography;
depletalloy or D-38) Radiotherapy (shielding)
Uranium-sodium Calico printing; Ceramics (including fired tiles, composites,
oxide, uranium- porcelain); Chemicals; Glass; Glazing; Leather; Mordant; Textile
ammonium oxide,
uranyl sulphate and
nitrate, uranates etc.
Uranium dioxide Nuclear reactor (fuel element)
Uranium carbide Nuclear reactor (fuel element); Nuclear reactor (fast breeder)
Uranium nitrate Nuclear reactor (fuel element)
Uranium sulphate Nuclear reactor (fuel element)
Vanadium Chemicals, Metallurgy (steel); Nuclear reactor (fuel element
cladding)
Vanadium-based Electrical appliances; Glass; Glazing; Ink (printing); Paint (filler,
chemical— pigment); Pharmaceuticals; Textile
Ammonium
metavanadate
Vanadium dioxide Glass (window)
Vanadium pentoxide Ammonia synthesis; Catalyst; Electrical appliances; Ferrovanadium;
Glass; Glazing; Ink (printing); Paint (filler, pigment);
Pharmaceuticals; Sulphuric acid manufacturing; Textile
Varnish Polishing
Vermiculite Annealing steel (unexfoliated vermiculite); Board/panel;
Construction (aggregate, concrete, structural material); Drilling
(unexfoliated vermiculite); Fertilizer; Fireproofing; Glass;
Hydroponics; Insecticide/pesticide/germicide/fungicide; Insulator
(heat); Insulator (sound); Lubricant/grease; Packing; Paint filler (for
special properties); Plastics; Refractory; Sealing/lining; Soil
conditioning
Water gas (blue water See ‘coal-based products’
gas)
Water gas (carbureted) See ‘coal-based products’
Water glass/liquid Adhesive; Board; Bonding; Cement; Construction (concrete);
glass/sodium silicate Fireproof; Paper; Preservation (egg, timber); Purification (toxic
liquids); Sealing; Silicic acid (silicon compound); Soaps/detergents;
Stucco; Water treatment
(continued)
280 10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Wax/paraffin wax Art work (model-making); Candle; Edible fat; Grease; Insulator
(petroleum refinery (electrical); Matches (sticks); Paper (glazed); Polishing (boot,
product) delicate objects); Preservation (egg, electrical cable, stones); Soaps/
detergent (synthetic detergent); Waterproofing
Weldite (Alloy of Aircrafts; Space technology
aluminium and
lithium)
White arsenic See ‘arsenic-based compounds’
White carbon See ‘graphite (manufactured)’
White metal Bearing
White oil (petroleum Cosmetics; Degasification; Disinfectant; Hair oil; Perfumery;
refinery product) Pharmaceuticals; Preservation (metal, surgical instruments); Skin
care
White spirit Dry cleaning; Paint (extender/thinner); Perfumery (extraction from
flowers)
Willemite Metallurgy (zinc)
Wolframite Metallurgy (tungsten)
Wollastonite Adhesive; Brake/friction material; Ceramics (including fired tiles,
composites, porcelain); Electrode; Glazing; Mineral wool/rock wool;
Paint filler (for special properties); Plastics; Refractory; Rubber
(including synthetic rubber)
Xenotime Metallurgy (rare earth metals)
Xylene Chemical reagent
Ytterbium See ‘rare earth metals’
Yttrium See ‘rare earth metals’
Yttrium-90 See ‘rare earth metals’
Zeolite Agriculture/horticulture; Asphalt; Animal/poultry feed; Beet sugar;
Carbon sequestration; Catalyst; Cement; Fishery; Floriculture; Glass
(perfect glass); Hydroponics; Nuclear waste treatment; Insecticide/
pesticide/germicide/fungicide (including carrier); Odour control;
Paper; Purification/refining/cleaning (edible oil, gases, natural gas,
oxygen and toxic liquid); Refrigeration; Soaps/detergent/toilet
powder; Silviculture; Soil conditioning; Solar heating; Water
treatment; Zeoponic materials (chemically modified natural zeolite
with enhanced efficiency)
Zeolite (synthetic) Chemical sensor: Optical instruments; Polymer filament; Soaps/
detergents
Zeolite (thomsonite) Gem; Ornament/jewellery
Zinc Brass; Cell/battery (alkaline battery and dry cell); Chemicals (see
below); Damascene art; Die casting; EnviroBrass (lead-free brass);
Foundry (metal casting); Galvanizing; German silver; Metallurgy
(gold and silver); Naval brass; Pyrotechnics (fireworks)
Zinc-based See ‘cobalt chemicals’
chemical—Cobalt-
zinc oxide (cobalt
green)
(continued)
10 Annexure II: Mineral-Wise Uses of Metals, Minerals and Rocks 281

Mineral/metals/rocks Product/process
Zinc chromate See ‘chromite-based chemical’
Zinc oxide Ferrite; Rubber
Zinc peroxide Paint (filler); Titanium dioxide (rutile-based product)
Zinc sulphate Desiccation (oil); Plant nutrient (micronutrient)
Zinc sulphido-silicate Fluorescent light application
Zincite Metallurgy (zinc)
Zircon/zirconia Abrasive/grinding (wheel, paper, cloth); Artificial diamond;
Ceramics (including fired tiles, composites, porcelain); Chemicals;
Crucible; Dentistry; Electroceramics; Enamel; Foundry (metal
casting); Fountain pen nib; Fuel cell (battery); Geological dating;
Glass; Glazing; Insulator (electrical); Lacquer filler; Leather filler;
Opacifier; Oxygen sensor; Paint filler; Polishing; Refining (beer);
Refractory; Rubber (white) filler; Semiconductor; Zirconium
metallurgy
Zircon (hyacynth) Gem; Gemmotherapy; Ornament/jewellery
Zircon (jargon) Gem; Gemmotherapy
Zircon (starlite) Gem; Gemmotherapy
Zirconium carbonate Pharmaceuticals
Zirconium phosphate Cosmetics (antiperspirants, ointments)
Zirconium Aircraft; Cutting tools; Degasification; Deoxidizer;
Desulphurization; Domestic heating apparatus; Explosion/explosive/
pyrotechnics (including gun powder, dynamite); Fountain pen nib;
Limelight; Magnet (low-temperature); Nuclear reactor (cladding and
heat transfer); Photographic flashlight; Steel metallurgy;
Superconductor; Surgery/surgical material; Textile machine; Vacuum
device
Zoisite (Tanzanite) Gem; Ornament/jewellery
Zoisite (Thullite) Gem; Ornament/jewellery
Glossary

Adb Air-dried basis.

