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- Magnetite has the most iron (up to ~70%); haematite is the main industrial ore.
- Mica: Koderma–Gaya–Hazaribagh belt; bauxite: Amarkantak, Maikal hills, Koraput (Odisha).
- Gondwana coal: Damodar valley (Jharia, Raniganj, Bokaro); lignite: Neyveli.
- Oil: Digboi (Assam), Mumbai High (offshore), Ankleshwar (Gujarat).
- Uranium: Jaduguda (Jharkhand); thorium: monazite sands of Kerala.
- First nuclear plant: Tarapur (1969).
- Rourkela–West Germany, Bhilai–USSR, Durgapur–UK; TISCO Jamshedpur (1907) was the first big private plant.
Metallic minerals
Most of India's metallic minerals occur in the old crystalline rocks of the peninsular plateau, especially in the Chotanagpur region, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka. Minerals are found in veins and lodes, in beds and layers of sedimentary rock, as residual deposits from weathering (bauxite), and as alluvial or placer deposits in river sands and beaches (monazite).
| Mineral | Main areas | Uses / notes |
|---|---|---|
| Iron ore | Odisha–Jharkhand belt (Badampahar, Gua, Noamundi); Durg–Bastar–Chandrapur belt (Bailadila, Chhattisgarh); Ballari–Chitradurga–Chikkamagaluru–Tumakuru belt (Karnataka, incl. Kudremukh); Maharashtra–Goa belt | Magnetite (up to ~70% iron) and haematite (50–60%); Goa ore is exported through Mormugao |
| Manganese | Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka | About 10 kg is needed per tonne of steel; also used in bleaching powder and paints |
| Bauxite | Amarkantak plateau, Maikal hills, Bilaspur–Katni plateau, Koraput (Panchpatmali) in Odisha | Ore of aluminium, a light, strong metal |
| Copper | Khetri (Rajasthan), Malanjkhand (Balaghat, MP), Singhbhum (Jharkhand) | Electrical cables, electronics |
| Mica | Koderma–Gaya–Hazaribagh belt; Ajmer; Nellore | Excellent electrical insulator |
Energy resources
| Source | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gondwana coal | Damodar valley — Jharia, Raniganj, Bokaro; also Godavari, Mahanadi, Son and Wardha valleys | Over 200 million years old; most of India's coal |
| Tertiary coal | Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal, Nagaland | Younger coal of the north-east |
| Lignite | Neyveli (Tamil Nadu) | Low-grade brown coal, high moisture; used for power |
| Petroleum | Mumbai High (offshore), Gujarat (Ankleshwar), Assam (Digboi, Naharkatiya, Moran) | Digboi is one of the oldest oil fields in India |
| Natural gas | Krishna–Godavari basin, Mumbai High, Gujarat | HBJ pipeline carries gas inland |
| Uranium / thorium | Jaduguda (Jharkhand) for uranium; monazite sands of Kerala for thorium | Fuel for nuclear power |
Nuclear power stations: Tarapur (Maharashtra, the first, 1969), Rawatbhata (Rajasthan), Kalpakkam and Kudankulam (Tamil Nadu), Narora (Uttar Pradesh), Kakrapar (Gujarat) and Kaiga (Karnataka). India's nuclear programme was planned in three stages, ending with thorium-based reactors because India has large thorium reserves but limited uranium.
Non-conventional sources are growing fast: solar (strongest potential in Rajasthan and Gujarat), wind (Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and other coastal and plateau states), small hydel, biogas, tidal (Gulf of Khambhat and Gulf of Kachchh have potential) and geothermal (experimental sites such as the Parvati valley near Manikaran in Himachal and the Puga valley in Ladakh).
Location of industries
An industry tends to locate where the total cost of raw material, power, labour, transport and market access is lowest. Heavy, weight-losing raw materials (like iron ore and coal) pull industries towards them; light or perishable products pull them towards markets.
| Industry | Key facts |
|---|---|
| Iron and steel | TISCO at Jamshedpur (1907) near the iron ore and coal of the Chotanagpur region. Public sector plants of the 1950s–60s: Rourkela (West German help), Bhilai (Soviet), Durgapur (British); later Bokaro (Soviet) and Visakhapatnam (port-based) |
| Cotton textiles | First successful mill in Mumbai (1854); concentrated in Maharashtra and Gujarat near cotton-growing black soils, with humid coastal air and port access. Ahmedabad is called the Manchester of India |
| Jute | First mill at Rishra near Kolkata (1855); mills cluster along the Hooghly for raw jute, water, cheap transport, labour and the Kolkata port |
| Sugar | Has shifted from UP and Bihar towards Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, where the cane has higher sucrose and the crushing season is longer |
| Aluminium smelting | Needs bauxite and very large amounts of cheap electricity |
| Information technology | Bengaluru is called the Silicon Valley of India |
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