Adhesive An adhesive is an inorganic or organic substance capable of bonding
other substances together by surface attachment.
Agglomeration Agglomeration techniques include sintering, briquetting and
pelletizing.
Albedo Albedo is a measure of the reflecting power i.e. the ratio of reflected light
to the incident light. It is indicated in a scale of 0–1.
Alkylation Alkylation is the coupling of an olefin and a butane (or isobutane) over
a catalyst.
Alloy An alloy is a metallic material consisting of atoms of two or more metals, or
two or more elements of which most of the atoms are metal atoms. Thus, even a
non-metal can be an element in an alloy. In an alloy, the elements are admixed
at the atomic level, and most of the properties are those usually associated with
metals. An alloy differs from a chemical compound inasmuch as there is no fixed
formula in the former, and the contents of the elements can be varied and manip-
ulated depending on the desirable properties to be achieved.
Amalgamation Amalgam is a kind of plastic alloy of mercury with gold, silver, tin
etc. and the process of such alloying is called amalgamation.
Atomization Atomization is the process of dispersion of a molten metal into small
particles by a rapidly moving stream of gas or liquid.
Base exchange saturation Base exchange saturation of soil is the ratio
[Exchangeable (Ca + Mg)]/[(Ca + Mg + Al + H) extracted from soil].
Base exchanging power It means the quantity of positively charged ions (cations)
that a clay mineral can accommodate on its negatively charged surface, and it
is expressed as milli-equivalents per 100 g. This is also called cation exchange
capacity.
Baumé scale Named after its inventor Antoinne Baumé, Baumé scale is a quick
technique for measuring specific gravity of liquids with the help of a hydrometer
(a hollow sealed calibrated glass tube). It comprises two independent mutually
exclusive scales—one for liquids with specific gravity less than 1 (i.e., lighter than

© Capital Publishing Company 2015 283

K.K. Chatterjee, Macro-Economics of Mineral and Water Resources,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-15054-3
284 Glossary

water) and the other for those with specific gravity greater than 1 (i.e., heavier
than water). On this scale, the specific gravity denoted by the unit ‘°Bé’, and the
reference liquid for comparison is a solution of NaCl. The principle consists in
measurement of the depth to which the hydrometer sinks when immersed in a
liquid. The two scales are calibrated and they can be converted to specific gravity
as follows:
(a) For liquids heavier than water: 0 °Bé = distance the hydrometer sinks in pure
water, and 15 °Bé = distance the hydrometer sinks in a solution of 15 % NaCl by
mass. Its conversion factor to specific gravity at 15 °C is
Specific gravity = 145/(145 − °Bé)
(b) For liquids lighter than water: 0 °Bé = distance the hydrometer sinks in solu-
tion of 10 % NaCl by mass, and 10 °Bé = distance the hydrometer sinks in pure
water. Its conversion factor to specific gravity at 15 °C is
Specific gravity = 140/(130 + °Bé)
The Baumé scale is popular for measuring and expressing specific gravity of
wine and brine.
Becquerel Becquerel is a measure of the rate (not energy) of radiation emission
from a source per second. 1 Becquerel = 27 pico-curie.
Biscuit firing In ceramics, the fired product before glazing is called biscuit and the
firing is called biscuit firing.
Brightness Brightness is measured in terms of the reflectance of blue wave of light
(wave length 457 μ).
Briquette Briquettes are made by pressing the fines with or without bonding
material.
Bursting expansion When the molten metal oxide in a furnace enters into the
grains of the refractory bricks through the micro-fractures and tends to crystal-
lize, the tremendous force of crystallization results in bursting of the bricks, and
this phenomenon is known as bursting expansion.
Capacitors Capacitors store electricity for a short period of time and ensure that
the current supplied remains within narrow range of parameters – particularly in
low voltage applications.
Carbon credit A carbon credit is a unit that measures a specific amount of reduc-
tion of green house gases (GHG). These credits are generally represented as a
GHG reduction equivalent to a tonne of carbon dioxide or carbon or methane.
Catalyst A catalyst increases the rate of chemical reactions without itself undergo-
ing permanent change.
Cation exchange capacity It means the quantity of positively charged ions (cat-
ions) that a clay mineral can accommodate on its negatively charged surface, and
it is expressed as milli-equivalents per 100 g. This is also called Base exchanging
power.
Cenosphere Cenosphere is a silicate glass filled with nitrogen and CO2, and it is
produced due to conversion of a portion of the fly ash during the combustion
process.
Glossary 285

Chelating agent It surrounds and holds the unwanted ions of the water-hardening
substances calcium and magnesium, thus softening the water.
Chrome It is a component of colour. It indicates the degree of departure of a
particular hue from neutral grey of the same value. In other words, it indicates the
degree of saturation of the hue with reference to neutral grey. Thus, the familiar
terms like ‘weakly red’, ‘strong red’, ‘deep red’ etc. are expressions of chrome.
Clay ironstone Clay ironstone is a general term given to a ferruginous mineral
occurring in the form of concretionary structures embedded in beds of clay or
shale. The ferruginous mineral may be either siderite or hematite or limonite.
Coefficient of friction It is the ratio of the friction force to the applied force. It acts
perpendicular to the applied force. Higher the coefficient more is the energy loss
due to friction.
Coercive force Coercive force is the demagnetizing force required to reduce mag-
netic flux density of a magnet to zero.
Compressive strength It is the load per unit area under which a block fails by
shear or splitting. It is resistance to volume stress that tends to produce change in
volume. It is expressed in terms of pounds per square inch (psi) or kg/cm2.
Corrosion Corrosion is the degradation of a material by the environment, most
people associate with rust.
Cracking In ‘cracking’, molecules are broken down under high temperature (with
or without a catalyst) into smaller units, and a new type of hydrocarbon namely
olefin is produced. By cracking, light gases, petroleum coke, fuel oil etc. can also
be produced.
Creep Creep is a time-dependent deformation, and it is the result of constant stress
conditions over a long period of time. Ordinarily, the term is restricted to defor-
mation resulting from stresses below the elastic limit.
Critical mass It means a size, number or amount large enough to generate self-
sustaining social momentum to create further growth.
Curie It is a unit of radioactivity equal to the amount of a radioactive isotope that
decays at the rate of 37 billion disintegrations per second.
Curie temperature Curie temperature is the temperature above which a substance
loses its magnetism.
Darcy See ‘Permeability’.
Decarburization Decarburization is the process of removal of carbon by heating
in an atmosphere in which the concentration of decarburizing gases exceeds a
certain value.
Diamagnetic materials These cause the magnetic flux to move further apart,
resulting in decrease in magnetic flux density compared to vacuum, the magnetic
permeability of which is taken as the unit value.
Dielectric constant It is the ratio of the capacitance of a specific sample of the
material between two plates and a vacuum between the same plates. Stronger the
electrical conductivity, higher is the dielectric constant. The value for air, one of
the poor conductors of electricity, is 1.
Dielectric strength Dielectric strength is a measure of the electrical insulation, and
is the voltage that an insulating material can withstand before break-down.
It is expressed in terms of specific resistance. The unit of measurement is volts/mm.
286 Glossary

Dispersion Dispersion is the rate of change of refractive index with change

in wavelength of the incident light, and is expressed with reference to some
wavelength.
Dyne The word has been derived from the Greek word “dynamics”. It is smaller
unit for force than Newton. One dyne is the force required to produce an accel-
eration of one centimetre per second per second to a mass of one gram. It is
100000th of a Newton.
Electric energy It refers to the total storage capacity of a system or amount of
power supplied or used in a length time. Its units of measurement are megawatt-
hour (MWh), kilowatt-hour (KWh) etc.
Electric power It is the amount of electricity a storage capacity can absorb or sup-
ply at any given instant i.e. rate of energy supplied or used. Its units of measure-
ment are megawatt (MW), kilowatt (KW) etc.
Electrolysis If a strong electric current is passed through a chemical compound,
its decomposition into elements or parts takes place. This is called electrolysis.
Electronegative element Atoms of some elements collect in the positive pole or
anode, and those elements are called electronegative.
Electron emission Electrons present in the crystal lattices on the surface of a metal
can be liberated by the addition of energy, in different forms such as light rays
(photoelectric emission), heat (thermionic emission) or electric current (field
emission) etc. The external energy agitates the atoms of the metal; as a result
high-energy electrons overcome the intra-atomic forces, break out from the sur-
face of the metal and escape. This is the principle of electron emission.
Electrophoresis Electrophoresis is the movement of an electrically charged sub-
stance under the influence of an electric field. Gel electrophoresis is a technique
used for the separation of DNA, RNA or protein molecules through an electric
charge and is used for analytical purpose and as a preparation technique to par-
tially purify molecules prior to use of other methods such as mass spectrometry,
DNA sequencing etc.
Electroplating Electroplating is the process of precipitating a metal in an anod-
izing bath through electrolysis.
Electropositive element Atoms of some elements collect in the negative pole or
cathode, and those elements are called electropositive.
Emery Emery is a natural mineral comprising an intimate mixture of magnetite
and corundum used in powder form for polishing, smoothing and grinding pur-
poses. On an average, emery contains Al2O3 65 % (min), magnetite 22 % (max)
and SiO2 10 % (max).
Emissivity Emissivity is a measure of the energy (heat or some other form) appear-
ing within a substance due to absorption of incident light. A perfectly black sub-
stance absorbs all the incident light, converts it into some radiation energy and
may emit the same and its emissivity is reckoned as ‘1’. This serves as the refer-
ence standard. Since all the non-black objects absorb less light than a black one,
their emissivity is always less than ‘1’.
Emulsion An emulsion is a dispersion of liquid in another immiscible liquid.
Equivalent weight It is the molecular weight of an element divided by its valency.
Glossary 287

Eutectics The constant proportion in which two constituents of a binary magma or

a binary melt simultaneously crystallize, is called the eutectic.
Fatigue limit Also called endurance limit, it is defined as the limiting stress below
which a specimen can withstand hundreds of millions of repetitions of stress
without fracture.
Ferrite Ferrites are mixed oxide ceramics, which show magnetic properties similar
to those of iron.
Ferrocene First prepared in 1951, it is an organo-metallic compound of iron i.e.
dicyclo-pentadienyl iron [Fe(C5H5)2].
Ferromagnetic materials These are either naturally magnetic or attracted to a
magnetic field, and may be easily magnetized.
Fission The ability of an atom to split due to collision with a free neutron is called
‘fission’.
Fluorescence Atoms of some luminescent materials emit light only during their
exposure to exciting energy and they are called fluorescent.
Gauss Named after a German mathematician, it is a unit of magnetic flux density
equal to 1 Maxwell per square centimetre.
Gems and gemstones According to Webster’s Second Edition Unabridged
Dictionary, gem means any jewel having value and beauty that is intrinsic and
not derived from its setting; and gemstones or gem materials are stones or mate-
rials from which a gem may be cut. By popular perception, a gem is a rarely
encountered hard, durable, brilliantly shining and beautiful natural mineral
which has high intrinsic value.
Glazing The purpose of glazing is to provide a uniform firmly adhering coating on
the surface of the ceramic body concealing defects such as pinholes, bubbles etc.
Glaze may be raw glaze or fritted glaze. Raw glaze consists of insoluble mate-
rial applied as such (soluble components crystallize in the mixture and cause
blemishes on the treated surface), while fritted glaze is heated beforehand to
cause chemical change in the components. Glaze should not only melt but also
spread uniformly.
Gloss/reflectivity Gloss is the percentage of the incident light beam that is reflected
from a surface.
Glost firing Firing of a glazed product which has previously been fired at a higher
temperature is called glost firing.
Gravel According to the definition of the American Society of Testing Materials
(ASTM), gravel is naturally occurring unconsolidated or poorly consolidated rock
particles ranging in size from 4.75 to 76.2 mm. But according to many sedimentary
petrologists, granular gravels are of 2–4 mm size and gravels, more than 4 mm.
Gross calorific value Gross calorific value is the total amount of heat obtainable
by the combustion of a given coal. Its units are kilocalorie and British Thermal
Unit or BTU. Kilocalorie denotes the number of kilograms of water which
may be heated through 1 °C, in the neighbourhood of 15 °C, by the complete
combustion of 1 kg of coal. BTU denotes the number of pounds of water which
may be heated through 1 °F, in the neighbourhood of 60 °F, by the complete
combustion of 1 lb. of coal. In either of these cases, the conditions are: (i) coal
288 Glossary

is dried at 105 °C until its weight becomes constant, (ii) whole of heat is trans-
ferred without loss to the water, and (iii) the products leave the system at the
atmospheric temperature and pressure.
Half life The period in which the number of atoms of a radioactive substance
decreases to one half its original value (with proportional increase in the mass of
lead produced) is called ‘half-life’.
Hardenability Hardenability is different from hardness, and it relates to the ease
with which steel or any other metal or alloy will harden and the depth of harden-
ing obtainable. Its unit is the same as that of length.
Hard magnets Once magnetized, these magnets retain their magnetic field
indefinitely even after the magnetizing field is withdrawn. These are also called
permanent magnets.
Heat transfer coefficient It is the amount of heat transferred per unit time per unit
area per unit temperature difference.
Heterotrophic Plate Count (HPC) Heterotrophs are bacteria that thrive on carbon
and nitrogen of organic compounds. HPC is a microbial contaminant indicator and
is a measure of the total number of bacteria that will form colonies during a period
of incubation in a nutrient. Its unit is cfu/ml i.e., colony-forming units per millilitre.
Hue It is a component of colour. The much familiar terms like red, blue, orange
etc. denote hue (or the type of colour).
Hydroponics It is a technique of growing plants without soil, in water containing
dissolved nutrients.
Hyporheic zone It refers to the transition zone in which close interactions between
ground water and surface water take place (e.g. wetland).
International Annealed Copper Standard or IACS This is the international stan-
dard for electrical conductivity with value of conductivity 2.8 μΩ/cm3 at 20 °C.
Iron carbide Iron carbide (Fe3C) is reduced iron oxide with 5–6 % chemically
fixed carbon. It is a direct feed for steel-making.
Isomerization Isomerization is the process of producing a similar but new
substance by rearrangement of atoms within the hydrocarbon molecules of the
original substance.
LAB parameters The three letters ‘l’, ‘a’ and ‘b’ are used as parameters for denot-
ing colours—‘l’ value stands for whiteness; ‘a+’ value, for red colour; ‘a–’ value,
for green colour; ‘b+’ value, for yellow; and ‘b–’ value stands for blue colour.
Langelier Saturation (or Stability) Index (LSI) Langelier Saturation (or
Stability) Index or LSI values are calculated for a precise quantification of the
hardness of water which is caused by the presence of the insoluble carbonates
and sulphates of calcium and magnesium, which tend to precipitate in the form
of scales when the water is boiled. With the help of LSI value of a water, it can
be predicted whether it will precipitate or dissolve or be in equilibrium with
CaCO3 which is then converted to a scale of hardness. In this, the pH of a sample
of water saturated with CaCO3 is pre-calculated as a reference (pHs) and then
the pH of the test sample of water (pHw). LSI is the difference (pHw ─ pHs). LSI
value of ‘0’ means equilibrium, a negative value means no scaling potential (soft
water) and a positive value means high scaling potential (hard water).
Glossary 289

Levigation Levigation is the operation involving pulverization of clay to very fine

size for liberating the clay particles from the impurities.
Lixiviation Lixiviation (also called leaching) is the process of separating a soluble
substance from one that is insoluble, by washing with water or some solvent.
Luminescence Many substances easily gain energy and emit light without being
heated very much. They do this through a process called luminescence.
Magnetic flux These are the lines of force conceived as a flow from one pole of
the magnet to another (counterpart of current in electricity). Its unit of measure-
ment is gauss (or Maxwell per cm2) which is the magnetic flux perpendicularly
intersecting an area of one square centimetre.
Magnetic permeability It is the ability to acquire magnetism in a magnetic field.
Magnetic permeability of vacuum is taken as the unit value.
Mesh size It represents number of holes per square inch of area on a sieve.
Approximately, 1250 mesh is equivalent to 10 μm and 125 mesh to 100 μm.
Metallization Metallization is the reciprocal of reducibility and is expressed in
terms of percentage of ore reduced to metal. Metallization also signifies the
process in which very small globules of a liquid metal are blown by a spray gun
and sprayed on other metal surfaces, so that the molten globules of the sprayed
metal immediately solidify and interlock by flattening.
Metal matrix composites A composite material is a materials system composed
of a mixture of two or more materials deliberately combined to form heteroge-
neous structures with desired or intended properties. In composites, at least one
of the constituents serves principally to strengthen or reinforce the composite,
while another constituent, called the applications matrix, serves to confine the
reinforcing constituent(s) and provides a means to distribute any applied stress.
In metal matrix composites (MMCs), a metal serves as the matrix, while the rein-
forcing constituent can be a metal, a non-metal, an alloy or a compound.
Mineral wool Mineral wool is a general term meaning fibres made from inorganic
substances that may include minerals, rocks and metal oxides—synthetic or nat-
ural. Glass wool, lime wool, rock wool or stone wool, slag wool are all different
types of mineral wool.
Modulus of elasticity The maximum stress to which a body can be subjected with-
out permanent deformation is called its elastic limit. According to Hooke’s Law,
within the elastic limit, stress is directly proportional to strain, and the constant
ratio stress/strain is called modulus of elasticity. It is usually expressed in units
of psi or kg/cm2. Corresponding to the three kinds of force—tensile, compres-
sive and shearing—there are three kinds of stress and strain and three kinds of
modulus of elasticity. These three elastic moduli are:
(i) Young’s modulus
(ii) Bulk modulus and
(iii) Modulus of rigidity
Net calorific value Net calorific value is the gross calorific value minus the
heat liberated by the condensation of the steam produced on combustion and
290 Glossary

the subsequent cooling of this condensed steam to water down to atmospheric

temperature (15 °C or 60 °F).
Newton Newton or ‘N’ is a unit of force. One Newton is the force required to
produce an acceleration of one metre per second per second to a mass of one
kilogram. Compressive strength is expressed as N/mm2.
Nitrided steel Nitrided steel or alloy nitride steel or nitralloy is a steel which is
processed so that nitrogen is absorbed by the surface which becomes intensely
surface hardened, yet machinable.
Non-stoichiometric compound It is a compound in which a fraction of given
atom is either missing or in excess.
Octane number Octane number is a measure of ‘anti-knock’ value of a motor
fuel i.e. the ability to resist the knock or sound produced due to its sudden and
violent combustion in a spark ignition engine. For this measurement, a standard
scale has been devised by assigning the value zero to heptane (C7H16) which has
very poor knock resistance, and 100 to octane (C8H18) having a very high knock
resistance. Octane number is the percentage of this isomer of octane in its mix-
ture with heptane.
Paramagnetic materials These concentrate the magnetic flux by a factor of more
than 1 but less than or equal to 10 compared to vacuum, the magnetic permeabil-
ity of which is taken as the unit value.
Pascal Pascal or ‘Pa’ is a unit for denoting compressive strength, and is equal to N/
m2. One mega-Pa is 106 Pa.
Pellets When very fine particles (size in microns) are formed into spherical objects
called ‘pellets’, the process is called pelletization.
Permanent magnets Once magnetized, these magnets retain their magnetic field
indefinitely even after the magnetizing field is withdrawn. These are also called
hard magnets.
Permeability, coefficient of The common method for measuring it is by Darcy’s
Law. According to it the coefficient of permeability is measured by the following
formula:
K = V/I
where ‘K’ is the coefficient of permeability in gallons per day per square foot,
‘V’ is the velocity of flow of water in feet per day and ‘I’ is the hydraulic gradient
of the medium in feet per foot length.
Phosphorescence Atoms of some luminescent materials stay excited for some
time before they de-excite and consequently, they glow in the dark long after
they have received extra energy. They are called phosphorescent.
Photoconductivity It denotes the change in the electrical conductivity of a sub-
stance as a result of absorbing electromagnetic radiation.
Photoelectric emission When electrons present in the crystal lattices on the sur-
face of a metal are liberated by the addition of energy in the form of light rays,
the phenomenon is called photoelectric emission.
Photoemission It is the ability of emitting electrons when subjected to electromag-
netic radiation such as X-rays, light etc.
Glossary 291

pH value It is the short form of ‘potential of hydrogen’. It is the negative

logarithm of the effective hydrogen-ion concentration or hydrogen ion activity
in gram equivalent per litre. It is used in expressing both acidity and alkalin-
ity on a scale whose values run from 0 to 14 with 7 representing neutrality.
Numbers less than 7 indicate increasing acidity and those greater than 7 increas-
ing alkalinity.
Piezoelectricity or electrostriction Piezoelectric crystals can change mechani-
cal strains into electrical impulses and vice versa. The efficiency of transfer
of energy back and forth between strain and motion is expressed by ‘Q’ factor
which is defined as the ratio of energy stored to energy dissipated. The higher the
Q, the lower will be the energy losses.
Pigment Pigments serve various functions such as acting as fillers, stabilizing
binders, protecting against ultraviolet light, reinforcing, controlling thermal
expansion, controlling thixotropy, controlling shrinkage, colouring and beautifi-
cation. There are four types of pigments: (i) pigment extenders, (ii) white hiding,
(iii) inorganic and organic colours, and (iv) carbon black.
Poisson’s ratio This is closely related to both compressive and tensile strengths.
When a bar is pulled or compressed, not only its length alters but also the trans-
verse dimension. Now, for a given material, the ratio between transverse and
longitudinal strains has been found to be more or less constant and this ratio is
called Poisson’s ratio.
Polarization Polarization is the process by which hydrogen gas liberated in a
chemical reaction goes towards carbon anode and accumulates around it.
Polymerization Polymerization is spontaneous alteration of substances.
Positive temperature coefficient of resistivity or PTC It is the increase in resis-
tivity with increase in temperature.
Powder metallurgy Powder metallurgy is the process whereby many small com-
ponents are produced by fabricating metal powders or metal and ceramic pow-
ders together.
Proppant Proppants are materials which are used for filling up the fracture cavi-
ties to prevent closure of oil wells, but without reducing the permeability of the
reservoir rock, so that flow of oil or gas can be sustained.
Pyroelectricity and thermoelectricity Pyroelectricity is the ability of certain
materials to generate temporary voltage when they are heated or cooled. It is dif-
ferent from thermoelectricity inasmuch as in the former case the whole crystal is
changed from one temperature to another whereas in the latter case, one side of
the crystal is kept at a temperature different from the other side and the voltage
across the crystal is permanent.
Radioactivity Radioactivity is the spontaneous disintegration of certain
heavy elements accompanied by the emission of high energy radiation, which
consists of three kinds of rays: ‘alpha particles’, ‘beta particles’ and ‘gamma
rays’.
Reducibility Reducibility is a measure of acceleration in the reduction process
with increase in temperature in a scale of 0–1.
292 Glossary

Reforming Reforming is a special type of cracking in which heavy low-octane

naphtha is processed for octane improvement rather than for volatility change.
Refractory Refractory materials are defined as those resistant to heat and having a
melting temperature of not less than 1,580 °C. The function of refractory lining
is not only to withstand high temperature, but also to resist temperature fluctua-
tion, slag and metal penetration, abrasion, and erosion by hot gases and molten
slag and metal.
Rheology It is the study of deformation and flow of matter under the influence of
applied stress.
Rupture modulus This is the resistance of a rock slab to bending or flexure. The
stress may first cause elastic deformation, then plastic deformation, and finally
rupture. In case of brittle objects, there will be no plastic deformation and the
object will break as soon as the elastic limit is crossed. Modulus of rupture is
expressed in terms of psi or kg/cm2 of the bending stress under which an object
breaks.
Sand According to the definition of the American Society of Testing Materials
(ASTM), sand is naturally occurring unconsolidated or poorly consolidated rock
particles ranging in size from 0.074 to 4.75 mm, and gravel is similar rock ranging
in size from 4.75 to 76.2 mm. But according to many sedimentary petrologists,
sand is an unconsolidated granular material coarser than 1/16th of a millimetre
and finer than 2 mm (cf. granular gravels are of 2–4 mm size and gravels, more
than 4 mm).
Sealant A sealant is an organic substance soft enough to pour or extrude into an
opening in an object, and capable of subsequent hardening to form a permanent
bond with the object.
Semiconductor These are materials with resistivity intermediate between metals
(resistivity <10−4 Ω-m) and insulators (resistivity >103 Ω-m).
Shearing strength This is the resistance to tangential force. It is also called rigid-
ity. In other words, a body is said to be in shear when it is subjected to a pair of
equal forces which are opposite in direction and which act along parallel planes.
Shearing strength is expressed in psi or kg/cm2.
Sialon ceramics It is an advance material comprising a mixture of silicon,
aluminium, oxygen, and nitrogen (i.e. Si-Al-O-N). Sialon is suitable for
applications requiring high mechanical strength at elevated temperatures, high
specific strength (for weight saving without sacrificing strength), high hard-
ness and toughness values, low coefficient of friction and good thermal shock
resistance.
Sinter By application of just enough heat to fuse the corners of ore particles,
they are made to join together to form a lumpy mass. This product is called
‘sinter’.
Soft magnets These can be magnetized easily, for example by electric current trav-
elling in an electric coil wrapped around a soft magnetic core, but they lose their
magnetism once the current is turned off.
Glossary 293

Soldering It is the process of joining two metal pieces by welding with an alloy of
tin and lead called solder.
Spallation It is the process in which detachment of a large number of neutrons
from the nuclides of some high-atomic number element is caused by its collision
with protons which are accelerated to high energy in an accelerator.
Specific heat Specific heat of a substance is the ratio of the amount of heat required
to raise the temperature of 1 g of it by 1 °C to that required to raise the tempera-
ture of 1 g of water by 1 °C.
Surfactant It is the acronym of ‘surface active agent’, and it removes dirt from a
soiled surface by attracting the dirt particle to its surface by ion exchange.
Taconite Taconite is the name given to fine-grained compact siliceous iron forma-
tions—ferruginous chert or ferruginous slate containing very finely disseminated
oxides of iron, less than 20 mesh in size.
Tensile strength It is also called resistance to longitudinal stress, because this kind
of stress tends to produce unidirectional change in a body. Tensile strength of
rocks is expressed as pounds per square inch (psi) or kg/cm2.
Thermionic emission When electrons present in the crystal lattices on the surface
of a metal are liberated by the addition of energy, in the form of heat, the phe-
nomenon is called thermionic emission.
Thermoelectricity See ‘Pyroelectricity’.
Thixotropy It is the property of pseudoplastic fluids showing time-dependent
change in viscosity. Longer the shear stress, lower is the viscosity (e.g., ketchup,
some clays, gels).
Toughness Also called impact toughness, it is the resistance to sudden impact and
is expressed in inches (height of the fall) per square inches.
Transducer It is a device by means of which energy can flow from one transmis-
sion system to another.
Value of colour The value indicates degree of lightness or darkness of a colour
and it is related to both the percentage of light reflectance and the degree of
lustre. Obviously, pure black has the lowest value and pure white has the highest
value.
Viscosity Viscosity is that property of a liquid which is a measure of its internal
resistance to motion and which is manifested by its resistance to flow.
Water footprint Water footprint of the people of an area is an index for indicating
the consumption of water. It is the total amount of water consumed by the people
of an area that is used to produce goods and services consumed by the inhabit-
ants of that area.
Welding Welding is a metal-joining process wherein coalescence is produced by
heating to suitable temperature with or without pressure and with or without the
use of filler metal.
Yield point It is the point where a stressed material no longer deforms
elastically, but begins to deform permanently. Its unit of measurement is lb/in2
or kg/cm2.
Further Readings

Bora NM (IOC) (2011) Indian upstream hydrocarbon sector—challenges and opportunities. New
paradigms of exploration and sustainable development—vision 2050. Seminar organized by
Department of Applied Geology. Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad and Indian Geological
Congress. November, 2011
British Geological Survey (2010) UK Mineral Statistics
Dyer Gwynne (2011) Risky territory. Press feature. Hitavada, June 18, 2011
Dyer Gwynne (2013) Energy Myths. Press feature. Hitavada, Jan. 14, 2013
HT (Hindustan Times) (2012) Ranchi: Press report, Sept 25, 2012
Sarangi AK, Jadav DS (2011) Uranium Corporation of India Ltd. Uranium Resources of India and
Potential for Development. New Paradigms of Exploration and Sustainable Mineral
Development—Vision 2050; Seminar organized by Department of Applied Geology, Indian
School of Mines & Indian Geological Congress, Dhanbad

© Capital Publishing Company 2015 295

K.K. Chatterjee, Macro-Economics of Mineral and Water Resources,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-15054-3
Index

A Assam-Arakan basin, 84
Abandoned Coal Mine Methane (ACMM), Assyrian civilization, 2, 145
78–79 Asteroid mining, 49
Accelerator-Driven System (ADS), 80 Atmospheric water, 142
Acid drainage, 81 Atom bomb, 70, 74, 164
Acid rain, 56, 147 Atomic Energy Act, 27
ACMM. See Abandoned Coal Mine Methane Atomic Minerals Directorate of Exploration &
(ACMM) Development (AMDED), 74
Acquisition of mineral property, 123, 174–175 Australasian Institute of Geoscientists,
Acquisition of mining company, 175 181–182
Adelaide Stock Exchange, 181 Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy,
Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR), 75 181–182
Advanced reclamation techniques, 48 Australian Bureau of Meteorology, 157
Agglomerate, 12 Australian policy, 20–21
Aggregates, 164–165 Aztec civilization, 3
Agriculture, 16–17, 163
Agro-industries, 164
Air Pollution (Prevention & Control) Act, 28 B
Albedo, 162 Babylonian civilization, 2
Albian Andimadam Sandstone, 85 Bacteria, 115–116
Alexander, 2 Barrage, 140
Alkaline fuel cell, 110 Bassen, 85
Al Shaheen, 14 Beta cake, 173
Amazon River, 90 Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, 74, 75
American Society for Quality, 181 Bharat Petroleum Corporation, 84
The Ancient Monuments & Archeological Bhuvangiri Formation, 85
Sites & Remains Act, 28 Binary cycle technology, 105
Anorexia, 183 Bio-char, 134
Aquifer, 140, 142, 148, 151, 153 Bio-diesel, 100
Arctic countries, 162, 168 Bio-digesting ponds, 133
Arctic Sea, 168 Bio-digestion of human waste, 133
Arctic seabed, 63 Bio-diversity, 21–22, 178, 179
Arsenic pollution, 147 Bio-fuel, 17, 99–104, 115, 122
Aryan Greek Civilization, 2 Biogenic methane, 112
Asbestosis, 163, 182 Biogeochemical cycle, 144

© Capital Publishing Company 2015 297

K.K. Chatterjee, Macro-Economics of Mineral and Water Resources,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-15054-3
298 Index

Biological resources, 21 Coal, 53–59, 122

Bio-mass, 99–104, 115, 172 Coal-bearing Areas (Acquisition
Bio-mass Integrated Gasifier/Combined Cycle & Development) Act, 28
(BIG/CC), 100 Coal Bed Methane (CBM), 77–78
Blood diamond, 6 Coal (Conservation & Development) Act, 28
Blue Drop status, 156 The Coal India (Regulation of Transfer &
Blue water, 139 Validation) Act, 28
BP. See British Petroleum (BP) Coal liquefaction, 57–59
Brackish water, 143 Coal Mine Methane (CMM), 78–79
Brahmaputra, 90, 149 Cobalt cake, 173
Brent crude, 63 Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT), 68
Breton Woods, 165 Commonwealth Water Act, 157
BreX, 181 Communication explosion, 164
British Petroleum (BP), 131 Companies Act, 28, 180
Brundtland Commission, 177 Competent Authority, 155
Busang gold prospect, 181 Competent person, 181, 182
Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative
(CAR) System, 20
C Comprehensive Environment Pollution Index
Cambay basin, 84, 85 (CEPI), 26
Canopy cover, 18 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), 68
CAR. See Comprehensive, Adequate and Computer tomography, 48
Representative (CAR) System Concentrated Photovoltaic (CPV), 92
Carbon Capture & Sequestration (CCS), Concentrated Solar Thermal Power (CSP), 92
55, 58 ConocoPhillips, 84
Carbon credit, 58–59, 97 Conservation, 180
Carbon sciences, 133 Constitution of India, 8
Carbon tax, 59 Conventional (Traditionally Established),
Carrizo Oil & Gas, 84 53, 87
Cartographic tools, 148 Copper cake, 173
Catchment Management Agencies, 156 Copper-Indium di-selenide (CIS), 95
Cauvery, 90, 149 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR),
Cauvery basin, 85 161, 179–180, 182
CCT. See Clean coal technology (CCT) Corporate tax, 187
Cellulosic ethanol, 101 Credit facilities, 153
Cenosphere, 173 Crete Island, 2
Central Pollution Control Board, 26, 146 Critical mass, 187
Centre for Nano-science & Technology, 95 CST, 92
CER. See Certificates of Emission Curiosity, 50
Reduction (CER) Cut-off grade, 41
Cerro Prieto, 106 Cut-off thickness, 41–42
Certificates of Emission Reduction (CER), 58
Charcoal, 91
ChemCam, 49, 50 D
Chernobyl, 74, 75 Dam, 140, 152
Chhumathang, 108 Dedicated reserve, 20
Chincha, 6 Deep ocean mining, 185
Chincha Islands War, 168 Deinococcus radiodurans, 74
Classical economist, 1 Department of Ecology and Environmental
Clathrate, 4, 111–113 Science, 149
Clean coal technology (CCT), 54–56, 59 Department of Public Enterprises, 180
Clean Water Act, 154 Depleted Uranium (DU), 75
Climate Change Levy (CCL), 59, 187 Depressurization, 113
CMM. See Coal Mine Methane (CMM) Desalination, 143
Index 299

Determinant factors, 119–124 Euro-5, 64

Dhule, 148 Euro-6, 64
Diaoyu, 188 European Commission, 185
Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC), 110 European Environmental Agency, 116
Distribution amongst end-users, 147–148 European salt trade, 168
Diversification of generation capacity, European Union, 155, 161
119–120 European Union Water Framework
Division of land, 1–3 Directive, 155
Dravidian Civilization, 2, 146 Eutrophication, 144
Drax, 116 Evolution of energy mix model, 124–127
Drinking Water Quality Regulation E-waste, 170
Program, 156 Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), 115, 188
Drip irrigation, 140, 157 Exploration, 41
Dry steam technology, 105 Extraterrestrial mining, 15
Dundee University, 73
Dynamics of Reserve/Resource, 41–47
Dyspnoea, 184 F
Fast breeder reactor, 80
Fast reactor, 70
E Feasibility studies, 185
Eagle Ford, 84 Firewood, 91
Earnst & Young, 175 Fiscal policy, 186, 187
East Rand, 14 Fischer-Tropsch, 57
Ecological Reserve, 156 Flashag, 165
Economic indicators, 179 Flash steam technology, 105
Economic recession, 166 Flint, 163
Economics, 149–150 Fly ash, 165, 172, 173
Economic significance of water, 139–143 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), 121
Economic value realization, 149, 150 Foreign policy, 186
Ecoshake, 165 Foreign reinvestment allowance, 187
Ecosystem water rights, 156 Forest and wildlife, 17–21
Eco-value classes, 18 Forest Rights Act, 28
E-exploration, 48 4-D modelling, 48, 185
Emerging technologies, 48 France, 155
Emission tax, 59 Fraser Institute, 121
Endoscopic mining, 48 Fuel cell, 109–111
Energy demand, 128–130 Fukushima Daiichi, 74, 75
Energy outlook, 131 Fullerene, 163
Energy-saving certificate, 59 Fusion power, 111–112
Energy security, 128–131 Fusion reactor, 112
England, 155
Enhanced geothermal steam extraction
technology, 105 G
Environment, 25–26 Grancrete, 165
Environment Agency, 155 Ganga, 149
Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA), 164 Gas hydrate, 4, 49, 112–114
Environmental indicators, 179 Gastro-enteritis, 183
Environmentalist approach, 162–163 GDP, 179
Environmental policy, 186 Geoengineering, 47, 131, 164
Environment Protection Act, 28 Geological Survey of India, 84
Environment protection equipment, 164 Geo-polymer-based cement, 135
Epicurean, 162–163 Geothermal energy, 104–108, 122
Epsom salt, 141 Geothermal power, 104
Ethanol, 100, 101, 115 Gestation period, 13, 88, 171
300 Index

The Geysers, 106 Hydrogeology, 137

Global warming, 95 Hydrologic cycle, 142, 143–144, 150
Global Wind Energy Council, 98–99 Hydrology, 137
GNP maximizing paradigm, 128 Hydrorheic, 137
Gold, 165–166, 174 Hydrosphere, 139
Gold Reef City, 180 Hydro-system, 149
Gondwana basin, 84 Hypercalcemia, 183
Governmental role, 186–188 Hyperparathyroidism, 183
Godavari, 149 Hypertension, 184
Gram Sabha, 28, 178
Green carbon, 133
Green energy, 187 I
Greenfield mining project, 174 ICT. See Information & communication
Green fuel cell, 110 technology (ICT), 47–49
Green House Gas (GHG), 58, 114, 162, 163 IEA, 83, 128
Green water, 139, 140 IGCC. See Integrated gasification combined
Greywacke sandstone, 106 cycle (IGCC)
Grey water, 139 ILW. See Intermediate level wastes (ILW)
Groundwater Act, 28, 29, 152 IMMM. See Institute of Materials, Minerals
Groundwater and surface freshwater, & Mining (IMMM)
139–142 Import, 173–174
Groundwater market, 153 Importance of minerals in human life,
Guano, 6, 168 163–166
Gulf of Mexico, 62 Inca Civilization, 3
Income tax, 187
Indian Constitution, 153
H Indian Oil Corporation, 84
Hand arm vibrations (HAV), 182 Indian Policy, 18–19
Hard water, 138, 141 Indian Rare Earths Limited, 188
HAV. See Hand arm vibrations (HAV) Indo-Aryan Civilization, 146
HDFC Bank, 165 Indus, 86
Heavy hydrogen, 112 Indus Water Treaty, 142
Hedge, 97 Industrial ethics, 181–182
Hegjig, 6 Industrial revolution, 24, 163
High level waste (HLW), 73 Industrial waste heat, 116
Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU), 70 Industrial water, 162
Hiroshima, 70, 74 Informal reserve, 20
History of use of water, 145–146 Information & communication technology
HLW. See High level waste (HLW) (ICT), 47–49
Hot dry rock steam extraction Information technology, 164
technology, 105 Inhibitor injection, 113
HSD, 62 Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining
Hubert, M. King, 13 (IMMM), 182
Hubert’s curve, 13, 64 Institutional indicators, 179
Human health, 182–184 Integrated gasification combined cycle
Human reserve, 156 (IGCC), 56, 101
Human resource development, 185–186 Integrated water basin management
Humans as consumers of minerals, 31–40 schemes, 155
Humans as producers of minerals, 40–50 Inter-basin transfer, 154
Human settlement, 22–24 Intermediate level wastes (ILW), 73
Humberstone, 4 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),
Hwang Ho river, 2, 145 72, 187
Hydrogen, 108–109, 115 International Council on Mining & Metals
Hydrogen peroxide fuel cell, 110 (ICMM), 180
Index 301

International Development Research Centre Layered metal sulphide, 134

(IDRC), 178 Light reactor, 70
International Geothermal Association Liquid natural gas (LNG), 68, 120
(IGA), 105 Low-carbon economy, 150
International Monetary Fund (IMF), 165, 168 Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO), 50
International Thermonuclear Experimental Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU), 70
Reactor (ITER), 111 Low-Level Waste (LLW), 73
International Union for the Conservation Low-water crop, 150
of Nature (IUCN) norms, 19, 20 Low-water economy, 150
Ivigtut, 171 Low-water technology, 150

J M
Jabera basin, 85 Mandapeta, 85
Jack Hills, 4 Manville Corporation, 163
Jadugoda, 69, 70 Mayacamas Mountains, 106
Japan, 161 Mayan Civilization, 2
Jatropha, 17, 99–102, 104 McKinsey Quarterly, 180
Jharia, 167 Measuring While Drilling (MWD), 48
Joint Ore Reserve Committee (JORC), 120, 181 Mega-hydropower, 88–91
Mesothelioma, 182
Metal-matrix composite, 164
K Meteorology, 137
Kalpakkam, 80 Methane, 76–80
Karanj, 99 Methane hydrate, 4, 49, 112–114, 162
Kerogen, 81–83 Micro-algae, 134
KG. See Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin Microbially enhanced coal bed methane, 77
Khewra salt mine, 180 Micro-diamond, 164
Kirkuk oilfield, 124 Micro-hydropower, 88–91
Kiruna, 167 Military control, 167–168
Knossos, 2 Mindset, 123–124
Kolar, 122 Mine closure, 177
Kona, 114 Mineral policy, 186
Korean War, 174 Mineral resource inventory, 122
Krishna, 90 Mineral resources, 11–15
Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin, 65, 84, 85 Minerals Council of Australia, 182
Kudankulam, 74, 143, 167 Mineral water, 140, 141
Kurzweil, 51 Mines and Minerals (Development &
Kyoto Protocol, 126 Regulation) Act (MMDR Act), 27, 186
Mines and Minerals (Development &
Regulation) Bill (MMDR Bill), 180
L Mini-OTEC, 114
Lamtung, 88 Ministry of Environment & Forest (MoEF),
Land Acquisition Act, 9, 28 177, 178
Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation & Ministry of New & Renewable Energy
Resettlement Act (LARR), 26, 28 (MNRE), 101, 110
Land and Mining, 4–5 Minoan civilization, 2
Land-mineral relation, 3–4 Molecular sponge, 133
Land restoration, 177 Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC), 110
Land-use management, 26–29 Moore cake, 173
Larderello, 106 Mosabani, 14, 122
Lasca, 173 Mukta, 85
Law of Accelerating Return, 51 Mumbai Offshore, 85
Law relating to land, 7–9 Murray-Darling basin, 157
302 Index

N Nuclear waste, 74
Nagasaki, 74 Nuclear waste remediation, 134
Nano-energy packs, 134
Nano-tube, 164
Napoleon, 172 O
National Aeronautics and Space Agency Ocean energy, 114–115
(NASA), 150–151 Ocean Iron Fertilization (OIF), 133
National Biological Diversity Act, 21, 28 Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC),
National Environmental Engineering Research 114–115
Institute (NEERI), 134 OECD. See Organization for Economic
National Institute of Water, 155 Cooperation and Development (OECD)
National Lake Conservation Plan, 21 Off-grid solar, 95–96
National Land Acquisition & Resettlement Off-grid wind electricity, 97
Bill, 26 Offshore Area Mineral (Development &
National Legal Framework of General Regulation) Act, 28
Principles on Water, 153 Oilfield (Regulation & Development Act)
National park, 19 Act, 28
National Water Account, 157 Oil India Limited, 84
National Water Act, 156 Oil shale, 81–83
National Water Commission, 154 Old-growth forest, 21
National Water Management Act, 154 Olmec Civilization, 3
Natural gas, 64–68, 122 ONGC, 77, 84
Naturally occurring radioactive materials OPEC. See Organization of Petroleum
(NORM), 73 Exporting Countries (OPEC)
Natural monument, 19 Opportunity cost, 149
Naval reactor, 70 Orange oil, 133
Near-Earth-Objects (NEOs), 50 Organization for Economic Cooperation and
NEERI. See National Environmental Development (OECD), 76
Engineering Research Institute Organization of Petroleum Exporting
(NEERI) Countries (OPEC), 12
NEOs. See Near-Earth-Objects (NEOs) Overground economic entities, 15–26
Neolithic, 146 Ownership syndrome, 1–3
New Greek Civilization, 2
New materials, 47
Newpeck, 84 P
Nicholas Jacque Conte, 172 PAFC. See Phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC)
Nile, 90 Panchayati Raj (Extension to the Scheduled
Nile Valley Civilization, 2, 145 Areas) Act, 28, 178
Nilgiri Hills, 88 Pellet, 12
Niobrara basin, 84 Per capita metal consumption, 163
NMHC. See Non-methane hydrocarbon Periyar, 149
(NMHC) Permanent magnet, 170
Noise, 182 Persian Civilization, 2
Non-Government Organization (NGO), 185 Petroleum, 60–64, 122
Non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC), 64 Petropolis, 133
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), 70 pH. See Potential of hydrogen (pH)
NORM. See Naturally occurring radioactive Phoenician Civilization, 2
materials (NORM) Phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC), 109
North-Western University, 134 Photonic crystal, 95
NSN Research Centre for Nanotechnology & Photovoltaic (PV) cell, 92
Biotechnology, 110 Pig iron, 170
Nuclear Club, 70, 72 Pioneer resources, 84
Nuclear fissile bomb, 74 Pisciculture, 180
Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG), 72 Planning Commission of India, 128
Index 303

Plasma furnace, 169 Resource curse, 178

Pneumoconiosis, 182 Resource Nationalism, 146, 175
Policies, 151–157 Resource Rent Tax (RRT), 176
Policy Potential Index (PPI), 121, 167, 176 Rio+20, 26, 182
Political control, 167–168 River Basin Water Agencies, 155
Political viability, 121, 166, 185 Robotics, 49
Portugal, 155 Rock storage of CO2, 134
Post-closure land uses, 177 Role in environment, 143–145
Potential of hydrogen (pH), 138 Rules of conduct, 182
PPP. See Public-private partnership (PPP) Rural Electrification Corporation (REC), 128
Price subsidy, 130–131 Russia, 155–156
Processing allowance, 187 Russian Federation Water Code, 155
Poseidon scandal, 181
Protected Area, 19
Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell S
(PEMFC), 110 Sakhalin, 14
Public-private partnership (PPP), 187 Salt gradient energy, 114, 115
Puducherry University, 149 Saltpetre War, 168
Puga Valley, 108 Samatha Judgement, 178
Pulmonary fibrosis, 163, 182 Sand filter, 148
PV cell. See Photovoltaic (PV) cell Sand mining, 164
Santa Laura, 4
Schedule-V area, 178
Q Scheduled Tribes & Other Traditional Forest
Quality of water, 138–139, 146–147 Dwellers (Regulation of Forest Rights)
Queensland, 81 Act, 28, 178
Science, Technology and Innovation, 148–149
Scientific and Technological Innovations,
R 131–135
Rad, 74 Seawater, 143
Radiation-resistant microbe, 74 Self contained extraction and processing
Radioactive waste, 72–73 techniques, 48–49
Rainwater harvesting, 142 Senkaku, 188
Ranidhera, 104 Shale gas, 83–85
Ratnagiri, 114 Shale gas policy, 84
Raw material security, 166, 167–177 Shale oil, 81–83
Real estate, 25 Silicosis, 182
Reclamation, 179 Singularity, 50–51
Reconnaissance, 13 Sinter, 12
Reconnaissance permit, 176 Slick-water fracturing, 83
Recycling, 168–170 Slightly Enriched Uranium (SEU), 70
Recycling rate, 169 Smart Mine, 14, 167
Regenerative fuel cell, 110 Social forestry, 180
Regolith, 49, 50 Social indicators, 179
Rehabilitation of workers, 177 Socio-politics, 149
Reliance Industries, 84 Soft path, 152
Remote sensing, 148 Solar disinfection, 148
Reprocessed uranium (RepU), 70 Solar energy, 122, 172
Research & Advanced Studies Centre, 135 Solar panel hardware, 92
Research reactor, 70 Solar power, 92–96
Reserve dynamics, 171 Solar thermo-photovoltaic, 95
Reserve forest, 19 Solar TPV, 95
Residence time, 144 Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC), 110
Resource allowance, 187 Sorghum, 99
304 Index

Space mining, 185 Unconventional (recent), 53, 87

Spent shale, 173 Unconventional sources, 76–85
Sponge iron, 170 UN Development Programme
Standard water tariff, 156 (UNDP), 178
State of the environment, 177 UNEDP. See UN Conference on Environment
State Water Register, 156 & Development (UNEDP)
Stockpiling, 174 UNESC, 130
Stone Age, 163 United Nations Children’s Fund, 156
Strict nature area, 19 United Nations Framework Classification
Submersibles, 14, 49 (UNFC), 120
Substitution, 170–172 United Nations Human Development
Sumerian Civilization, 2 Report, 150
Sun Believable Solar Paint, 95 United Nations Population Fund, 150
Supreme Court, 137, 164, 178 United States, 154
Surajkund, 107, 108 University College, 149
Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM), 184 University of Georgia-Athens, 134
Sustainability, 150–151, 161–177 University of Gothenburg, 112
Sustainability audit, 179 Uranium, 68–76, 122
Sustainability of mineral resource, 161–177 Urban mining, 170
Sustainable development, 161, 177–185 US Department of State, 147
Sustainable development indicators, 178–179 US Geological Survey, 84
Sustainable mining operation, 177
Sustainable water management, 152
Swat Valley, 6 V
Sweet oil, 63 Value of land, 5–7
Sydney University, 133 Venter, 77
Syndecrete, 165 Ventilation Air Methane (VAM), 79–80
Vibration, 182
Vindhyan basin, 85
T Virtual reality applications, 48
Technology of exploration and mining, Virtual water, 139
47–50 Vizhingam, 115
Tenancy land, 9
Tennessee reservoir, 154
Tennessee Valley Authority, 154 W
Thermal reactor, 80 Wadu, 85
Thermal stimulation, 113 Wairakei, 106
Thermogenic methane, 112 War of the Pacific, 168
Thorium, 80 Wasteland, 143
Three Mile Island, 74, 75 Wastewater, 146, 147
Tidal energy, 114 Wastewater treatment, 154
Tight gas, 85 Water entitlement, 157
Tight oil, 83 Water footprint, 150
Toltec Civilization, 3 Water management areas, 156
Toronto Resolution, 181 Water market, 157
Tummalapalle, 69, 70 Water policy, 153
Water Pollution (Prevention & Control)
Act, 28
U Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution)
Ultra-Dense Deuterium (UDD), 112 Act, 152
UN Conference on Environment & Water recharging structure, 153
Development (UNEDP), 177 Water resource allocation policy, 153
UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Watershed, 144–145
26, 182 Wave energy, 114, 115
Index 305

WBV. See Whole body vibrations (WBV) World Commission on Environment and
Weir, 140, 148 Development, 177
Wetland, 143, 157 World Gold Council (WGC), 165
Wetland Water, 143, 145 World Energy Council, 96
Whitewater Sand, 14 World Health Organization (WHO), 76, 156
Whole body vibrations (WBV), 182 World War I, 168
Wieliczka, 5, 180 World War II, 164, 165, 173
Wilderness area, 19 WWF, 57
Wilderness criteria, 21
Wilderness Reserve, 64
Wildlife Protection Act, 28 Y
Windarra nickel prospect, 181 Yamuna, 149
Wind energy, 96–99, 170, 172 Yellow river, 2
Wood, 116–117
Wood pellet, 102, 116–117, 122
Working coal mine methane, 78–79 Z
World Bank, 168 Zhejiang, 114